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  Once in the car, I looked at myself in the rearview mirror. Blood was caked all over my shirt. I reached up and pulled my collar out of my shirt and tossed it into the back seat. I didn’t even want to call the Cardinal later to report in. After everything that happened, I didn’t know what to believe anymore. A few exorcisms had tested my faith. This one completely dismissed it. I started the car, and drove to St. John’s hospital. The drive only took a few minutes. When I arrived, one of the hospital techs took me to a room.

  Once I was settled in the room, a nurse came in and cleaned out the wounds and dressed them. The doctor told me I’d probably need a few surgeries to put my face back together. He gave me some antibiotics and some medication for pain, and gave me the name of a local doctor who could reconstruct my face. Once they released me, I was taken to the psychiatric unit to see Amanda. When I got to her room, she was sitting up and smiling.

  “Father Harlan!” she cried. As I reached her bedside, she gave me a hug, which caught me off guard.

  “Hi Amanda. How are you feeling?”

  “Much better. I’m sorry about everything. He’d been with me for so long, I didn’t know anything different.”

  “It’s okay,” I said. “This was a most unusual case.”

  “Is your face okay? Can they fix it? I thought you were gonna die when you scratched yourself all up.”

  “It’s fine, hurts a little, but I’ll be okay.”

  “Thank you for saving me Father. I owe you my life. I really do.”

  “Not at all Amanda. I didn’t save you one bit.”

  “I know, God saved me. That’s what you’re supposed to say, right?”

  “No, you saved us both. You were the only one who could make him leave. What was his name?”

  “K’rall. Once I caught him saying his name, I used it to tell him to leave.”

  “Exactly!” I said, poking her belly. “You did it. You had the strength and the courage to get rid of him. And you did it. You’re a very strong young woman Amanda.”

  She sat back and smiled.

  “I didn’t think of it that way,” she said.

  “Of course not. K’rall had you beaten down, thinking you were nothing without him. You showed him different.”

  “It will be weird being all alone now though. He always kept me company.”

  “I’m sure you’ll be just fine. They have some good doctors here. They’ll get you back on your feet soon and help you cope.”

  “What happened to the doctors who were helping me?”

  I wasn't sure how to tell her, but my eyes gave me away.

  “They're dead aren't they?” she said.

  “I'm afraid so. They attacked Officer Leah. So did some other police officers, so she shot them. After the demons were gone, their bodies were dead.”

  She hung her head, as I explained.

  “And the other priest? Did she shoot him too?”

  From there it was my turn to hang my head. Even though I wasn't in control of my body when it happened, I still felt responsible, watching myself commit such a horrible act, powerless to stop.

  “No,” I began, trying to keep my voice from cracking. “I killed him. I pushed him down the stairs. I think he broke his neck.”

  She reached up and grabbed my hand.

  “No, you didn't Father. It wasn't you. It was K'rall. He was controlling you, he made you do it.” Her attempt to comfort me made me feel even worse. As a priest, I'm supposed to be the one healing the sick, not the other way around. I placed my hand over hers and tried to force a smile.

  “I know, that just doesn't make it easier to accept.”

  “Trust me, I know too” she said, looking down. After a minute of silence she looked back at me.

  “Will you still come visit me?” she asked.

  Her question made the forced smile easier.

  “Of course I will.” When I left her later that day, I had a funny feeling I'd be seeing quite a bit of her.

  Epilogue

  Dietrich Harlan, 6 months later

  I looked in the mirror and studied the scars on my face. I never got the surgeries done. I wanted the reminders of what K’rall had done, and what he was capable of. While he left Amanda that day, he was still out there. In the months since that ordeal at the hospital, I’d devoted my life to making sure he never did this again. I’d left the priesthood, even though everyone begged me to stay.

  Father Pierce had died from being thrown down the stairs. I threw him down the stairs. Sure, I was demon possessed at the time, but that didn’t make me feel any better. Once it sank in, with all that had happened, I just couldn’t continue as a priest, especially knowing the truth about exorcism. Maybe the ones I’d done before were just weaker spirits. Maybe they weren’t possessed at all. What I’d seen that night at the hospital told me for sure, that all the prayers, holy objects, or incantations in the world can’t cast out a real demon. Only the possessed can.

  I spent a lot of time researching K’rall. There wasn’t a lot of information available about him. I was able to get some background from an old Jewish professor I knew at the research library. Dr. Schaffer had studied demonology for almost forty years. When I told him what had happened at the hospital, he turned completely pale.

  “K’rall?” he asked. “Are you sure?”

  “Yes. I’m positive. When she told him to leave by that name, he responded to it and left her.”

  “Wow, K’rall. I haven’t heard his name in a long time.”

  “I never heard of him. We learned about demons and everything at the Vatican, but nothing about this one.”

  “Well, he’s not widely known. Actually, a lot of scholars aren’t even sure he exists.”

  “What do you mean? I’m sure he exists,” I said.

  “Indeed. Well, story has it, according to old Sumerian texts, after the angels were cast out of heaven, Lucifer and his followers, came to earth, of course. Once on earth, K’rall tried to overthrow Lucifer, but lost. So Lucifer banished him from their fold. K’rall had his own legion of followers that came with him.”

  “Really? How come I’ve never heard of this before?”

  “It’s not widely taught. It’s from Sumerian texts, not Hebrew texts, so most biblical scholars don’t give it a lot of credence. It’s just stuff of legend.”

  “Until now,” I said.

  “Correct. So, what will you do now?” Dr. Schaffer asked.

  “K’rall is still around. Now that I know what real demon possession looks like, and how to free the person, I guess I can start doing my job for real.”

  “You’re going to continue doing exorcisms?”

  “I guess. Or at least, help show the possessed how they can be freed.”

  “And, how is the girl doing?” he asked.

  “Amanda? She’s doing well. She’s in a new foster home and enjoying school. I think she will be just fine.”

  THE END

  Also By Tim Miller

  The Hand of God

  Revenge of the Three

  You can visit www.timmiller.org for updates.

  Table of Contents

  Copyright

  Acknowledgements

  Dedication

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30


  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Chapter 37

  Chapter 38

  Epilogue

  Also By Tim Miller