When a demon tells you to do something, it’s pretty hard to refuse it. My friends and I might joke about the silliness of Jerome’s John Cusack guise, but underneath all that, Jerome was fucking scary. And when he turned his demonic wrath on a human, it was outright terrifying.
Yet, with a remarkable show of bravery, Seth asked: “Why?”
Jerome looked displeased that Seth hadn’t instantly jumped to obey. “To get Georgie back.”
“Back?” repeated Simone. “But if she comes back—”
Jerome lifted his eyes from Seth and glared at her. “Yes, yes, I know. But you might as well give it up. You failed.”
“But I can—”
“Clearly, you can’t.” Jerome strode over to her, leaning close to her face. He pitched his voice low, but I could hear it from my observer’s view. “This is not the way. I know why you’re here now, but tell Niphon that every time he tries to fix things, he ends up fucking up more. It’s too late. I’ll deal with this. It doesn’t involve you.”
“But—”
“Enough.” The word boomed through the store. The salesman looked up, startled, but kept his distance. “I didn’t question your presence before, but now you can go.”
Ostensibly, it sounded as though he were giving her permission to leave. But both she and I could hear the underlying meaning: if she didn’t go on her own, he would “assist” her. She made no more protests.
Jerome returned to Seth. “Georgina’s been taken. We’re going to get her back. And you are going to play a role in that.”
Seth couldn’t speak for a moment, and when he did, it was to utter the most obvious response: “How?”
“To start with, you can stop wasting time here with stupid questions. Come with me, and you’ll find out.” Jerome then made a masterful play. “Every moment you delay, she’s in more danger.”
Nothing else could have spurred Seth into such action. He flinched at the words, and his face ran through a kaleidoscope of emotions. “Okay,” he said to Jerome. “Let’s go.”
Chapter 19
“Real,” I gasped out. “That was…real. Seth didn’t give in to temptation. Seth stayed with Maddie.”
“Maybe,” said One.
The instinct to claw his eyes out rose within me, strong and sudden. It was animal and rash—and impossible since I had no form here. It was an urge I’d had on more than one occasion with the Oneroi.
“True. It was true.” This was like a child’s game with them, over and over. Or maybe the true/false section on the SAT. Circles. Circles. My life was a circle. “And Jerome…” The end of the dream came to me where my boss had spirited Seth away. “He’s coming for me. He took Seth. They’re going to do that ritual. Erik’s going to set it up.”
“Yes. And he’s going to fail.”
“No, he won’t,” I cried. Every ounce of me had become desperation: voice, mind, soul. “Jerome will come for me. He’ll save me.”
“No one is coming for you,” said Two. “They will try, but they will fail.”
Again, they sent me back to my world, and as much as I yearned for familiar faces, the doubt and uncertainty the Oneroi kept bringing up filled me with a despairing kind of confusion.
I was at Erik’s. And apparently, so was everyone else.
His store had a large back room used for storage that I’d only once caught a glimpse of. It reminded me of a garage, with unfinished cement floors and plain drywall on the sides. A small table held a bowl of burning incense that made the air hazy. The edges of the room were stacked with boxes and crates that appeared to have been shoved to create an empty space around the edge of the room. Also along the edges was the Seattle immortal club: Hugh, Cody, Peter, Carter, and even Mei. Roman was probably there too, hidden because of Mei. In the center of the room, Erik was drawing chalk patterns on the floor. Jerome stood nearby, and Seth hovered uneasily between them and my friends along the wall. I think he was having a hard time deciding who was safest. If not for Mei, he probably would have chosen my friends.
Mei watched Erik and Jerome with disapproval, her nearly black eyes narrowed and brick-red lips pursed. At last, she uncrossed her arms and strode toward the center, her stiletto heels clicking loudly against the cement. Seth scurried out of her way, retreating to the safety of my friends.
“This is ridiculous,” Mei said. “You’re wasting everyone’s time. Even with all of them”—she gestured to the wall gang—“it’s not enough to bring her back. You need to report it and get another succubus.”
“I report it, and there’ll be another archdemon here too.” Jerome cut her a look. “I’m kind of surprised you haven’t done that already.”
Good point. As his underling, Mei obeyed him, but she was ambitious. If Jerome got in trouble for losing me, it could be to her advantage.
“I don’t need to,” she said flatly. “You’ll be telling them yourself soon. Why do I have to be here? I have no connection to her.”
“Because I told you to! Stop arguing.” Jerome glared at her, and the two demons locked gazes. At last, Mei gave a sharp nod, but it didn’t seem like she gave in because of his authority. It was more like he’d communicated something, and she was acknowledging it. She returned to the side of the room, opposite my friends now.
Erik had to lean and get on his knees for a lot of his chalk work, something that had to be agony on his back. With a sigh, he finally stood up and examined his design. It showed two large concentric circles, filled and surrounded with a number of arcane symbols. Some I knew; some I didn’t. Jerome studied the pattern too, and for the first time ever, my boss looked…nervous.
“Is it ready?” he demanded.
Erik nodded, one hand absentmindedly rubbing his back. “Barring the spell itself, yes.”
Jerome’s eyes fell on Seth, who flinched. “You,” said the demon. “Come here.”
Seth eyed the pattern almost as uneasily as Jerome had. “What will happen to me?”
“It won’t kill you, if that’s what you’re worried about. And you can leave the circle whenever you want. Now stop wasting time.”
I didn’t like hearing Jerome boss Seth around. It stirred up those coals of rage that had been burning within me lately. I even grew angry seeing Seth obey; I kind of wanted him to defy Jerome. A moment later, I tried to banish such thoughts. I needed to save my fury for the Oneroi, not this group. Surely Jerome wasn’t lying. Carter, who’d remained quiet throughout all of this, would have called Jerome on it. I hoped.
Seth walked over to Jerome’s side, careful not to step on any of the chalk lines—like how superstitious people avoid cracks on sidewalks. Erik gave Seth a small smile.
“He’s right, Mr. Mortensen. This won’t hurt you. Though it will be…strange.”
Mei suddenly went rigid again. “Him? That’s all you’re using? Jerome, one person can’t—”
“Enough!” roared Jerome. “I’m tired of listening to everyone backtalk me. Can we get on with this?”
Erik nodded and walked over to the table with the incense. There was also a small bowl of water and a long, roughly hewn piece of stone. Smoky quartz, I thought. Erik picked it up carefully, reverently. He pushed the tip of the wand into the smoldering incense, and then held it up so the smoke could swathe it. A couple seconds later, he dipped the wand’s end into the water. When that was completed, he began carrying the wand to the circle.
“Wait,” Carter suddenly said. He straightened up from where he’d been slouching against some boxes. “I’m going in too.”
“You’re all crazy,” muttered Mei.
“She has a point,” said Jerome. “If you’re in here—”
“I know, I know,” said Carter, stepping over the lines to join Jerome. “And I also know what might come out.” The two of them looked at each other, more silent messages passing, and then neither spoke again.
Erik returned to the circle’s center, holding the wand up high. Both Carter and Jerome had moved as far from the humans as possible without crossing the inner circle. As Erik’s arms reached heavenward, he suddenly didn’t seem like a weak old man. True, his body was frail and growing gaunter every day, but as he stood there and began chanting, he became so much more than human. Dante was a better magician when it came down to it, but Erik wasn’t without his own power, even if rarely used. If I’d been there in the flesh, I would have felt the magic he was summoning. Knowing it was there almost made me believe I could see it.