Valak Closed In, the Cunning Human

There were only two attacks.

After the evil spirit Bill left, the room grew quiet.

The family had no desire to sleep anymore and all sat up. Peggy Hudson kept thanking Li Dan for saving their lives. She even went to the kitchen to fetch the snacks her youngest son, Billy, usually couldn't bear to eat, and, for once, turned on the television.

This reminded Drew of the Perron Family in Rhode Island.

Both families were being harassed by evil spirits, but at least the Perrons had a man in the house. Mrs. Peggy had to raise four children alone, acting as both father and mother.

"You look like something's troubling you."

Li Dan noticed Drew's melancholy.

Drew's thinking was naive.

"I just don't understand why demons insist on targeting their souls when there are so many bad people in the world."

No one could give a definitive answer to that question.

Li Dan had a few guesses.

"Maybe bad people go to hell automatically, so demons don't need to do anything themselves?"

"Or maybe demons are insatiable. They want more, just like fighting over territory. The more, the better."

Mrs. Peggy made each of them a cup of hot coffee.

Drew took his and sipped it. By now, he wasn't sleepy at all. He only hoped the Warrens would arrive soon and join forces with his boss to resolve things here.

Banishing a demon was difficult. You either had to force it out through sheer strength or know its true name.

Another option was for someone to offer their soul in exchange for the demon leaving.

This wasn't some American TV show. Li Dan had looked into cases of exorcisms performed by priests from the Church.

Out of ten cases involving demons, even two successful exorcisms would count as