by Simon Cantan
Her thoughts went back to Jaden and the look the day before, when he’d walked away from her. He hadn’t talked to her for the rest of the day. She cursed herself again and wondered if she’d lost her only friend forever.
Her father had dropped her at the train station in Fredrikstad with the biggest smile on his face she’d ever seen. He seemed overjoyed that her moment had come. That she’d have a god of her own. She wondered how he’d react when she came back with a cheaper god and Sonneillon gone. She knew he would be disappointed, angry, but would he also be relieved?
The train slowed, going through the last tunnel that led to Oslo Central Station. As it broke out into the daylight, Katie saw all the parallel tracks around her. Looking at the trains trains waiting to leave, she wondered who else on them had secrets no one could know. Who else was living a hidden life that the rest of the world wouldn’t understand? Were Godchosen the only secret the world had? Or did they just think they were?
The train pulled into the station and stopped. Katie didn’t move for a moment, letting the other people rush for the exits. She didn’t want them jostling her bag and the treasure inside it. Not if she could help it.
Once the rush died down, she walked to the exit and took a long step to the platform. A dozen steps away, the slow escalator took her into the rush of the station. People moved in every direction, veering around one another on their way to something important. Hanging in the air above it all, the smell of grease from the fast-food restaurants.
Katie ignored the chaos and walked straight ahead, down the long concourse to the front door of the station and out into the cold. Once she wasn’t surrounded by people, she took out her phone and set the GPS. It pointed her across the street, down a series of roads that grew smaller as she walked. By the time she got close, her feet were aching. The GPS led her into a dark alley and announced she’d arrived at her destination.
The alley looked different to the images she’d seen online of Church Street. Filled with half-exploded bags of garbage and an overwhelming odour, the place was otherwise empty. At the far end, a metal door was set into a crumbling brick wall. Her father had told her what to expect. She walked to it and knocked.
After a moment, there was the sounds of bolts being drawn back and the door opened. A middle-aged Asian man looked out at her, a scowl on his face.
“What do you want?” he asked in Norwegian.
“I’ve come to get my god,” Katie said.
The man’s eyes narrowed for a moment. “Wait here.”
He slammed the door in her face and she heard the bolts sliding back into place. She did her best not to breathe too deeply as she waited in the garbage-filled alley. After a few minutes, the door opened again and the same man waved a stick at her.
For a moment, she thought he was going to hit her with it, but instead he nodded. “All right, come in. Quickly, before anyone sees.”
She stepped through the door and he slammed it shut behind her, locking a series of bolts in place. It reminded her of her own door at home, and she wondered what they were trying to keep out.
The man beckoned her down a short corridor, to a second door. “It’s been a quiet month. You’re the first we’ve seen all day.”
“There are others?” Katie asked.
The man threw the second door wide, revealing Church Street in all its splendour. “We couldn’t build this with only a few donations a year. There are hundreds of Godchosen in Norway. Maybe even thousands.”
Katie stepped through, her breath catching in her throat. The photo online hadn’t done it justice. Spires, towers, and intricate Gothic architecture stretched away on both sides of the street. The closest churches seemed to rival Notre Dame for size.
“How does no one—?” Katie asked.
“See it?” the man nodded. “Everyone always asks that. We have the most powerful gods in the world under these roofs. You think we can’t hide it from normal humans?”
She stood for a moment, staring around her. “What do I do?”
“You’re here for a god?” the man asked. “Those are on the left. Demons are on the right.”
“And exorcisms?”
“Demon business. On the right.”
“Thank you…”
“Charles Rivers,” the man said. “But everyone calls me Charlie.”
“Nice to meet you. I’m Katie Spears.”
“Good to meet you too, Katie. Remember, don’t let anyone take advantage of you in here. They might deal in gods and demons, but they’re still salespeople.”
She nodded, taking a few timid steps down Church Street. She made for the closest church on the right, which had a poster outside. When she got closer, she could read a list of prices on it, just like a restaurant. The prices started at several million and went up from there. Eyes bulging, Katie walked past it to the next church.
At the next, the prices seemed just as outlandish. As did the next, and the next. As she walked, the prices dropped as the churches grew less impressive. After a few minutes of walking, she came to a normal-looking church with more reasonable prices outside. She read down the list until she found Exorcism 400,000kr.
Four hundred thousand would still leave her a hundred thousand for her god. It wouldn’t be anything impressive, but perhaps Klondike would have company.
She walked to the large oak doors and pulled them open, stepping inside before they could swing shut. Once through the door, she smelled polish and dust intermingling. The church seemed empty, ranks of pews facing an altar with a red cloth draped over it.
She walked up the aisle, coming to the end and looking up at the stained-glass windows. She’d seen them before, in the Christian churches her school had taken them to. Instead of pious-looking men, however, these windows had images of people and animals being tortured. The artist seemed to have used more than their share of red glass. She guessed a demon church would need things like that.
“Hello?” Katie called. “Is anyone here?”
A door opened to the side of the altar and a man stepped out. He smiled as he saw Katie. “Sorry, it’s been quiet around here. I was getting caught up on a little reading.”
