The Repentant Demon Trilogy Book 1: The Demon Calumnius Read Online Free Page B

permit such corruption in His infant civilization.  And it wasn't the first nor the last time God destroyed huge segments of humanity to purge it of its loathsomeness.
    Another group of archaeologists, one which Abigail was also unable to join, had discovered the remains of Noah's Ark near the top of a mountain in Turkey.  The relics procured from the site are dated at 4,800 years old.  Such things are still being studied by scholars worldwide, and they only prove the point further in the mind of Calumnius—that the human experiment is a failure.  God Himself should be ready to admit this by now.  How many times must he cleanse the world of human debris?  How much dead, putrid flesh must be carved away by the Master's scalpel before He realizes that the creature itself should be permitted to die out?  Did not the very first disobedience by the original pair prove their worthlessness?  It would have been better to have destroyed those two before they'd had a chance to fill the world with their flawed species.
    Calumnius considered that he had perhaps chosen too ambitiously—that he would never be able to seduce Abigail into any form of sin whatsoever.  But he was not a quitter, and she had been chosen for the level of challenge she presented.  He faced ridicule and mocking by the other demons if he returned to hell in failure or with another insignificant success.  Life there was miserable enough, though he could easily endure isolation, be that their form of punishment.  It proved effectual with some humans, but they knew him too well to go so easy on him.  They would use torturous methods suited to his own disposition.  It would be unbearable.  He required nothing short of bringing down some good, holy person, a saint, to make up for all the poorly executed and mediocre performances over the past hundred years—every temptation after the encounter with Maria Goretti.
    Abigail entered the area where he stood examining the amulet, walking past him to her desk, and began poring over papers—lists, pamphlets, booklets.  Miss Abigail was planning a trip, or trying to, if the expressions on her face were any indication.  She opened her laptop and checked online, bringing up her bank account, then scribbled some numbers on a pad of paper.  Exhaling through clenched teeth in exasperation, it was easy to read by her demeanor that she was experiencing financial problems.  Calumnius would never have imagined that a woman who lived as she did would be susceptible to the sin of Greed—but he considered that now.  She did not hunger for luxuries or wealth.  She hungered for knowledge, and knowledge had a price tag, too.  One she couldn't afford.
    Hunger was at the root of every one of the seven deadly sins.  Something she seemed to lack utterly and completely—so content, so complacent in her world.  Hunger for honors lay behind Pride, hunger for sex—Lust, for food—Gluttony, for revenge—Wrath, for unearned reward—Envy, and behind hunger for ease lay the deadly sin of laziness called Sloth.  Miss Abigail did not long for riches—not wealth, nor jewelry, nor even security—but she would put her life on the line for the ability to travel to exotic places and excavate with experts in antiquities.  He had found her weakness—possibly her only one.  But that had been sufficient to bring down many a soul.  One weakness, indulged, could bring with it a myriad of sins.
    If he could entice her to cheat or steal, she would become embroiled in a possible lifetime of lying and other forms of deceit to hide her sin or avoid punishment.  Or perhaps he could tempt her to do something out of her character to earn the money—exotic dancing possibly.  Would that be enough to keep her out of heaven?  Only if she lost her faith in the process.  It would be a long shot , he thought.
    First I must take the smaller steps; I must instill in her an intense desire to join an expedition.   As she threw herself upon