A paranormal investigator's demon admirer

One morning, Leah King walked down the stairs at a tardy pace with her tall slim body wrapped up in a cozy white night robe. She had another demon-related nightmare that night, but they were getting less frequent than before. All of a sudden, she halted and ran her fingers through her waist-length brown hair like she was in some deep thought. Her gorgeous, wide emerald green eyes wandered as she continued descending the stairs. Being a paranormal investigator was extremely hazardous due to the capricious nature of malevolent demons. Some cases left her so traumatized that it took time to get through the sleepless nights and get back to her regular self. Nonetheless, she had devoted her life to find more about the other side and to help the victims of malicious spirits. The previous case she had worked on caused her great mental distress, so she was on a break from ghost hunting. Working as a paranormal investigator was not her only profession, as she was also a fiction horror writer with one bestseller. However, she was working on non-fiction related to her life and her ghost-hunting expeditions. She was twenty-five years old and came from a moderately wealthy family. Her parents both worked as heart surgeons in New York. Also, her father had inherited a few million dollars and a mansion from her paternal grandfather, over twenty years ago. Leah had spent the majority of her childhood in that estate until her parents decided to vacate the place when they found out that their home was haunted. Downstairs in the kitchen, Leah met her friend Hannah Hendrix who was staying at her place for a few days. Hannah was her best friend since middle school and had been helping her in paranormal investigations from the very beginning. Moreover, she was an attractive blonde with blue eyes and a voluptuous body. Her face was less pretty than Leah’s, but her perfect body got her more attention from the males. “Good morning,” Hannah opened with a nervous smile, “There is breakfast in the living room for you and, um, an unexpected guest.” “Who?” she asked. “Come and see for yourself,” said Hannah as she led the way to the living room and Leah followed. In the living room, she saw an average-looking man in clerical clothing. Judging from his physical appearance, he looked somewhere around in his late thirties to early forties. The man she was certain was sent by Father Stephen, a popular exorcist they assisted. After the misadventures of the previous case, he had sent many clergymen to her house to assess what went wrong during the cleansing of sinister energies from that house. The man rose from his seat and cleared his throat, "I am Father Daniel. Father Stephen has sent me here to check on you. And if you don’t mind, I would like to ask some questions about your experience with the Baker's family?” Leah glowered at her friend in annoyance, “Just give him something,” Hannah whispered. “Ask away,” said Leah as she took a seat. The man sat down as well, “So tell me about the family and their plight?” Leah took a long heavy breath, “The Bakers are an ordinary family of five. Their lives were in peril, but they couldn’t afford to evacuate their home due to a lack of money. They didn't have much to offer us so, we agreed to help them without compensation. Two members of the family were possessed by demons; the mother and their middle child. According to the father, their personalities had changed completely, and they had somehow gained supernatural strength and speed. The father had them locked behind bars in the basement. When we met them, they acted like animals and were wildly aggressive. The family was in a pitiful state.” “I heard you got possessed during that case as well. When did that happen?” he asked another question while adjusting his spectacles. "We were assisting Father Stephen in performing an exorcism on the possessed members. The demons present in that house were so much in quantity that even after successfully exorcising fifty spirits, there were still more left to banish. We were still optimistic about the family's fate, but that is when I felt this jolt of electricity enter my body, and I fainted. I only remember screaming, crying, and a bunch of people gathered around me.” “Are you aware that you lived in the church for two weeks?” he asked with the same blank expression he had the moment since she saw him. Leah nodded her head, "Yes." “And do you know why?” he asked. “No,” she answered. “All those spirits that had been removed from their bodies entered yours,” he said. Hannah and Leah shared a look of astonishment. Leah folded her arm, “I had been warned not to take that case, but I had to go anyway due to Father Stephen’s insistence." “Who had warned you? Your spirit friends?” he asked. Leah looked at him in surprise, “Yes,” she answered. “You looked surprised by my knowledge of their presence in your life,” said Father Daniel, “Father Stephen had mentioned them during our last meeting.” “If you don't mind, I would like to ask some questions regarding them,” he added. Leah never felt comfortable talking to a stranger about it, especially to a clergyman who had firm opinions about demons and spirits. “Sure,” she said, her manner was so calm that she managed to hide her frustration beneath it. “So, what exactly is your relationship with these beings? How did you meet them? Are they spirits of dead people?” he asked in one breath. “First of all, there are no such things as spirits of dead people,” said Leah, “Only demons are real! Like humans, not all of them are evil. Because the word ‘demon’ has such a negative connotation to it. We use the word 'spirit' for the ones that are friendly and mean no harm to the human race. I don’t know how