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HE FOUGHT FOR SALVATION - EVEN THOUGH THE NEXT TIME THE CARDS WERE DEALT - HE COULD BE WIPED OUT OF THE GAME FOREVER. BY THE WAY, THE SAME RULES APPLIED TO RULE BREAKERS - EVEN ANGELS COULD BE WIPED OUT OF IT TOO.

MEXICANS WERE A TOUGH PEOPLE, USED TO ALL KINDS OF ADVERSITY AND TROUBLE. DIEGO HIMSELF HAD ALMOST LOST HIS LIFE IN PRISON - IT WAS GETTING SCARIER AND SCARIER. BUT AS MUCH AS I BANGED MY HEAD, THE STORY WAS FULL OF SOME OMISSIONS - LIKE WHETHER THE FEDS WERE FOLLOWING HIM HERE IN CANADA.

I DEMANDED THAT HE REVEAL TO ME EXACTLY HOW HE HAD GOTTEN AWAY FROM THE FEDS, BECAUSE IT COULD HAVE BEEN SIMPLE BAIT FOR US TO TAKE LIKE FISH.

- "SHATTERED MY SOUL INTO A THOUSAND PIECES. I CAN'T EVEN FIGURE OUT WHAT MY REAL IDENTITY IS," DIEGO ALMOST CRIED, "I'VE CHANGED IT MORE THAN A HUNDRED TIMES.

I KNEW THAT IN THE PRACTICE OF THE FEDS - AND THE BEST AGENTS AT THAT - INTERROGATIONS COULD GO ON FOR WEEKS AND IT WAS ENTIRELY POSSIBLE THAT HE WOULD BE RECRUITED AND BROKEN.

THE SITUATION IN MEXICO WAS MUCH MORE LIKE A CIVIL WAR, WHICH WAS NOW INTENSIFYING AND NOW WEAKENING ACCORDING TO THE INTERESTS OF THE VARIOUS CAMPS.

IT WAS POSSIBLE THAT SOME TIP HAD BEEN GIVEN TO US ABOUT OUR STRANGE INVESTIGATION AND ... AFTER ALL, THE FACT THAT THE PRISON AUTHORITIES HAD AGREED TO COOPERATE WITH US DID NOT MEAN THAT THEY WERE GRAZING GRASS.

NATURALLY, I MADE SURE THE CONVERSATION WAS BETWEEN THE TWO OF US - NO BYSTANDERS, ARLO AND ZONARA STOOD OFF TO THE SIDE A BIT, BUT I GUESSED THEY PICKED UP ON HIS EMOTIONAL VIBES.

RAUL TOLD US THE SCARIEST PART, THAT FELISTER'S IDEA BEHIND THE DUPLICATE NAMES WAS TO SOAK SOME IN CASE OF NEED - THE SCHEME WAS SIMPLE - THOSE WORKING USUALLY HAD FAKE PAPERS, AND ONLY IF THEY REALLY HAD TO HAVE THEM - FELISTER HAD GOOD AND TRUSTWORTHY FRIENDS IN THAT REGARD, AND SOME HAD ABSOLUTELY NONE AND COULDN'T EVEN MOVE WITHOUT THE OMNIPRESENT BREEDER'S PERMISSION. FELISTER DIDN'T EXPECT HIS EMPLOYEES TO BE INTELLECTUAL COLOSSI, AND IGNORANCE AND LACK OF REAL AMBITION WERE HIGHLY VALUED - ON THE OTHER HAND, FELISTER COULD DEFEND THE FARM AT LEAST BRIEFLY IN A PINCH - HE WAS UNDER NO ILLUSION THAT IF HE HAD A RAID LIKE DETECTIVE DONOVAN'S, HE'D GET AWAY WITH IT.

RAUL HAD A TRACKING CHIP UNDER HIS SKIN - HOW DID I KNOW?

