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"Well, we have four gargoyle protectors, plus the four of us," Callie began. "We know Carline must have summoned a demon successfully in 1834, and she lived for decades after that. We'd only be following her instructions. With all the safeguards, we should be perfectly safe."
Octavia agreed with Callie, but she couldn't help saying, "Mostly safe. As long as we do it outside, far enough away from the house. We still don't know why the original mill burned – it might have been the demon's doing."
Callie made a noise like a spitting cat. "Or maybe Carline just knocked over a candle or a lamp one night, and that set fire to it. You don't know if the fire had anything to do with demons or magic or Carline at all."
Tacey waved at the men in the room. "What do you guys think about this? Last time we tried this spell, we brought you four back from the dead. What if, instead of a demon, we end up with more men like you?"
Grant held up his hands, his tone calm and reasonable, which automatically sent Octavia's hackles up. "I trust Callie to get the spell right this time. She has her kinsman's heart, after all, still filled with his blood. The chances of there being more gargoyles like us here are very low. I mean, this is your home, not a cemetery. Who'd be buried here?"
Octavia opened her mouth to mention the Hooghly Town cemetery, near the southern edge of the property, where the regional park began. Harlow had said he'd felt something there the night he disappeared, though he hadn't been sure what. There might be more gargoyles, or all kinds of things they didn't know about.
Grant continued, "So when Callie summons this demon..."
"Sean Bell. His name is Sean Bell," Octavia piped up.
Grant inclined his head. "So when Callie summons this demon, Sean Bell, he will be under her control, and she can ask all of your questions. We'll all be here to help in case anything goes wrong, and four gargoyles against one demon are not good odds for the demon, even if he could escape Callie's safeguards, which I doubt, because my wife is nothing if not an incredibly powerful witch." He gave Callie such a besotted look that Octavia almost laughed.
"Lovesick fool," Harlow whispered, half under his breath.
Octavia was inclined to agree, but she wanted this as much as Callie did. The only way to truly know Sean Bell's story was to ask him, and if he answered a demon summoning spell, then she already had the most important answer of all. Of course, that would also mean that they were all descended from the marriage of a demon and a witch, but she didn't dare mention that yet. Not until she was certain.
"We will protect you. Nothing will happen to any of you ladies. I swear it," Wystan said.
Stan rose. "I, too, will swear it."
Grant rolled his eyes. "Of course it won't. This is perfectly safe!"
Harlow blew out a breath. They were back at the mill all over again, about to follow Grant in doing the most stupid thing he could possibly think of. "This time, when something goes wrong, I will be here to save you." But his eyes weren't on Grant. Instead, he was staring at Octavia.
Octavia's mouth went dry. She understood, and nodded.
Callie rubbed her hands together. "All right, let's do this!"
TWENTY-EIGHT
This time, the ritual seemed to proceed so much faster. Maybe it was because Callie had marked the circles of runes before, or that there was almost no wind down in the dip of the driveway between Bell House and the ruins of Bell Cottage. Maybe it was because they weren't trespassing on the site of a centuries old cemetery, but instead performing the ritual on their own property. When Octavia had mentioned the need for consecrated ground, Callie had produced a big bottle of holy water and blessed the site herself, insisting she was better at this than most priests, plus she pronounced the Latin words right.
Octavia wasn't sure, but it seemed almost no time at all before she was holding hands with Wystan and Harlow, part of a circle that included all the Bell House girls except Rory, and all four gargoyles. If Grant was still a gargoyle – she still wasn't sure about that, and Callie had been too busy preparing the spell to give her answers.
Oh, well. Hopefully when Sean Bell arrived in the centre of the circle, he'd have all the answers she needed.
At Callie's nod, the chanting began.
"We command thee, Sean Bell, demon, to enter this circle. You will help protect us, obey our commands, and answer our questions, as long as you are under our command, or within this circle..."
Just like the first time, Octavia felt the power rising up from their circle, tingling in her hands. Almost like magic, the heart in the centre of the salt circle began to glow.
"We command thee, Sean Bell, demon, to enter this circle..."
Wind rose up, whipping at their hair and clothes, but it didn't touch the candles in the centre of their circle. Now the power was humming through her. Octavia could barely believe it, but this time she had no doubts. The spell had worked before, and it would work now, too. It was already working. She could feel it.
"What in the devil's name are you doing? Stop that at once!" an unfamiliar male voice roared.
The chanting faltered, then resumed, louder than ever.
"I said stop that! Do you want to set off the wards? If you open a portal to hell on the property, you'll wake everything, and let me tell you, demons will be the least of your problems then!" the voice threatened.
Octavia looked around. Storming down the driveway, as though he'd come from Bell House, was a man built like a wrestler. For a moment, she thought he had wings like Harlow, but then she blinked and realised he was just bulky – muscles upon muscles that made all the gargoyles look slim by comparison.
