Today's Exorcist Book Two: Today's Exorcist, #2

By Odette C. Bell

Great. Jerome now knows about ghosts. Things couldn't get worse, right? Wrong. Arcane continues his march into the city, and before him, things start to crumble.
The body count soon mounts, and Lily is driven further into the murkiest depths of magic. But at least she isn't alone. A certain someone decides to stick around. And no, it isn't Mr. Critter.

….

Today's Exorcist follows a wisecracking exorcist and the cop who can't let her go fighting a serial killer. If you love your urban fantasies with action, wit, and a splash of romance, grab Today's Exorcist Book Two today and soar free with an Odette C. Bell series.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Odette C. Bell
• Release date: Aug 13, 2020
• ISBN: 9781393711902

Book preview

1

Jerome

I… had no idea what was going on. My brain wouldn’t work. My hands wouldn’t work. Nothing would frigging work. The only part of me that functioned was my eyes as I locked them on Lily.

She looked graceful somehow – and definitely in control. She pushed off me. She stood. I instantly felt two things – the removal of her warmth and presence. Like it or not, she was the only thing holding me together. Now she’d left, I crumpled. I shoved forward, locked a hand on my mouth, and rather than retch, just stared at the spot where the ghost had disappeared.

Meanwhile Lily patted off her jacket, walked around the room a bit, then stopped just in front of me. You can see ghosts, then? She crossed her arms.

Slowly but surely, I let my gaze tick up to her. I didn’t say anything. I replied by securing my hand harder against my mouth.

She just ticked her head hard to the side. You don’t strike me as the kind of man to deny reality. It’s not a question. It’s a statement. You, Jerome Smith, can see ghosts. Unlucky you. By the sounds of it, you probably inherited the ability from the same family line as your auntie. The lovely old dear that she is, she added snidely.

Maybe it was the mention of my auntie. Maybe it was the mention of inheriting this… whatever it was, but I finally pushed up. I clutched my gun, but I sure as hell didn’t point it at Lily. I had no clue what would happen if I did. Would she take me down just as gracefully and quickly as she had that ghost?

I let my gaze slide down to her dagger. She hadn’t holstered it yet, but it was held loosely in her hand. She followed my gaze, exaggerating the movement of her head as she tilted it down too. Not used on humans. Only ghosts. She leaned past and patted me with her free hand. Then she holstered her knife in a very smooth move. The way she did everything was highly trained. But more than that, it was cohesive. I… couldn’t put my finger on it. No, I had before. It was like she was an Olympian. Just lots of different Olympians all rolled into one.

What… happened to you? How did you turn into this? The question didn’t exactly roll off of my lips. It clunked, every syllable feeling like it had been pushed from a speeding train.

She ignored me for a few seconds. She got down on her knees, and she ran a finger over the spot where the ghost disappeared. She closed her eyes and clucked her tongue. Definitely gone. Okay. She shoved up. She made eye contact with me again. It was as direct as if she’d run up, grabbed my face, and pressed her eyeballs against mine. I knew for certain that there would be no way I would ever be able to escape it.

I even swallowed, the move exaggerated and pushing my Adam’s apple against the tight collar of my shirt.

I think you should care more about yourself right now. What are you gonna do? You’re certainly not going to tell the police. No one’s going to believe you.

My gut hardened – but only slightly. All those thoughts had already been spinning through my skull.

Nobody would believe a single thing I’d seen here today. Not one. So… what the hell was I going to do next? I’d always been a cop who acted by the book. There was a process for everything. But you know what there was not a process for? Ghosts. Especially coming across an old school mate who now appeared to be an exorcist.

I was flying by the seat of my pants right now. I took a breath. I tried to cross my arms, but my shoulder muscles wouldn’t play nice. I felt too loose as if someone had tried to debone me. I gazed at the spot where the ghost had been dispatched again. What… what was he?

A ghost. I mean… you’ve already figured that out, right? She narrowed her eyes at me as if there was something to worry about.

There was something to worry about, all right. Ghosts were frigging real.

That reality struck me again. This time it was just so much more powerful. It was as if in the past few seconds I’d forgotten what I’d just seen. I clutched the side of my head and pushed my fingers in.

