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“Hey, babe,” Ethan says, eyes going from me to Devon. “We found the demon’s next victim and she was kind enough to stop by. And by stop by, I mean she came here to kill you.”
“And I still will!” Steph pulls against her bindings, but if Ethan or Sam tied her up, there’s no way she’s escaping. “You’re all fucking psycho!” she spits vehemently and stares daggers at Ethan and Sam. “I can’t believe you two will protect the psycho killer! Obviously, you’re under some sort of spell and if you untie me, we can break it. Use some common sense!” she begs. “You’ve been hexed or cursed or something because this isn’t the Ethan Bailey I know!”
“I could say the same about you,” Ethan spits back. “Accusing innocent people of murder knowing the repercussions that has.”
Stephanie’s breathing quickens and she looks at Devin. “What? You brought another witch here to torture me?”
Devin holds up his hands. “Not here to torture anyone and I’m a warlock, not a witch.” Everyone looks at him and he gives an awkward wave. “Hi, I’m Devon.”
“I’ll do introductions in a minute,” I say. “How do we know Steph is the next target?”
“I was hoping you would ask that.” Sam twists the knife she’s holding in her hands, sunlight reflecting off the blade. “Turns out the Order has been letting people pawn stuff from the archives.” She purses her lips together, shaking her head in anger. “For centuries, the Order has been confiscating cursed or haunted objects. They’re supposed to go into a warehouse where they are blessed once a week by a priest, keeping the dark energy in check. Any sort of dark object we find is to be turned in for “safekeeping”. You know that crown that was sold at the auction house? Guess where it came from? ”
“The Order’s archives.”
“Yep. And guess who was the last one to check it out.” She raises her eyebrows, not giving me time to answer. “Patrick.”
“Fuck,” I exhale. “When?”
“Early in November,” Sam goes on. “Seems like that was the one who started this all.”
Laney and Harrison are standing by the window, both looking nervous. Both because there’s a demon trying to escape his prison cell and because they’re accessories to kidnapping and holding someone hostage now.
“So, something happened later that month that weakened the door, Kornath realized he could use some of his powers, and has been growing stronger ever since,” I say out loud.
“There was a big spike in demonic energy around Thanksgiving,” Devin tells us. “I don’t know exactly what happened, only that it was handled. That could have been enough to put a crack in the door, so to speak.”
“You are all fucking crazy,” Stephanie sneers. “Listen to yourself!”
“I’ve explained it,” Ethan says calmly. “And everything tracks. The first few deaths follow the crown. The hiker who got offed found the ceremonial dagger, the same one that was used to stab Hector. And all the others had something in their possession at one point or another that was sought out by this demon.”
He picks up a dark blue satchel from the ground. “Which leads us to this. It was in the same box as the crown back in the archives.” Ethan pulls out a wooden box, carefully opening the lid to show me a ruby necklace. The chain is rusty, and dark shadows swirl inside the stone.
“Oh…that…that thing is mega cursed! ” I rush the words out as soon as I see the stones’ gorgeous, dangerous facets.
“That’s what I told him.” Nik points at the box. “Yet he still opened the box.”
“Wait a minute.” Devin strides over and holds his hand over the box. “This is a sanguis abactor. The dark magic coming off it is strong. May I?” he asks and Ethan nods. Using magic, Devin lifts the necklace out of the box without touching it. “Notice the spikes at the back of the pendant? If you were to put this on, the spikes would attach to your flesh, absorbing your power. Then if I put it on, I’d have access to your powers. It’s temporary, but dangerous. These were outlawed centuries ago.”
He lowers his finger and the necklace drops back to the box. Ethan closes the lid and sets the box on the coffee table.
“A crown, a ceremonial dagger, and a necklace that can steal powers,” I muse. “Kornath isn’t trying to take these objects to give back to Bael. He’s trying to take them for himself.”
Chapter
Twenty-Six
“Well, shit,” Ethan huffs. “Demons are always trying to rise in the ranks. That’s why he hasn’t tested the door yet. He’s waiting until he can look the part.”
“I’m confused,” Laney says, inching closer to Harrison. “This demon wants to play dress up?”
“You could say that,” Ethan explains. “But with dark objects that give him more power.”