The man moved closer and Katie stared at him. He appeared to have studs embedded under the skin of his shaved scalp and tattoos covering all his visible skin.
“I’m here about the exorcism,” she said. “Out the front.”
“Ah, yes,” the man said. “You seem a little young to need an exorcism, if you don’t mind me saying so.”
“It’s not for me. It’s for my dad, Aidan Spears.”
The priest nodded and reached into his robes to pull out a phone. He tapped at it for a moment, then nodded again. “That must make you Katie. I’m Lord Much Halley. I see your father is possessed by Sonneillon. A nasty piece of work.”
“Can you get rid of him?” Katie asked. “So my father can be free again?”
“Of course. It’ll be a complicated procedure, though. How much do you have to spend?”
“Four hundred thousand,” Katie said. “Like the board said. That’s all I have.”
“Of course. In gold?”
Katie nodded and produced the bar from her backpack.
Lord Much reached out and took it in his hand. “This is more than four hundred thousand.”
“I can’t spend it all. Just four hundred thousand. I need to keep the rest.”
“Of course,” Lord Much said, handing the bar back. “Give me a moment to set up.”
He bustled away, disappearing into the door beside the altar again. When he returned, he was leading a live goat on a piece of string.
Katie’s stomach did a flip at the sight. “What’s that for?”
“The sacrifice of course. No half measures in this church, my dear. We only use free-range live goats.”
Katie retreated, until she reached the pews, ready to turn and run. She didn’t want to see something die in front of her.
“Don’t go,” Lord Much said. “It’s
all right. I know just how to kill it. It won’t feel a thing, and your father will be free of that cursed demon.”
She froze in place, torn. She couldn’t leave and watch her father suffer.
“You can stay there,” Lord Much said. “Sit in a pew. I’ll take care of it all. You won’t get blood on you, if that’s what you’re worried about.”
She nodded, stepping into a pew and taking a seat. The wooden benches weren’t comfortable to sit on, but she barely noticed, her eyes on the goat.
Lord Much led the goat to the altar and disappeared behind it for a moment. When he lifted the goat up, its legs were bound together. The goat bleated as he positioned it. Then he rolled up the sleeves of his robes and produced a knife.
“Sonneillon, demon of the under realm,” Lord Much said. “Great lord of demonic power, come to me.”
Raising the dagger high, he plunged it into the goat again and again, sending blood splattering in all directions. “Sonneillon, come to your humble servant and accept this sacrifice.”
A moan grew in the church, rising to a howl. Katie looked around, but couldn’t see the source of the noise. Then a shape formed in the air above Lord Much. A horned, red-faced demon hovered there, scowling down at him.
“You summoned me?” the demon bellowed. “Ripped me from my victim? For a goat?”
“Not just a goat,” Lord Much said. “This girl offers two hundred thousand in gold to you, if you leave her father alone.”
Katie realised the demon must be Sonneillon. She’d never seen him before, only his effect on her father.
“Two hundred thousand?” Sonneillon said. “An insult.”
“Two hundred and twenty,” Lord Much said.
“Three hundred.”
“Two seventy-five.”
“Done,” Sonneillon said. “I’ll torment the man no more. Make the gold sacrifice in the usual way, or I’ll torment you instead, priest.”
In a flash of fire and smoke, Sonneillon vanished. Lord Much waved his hand in front of his face, coughing. Once the smoke cleared, he smiled at Katie. “There. All done.”
“My father is free?” Katie asked.
“Of Sonneillon,” Lord Much said. “Now, let’s talk about his replacement demon.”
“Replacement demon? I don’t want him to have a demon at all.”
“Oh, he has to. If he doesn’t get a replacement demon at once, then something worse than Sonneillon might move in. I have some excellent, weak demons for as little as a hundred thousand.”
Katie did some calculations in her head. “So three hundred and seventy five total?”
“What?” Lord Much said. “No, five hundred thousand total. That bar in your pack will be enough.”
“But… but Sonneillon asked for two seventy-five.”
“He did, but I have to have something for the church. We agreed on four hundred thousand beforehand. I tell you what. I’ll do you a deal. Since I saved money on Sonneillon, I’ll give you the replacement demon for a ten thousand discount. Four hundred and ninety thousand total.”
Her ears rang. It had all gone horribly wrong, and she didn’t know how to fix it. She didn’t even know enough about how exorcisms worked to argue. Unable to find the words, she nodded.
“Excellent,” Lord Much said. “I have the perfect demon called Meizur. He’s the demon of compulsive bad habits.”
“That’s fine.”
“Great.” Lord Much hurried back through his door and returned with a strangely shaped piece of metal. He rubbed on it, then held it aloft. “Meizur, great demon of the tormented. I have a victim for you: Aidan Spears. Make him regret the day he dared to cross you.”
In the air above Lord Much, a thin, grey demon appeared. He seemed to be shaking, almost as if he were cold. “You got it, priest. Thanks for doing me this favour.”
“Just go.” Lord Much appeared irritated.
The demon vanished with a wheezing sound and a thin cloud of steam.
“A favour?” Katie asked.
“Don’t mind that,” Lord Much said. “The weaker demons are always obsequious. Now, let’s divide up your gold.”