And that’s when I heard riotous barking. At first, it didn’t sound right. It was this gulping affair as if the Loch Ness monster had just pushed itself up through the cracks of the factory. I turned my head hard over my shoulder, trying to track the noise. And that’s when I saw that little dog come into view. It ran right up to me. I didn’t jolt back. As I’d already pointed out – it barely came up to the height of my calf.

But then it let out another one of those strange barks, and I jolted as I finally realized something. All day I’d been trying to convince myself that this was a real dog. Now I had ample evidence that maybe it wasn’t.

I pointed a shaking finger at it. What the hell is that thing?

Lily leaned down and patted it on the head roughly. You did well to assume it was a thing. Technically, it’s called a critter.

So you’re… telling me it’s not a real dog?

The critter, or whatever the hell it was, looked up at Lily. The way it moved its neck was not natural. It was as if it wasn’t connected by actual sinew and bone.

Then it opened its mouth. And for the second time that night, my world came crashing down. Why are you telling policeman who makes cheeks red about me?

Lily straightened.

I was too consumed by the fact that thing had just spoken to actually follow what it had said. What the hell just happened? I asked in a high-pitched, shaking, desperate voice.

Lily suddenly leaned down and grabbed the dog. She squeezed it a little too tightly. Mr. Critter, I thought I told you to watch the perimeter?

I did. Nothing came in.

Apart from Jerome, Lily hissed.

Me watching for Arcane. Who cares about Jerome? He just human.

I just stood there, incapable of figuring out what to do next. I mean… was there anything I could do next but just stand here?

Lily sighed. She put the critter down. Then she planted her hands on her hips. I need to figure out where that woman died. It’s got to be around here somewhere. Use your nose for magic.

Mr. Critter actually saluted. Don’t ask me how a dog could do that, but I was rapidly realizing that appearances meant nothing here.

As soon as he scurried off, I just let my gaze slowly tick up to Lily. This was not a move of intimidation. This was the fastest my eyes and brain could move right now. The dog talks. I was surprised when my voice was deadpan.

Not a dog. Like I told you already – it’s a critter. And his name is Mr. Critter. You’d do well to remember that. Mr. Critter can get pretty antsy when people don’t recognize his title.

Okay. Once more, I spoke in that deadpan voice.

Lily just looked at me steadily. So what now?

Now? My voice shook.

Are you going to head back to your old life, Jerome? I had no clue that you could see ghosts. But the world of basic spectral phenomena is clearly open to you.

Spectral… phenomena?

Ghosts, ghouls, critters like that, she gestured over her shoulder, demons. You name it.

Demons? I croaked.

If I were you, I’d just forget this entire thing and keep your head down.

As she said that, I clutched hold of that possibility. My weary brain thought it was a fantastic idea. If I turned away right now, plucked up my gun, went back to my car, and forgot about this, maybe I would never face it again? I mean, I’d never come across ghosts in all my other years of policing. All I had to do was stick my head in the sand this once.

But did I turn around and pluck my gun up? No. I remained there, staring at her. So she just crossed her arms and sighed hard. This world is already too crowded. Plus, trust me, you don’t want to get involved.

Who was the woman who was murdered? I hissed. It was my police training kicking into gear. I didn’t necessarily want to know. I wasn’t even that conscious of asking the question. But some part of me had been paying attention to what she’d been talking about with Mr. Critter.

She sighed. This is your chance. Take it. Stop asking questions. Just grab your gun up and leave.

What she was saying was damn tempting. I couldn’t do it. I stared back in the direction of where Mr. Critter had disappeared to. He’d gone into that little office. There were crashes and bangs. They sounded larger than something a small dog would be able to produce.

Maybe there was something about the quality of my gaze, because Lily sighed. This is your opportunity to run. But fine. You want to pass it up for a lifetime of hell? Go for it. To answer your question, I’m talking about the lady who was murdered in the park.

That alone could focus me. In between thinking of Lily, I’d been ruminating about that murder all day long. What are you talking about? My voice was sharp and quick.

She chuckled. You think I killed her?

