The Bazaar of Bad Dreams

She let the leg subside and began to manipulate his left arm. That he allowed. He often told people both of his arms had also been broken, but this wasn’t true. The left one had only been sprained. He also told people he was lucky not to be in a wheelchair, but the all-the-bells-and-whistles hospital bed suggested strongly that this was luck on which he had no intention of capitalizing in the near future. The all-the-bells-and-whistles hospital bed was his wheelchair. He had ridden all over the world in it.

Neuropathic pain. It’s a great mystery. Perhaps insoluble. The drugs no longer work.

‘The consensus is that I’m suffering from neuropathic pain.’

And cowardice.

‘It’s a great mystery.’

Also a good excuse.

‘Perhaps insoluble.’

Especially when you don’t try.

‘The drugs no longer work and the doctors can’t help me. That’s why I’ve brought you here, Reverend Rideout. Your references in the matter of … er … healing … are very strong.’

Rideout stood up. Kat hadn’t realized how tall he was. His shadow scared up behind him on the wall even higher. Almost to the ceiling. His eyes, sunken deep in their sockets, regarded Newsome solemnly. He had charisma, of that there could be no doubt. It didn’t surprise her, the charlatans of the world couldn’t get along without it, but she hadn’t realized how much or how strong it was until he got to his feet and towered over them. Jensen was actually craning his neck to take him in. There was movement in the corner of Kat’s eye. She looked and saw Melissa standing in the doorway. So now they were all here except for Tonya, the cook.

Outside, the wind rose to a shriek. The glass in the windows rattled.

‘I don’t heal,’ Rideout said. He was from Arkansas, Kat believed – that was where Newsome’s latest Gulfstream IV had picked him up, at least – but his voice was accentless. And flat.

‘No?’ Newsome looked disappointed. Petulant. Maybe, Kat thought, a little scared. ‘I sent a team of investigators, and they assure me that in many cases—’

‘I expel.’

Up went the shaggy eyebrows. ‘I beg your pardon.’

Rideout came to the bed and stood there with his long-fingered hands laced loosely together at the level of his crotch. His deep-set eyes looked somberly down at the man in the bed. ‘I exterminate the pest from the wounded body it’s feeding on, just as a bug exterminator would exterminate termites feeding on a house.’

Now, Kat thought, I have heard absolutely everything. But Newsome was fascinated. Like a kid watching a three-card monte expert on a street corner, she thought.

‘You’ve been possessed, sir.’

‘Yes,’ Newsome said. ‘That’s what it feels like. Especially at night. The nights are … very long.’

‘Every man or woman who suffers pain is possessed, of course, but in some unfortunate people – you are one – the problem goes deeper. The possession isn’t a transient thing but a permanent condition. One that worsens. Doctors don’t believe, because they are men of science. But you believe, don’t you? Because you’re the one who’s suffering.’

‘You bet,’ Newsome breathed. Kat, sitting beside him on her stool, had to work very hard to keep from rolling her eyes.

‘In these unfortunates, pain opens the way for a demon god. It’s small, but dangerous. It feeds on a special kind of hurt produced only by certain special people.’

Genius, Kat thought, Newsome’s going to love that.

‘Once the god finds its way in, pain becomes agony. It will feed until you are all used up. Then it will cast you aside, sir, and move on.’

Kat surprised herself by saying, ‘What god would that be? Certainly not the one you preach about. That one is the God of love. Or so I grew up believing.’

Jensen was frowning at her and shaking his head. He clearly expected an explosion from the boss … but a little smile had touched the corners of Newsome’s lips. ‘What do you say to that, Rev?’

‘I say that there are many gods. The fact that our Lord, the Lord God of Hosts, rules them all – and on the Day of Judgment will destroy them all – does not change that. These little gods have been worshipped by people both ancient and modern. They have their powers, and our God sometimes allows those powers to be exercised.’

As a test, Kat thought.

‘As a test of our strength and faith.’ Then Rideout turned to Newsome and said something that surprised her. ‘You are a man of much strength and little faith.’

Newsome, although not used to hearing criticism, nevertheless smiled. ‘I don’t have much in the way of Christian faith, that’s true, but I have faith in myself. I also have faith in money. How much do you want?’