Lee - Demon: A Memoir

So few books rattle me to the core yet lift my hopes to the heavens in the same breath. Tosca Lees Demon: A Memoir is a rare find that must be read.

Ted Dekker, New York Times best-selling author of The Bride Collector and the Circle Trilogy

Imaginative, compelling, deep, memorable. If you want a novel that has you compulsively turning pages and makes you think at the same time, youll love Demon: A Memoir.

James Scott Bell, best-selling author of Deceived and Try Fear

Wise, imaginative, funny, and poetic, this is a book that lingers in memory after youve turned the last page.

Sophy Burnham, New York Times best-selling author of A Book of Angels

Even readers who dont believe in the biblical elements of this tale will have a difficult time not being coaxed into this struggle of intellects.

Eric Wilson, New York Times best-selling author of Fireproof and Field of Blood

The storythe writingis mesmerizing... It has jumped high onto the list of my all-time favorite novels.

Frank Redman, FictionAddict.com

Riveting, graceful and razor sharp.

Claudia Mair Burney, Christy Award Finalist and author of Wounded

I will not read the Creation story or the story of Lucifers fall again without picturing the scenes described in Demon.

Brandilyn Collins, author of the Kremer Lake Series

Demon: A Memoir isnt a mere work of fiction. Demon is an experience.

Tracey Bateman, Christy Award-winning author of Thirsty

Compulsively readable and subtly convicting, Demon will forever recast your understanding of redemption.

Nicole Baart, Christy Award Finalist and author of The Moment Between

This book is a masterpiece of fiction. Its hard to put down and impossible to forget.

Nancy Mehl, author of Malevolence and Graven Images

This is one of the most sensational, thought-provoking books I have ever read. It is a masterpiece and will sit alongside C. S. Lewis and other such luminaries from now on.

Kristine Smith, author of Purposeful Christianity

Lees prose is powerful and beautiful. Her imagery of Eden, of Paradise and angels and Elohim filled me with awe.

Novel Reviews

An excellent novel that will hold your attention and stretch your perspective on life.

Jake Chism, Armchair Interviews

Lee is really proving to be a leader in the art of speculative fiction.

Inside Corner Book Reviews

Demon took me totally by surprise. Tosca Lee has crafted a story that snatched my attention from the first and compelled me to turn the pages.

Mike Parker, LifeWay

A magnificently entertaining story.

Inspire Monthly

One of the most captivating books Ive read.

Sara Mills, author of Miss Match

Demon is supposed to be fiction... but is it? Tosca Lee has created a stunning work of pure genius.

Wanda Winters-Gutierrez, author of The Search for Peace

Highly Recommended.

ChristianFictionReviews.com

You will find many well-known Bible accounts unfolding vividly before your eyes in a way you never imagined.

Virginia Smith, author of Stuck in the Middle

An intellectual and spiritual thriller that begs to be read.

Crosswayz

A must-have thatll haunt the reader long after the last page

Press & Sun-Bulletin, Greater Binghamton, NY

This book simultaneously chills and awes.

Eternity Happens

A riveting look at one demons reflection on his fall from grace, and the shuddering implications for each of us. This story is about YOU; it will change the way you look at life.

Austin Boyd, author of the Mars Hill Classified series

A powerful, discerning tale that will have fans pondering their own deals with the demons.

Midwest Book Review

Demon: A Memoir may well be the most creative, mind-twisting novel of this summer.

Kevin Lucia, author of Hiram Grange and The Chosen One

One of the best books Ive read yet this year.

Camy Tang , author of Sushi for One?

I adore Tosca Lees ingenious use of soul-deep first person point of view writing. This is one of those books I couldnt put down until I crossed the finish linewhat a ride.

Julie Garmon, Guideposts

The Bible and urban fantasy combine to create an intelligent and thought provoking multilayered tale.

Harriett Klausner, Amazon.com #1 Reviewer

Copyright 2010 by QUELLE LLC

All rights reserved.

Printed in the United States of America

ISBN: 978-1-4336-6880-7

Published by B&H Publishing Group

Nashville, Tennessee

Dewey Decimal Classification: F

Subject Heading: DEMONOLOGYFICTION \ SPIRITUAL WARFAREFICTION \ GRACE (THEOLOGY)FICTION

Scripture quotations are from the Holy Bible, New International Version, copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 14 13 12 11 10

For Amy.

Contents

It was raining the night he found me. Traffic had slowed on Massachusetts Avenue, and the wan light of street lamps reflected off the pavement. I was hurrying on without an umbrella, distracted by the chirp of a text message on my phone, trying to shield its illuminated face from rain and the drizzle off storefront awnings. There had been a mistake in my schedule, an appointment I didnt recognize and I had stayed late at the office foruntil six forty-fivejust in case. Our office manager was texting me from home now to say she had no idea who it was with, that the appointment must have belonged on Phils calendar, that she was sorry for the mistake, and to have a good night.

I flipped the phone shut, shoved it in my bag. I was worn out by this week already, and it was only Tuesday. The days were getting shorter, the sun setting by six oclock. It put me on edge, gnawed at me, as though I had better get somewhere warm and cheerful or, barring all else, home before it got any darker. But I was unwilling to face the empty apartment, the dirty dishes, the unopened mail on the counter. So I lowered my head against the rain and walked another two blocks past my turnoff until I came to the Bosnian Caf. A strap of bells on the door announced my entrance with a ringing slap.

I liked the worn appeal of the Bosnian Caf with its olfactory embrace of grilled chicken and gyro meat that enveloped me upon every arrival and clung to me long after leaving. That night, in the premature darkness and rain, the caf seemed especially homey with its yellowing countertops, chipped mirrors, and grimy ketchup bottles. Cardboard shamrocks, remnants of a forgotten Saint Patricks Day, draped the pass-through into the kitchen, faded around their die-cut edges. A string of Christmas lights lined the front window, every third bulb out. On the wall above the register, a framed photo of the cafs owner with a local pageant queen and another with a retired Red Sox player had never been dusted. But no one, including me, seemed to mind.

I stood in the entry waiting for Esad, the owner, to notice me. But it was not the bald man who welcomed me.

It was the dark-haired stranger.

I was surveying the other tables, looking for inspirationchicken or steak, gyro or saladwhen he beckoned. I hesitated. Was I supposed to recognize him, this man sitting by himself? But no, I did not know him. He waved again, impatient now, and I glanced over my shoulder. There was no one standing in the entryway but me. And then the man at the table stood up and strode directly to me.

Youre late. He clasped my shoulder and smiled. He was tall, tanned, with curling hair and a slightly hooked nose that did nothing to detract from his enviable Mediterranean looks. His eyes glittered beneath well-formed brows. His teeth were very white.