After handing over the bar, Lord Much produced a set of scales from behind the altar and swept the goat carcass aside to make room. Then he weighed out a small chunk of gold for Katie and put the rest away.
She felt numb as she walked back out of the church. The tiny piece of gold she had left didn’t feel like it would be enough to buy a god, even one as underpowered as Klondike.
When she got back out into the daylight, she reasoned that the main thing was her father not having a demon. Did she need a god, after all? Klondike was occasionally useful, but by no means essential. Her father’s words echoed back to her. He’d been vague about what would happen if she didn’t get a god, but it hadn’t sounded good.
Winding her way back to the top of the street, Katie found Charlie sitting on a bench near the door. She walked closer and stopped nearby. “What happens if someone doesn’t get a god by the time they turn eighteen?”
Charlie looked a little pale. “They get an arch-demon. I’ve never seen it happen, but they tear themselves apart. A lot of them go on mass murder rampages and kill everyone close to them. The lucky ones just commit suicide. Why?”
“No reason,” Katie said. “It’s nothing.”
She turned and hurried away, walking on the left of the street. As she walked, she read each church sign she passed. The first godly churches were just like the demon ones, towering monuments with prices to match. As she moved further, the prices sank. First to the hundreds of thousands. Finally to the tens of thousands. She saw the back wall of the street approaching. With only two churches to go, the prices stayed at thirty thousand for both.
She thought back to Charlie’s words. They were just salespeople. Maybe she could bargain with them? She walked into the last church. It was wooden, with paint peeling off the walls and rot showing near the edges. Inside, the church had normal windows and smelled musty. A man was lying in the pews near the front, snoring heavily.
She moved closer and cleared her throat, but the man didn’t stir. She coughed loudly, and with a snort, he sat up. He was thin, with a long grey beard, but no robes on. Instead, he just had jeans and a t-shirt.
“Yes?” the man said, getting up. “Can I help you?”
“I’m here to buy a god,” Katie said.
The man’s eyes lit up a little more than they should. If things had been quiet for Lord Much, she guessed this priest hadn’t seen a customer in months.
“Of course, of course,” the man said. “I’m the priest here, Ivan Torsten.”
“Katie Spears. Listen, I don’t have much money.”
“That’s no problem. We do gods on a budget here. Of course, they won’t be powerful. For as little as thirty thousand I can get you a god who will tell you what day of the week it is, or month of the year.”
“What can I get for ten thousand?”
“Ten thousand?” Ivan moved to the pew and lay back down. “An arch demon is what you can get. Come back when you have more money, girl.”
“Please. I had to pay for an exorcism for my dad, and now I don’t have enough for a god.”
“Too right you don’t. Twenty thousand isn’t much more. Go tell your dad and he’ll find it somewhere. He might need to get a new credit card, but he’ll raise it. Then come back to me.”
She nodded and hurried away, wanting to get out of the church before her emotions overwhelmed her. She burst through the doors and out onto the cold street. The churches no longer looked impressive around her, instead they loomed. She moved to the closest bench and sat, putting her head in her hands. She wasn’t surprised when they came away wet. It was too much. She knew her father didn’t have any more money. Their house was falling apart, he couldn’t hold down a job with his demon. By the time he got a job and raised the money, it would be too late.
She didn’t want to kill everyone she loved. She didn’t want to die. Ho
w could she make ten thousand turn into thirty?
Chapter 7
Off-Church
Katie didn’t see the old man approaching. She only noticed him when the bench shifted under her as he sat. When she wiped the tears away and looked over, she saw a man in his seventies smiling back. His hair was white and thinning, and he wore thick robes with a lot of holes in them.
“What the matter, girl?” the man asked. “I saw you crying and had to come ask. It can’t be that bad, can it?”
“It’s…” Katie took a shuddering breath. “I’m meant to get a god today, but I don’t have enough money left. I spent it on an exorcism for my dad and now I only have ten thousand.”
“An exorcism?”
“He had a terrible demon ruining his life. It wouldn’t let him work and tormented him for days at a time. I had to get rid of it, so he can go back to normal.”
“Very noble. Did he ask you to do it?”
She shook her head. “He’s going to be furious. He gave me the money so I could get a fancy god and instead I have nothing.”
“Nothing?”
“Ten thousand. Which might as well be nothing. The cheapest church charges thirty.”
“No, we don’t,” the man said. “I think ten thousand should cover it.”
She looked at him and frowned. “What?”
“Our church,” the man pointed to a gap near the back wall. “We’re not on Church Street, but don’t let that fool you. We’re still a high quality establishment. And for ten thousand, I can get you a god.”
“Really?” Katie felt her shoulders lighten. “A god?”
“I’m Arne Hegstad.” The man rose to his feet. “Come with me, Katie. We’ll find you a god.”
She got up and followed the man to the back wall. Sure enough, there was a narrow alley leading behind the last church. It was only wide enough for them to walk through one at a time. Arne shambled, putting his hand on a wall for support. When he got to the end of the alley, it opened into a small square with a single church on the far side of it. The rest of the square only had the backs of windowless buildings.
