Jenna Black - Morgan Kingsley 1 The Devil Inside

The Devil Inside

Morgan Kingsley, Exorcist 01

By

Jenna Black

Praise for Jenna Black's

WATCHERS IN THE NIGHT

"Clever plotting and terrific supporting characters elevate this novel into a first-rate romantic thriller."

Romantic Times

"Jenna Black has crafted a fine story with Watchers in the Night. She supplies deft handling of plot, characters, and genre, and I enjoyed the novel tremendously. I see many more fascinating novels coming from this author in the future!"

Heather Graham, New York Times

bestselling author of Kiss of Darkness

"You'll want to bare your throat to Jenna Black's enthralling heroes. This cleverly plotted romantic tale will leave you hungry for more!"

Sabrina Jeffries, New York Times

bestselling author of Only a Duke Will Do

"Jenna Black's Watchers in the Night is a sexy, fast-paced, totally engaging read. She's built an exciting world of vampires and added a 'to die for' hero and a kick-butt heroine!

This is a book you can really sink your teeth into!"

Rhonda Thompson, New York Times

bestselling author of The Untamed One

"Mystery, magic, and vampires! In Watchers in the Night, Jenna Black has created a fresh and fascinating vampire universe. What more could any lover of the paranormal ask for?"

Lori Handeland,

RITA Award-winning author of Midnight Moon

"Jenna Black's Watchers in the Night is a sexy, suspenseful, and what a great read!

Vampire Gray James hits the top of my Hot-O-Meter from the moment he comes back from the dead to save his girlfriend, Carolyn Matherswho just happens to be a kick-ass PI able to take care of herself. Just the right mix of mystery, vampires, romance, great characters, and underworld shenanigans to keep me happy. I can't wait to see what happens next in the world of the Guardians!"

Tess Mallory, author of Highland Fling

"Inventive, sexy, sassy twist on the vampire mythos. These are not your mother's vampires; Black serves up a strong heroine and plenty of delicious humor as well as a sly twist on the cliched 'tortured hero.' Very enjoyable! It struck me as kind of a Stephanie Plum Meets Old Anita Blake."

Lilith Saintcrow, author of Working for the Devil

"Grabs you from the very beginning and doesn't let you go until the very end. Even then, you're hoping for more. Peopled with an amazing supporting cast, and a plotline that twists and turns like a maze, Ms. Black does a wonderful job creating a world where you're never sure what's going to happen."

Vivi Anna, author of Hell Kat

Praise for Jenna Black's

SECRETS IN THE SHADOWS

"Paranormal romance at its finest! Black writes the kind of hero I want to date! "

Gena Showalter, author of The Nymph King

Praise for Jenna Black's

SHADOWS ON THE SOUL

"Dark, magical and deliciously brooding, just how I like them!"

Gena Showalter, author of The Nymph King

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A Dell Spectra Book / December 2007

Published by

Bantam Dell

A Division of Random House, Inc.

New York, New York

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the authors imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

All rights reserved

Copyright 2007 by Jenna Black

Dell, the Dell colophon, Spectra, and the portrayal of a boxed s are trademarks of Random House, Inc.

eISBN: 978-0-440-33728-7

www.bantamdell.com

Acknowledgments

Thanks first of all to my wonderful editor, Anne Groell, whose input and suggestions without a doubt made this into a better, stronger book. Thanks as always to my agent, Miriam Kriss, who always believes in me even when I have trouble believing in myself!

Thanks to Cynthia Cooke and Kelly Gay, who were my critique partners for this book. And lastly, thanks to all the wonderful urban fantasy authors who got me so hooked on this genre I had to write one of my own!

In loving memory of my mother,

Carol Arnold Bellak, who always supported

my dreams of being a writer 100%

Chapter 1

Topeka, Kansas. Demon capital of the world. Not!

Demons, the illegal ones at least, tend to like the biggest cities. More anonymity. More prey. But every once in a while, one would pop up in the most unlikely place. Like Topeka.

I flew into Kansas City, Missouri, then had to rent a car for the ninety-minute drive to Topeka. I live in the suburbs, but Im a city girl at heart. Driving ninety minutes on toll roads out in the middle of nowhere is my idea of Hell. But wait, it gets worseno one bothered to tell Kansas it was spring, so it was snowing. I can count on one hand the number of times Ive driven in the snow. If I hadnt known they might burn an eleven-year-old girl to death if I didnt show up, Id have ridden out the storm in Kansas City.

The speed limit was seventy, but I drove about thirty-five, squinting out the windshield, hoping there werent any cows grazing on the interstate under cover of the blizzard. Okay, so maybe it wasnt a blizzard by Midwest standards, but its all a matter of perspective. Kansas is one of ten statesincluding my home state, Pennsylvaniathat allow the execution of humans hosting illegal demons. I called from the airport to let them know Id be late. I almost choked when I noticed the area code for Topeka was 666. Gotta love the irony. Luckily, they werent anxious to put a cute little girl to flame, despite the fact that she was allegedly possessed by a demon whod murdered at least three people, so they agreed to wait for me.

The demon containment centercumexecution chamber was in the basement of the courthouse and had more guards than most maximum security prisons. Why the idiots used legions of armed guards was beyond me. What were they going to do, shoot the host to death if a demon escaped? Yeah, that might solve the immediate problem and leave the demon without a body to inhabit, but if it found another host, you can bet revenge would be high on its to-do list. The only way to kill a demon is to exorcize it or burn its host alive. Lovely, huh?

Id read little Lisa Walkers case on the plane. She and her parents had been visiting New York. Theyd gone to a Broadway show, and when they were leaving, Lisa got knocked

down by some thug who was running from the cops. Probably they thought it was exciting, because, hey, things like that just dont happen in Topeka. It wasnt until theyd gotten home that theyd noticed anything wrong. She didnt do a Linda Blair and spit pea soup, but she definitely wasnt herself. It was the little things that gave it awaya suddenly more sophisticated vocabulary, a hint of attitude, the occasional expression in her eyes that was too old for her age. Theyd called in a priest, and hed immediately declared her possessed.

Me, Id have been skeptical. Demons usually prefer strong adult bodies to inhabit, not delicate eleven-year-old girls. And no matter what they claim, priests arent qualified to declare a person possessed. Yes, some of them are sensitives, and can see auras, but its not a job requirement like it is for an exorcist.

So if I didnt think the kid was possessed, why had I flown all the way out here to bumfuck Kansas to perform an exorcism? Because the court had ordered it, and the parents had approved itand if the kid really was possessed, theyd barbecue her if an exorcist couldnt cast the demon out. The parents had demanded the best, and they could afford me, so here I was, freezing my tailfeathers off in Corn City, USA. I had to clear two checkpoints before I even got close to the containment center. Im sure Id have made it through faster if Id dressed the part, but if Id wanted to wear suits, Id have gone to business school. My uniform was a pair of tight low-rise jeans with a clingy sweater and a pair of kick-ass pointy-toed boots.