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“I’ll let you know when we find something,” Nox said with a nod at Nelson, signaling that he was ready to go.
He was frozen, his pencil and pad hanging at his sides. “Yup,” he croaked, then coughed as he put them away. “We’ll check in soon.”
“I know you’ll find this monster and put an end to all of this,” Howard said as he escorted them to the door. His smile and hopefulness made Nox happy. It was good to see a little of the old Howard again.
Nox waved as he pulled the shop’s door shut and stood tall on the stoop. He pressed his palm against the wooden jamb and shut his eyes. “Loving sun and sacred night, bless this place and keep it for the light,” he prayed, then pressed his thumb hard against the door, just above the knob, smearing his blood into the grain. He trusted Howard to ward the shop from within and made a note to stop by his place on the way to Julian’s.
“I’ll arrange for a protective detail, too. Not that I’m doubting…that,” Nelson said, waving vaguely at the shop’s door as he headed for the Continental.
Nox smiled, but it was calculating as he went around to his side. “We can’t be too careful. We’ve already seen that the Badb can get into two different prisons.”
Nineteen
“Isn’t this better?” Nox asked, turning in his seat and grinning at the rows of headstones as Nelson steered around a long, gentle bend.
Nelson slid him a dubious look and shrugged. He was no longer disturbed or saddened by them, but he still didn’t share Nox’s adoring enthusiasm. “I suppose.”
“Look at all those flowers!” Nox said as he tapped his window, smiling to himself. “There was a service here a few days ago. Think of all the memories people brought with them and the love they left with each bouquet and wreath.”
But his entire demeanor changed when they came around the corner and Nox spotted Julian’s house. He muttered a string of curses and complaints under his breath and took his time getting out and following Nelson up the lawn.
“Are you okay?” Nelson asked as he punched in the code on the lockbox on the door.
Nox scowled up at the house from the bottom step. “It feels even dirtier and more sickly if that’s possible,” he said and Nelson nodded.
He didn’t know if it was in his head because he knew what horrors the quaint cottage’s facade hid or if he was sensing an evil vibe. “I know it’s one of your favorite cemeteries, but I’d be glad if I never set eyes on this place again.” No part of Nelson’s being wanted to be there and his instincts roared that this wasn’t good for Nox. “What if I video-called you from inside and you walked me through? You can tell me what you’re looking for,” he suggested, earning a snorting eye roll from Nox as he climbed the steps.
“I will not wait outside like a scared child,” he said, then reared back when he reached the top of the stoop. “But someone does not want me in here,” he added with a pained grunt. “Do me a favor and open that door wide for me.”
“Are you sure?” Nelson asked, receiving an irritated glare. “Fine,” he said, easing the door open. He peeked around it, making sure no one was there before stepping over the threshold. He was immediately aware of the pressure bearing down on him as if he was deep, deep underground and the air was cold. “Whoa. I feel it,” he said, turning to Nox. Nelson rubbed his ear against his shoulder, annoyed by the high-pitched whine rising around them.
“He’s done a lot more than wipe his blood on the door and leave a warding spell,” Nox said, ducking as he came inside. “Dear gods, he’s sick.” His gaze crawled along the ceiling and around him.
“What are we looking for?” Nelson asked impatiently. “Let’s focus on what you need and get out of here.” His stomach was sour and his palms were sweating. The heavy thud of Nelson’s heart grew louder with each step and he heard a drumbeat in the distance.
“He’s been through here and removed any trace of him or anything of value to his practice. We’d already have his name if he left any fingerprints or DNA.” Nox murmured as he tiptoed around the Key of Solomon carved into the living room floor. “There was blood and semen in his casting, but he’s burned it with blue fire. You can smell it,” he said, wafting the air toward his face.
Nelson sniffed and grimaced. “Sulfur.”
“Very dangerous, blue fire,” Nox noted, clicking his teeth. He drifted around the stairs. They slowly made their way down the short hallway to the basement and the kitchen door. Nox peeked around the wall at the kitchen, surveying the counters and the cabinets and shook his head. “There’s nothing here. It’s just a kitchen.”
They regarded the basement door and neither felt the need to comment. It would never be “just a basement” on the other side of that door and the sound of their fast, frantic breaths was all Nelson could hear as he pushed the bolt aside and turned the handle.
“The first handis that handles thee, the devillis blind thy mind to time and me,” Nox chanted in a low, monotonous mumble.
“What?” Nelson spun and checked Nox’s eyes. “That wasn’t Gaelic.”
“Another demon’s charm,” Nox whispered, sniffing hard as he stared past Nelson at the steps. “To erase a memory or a moment. I don’t know any white or good magick to erase or tamper with a memory. Memory is the soul of magick—how we learn it, keep it, and share it. It’s sacred,” he explained quietly. “There are only dark spells for that but I would free their souls and their memories of this place if I can.”
Nelson snorted in agreement, mustering his courage as he took the first step and reached for the light switch. “Could you free our souls? I can see the floor and it doesn’t smell like it’s sweltering and rotting down there, but I can still see all the snakes.”
“It was a fading charm,” Nox said as he followed Nelson down the stairs. “It can make this place fade in everyone’s memories so it’s harder to come back. But I would have to do this several times and do some dark casting of my own to completely erase it,” he explained, his voice crumbling and quaking with every step until they’d reached the bottom. “Nelson!” He sank, holding onto the rail and recoiling.
The floor was a simple, rough, uneven slab and had been cleared and cleaned down to the dingy cement and the walls were bare now. Nelson could see no trace of the girls or the hooks that had kept them suspended like faded, wet dresses.
“There’s nothing here,” Nelson said, taking a few hesitant steps so he could search the shadows in the corner.”
“This is Hell!” Nox choked out, tears pattering onto the floor between his feet as he covered his ears. “I can still hear them begging for help and calling for their mothers. The first handis that handles thee, the devillis blind thy mind to time and me,” he repeated as he rocked.
