Book Three: Chapter 36

“Holy shit.” Beth stared at the demon. She hadn’t thought about Victor in years, and she had completely (or deliberately) forgotten Mr. Beary. “Is this a dream?”

“Hard to prove it isn’t,” the demon told her. “No matter what I tell you here, you could argue that the dream made up the memory. In a way, maybe you could think of your actions here as- DON’T DO THAT!” Beth had picked up one of the forks on the table and jabbed it into her leg. She screamed, pulling the fork free as blood flowed freely through the fabric of her nightgown.

“Holy fuck, ow!”

“Well, that settles it.” The demon shook his head. “Not dreaming.”

“Oh, fuck!” Beth balled up her fists. “That really hurts.”

“Yeah, well I prefer you intact.” The demon waved a hand over her leg, and the burning stopped. Beth lifted her nightgown, wiping away the blood with a cloth from the table. Four tiny dots had scarred her legs. “And definitely much quieter.”

Staring at the demon, Beth shook her h