THANKS TO THE ADVANCED MINIATURIZATION OF ELECTRONICS, THERE WERE SPECIAL MICROCHIPS THAT COULD BE INJECTED SUBCUTANEOUSLY WITH THE MOST ORDINARY NEEDLE, AND THE PRINCIPLE OF THEIR OPERATION WAS KNOWN AS "NEURAL DUST" - BY MONITORING NEURAL SIGNALS, CERTAIN SIGNALS WERE SENT TO A RECEIVER THAT REPORTED WHETHER THE RECIPIENT WAS TELLING THE TRUTH OR LYING.

I DECIDED NOT TO GIVE MYSELF AWAY BY SEARCHING THE RAFT FOR HIDDEN DEVICES, AS ANYTHING COULD HAPPEN - THERE WAS A CHANCE WE COULD ALSO BE THE VICTIM OF AN UNAUTHORIZED FEDERAL WIRETAP, BUT I WASN'T ABOUT TO LET HIM GET AWAY WITH IT EITHER.

I REALIZED THAT SOMETHING STRANGE WAS GOING ON WITH RAUL - HE WASN'T HIMSELF AND FELT PRESSURED.

- "I CAN'T GO BACK TO MEXICO BECAUSE THEY SEE ME AS A FELISTER'S MAN, I'M NOT ABLE TO STAY HERE EITHER - BECAUSE OF THE FEDERAL AGENTS WHO WILL SOONER OR LATER CLEAR ME, AND IN CANADA - I'M LOOKING AT A HARSH SENTENCE OF AT LEAST FIFTY YEARS UNDER A STRICT REGIME," HE PRONOUNCED WITH UNDISGUISED SADNESS.

I THOUGHT THAT DIEGO WAS GENERALLY QUITE RESPECTABLE IN THE FACT THAT HE HAD KEPT HIS FORMAL LOYALTY TO FELISTER, HAD NOT OF COURSE REFUSED COOPERATION TO THE FEDS. BUT IN EVERY SOCIETY THERE EXISTED WHAT WAS CALLED THE ARCHETYPAL FEAR OF DEATH-IT WAS TOO DEEP AND INERADICABLE.

 

[1] This is a legend of the Lakota Indian tribe, which includes the Sioux and describes the life cycle of life.

[2] Odorology - the science of tracking through odors left in the air.

THE DEMON

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR: THE DEMON

 

DECIDED THAT WE MIGHT AS WELL DO SOMETHING FOR HIM-LET HIM GO, SINCE THERE WAS OBVIOUSLY NOTHING ELSE HE COULD DO FOR US. ANOTHER LOST SOUL. BUT SOMETHING INSIDE WOULDN'T LEAVE ME ALONE - I COULD DETECT SOMETHING STRANGE IN HIS EYES - I SOON REALISED IT, DIEGO WASN'T HUMAN, HE WAS A DEMON.

- "YOU KNEW ME," HE SAID QUIETLY, "I FOLLOWED YOU ALL THE TIME AND CAUSED ALMOST ALL THIS SUFFERING, BUT I DIDN'T DO IT WITHOUT YOUR HELP. I JUST JUMPED FROM YOU ONTO THE POOR SOUL OF THIS DIEGO."

- "WELL, IF IT REALLY IS YOU," I SAID QUIETLY, "REALISING THAT MY ONE CONCENTRATED CONSCIOUSNESS - READY TO REACT DEFENSIVELY AND THE LITTLE GOLD RING WITH SOLOMON'S SEAL - WAS THE ONLY THING PROTECTING ME AT THE MOMENT, 'WHY DIDN'T YOU REVEAL YOURSELF SOONER? YOU COULD HAVE SAVED US TOO MUCH TROUBLE AND TROUBLE, AND ALSO..." I DIDN'T FINISH.

- "YES," THE DEMON SPOKE IN AN INHUMAN VOICE, "BUT THAT WAY YOU WOULD NEVER HAVE GONE ON THIS WHOLE JOURNEY, AND YOU WOULDN'T HAVE FELT THE NATURE OF THE PROBLEM."

