Free Hell Calling by Enrique Laso Page B

was his own fault that he was wasting time instead of facing the situation bravely, and head on.
    “In any case, Elena, whether it works or not, I’m finding that what I have to do is becoming clearer and clearer.”
    The tone of that sentence confused Elena, who doubted whether or not she should ask him to elaborate, and keep going along with it.
    “I’m sorry... I don’t really understand you...”
    Carlos looked at the ceiling on which, minutes before, had formed the image of his terrified daughter, suffering, and once more asking him for help, as he was lying comfortably in a bed beside a woman who wasn’t her mother.
    “What I have to do is go with my daughter. I have to go there to save her, just as she’s asking me to. The only thing I have to do is find the damned way of reaching Hell.”
    XXXVI
    Padre Salas went around the house, scrutinising each and every corner, whilst Carlos waited in the lounge with an air of distraction. He had been there since first thing that morning, and before embarking upon his wanderings throughout the house, he had carried out a religious ceremony in the entryway.
    “So what’s the verdict then, Padre?” cried Carlos.
    Padre Salas appeared behind the door to what had been Laura’s room, with a furrowed brow.
    “What sort of culture did you bring your daughter up in?”
    Carlos did not know how to interpret such a strange and direct question.
    “Well, the same as any other father would, if that’s what you mean?”
    “Well, just like Elena did when she came here, I’ve been flicking through the drawings Laura used to do, and I’ve found various references to inniyah .”
    “Inniyah?”
    “Doesn’t ring any bells?”
    “Not at all.”
    “In Islamic tradition, it’s to do with lesser demons, that could also be good on occasion, which adopt the form of animals or people.”
    “And where did Laura learn that?”
    Padre Salas ran his hand slowly over his face, and went to sit down beside Carlos, who was watching him, perplexed.
    “In the year 2000, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith published a series of guidelines to regulate exorcisms, to counter the abuse that has happened throughout the ages of this practice. In order to begin one, you need to have a special permission. And in order to get that, some tests need to be carried out, and I dare say that this case would be taken as valid.”
    “But it’s a demon from another religion.”
    The priest gently tapped Carlos’ leg.
    “The most influential religions are intertwined. I myself have moments where I think that, in the end, it’s all the same story, just told by different people, in different cultures and disparate places.”
    “Then it could be...”
    “Wait. I haven’t said anything. I just put forward that to carry out an exorcism, the first thing necessary is for the possessed person to be in front of you, so you can carry out the procedure that way. Another, very different option is to bring somebody back who is already in Hell .”
    “But you...”
    “I’ve been well out of this game for a long time. But I’ll tell you one thing: I haven’t completely lost my instinct, and for your own peace of mind, I’ll tell you now that there’s something that doesn’t fit.”
    Carlos felt something stirring inside him.
    “And is that good or bad?”
    “It depends what you understand by good or bad. It means that in the worst case scenario, you’re right.”
    “But that isn’t bad.”
    The priest looked at Carlos with his eyes wide open, before adding, with an air of reprimand:
    “I’d rather you be crazy in life, in this world, than sane with a daughter who really is trapped in Hell.”
    Carlos did not know what to say. He was so obsessed with demonstrating that what he said and experienced was true, that he very often lost the notion of what that intrinsically entailed.
    “You’re right.”
    “Don’t torment yourself. If I were in your place, I don’t know how I would be