All the Gates of Hell by Richard Parks Read Free Book Online Page A

case needs a referral. Thought I'd get going."
    "Ok," Jin said again, since she wasn't quite sure what else to say. Joyce's early arrival had thrown Jin for a loop, and she wasn't sure why. It wasn't just the violation of routine. Joyce seemed...distracted. Joyce was never distracted. Jin had rarely met a more focused individual in her life, with the possible exception of her mother. Though in Kathleen Margaret Hannigan's case she tended to focus on different things at different times, and when the current obsession lost its magic, there was always another. Not like Joyce, whose attention and devotion to the Legal Aid Office was a measured, predictable devotion, which usually kept regular hours. Jin saw the empty coffee cup and crumpled bits on paper filling Joyce's waste basket and realized she'd come into the office quite early indeed.
    "Have you seen Teacher lately?" Joyce asked.
    Jin was startled out of her musing. "Oh...yes, a couple of times. Why?"
    "No problems?"
    "I told you, he's harmless." Jin knew she had been wrong about that much but, in this case, it wasn't the kind of 'harmless' Joyce was asking about.
    "Well...maybe. But I meant what I said about being careful, mind you."
    While Joyce said all this she wasn't even looking at Jin. She was staring intently at something on her desk. Jin managed to go for the coffee machine by such a route that she managed a glimpse of what Joyce was studying so intently. Which turned out to be a blank sheet of paper.
    "Are you all right?" Jin asked.
    "Fine. Just tired. Would you check on those filings from yesterday?" Joyce turned over the sheet of paper, which was also blank on the other side. After a moment she turned it back to the other blank side. Jin took her coffee back to her desk, since she wasn't sure what else she could do. Maybe Joyce would be willing to talk later, since she clearly wasn't in the mood right then. She concentrated on her own paperwork for a while, but found herself stealing glances at Joyce. One hour stretched into two. Joyce had put aside the blank sheet of paper some time before and now appeared to be doing actual work herself, but her mind was clearly elsewhere.
    This isn't like Joyce. What's going on ?
    That's when Jin finally saw it. A little dark blob on Joyce's right shoulder. Startled, Jin found herself starting to change.
    Da shi ...?
    She started to rise, find some excuse to get out of the room before Joyce saw her turn into a demon, but in that moment her vision blurred suddenly as if both eyes had been filled with tears without any warning. In another moment her vision cleared.
    Her vision was, in fact, clearer than before. She noticed more than one strange thing in the next few seconds, but one most of all: perched on Joyce's right should was neither a shadow or a dark blob, but a very small creature. It was perhaps six inches high, jet black except for its horns and teeth, which were the white of bleached bones. The thing appeared to be whispering into Joyce's ear, for all that she seemed to take no notice of it at all.
    What the hell ...
    Before Jin could rush forward or shout a warning, or any of the things she thought she meant to do, without actually thinking about either, of course, the thing straightened up from where it had been hunkered down by Joyce's ear and it looked straight at her.
    YOU NEEDN'T SHOUT. I CAN HEAR YOU FINE.
    The voice was entirely in her head, for all that she knew beyond any question that it belonged to the little imp perched on Joyce's shoulder. Jin's mouth worked silently. She raised her hand to point, or to ward the creature off, she wasn't really sure, and noticed dully that her Da Shi transformation had reversed itself.
    OH, PLEASE. SIT DOWN BEFORE SHE SEES YOU!
    Jin sat down, feeling rather foolish, but now she deliberately directed her thoughts at the imp. You're hearing what I'm thinking !
    OF COURSE, BECAUSE YOUR INTENTION IS TO COMMUNICATE WITH ME. HOW ELSE CAN WE TALK WITHOUT THE CLIENT HEARING