much you have learned about me from Father Stephen, but my spirit friends were the ones residing in my childhood home. We had to leave because my closeness to them was causing my parents great angst. Father Stephen was the priest my parents hired to get rid of the spirits in our house that’s why he knows about them. I had trusted him with my secret as a child, otherwise, I am now aware of how unwise it is to tell a clergyman about this.” His emotions were no longer unreadable as he then clearly looked offended, “How do you communicate with them? Are they here with you now?” he simply asked another question. Leah lowered her gaze, “No, for some unknown reason, they have stopped visiting me since the Bakers' case. They had warned me against taking the Bakers' case because they knew that the family's situation was beyond help. I don’t know if you would believe me, but they were the ones that encouraged me to help others who have fallen victims to demonic entities.” He looked doubtful but gave a nod, “Interesting, and by what means do they communicate with you? “Mostly via my dreams, but sometimes through mental images and sounds while I am fully awake. However, as a child, I could hear them like any other person,” she answered. Father Stephen looked grave, “Leah, I have come here with an open mind, and so far, I have listened to you without interjecting you once. So, what I am going to say next, is going to irk you, but have you ever contemplated the reason why your spirit friends would go against their own species to help you? There is a reason why the church has a low opinion of demons as the devil is cunning and often disguises himself as your friend to mislead you. So, what if your friends are manipulating you?” “You share the same opinion as Father Stephen,” said Leah, “Maybe you two talked about me at length before coming here. However, your suspicions sound absurd to me. Because if they wanted to hurt me or anyone else around me, they could have done it by now.” “I don’t want to answer any more of your questions now,” she added, “So I hope you have everything you need by now.” “Of course,” he answered as he got up from his seat, “But before I leave, I need to bless your house on Father Stephen’s request.” Leah consented to a blessing. It took the priest ten minutes to do his job before heading out the door. After he had left, they retired to the living room. Leah rested on a couch and let out a deep sigh, “Well, this is not the ideal way to start a stress-free day. Hopefully, now we’ll get some rest from demons and priests.” “I have some news for you,” said Hannah with a bright smile on her face. Leah turned her head towards her, “What is it?” “I was not supposed to tell you this,” said Hannah, “You know that I am awful at keeping secrets, and I hate to see you stressed out like this. “So I think you shall be thrilled to hear that Duke is flying here tomorrow from New York, and we’re all planning to go on a vacation in Europe.” Leah’s heart raced with a mixture of exhilaration and nervousness. Duke Richards was her childhood best friend, and someone she had feelings for deep down for a long time. “That is the reaction I was expecting from you,” said Hannah, “I still can’t comprehend why you guys haven’t started dating yet.” “For many reasons,” said Leah, “Because he has never asked me to date him. And why would he? Now that he has possession of all his late father's wealth, he is practically a billionaire now. I think he can have any woman he desires now." Hannah shook her head, “No girl is more precious to him than you, However, if you don’t want Duke anymore, because you’re now dating his friend Mason Rivera. If he hasn’t professed his love to you yet, then do tell him about this, and I am sure he would come running at your door.” Leah rolled her eyes, “We only went on a couple of dates a few months ago! Duke doesn’t need to learn about it!” she exclaimed. “Mason is his friend! He is ought to find out one day,” said Hannah. Their argument was interrupted by the sound of the doorbell. They rushed outside to see who it was, half expecting it to be an early surprise from their friend Duke. Leah eagerly flung the door open, and to her dismay, saw a young woman dressed in formal and fine apparel before her. “Can I help you?” Leah asked her. “Um, I...,” the woman stuttered as her eyes moved around warily and nervously. She appeared agitated and had huge bags under her eyes. “I am Lucy Williams,” she finally uttered, looking straight into her eyes, “I am here to beg for your help. Miranda Ballinger, a woman you had helped not long ago, is a friend of mine, she is the one who recommended you to me. I hope you remember who I am referring to.” “Yes, we do, come on in, let’s talk inside,” said Hannah. The woman agreed to follow them in and was seated in the living room. “My family's life is in jeopardy,” began the woman, and a tear ran down her cheek, “My husband is in agony every single day, and our children are frightened to death. You have to help me.” “I am sorry for everything you are going through, but we are not taking cases currently,” said Leah averting the woman's gloomy gaze, “Have you tried getting your house blessed by a local priest?” “I have, but it didn't work much," replied Lucy as she wiped tears off her face, "If you helped me, I’ll pay you a million dollars for your services or more if you want, but you have to come tomorrow. What do you say? I can write you a cheque for a few hundred thousand dollars right now." Leah and Hannah looked at each other in amazement, because no one had ever offered them anything remotely close to that number. The woman was desperately waiting for an answer, so Leah knew she had to choose swiftly between her vacation or a million dollars.