The basement was musty, damp and filled with unpacked boxes, lawn and gardening equipment and tools that Jake really didn’t use and had purchased to fit in with his bristling, straight neighbors who seemed to make lawn care a second job.
Jake had used the excuse to the others that he was still sorting through his things down here to make sure he didn’t need any of them. The house was still really new to him so the excuse seemed logical.
Nick was taking a turn watching over Nicki while Rick and Caleb sat upstairs watching TV in the living room. Micah was on the night shift today, partnered up with someone new at the hospital—a Laura somebody. Jake really didn’t care what her name was.
Now, how to get Rick out of the house so he could put an end to Caleb and this whole mess, that was the next piece of this metaphysical puzzle. Jake shook his head and sighed—demons, angels, magic and possession. It was getting to be a little too much.
Despite his crises of faith, Jake found himself following the Arch Demon Sebastian’s instructions to the letter. He assembled his ingredients into a glass jar—some of his own blood, some cemetery dirt from hallowed ground, he figured there was a church on the cemetery grounds in the city and luckily there was one just outside of his neighborhood, some salt and the hair of a corpse from someone who was devout. This was where working at a hospital helped out a lot. Just a quick, quiet trip to the morgue and a few file searches he was able to find the body of an eighty-eight-year-old woman who passed from a heart attack who was a devout Catholic and cut a few white hairs from her head.
Now he was ready to lock Caleb in a temporary barrier so he could go up and press the sigil onto him—the sigil Sebastian taught him in Nicki’s bedroom. He drew it on a piece of paper just like the one he had found in the diner. Caleb’s sigil was constructed of two interlaced circles with three stars in the center of them incased inside of a rectangle. Not too complicated.
Jake pulled the sigil out and stared at it. “So much power in such a little thing.” He plugged his small glass bottle up with a cork and slipped it into his pocket along with the sigil.
Footsteps creaked across the ceiling prompting Jake to head back upstairs. He pulled the chain for the basement light and entered the kitchen. There, Rick was rummaging through the refrigerator and freezer.
“Hey,” Rick called. “All done?”
“For now. Didn’t really see anything I needed. Can I help you find something?”
“Oh… just wondering if you had anything sweet. I got a real craving for something.”
“Sorry. I don’t keep much in the house.”
Rick eyed him and smiled. “Yeah, you’re a doctor. You know that sugary desserts are nothing but crap. But everyone once in a while…”
“Hey. I get ya. I have a sweet tooth too. I’m from the South remember? Pecan pie, sweet potato pie, banana pudding, chocolate cake, chocolate pie, home-fried donuts were always around my house.”
Rick laughed. “Sounds amazing.”
“Tell ya what. Why don’t you run and get us some ice cream. I’m buying.” Jake pulled out his wallet and held out some money.”
“All right! What kind do you like?”
“Anything really. Take your time. Get some fudge sauce and whipped cream. We’ll make sundaes.”
“Sound like fun.” Rick took the money, fished his car keys out of his pocket and headed for the door.
Inside, Jake was patting himself on the back. He loved how resourceful he’d become since meeting Micah and the others.” He smiled as he watched Rick leave the house.
A moment later he sucked in some air and made his way slowly to the living room. Caleb sat on the couch with his back to Jake, watching TV. He stood studying the back of Caleb’s head and reached into his pocket. He clasped the jar inside of it, tightening his grip around it, squeezing it as hard as he could.
Caleb turned his head and smiled. “Hey Jake, this documentary about the animals of Africa is so interesting. You should sit and watch it with me.”
Jake smiled back. “Yeah, I should. That would be great. I love animals.” He squeezed the jar in his pocket even tighter.
###
Sondra held little Zach up to her breast and he suckled quietly. Not a sound escaped him as he fed. His eyes were closed and his warm body squirmed very slightly against hers.
The doorbell rang. Zach paused, his eyes opened briefly before he returned to feeding. Sondra looked up at the door and started to get up from the couch with hesitation.
“I’ll get it!” Cole dashed into the room, urging his wife to finish with their infant son. He opened the front door to find a middle-aged man with red hair standing there. He held a satchel in one hand and a piece of paper in the other.
“Micah Donovan?”
Cole smiled. “Sorry, you have the wrong Donovan. I’m his brother Cole.”
“Oh, I’m sorry. I saw Donovan on the listing and assumed.”
“That’s okay. Are you a friend of Micah’s?”
“Not yet. I need to meet him as soon as possible.”
“Why? Is he in some sort of trouble? Are you from the police department?” Cole stepped aside and beckoned for him to come in.
“He may be.” He nodded and stepped inside. “Tom, Tom Arson.”
Cole shook his hand and turned to look at Sondra, there was some concern on her face, she had covered herself and held their son on her shoulder, gently patting his back. “My wife Sondra and our son Zach.”
Tom nodded again. “I was sure Micah lived here. He comes up on all of my readings.”
“Readings? What’s this all about?”
“Can you point me in the right direction? A phone number or email? Anything?”
“Um, not before you tell me what’s going on and who you are? Is my brother in some sort of trouble? Are you a bill collector or something?”
Tom chuckled and shook his head. “No Mister Donovan, nothing like that.”
“So what is it?”
“I’m a paranormal investigator and versed in some occult arts. I perform banishments, cleansings, and protection while I investigate hauntings, possessions, inter-dimensional travel, alien abductions. There’s an event coming. I’ve been tracking it a while and all my investigations have finally brought me here to Blackstone. Your brother is at the center of it. He may be in grave danger.”
“What?” Cole blinked his eyes in disbelief. He was simply at a loss for words. He tried to say something else but couldn’t find his voice.
“Does your brother keep company with demons or angels?” asked Tom. “Is he dating one of them? Is he intimate with any of them?”
