Confessions of a Demonically Possessed Librarian

Part 6 - Body Issues

This night could not get any worse.

First this phantasmal interloper ruins things up with my beloved Daisy. Such a pretty and pure, delicate flower does not deserve to be spoken to in such manner. I would never. But she heard the replies meant for him and took them to heart, the poor dear.

Now I have used my one window for the day driving him to this spot to try to sanctify his stinking remains, only to have that not work. I'll be stuck with Peter for the foreseeable future. His presence has been a burden since we first crossed paths. Would that I could get rid of him!

Even worse, he forced me to strike a fool's bargain with that beady eyed Sheriff. I find myself on the hook for three fresh bodies, and he is not the type to forget about a debt unpaid. I thought my life was complicated before!

Am I destined to live in servitude to the appetites of others? A librarian is the servant of the community, but behind the scenes hungry supernatural forces pull me in twain. The town of Depletion saps my will, my energy, my very essence. It always has!

The spirit of Peter stares at me dumbfounded. We both hear the echoing laughter of the demonic entities that own us. A mental connection I am only now beginning to truly feel.

They lied to him and in turn he hoodwinked me into driving out here to Keeper's Woods. For what purpose I can only guess. Perhaps it was a lesson, a spiteful punishment for killing someone who did not fit the mandate for sacrifice in their hallowed halls.

While his hazel eyes and scraggy ginger beard held signs of trauma, Peter was neither aged nor tormented enough to truly satisfy my masters. I recognised this at the time, yet I believed the harm he was doing to the books was justification enough. Surely a librarian's duty was to the pages and passages held within the walls as much as those who came seeking their knowledge and guidance.

My allegiance to the written word was surely why I had not questioned anything when he drew my attention to this grimoire in aiding us with the sanctification ritual. I held no fear of reading the dead languages, especially due to my proficient knowledge in doing so. After all, the term grimoire originally merely referred to any book written in Latin. Only later did it take on a more sinister connotation. Still, there was power in perception, and being deceived into reading passages from a tome forbidden in most regulated US libraries could cause me trouble down the line.

"What do we do now?" Came the voice of Peter to interrupt me from my thoughts.

"I don't know!" I snapped, closing the book for emphasis and so my eyes were no longer drawn to the suspicious red ink and incantations. "You've put me in an unfortunate position is all I can see!"

"Hey, listen man, don't try to turn this round on me. I'm only here because of you...well you and my sister, her stupid search for the supernatural. We finally found some sis, hope you're happy now!"

He shouts to no one. Perceived by none except those touched by the demonic. His frustration mirrors my own.

"Would you quit prattling on about that! And please do not besmirch that wonderful woman with your unthinking actions! It was you who came into my library, a torrent of destruction and uncaring!"

"Soiling my precious books and knocking over my tea and crumpets!"

He mocks me, but he is half right. I haven't had a good crumpet since I was a boy. The sense of loss hurts me. Why did my parents have to come to this cursed town all those years ago?

"Hmm, at this point we might as well call it even I suppose. We've both made mistakes and now need to face up to the consequences."

"I'm not sure how you think we're equal on this man. I got dragged to that haunted shithole, went to your crappy library to get some answers, and next thing I know I'm dead and bound to your stuffed shirt, crinkly bottomed ass for who knows how long!...Are you gonna put your shirt back on at some point?!"