Page 16 of Demon's Prey
The woman continued hesitantly. “He says he lives with you but doesn’t have a key. He had a bad headache and fell off the balcony—I gave him a Tylenol.”
Faith began driving as she placed her call on speakerphone.
“I’ll be there in about half an hour. If you could let him into the lobby, I’d appreciate it.”
“I’m in the lobby with him now. He’s getting a lot of attention, and, well, he’s been growling at my dog all day.”
Faith could hear low rumbling sounds in the background of the call. She didn’t know if those were from the woman’s dog or Kurse himself. She figured it could be a blend of the two.
Faith sighed into the phone. “I’ll be there as soon as I can. You don’t have to wait with him.”
The woman thanked her and hung up. Faith curled her fingers around the steering wheel, sensing a deep scream rising in her gut. The only problem was that she felt that she would never stop once she started.
Faith arrived home almost thirty minutes later. She had been sweating both from the story she was working on and the traffic. She entered the lobby to find Kurse sitting in a corner with his mouth drawn downward, his chin leaning on his hands.
Everyone was staring at him, but when she entered, their looks flashed to her. She was his keeper now, and inevitably, responsible for his every move.
A small woman with a backward baseball hat was rubbing Kurse’s arm. Her dog was a small puffball and probably barked at Kurse out of complete confusion rather than fear. Faith forced a smile as she walked up to them.
“I’ll take it from here. Thank you so much for staying with him.”
The woman grinned shyly, then gave Kurse one last pat. “You’re going to feel better soon, I promise.”
Kurse nodded, his yellow eyes bright and intrusive in the dim lobby. The woman had to drag her dog away by its leash. Kurse looked at Faith, clearly ashamed by his behavior.
Faith ushered him into the elevator. They rose up without another word, but Kurse kept touching his forehead. She asked him about it as they trailed to her apartment.
“Why do you have a headache? And why did that make you fall off the balcony?”
Kurse’s eyes went wide as Faith slid the key into the lock. She braced herself for the scene she knew she was going to walk into.
As predicted, her apartment looked like a bomb had gone off in it. Drips of water trickled from the freezer. The door was ajar, completely removed from its hinges. The couch was stained with chocolate and thick wads of spit. Then she came to her balcony—or lack of a balcony.
“Jesus fucking Christ, Kurse.”
Kurse was standing in the doorway, giggling. Faith whipped her head towards him, arching her neck severely to meet his eyes. “Do you think this is funny?”
“No!” He held his arms up in surrender. “You said the Lord’s name in vain. All demons find that rollicking.”
Faith slammed her purse down and made her way to the freezer. At least she had some ice cream left...
Inside the freezer was an empty carton, laying agape, mocking her. Faith swiveled in slow motion toward Kurse, who had a single finger between his lips.
“What the fuck, Kurse! Do you have a headache because you ate all of my fucking ice cream?”
Kurse stepped forward, his tail literally between his legs. “It was just so delicious. I couldn’t stop Faith. I’m so sorry.”
Faith grunted then slammed the freezer door shut. It moaned and cracked back off its alignment. She blew out a hot breath and made her way into the bedroom. She sat down and placed her face into her hands, doing her best to contain the scream rising inside her.
“I’ll go get you some more! I promise!”
Kurse’s bellow beckoned from behind. She didn’t reply. She merely tried to rest.
“Just give me a minute, Kurse. I just need a break.”
Faith wasn’t sure if he actually knew what a ‘break’ was. But he remained silent, not chasing after her.
Faith wanted to come home and work on her story. Instead, she had to clean up her apartment like it had been raided by thieves. It wasn’t the night that she was hoping for.