“Okay that’s it,” Cole said as he grabbed the front door and pulled it open. “I’m going to have to ask you to leave.”
“There’s an event coming…right here Mister Donovan. It’s in this neighborhood. The balance between good and evil has been disrupted. A fissure in this balance will come right here and there will be consequences.”
“Please leave.” Cole was a lot firmer now. “Or I’ll have to call the police.”
Baby Zach let out a cry and Sondra cuddled him. Getting up, she left the room.
Tom’s gaze swept the room and he nodded to Cole with a smile. “Very well. Sorry to have bothered you and your lovely family.”
Cole shut the door behind Tom and turned back to the living room, running his fingers through his hair. “What the hell?” He grabbed his cell phone and dialed Micah.
###
Tom looked around Cole’s neighborhood. All of the old colonial houses were quiet and unassuming. The yards were well kept and the streets were empty. Some of the streets were still made of the original cobblestone.
He walked on past his car a little ways to a crossroads. Beneath the light of a streetlamp he bent down and put his hand in the center of it. “Yep. This is the place. Soon.” He took a piece of chalk from his satchel and drew a six-pointed star in the center of the crossroads then looked up at the stars in the sky. When he was satisfied with his art he returned to his car and left the area. He still had to find Micah. Something was shielding him from being found. Tom wasn’t quite sure what that was… yet.
###
Nick was playing a game on his phone when Micah came through the front door of Nicki’s apartment.
“Micah? I thought you were working.” Nick stuffed his phone into his jean’s pocket and stood up from the couch. “It’s my turn to be here.”
“I asked to leave early. It’s okay buddy. You go home, be with Jake. I’ll watch over her.”
Nick gave Micah a big hug.
“How’s she been?” Micah asked.
“Mostly sleeping. I went in a few times and checked on her and she’s out. Snoring even.”
Micah chuckled. “Guess that’s a good sign. Thank you for everything.”
“Don’t even mention it.”
They hugged again before Nick left the condo. Micah sidled up to the bedroom door and listened. He didn’t hear anything. He eased the door open and stepped in carefully.
Nicki was asleep on the bed, her hands still restrained. Micah watched her chest rise and fall. She seemed so peaceful. He sat on the edge of the bed and stared, wanting to reach out to her, wanting to comfort her but he knew better.
Her eyes shot open. A crooked smile split her face. “Hello Micah. Come to watch me ravage your best friend?”
“Screw you.”
“Maybe later.”
“Leave her alone. She wasn’t involved in any of this. This is my fault. You want to wreck someone try wrecking me.”
“That would be loads of fun but having you watch it happen to your best friend… now that’s priceless.”
“Again screw you, demon. We will get you out.”
“Oh I doubt that. I got a pretty good grip here.”
“Nicki, I know you can hear me in there. You’re still you. Remember that. Fight him, fight him with all of your strength.”
Nicki’s face melted into a mask of anguish. Her lips trembled and her eyes pleaded with him. “Micah… oh Micah… help me… please… I can’t fight him… I…”
Micah reached out for her, putting his arms around her. “Nicki! I’m here.”
She suddenly gnashed her teeth at him, missing his throat by inches. Micah stumbled away from the bed, his heart slamming against his chest. Wicked laughter spilled out of Nicki.
“Stupid primate. You really think it’s that easy. You say a few encouraging words than poof I’m gone. Really? You know,” Nicki’s smile grew so impossibly wide Micah thought her cheeks my shatter. “It won’t be long before I can break these restraints. When Nicki is completely gone I will burst out of here with all of my hellish power and cast your city aflame.”
“Not gonna happen.”
She licked her lips and continued on as if Micah had said nothing. “Then, after your demon lover is sent back to Hell, you will be all alone, Micah. All alone.”
“Caleb isn’t going anywhere.”
“Oh really? I wouldn’t bet on that.”
“I’m done listening to you. Pretty soon it will be you going straight back to Hell. And I would bet on that.”
Micah crossed the room and left, closing the door behind him. He heard laughter on the other side of it. The hallways felt ominous as they filled with shadows. A bad feeling stirred in the pit of his stomach and he kept repeating the demon Sebastian’s words in his head over and over. He was missing something, he was sure of it.
He entered he living room with a sigh and sat down, running his hands through his hair, something his brother always did. Micah thought of him just then and the baby. His cell vibrated and to his surprise it was Cole calling.
Micah started to answer when he got an awful feeling about Caleb. Something was wrong. Something was terribly wrong. An empty feeling of loss surged through him. It tore at his insides like nothing before. He sent Cole’s call to voicemail.
###
Jake paced around the kitchen for the last time then stopped. He eyed the doorway to the living room and ripped the bottle from his pocket.
He thumped his foot on the floor then called out: “Caleb! I need help!”
“Jake?” Caleb’s voice reverberated through the rooms. “Are you all right? Is something wrong?”
“I think I twisted something…can you come help me?”
“I am coming now.”
Caleb crossed the kitchen’s threshold and Jake hurled the small glass bottle at his feet. It smashed with a strange bellowing echo. The smell of soot filled the air. A glowing circle formed around Caleb and he froze. Jake saw the shock in the fallen angel’s eyes and the panic that began to take shape. The circle ignited with green fire.
“Jake what have you done?”
“I’m sorry, Caleb. You don’t belong here. You need to go back to where you came from.” Jake pulled Caleb’s sigil out of his pocket and started toward him.
“I cannot move,” Caleb said as he spotted his sigil in Jake’s hand. “Jake, please no. Please do not do this.”
“You’re putting us all in danger. Especially Micah. I need to send you back so he can see how better I am for him. Nothing personal but demons belong in Hell.”