- "WHAT IS YOUR NAME?," I SPOKE IN A COMMANDING VOICE, BUT STILL FILLED WITH ENOUGH RESPECT.

DEMONS WERE POWERFUL SPIRITS WITH LIMITED ENERGY, BUT IT WAS ALWAYS BETTER TO APPROACH THEM WITH RESPECT.

THE DEMON REFUSED TO GIVE A SPECIFIC ANSWER.

I THEN DECIDED TO USE ANOTHER PLOY THAT MIGHT YIELD AN EXCELLENT RESULT - OR SO I HOPED. I WAS AWARE THAT THERE WERE THREE BASIC LEVELS OF DEMONIC POSSESSION, IN THE LAST ONE ONE COULD LOSE EVEN ONE'S MIND, AND THE DEMON USED THE POSSESSED BODY FOR ITS OWN PURPOSES. A QUOTE FROM SCRIPTURE CAME TO MIND THAT WHEN THE UNCLEAN SPIRIT COMES OUT OF A PERSON, IT GOES THROUGH WATERLESS PLACES TO SEEK REST, AND FINDS NONE[1]. PRACTICALLY EVERY DEMON WAS AFRAID OF WATER, AND THERE WAS A BODY OF WATER NEARBY - SO I WOULD NOT HESITATE TO PRY THE INFORMATION OUT THAT WAY. IN GENERAL, THE DEMONS' KNOWLEDGE WAS LIMITED COMPARED TO THE ALMIGHTY, BUT GREATLY EXCEEDED THAT OF HUMANS.

- "I AM," THE DEMON BEGAN, "I AM ..."

- "TELL ME YOUR NAME!," I ORDERED REPEATEDLY.

I SOON LEARNED MORE ABOUT THE NATURE OF THIS DEMON, AND HE REVEALED TO ME SOME INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT THE DESIGN TO FOLLOW US ALL THIS WAY. DEMONS WERE DIVIDED INTO NINE DISTINCT LEVELS, AND THIS PARTICULAR ONE WAS OF THE FOURTH RANK AND WAS, ASSOCIATED WITH DEALING OUT RETRIBUTION. FROM WHAT HE CONFESSED AFTER I PRESSED HIM WITH SOME TECHNIQUES, FELISTER HAD MORE THAN ONCE CALLED HIM OUT ON HIS INFERNAL PLANS. THIS KIND OF DEMONS WERE TOO SPECIAL AND CONSISTED OF ONLY AIR AND ETHER[2].

AFTER WE GOT THE INFORMATION, WE DECIDED IT WAS POINTLESS TO PUSH ANY FURTHER AND SIMPLY TOOK DIEGO TO A MENTAL CLINIC WHERE HE WAS DEFINITELY IN NO DANGER OF ESCAPING.

THE CLEVER TACTIC OF EXTRACTING THE HIDDEN KNOWLEDGE FROM THE DEMON WAS SOMEWHAT GOOD, BUT THERE WERE QUITE A FEW GAPS IN THE INFORMATION. BESIDES THE FACT THAT HIS NAME REMAINED UNKNOWN - WHICH IN THIS CASE WAS NOT OF PARAMOUNT IMPORTANCE, IT REMAINED AN OPEN QUESTION WHAT HAD PROVOKED RAUL TO TURN A BLIND EYE ALL THIS TIME.

