The Skull Ring

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Book: Read The Skull Ring for Free Online
Authors: Scott Nicholson
probed, mined, collected, and analyzed. The past as past only, nothing to do with the wobbling, hazy present that ended at arm's reach, in the soft, cold bite of liquor, easy amnesia a swallow away.
    A metallic click and whir brought Julia back to the blank TV as the tape finished rewinding. Tears burned in her eyes, refusing to fall. She wiped them away and pressed the remote. The screen flared to life and the tape started. Julia put her thumb on the fast-forward, ready to skip the pre-game analysis.
    The game wasn't on the tape. Instead, the screen was filled with a man's smooth-shaven face, his eyes fevered and bright. The man was pointing at the camera as if chiding both the camera operator and the audience. At high speed, the man looked comical, making wild hand gestures like something out of an old Keystone Kops short.
    Julia was positive she had set the tape for ESPN2, the network of choice for also-ran teams like the Cardinals. She double-checked the schedule lying open on the coffee table. There, Cardinals vs. Astros, 4 PM, Channel 27. VCR’s were notoriously complicated to program, but she'd taped much of the season without being thrown a single curve.
    Unless her memory of setting the VCR had been a tiny little game she had played on herself, another trick to scare herself stupid. And didn't delusional people lie to themselves?
    No. I didn't spread the blocks out on the table this morning, and I didn't tape this . . .  this WHATEVER .
    She stopped the tape and let it play at regular speed.
    The man's face crowded the edges of the screen, the close-up so intense that she could see drops of saliva spraying from his mouth as he spoke. The man's manic voice thundered forth as she thumbed up the volume on the remote.
    "And Satan has come unto the world, the world that Satan owns, the one that he has stolen from God," the man said. "And Satan spread his wealth, spread his lust disguised as love, spread his greed disguised as need, spread his warfare disguised as righteousness. Satan stretched his fingers out across the world, touching every man, woman, and child."
    The man pointed at the camera, at Julia, his voice softening. "Touching you ."
    Yeah, right. The Devil touched me in the HEAD. Thanks, mister. Now I have an excuse. Here I was, all ready to accept the blame for my little problem, and now you come along and give me the greatest out of all time. I'm only a victim. Of course. Why didn't I see it before now?
    The preacher allowed a dramatic pause. "This world belongs to the devil. It's right there in the Book of Luke, set down by God's own hand. 'To you I will give all this power and glory,' the Devil says to Jesus, as they stood on the mountain overlooking the wonders of this world. 'For it's been given over to me to do with as I please.' The Lord could withstand the temptation, but you would snatch it right up, wouldn't you? You'd take it all and still want more.
    "And I don't blame you," the wild-eyed man continued, wiping away the sweat that was collecting on his face from the Klieg lights and exertion. "I don't blame you for biting into the apple, into that red, shiny, sweet apple. I've tasted it myself, we all have. How can we resist?"
    Julia almost clicked the screen off, but something about this televangelist's spiel fascinated her. His hair was slick and perfectly styled, swooped up in a grand swirl that would stand in a hurricane. The man's teeth sparkled, brighter than heavenly pearls, his jaw muscles contorted in the rapture of his delivery. She had no doubt of his utter sincerity.
    "How can we resist?" he repeated, and the camera pulled back to reveal the man's outstretched arms, as if he were offering himself up for Christ's welcoming hug or the next UFO. "We are empty vessels, and unless we fill ourselves with the Lord, the devil will wash in”–the man arched his arms as if diving into a lake—"and drown us with sin, drown us with sorrow. He'll steal our breath with his false promises. He'll

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