Demons amongst us

Demons Amongst Us.      698 words

         I first saw her when she started work as a temp in our office. At first she seemed to be just another young girl from secretary college but then I noticed little details about her. It took a lot of surveillance and linking of evidence in my diaries to understand the truth. I spoke to her in the cafeteria one lunch time.
         "Hello," I said. "I'm in the section near you. Procurements."
         "Oh," she said, without looking up from a glossy magazine. "That's nice."
         She said nothing more to me. Didn't have to. I knew she was Azazael, the Demon of Lust.

         I received my latest book from E-Bay, 'Demon Avatars on Earth.' It was a bit sticky and torn and there were lots of greasy, pizza-smelling marks on the pages but it was still clear enough to read. It was perfectly obvious once I correlated my information with that on page 72 (a little transparent and crumby here - smells like garlic butter). I knew my duty to God. I would have to kill her to save mankind.

         I flicked through to Appendix B and found the recommended rituals and destruction methods for demons. Not difficult. I practiced the pronunciation of the three chants I would require and gathered my consecrated equipment. Had to hurry. If she knew I was on to her true identity - well, who knows what she'd do?

         Once I was certain of my preparation I hid in the dark near her flat, waiting for her return from her weekly yoga session. I had to be quick and restrain her before she could transform into a hideous, fiery pit-beast. When she came down the path fumbling in her bag for keys I sprung into action, hitting her over the head with my shovel. Thankfully the blow knocked her out straight away and I was able to securely bind her with the salt-impregnated rope and throw her in my car boot.

         I drove out to the site I had readied in the bush. By the time I dragged her from the car she was awake and screaming. Crying. Pleading. Threatening. I ignored it all. Had to. Couldn't go soft now.

         I put her in the circle of salt I'd drawn on the ground then used a spray can to write command sigils at the four compass points, according to diagrams on pages 96 and 97 (a colourful double page spread, one corner dog-eared).

         Lighting a black candle, I let the hot wax drip on her forehead while I recited the first chant and then I poured salt into her eyes while going through the second chant. She pleaded and shrieked, just like you would expect a young girl to. I almost weakened but in Appendix D there was mention of the tricks demons were likely to try to prevent destruction - including pretending to be innocent young girls. I told myself again that this was for the good of all and for God.

         I dripped holy water onto my shovel and held it high as I began the third chant. At the culmination I swung the shovel down into her neck. It didn't quite sever her head but it stopped her begging. Instead she screamed and gurgled as I continued hacking until I finally got far enough through the flesh to shut her up. It took five blows to get her head off - who would have thought it would be so difficult?

         I dug a shallow grave and rolled the pieces in, then covered it up. A good night's work. I tossed my equipment into the car and consulted my book by torchlight, making some margin notes about decapitation for future reference. I brushed aside some of the larger pizza crumbs and discovered a previously unseen footnote number for the ritual. Turning to the footnotes section and the corresponding number I found a warning: Ritual should only be conducted during full moon. Oh...

         Now I'm sitting on the boot of my car and waiting. I can see the grave I dug cracking and the gleam of fire rising up from the depths. She's angry now. I'd drive away but I don't think I could ever get far enough.










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