Free House Infernal by Edward Lee by Edward Lee

on the corpses' faces. "I-I ... can't!"
    Alexander shot her a chiding scowl. "You've picked
pockets before, Ruth. You'd rip off johns all the time
when you were turning tricks, and whenever those scumbag boyfriends of yours would mug some innocent guyor even kill him-you'd be the one to go through their
pockets."
    "That sucks that you know shit about me! You're trying
to make me feel bad."
    "You should feel bad, Ruth, 'cos you were a pretty bad
person. But now you've been given the chance to redeem
a little bit of yourself ... so do it!"
    At last, the former grifter, drughead, sexpot, and party
animal from Collier County, Florida, emboldened herself.
She slithered her fingers into the rot-damp sailors' pants.
She pulled several bills and coins from each. "Shit. That's
all they had on them."
    "Every little bit helps."
    After a moment's rest, she was able to contemplate.
Three belts, an old gun, and a couple of dollars were all
the reward she'd received for rooting through the clothes
of dead monsters. "That gun looks like a piece of shit,"
she snapped.

    "It is, but it'll still kill a Demon or Usher."
    "And what do we need belts for? I just had to put my
hands on Demons. For a couple of lousy belts?"
    "They're actually high-quality belts, Ruth. They're
made from Lipo-Cow hide. And to answer your question,
you'll wear the gun belt yourself. With the other two,
you'll make a harness to carry me on your back."
    Ruth smirked. "Can't fuckin' wait to carry a torso
priest on my back like a fuckin' knapsack while we're
waltzing through Rot-City."
    "Rot-Port, Ruth. And it's coming up."
    Ruth's eyes held fast to the approaching coast: the noxious port-city with its angles and lines all rounded off by
spongy softness.
    She could already smell it....
    "Now push those bodies overboard-"
    "Stop ordering me around!" she shrieked.
    The priest was getting fed up with her testiness. "Just
do it! You're acting like a kid!"
    A square deal, she reminded herself, and chewed her
collagen-implanted lower lip. Something in it for me ...
    She flipped the detestable Demon-bodies over the side
with a splash!
    "Good girl!" Alexander rejoiced.
    Then she threw-up over the side as well.
    And the two of them sat in silence as the tiny boat
rocked and bobbed toward Rot-Port....

     

Chapter Four
(I)
    "I'm very pleased to meet you, Ms. Barlow," the tall woman
said, looking down. She spoke in a quiet yet firm tone.
    "It's nice to meet you, too, Mrs. Newlwyn," Venetia
said, momentarily taken aback by the woman's height,
which was close to six feet. "And please, call me Venetia."
    "Mrs. Newlwyn is the priory's new official housekeeper," Father Driscoll said.
    After taking Venetia on the perfunctory look around,
the blond priest had brought her to the spacious
kitchen-which was like something one would find in a
grade school-to begin the introductions.
    v Venetia could tell by Mrs. Newlwyn's narrowed eyes
and curt, tight smile that she was one to take all church
matters very seriously. Black hair dusted with gray was
pulled back by a collar-length clip; she was likely in her
early fifties, and due to her height and excellent physical
condition, she reminded Venetia of some of the somber
statues they'd just seen in the atrium. She wore jeans
splotched with paint, and an equally splotched blouse
hung loose around an ample bosom.

    She talked while mixing something in a bowl: "I admire the zeal of your youth very much," the woman said.
"I understand you're going to become a nun? In my
younger days I wanted that as well, but I never quite got
there. I'm afraid that motherhood won out in the end."
    Venetia noticed there was no wedding ring on Mrs.
Newlwyn's hand, just a cross about her neck, along with a
key like Venetia's. "Actually I'm considering the vocation,
but I'm not sure yet."
    "You might consider waiting a while on that decision,"
Driscoll said, but it was strange the way he'd slipped in
the remark while looking