My lips froze. It wasn’t a move of confidence.

Lily’s gaze hardened. Of course I didn’t kill her. I don’t murder. That’s the very first rule of becoming an exorcist. If you want to deal with ghosts, you have to limit your karma. No meat, no murder, no violent crime.

I had no clue why she was telling me this. No, okay, I got that she wanted me to know that she wasn’t a murderer, but why did I need to know the rules of exorcism?

It took me a while to question that.

It was as if my brain had been stuck momentarily in the past. And in the past, exorcism hadn’t been real. Now I was staring right at it.

Are you trying to tell me that the victim was killed here? I finally caught up with things.

She nodded her head slowly. Genius.

How was she moved?

Lily just shot me another confronting gaze. You’re not going to like this. She was moved by another ghost.

You… are you serious? A… spectral phenomenon moved her?

Lily actually looked impressed. For a few seconds. That’s right. Spectral phenomenon. It was the same ghost I got rid of in the train yard yesterday.

I slowly pointed a finger at her. I thought you were looking for a dog?

Mr. Critter accompanied me. At the time, he was trying to kill me. But since then, we’ve come to an understanding, she said with a flash of her teeth.

I nodded slowly again. Once more, my brain just wasn’t catching up. There were too many disparate facts. Whenever they came together, it was overwhelming. I almost felt like staggering down to my knees. Instead I just stood there mutely, staring at her.

She sighed. It was clear that she had a thousand things to tell me, and likely all of them would be advice to get the hell away from here, forget what I’d seen, and get back to my normal life.

But that was when Mr. Critter hooted in glee. Found blood. Found blood, he said as if he was deliriously happy.

Finally. Lily crammed her hands into her pockets and half jogged toward the office.

For a few seconds, I stood there, doing nothing. I just watched her. Then it was as if an invisible tether linked me to her. As soon as she got too far away, I shoved into a jog myself.

She turned over her shoulder, and her tarnished hair whipped around her face. You shouldn’t do this, Jerome. This is the point of no return. You start sticking your head into the mystical world, and it will find something a lot sharper to stick into you.

I didn’t particularly like that image, but I couldn’t stop myself.

The door to the office was open. There was also somehow a light inside. I really doubted this place had running electricity.

Lily just walked in as if she owned the place. I was a lot more careful. Blame it on the fact I’d seen my first ghost, but I knew you had to be wary in situations like this.

The office was trashed. There was a bench and a workstation that had likely once had equipment. There was even an old chair – at least half of one.

There was also something in the corner that had garnered Mr. Critter’s attention.

The dog was hopping from one leg to another. It looked very strange. His tail was also shifting wildly in the air.

Lily got down on her knee beside Mr. Critter. You sure? I can’t even see the blood.

Been covered up by magical spell. Definitely site of murder. You want me to break spell?

Lily nodded. She stood back.

By now I’d come to a stop right behind them. When I didn’t stand back, she placed a hand on my chest and pushed me away.

I looked into her eyes. We were close enough that I could see right into them.

Her cheeks reddened slightly – or maybe it was just a trick of the light. The illumination was coming from Mr. Critter. He was now completely wrapped in these strands of… I don’t know? How should I describe it? Magic?

God.

I was a stable person. I did not believe in things that did not exist. But….

Don’t freak out. Lily’s hand was still close to my chest, and she patted it twice before letting it drop.

I tried to follow her advice.

Suddenly something cracked. Then one wall was revealed as being almost completely covered in blood.

It was such a sudden and unexpected site that I yanked an arm up and pressed the back of my hand against my lips. I wasn’t about to throw up. I’d seen far grislier crime scenes. It was the combination of everything I’d learned tonight. All of the horror of the situation was piling on top of me and trying to drag me down.

Hold your stomach. We really don’t need to add anything to this crime scene. Lily got down on her knees close to the wall, but she didn’t touch it. She frowned. This is unusually messy. Why do you think it’s so messy, Mr. Critter?

Murderer had some fun, he said, and as he spoke, he sounded like he was having fun himself.

I thought that Lily would sound the same, but she looked sick. Then she grabbed Mr. Critter’s