Heretics book 3 - The Apocryphile Press

54 :: JOHN R. MABRY
“And yet,” Dane said, “before you got here, nothing had
been smashed in this room for, oh, a hundred years?!” His
eyes narrowed, and the anger returned to his face. “Who the
hell gave you permission to come in here and do an exorcism?”
None of them spoke. Finally, Richard cleared his throat.
“Mr. Dane, surely you wouldn’t want your father to suffer
having a dem—”
“I did,” Nurse Stahl stepped forward. “I called them, I
told them what I saw, and I asked them to help your father.
If you want to fire me, go ahead, but these priests have done
nothing wrong. They were just doing...their jobs. And honestly,
so was I.” She looked down. “I know I should have
asked you about it first. But I was afraid...I was afraid....”
She didn’t finish.
Richard had a good idea of what she wanted to say, but
couldn’t. She was afraid Dane wanted his father to be possessed,
for some unknown, twisted reason of his own that
Richard could not begin to guess.
Dane once again mastered his anger. He placed a compassionate
hand on the nurse’s shoulder. “I understand. You
were just trying to help.” He turned back to Richard. “Did
you succeed?”
Richard shook his head. “We met with...a bit of an
impasse. We were on the brink of expelling the demon, but
in your father’s condition...we almost lost him.”
A satisfied smile passed over Dane’s face, but he quickly
covered it up with a look of concern. “I’m sorry you troubled
yourself for nothing, then. I will...consult with some
experts of my own, and decide what to do. I’m grateful that
you brought this issue so forcefully to my attention.” He
shook Richard’s hand and gave him a disingenuous nod of
thanks. “However, if, in the future, you plan to conduct any
rituals that might include members of my family, I will thank