WE TIED UP DIEGO, AND ZONARA AND ARLO KEPT HIM IN THE BACK SEAT - WE HAD TO FIND AN EXORCIST[3] TO EXORCISE THE DEMON - OTHERWISE DIEGO COULD HAVE DIED, AND THAT WAS PROBABLY THE OTHER REASON HE HAD SOUGHT US OUT. WE WERE CURRENTLY IN ONTARIO TERRITORY BETWEEN MILTON AND MISSISSAUGA - NOT FAR FROM BLOOMFIELD CEMETERY - WE HAD TO DRIVE ABOUT A MILE TO GET THERE. WE WERE AWARE THAT THE CEMETERY WAS AN EXCELLENT PLACE TO OBSERVE DEMONIC AND UNCLEAN FORCES, AND DECIDED THAT THE EXORCISM COULD BE PERFORMED THERE. IT WAS UNTHINKABLE TO ASK FATHER TOBIAS TO SEND AN EXORCIST, AS HE HAD DONE ENOUGH FOR US, AND ON THE OTHER HAND THE SPECIALIST IN QUESTION COULD NOT HAVE ARRIVED SO QUICKLY. THEN I REMEMBERED THAT STRANGE TRAMP-I NOTICED THAT HE HAD BEEN FOLLOWING US FROM A DISTANCE THE SECOND TIME WE CROSSED THE MILTON.

I DECIDED TO LEAVE ZONER AND ARLO WITH THE TIGHTLY BOUND DIEGO AT BLOOMFIELD CEMETERY PARK, WHICH BY THE WAY WAS NOT VERY BIG AND HAD AN AREA OF ABOUT TWO ACRES.

I WENT BACK TO MILTON TO FIND THIS GUY, AS I REMEMBERED THAT I HAD SENSED HIS AURA - MAYBE HE WAS A HEALER OR A SHAMAN, BUT HE WAS FINANCIALLY BROKE AND FORCED TO LIVE IN A SHELTER OR RIGHT ON THE STREETS.

BY SOME INEXPLICABLE MIRACLE HE HAD TRACKED US ALL THE WAY TO...

 

[1]  (Matthew 12:43)

[2]  Ether is the name of the material that fills the universe outside the Earth sphere.

[3] An exorcist is a specialist who chases away demons and evil spirits.

THE HEALER

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE: THE HEALER

 

I HONESTLY DIDN'T EXPECT TO FIND HIM IN A TOWN OF OVER A HUNDRED THOUSAND PEOPLE, BUT BY SOME STROKE OF FATE, I DID.

I SENSED HIS AURA AGAIN AND MENTALLY PROMPTED HIM TO APPROACH. I WASN'T SURE IF HE SENSED ME. ACTUALLY, I WASN'T SURE OF ANYTHING. AND GOT OUT OF THE CAR MYSELF, WHICH WAS PERHAPS A BIT RECKLESS. IN THE END I WAS COMPLETELY ALONE - I DIDN'T HAVE A WEAPON EITHER. I WAVED TO HIM, BUT I'M SURE HE PRETENDED NOT TO SEE ME. HE SEEMED TO DRIVE OFF TOWARDS A DARK ALLEY WHERE HE SEEMED TO DISAPPEAR.

I FOLLOWED THE TRAIL, BUT FOUND ABSOLUTELY NOTHING. IT WAS TOO STRANGE.

I FOLLOWED THE TRAIL, BUT FOUND ABSOLUTELY NOTHING. IT WAS TOO STRANGE.

THEN I REALIZED HE WAS A HEALER. A HEALER HAD TO KNOW THE DIFFERENT METHODS OF HEALING AND WAS DIFFERENT FROM A SHAMAN. MENTAL ILLNESS COULD BE INTERPRETED AS THE BIRTH OF A HEALER AND WHETHER HE WAS SOMEHOW CONNECTED TO THE DEMON'S APPEARANCE IN DIEGO.

I KNOW MY WORDS SEEMED STRANGE, BUT I DECIDED TO ASK HIM:

- CAN YOU HEAL DIEGO?

I DIDN'T EXPECT AN ANSWER, BUT I COULD HEAR A STRANGE VOICE IN MY HEAD SAYING THAT THE DEMON WOULD JUST DIE, BUT IT WOULDN'T DISAPPEAR COMPLETELY, AND DIEGO WOULD BE DEAD - IN OTHER WORDS, USELESS TO LEARN ANYTHING FROM. THIS BOTHERED ME A LOT. I ALSO REMEMBERED SINGING SHADOW'S REACTION AND HER INABILITY TO CONTROL