Nico wasn’t any more impressed than his friend, but figured this was not the time to half-follow the instructions. “So she did.”
Having three people to help set up the summoning circle made the work go by much more quickly than if she’d been by herself. Though, admittedly, she wouldn’t have attempted something like this by herself for reasons of safety. Last thing she wanted was to summon something she thought she could control, only to find out too late that she couldn’t.
Binding the spirit was even trickier. Sealing it inside a mirror had been the first thought, but was wholly impractical, given his strength. They had decided on a large quartz crystal instead, binding him to it and then sealing it in wax. The wax would be then placed on hallowed ground, which was more than he deserved, but would keep him imprisoned until…well, forever, she supposed. Disposal wasn’t her department, Amelia had volunteered for that, thankfully, and so it was out of her hands.
As she marked out on the floor in chalk the protective circles Nico and Nigel would use, she wondered again about bringing them into this. It wasn’t a spectator sport, nor was it something that should be taken lightly, but she figured they deserved to see how it ended. It was fortunate indeed that Mags and Amelia agreed with her.
As if sensing her bout of misgivings, Mags’ hand appeared on her shoulder, giving her a comforting squeeze. “Altars are up and candles are ready. We smudged every room but the basement, so he’s out of options. You good?”
Nahia stood and surveyed the room. In almost no time, they’d set up their three altars along the outside walls of the room, sealed them, laid down a summoning circle with the crystal in the middle of it and a protective triangle around that for them to use with the corners at their respective altars, and etched out two protective circles for the guys with all the appropriate markings and inscriptions. In the spot where they would stand burned the smudging white sage in the customary abalone shells, an extra layer of protection for all of them. All that was left was to light the candles and get this party started. She pulled the medicine pouch she wore around her neck outside of her shirt and nodded. “I’m good.”
Nigel and Nico came out of the hallway then, both looking on the verge of melting from being still in their suits from work. A regrettable oversight, but not one she could rectify easily right then, given their timetable with the darkness of the new moon coming in less than half an hour.
She stopped by her altar to grab her ceremonial dagger then beckoned Nico over to the far circle, which had a camera set up on a tripod and her backpack in it. “I need you to stand in this circle and not leave it for any reason.” That last part couldn’t be underscored enough.
He balked immediately, shaking his head. “But what if—”
She silenced him with a finger over his lips. “I will handle everything out here. I need to know you will stay in this circle. Don’t step out, don’t break it, for anything. Please,” she implored him, “promise me.”
When he raised his chin defiantly, she thought he was going to refuse her, but instead he surprised her, grabbing her by the back of the neck and pulling her in for a quick, hard kiss. “I promise. So what’s the knife for? You’re not gonna be sacrificing chickens in here, are you? I just ate and I’m not sure—”
Her laughter interrupted his rambling. “My athame is used in the ceremony. I’m not going to cut anything or sacrifice anything. I’m not a chicken killer.”
“Good to know.” He trailed his fingers down the side of her face, the look of affection unmistakable. “Now I need you to do something for me. Promise me you will be careful.”
She was giddy from the kiss and the tension running through her. “That I can do. We will all be okay.” She stepped over to Nigel and led him to his own circle. “Ni, you know I ask very little of you.” He scoffed and she punched him on the shoulder. “I’m asking you now, please, stay in the circle. You know the drill, but I need to know and hear you say the words.”
Nigel looked around the room at all the altars set up and the candles Mags had gone around and lit. It was beginning to smell like a church in there, the smell of incense and melted wax heavy in the air. “I don’t know about this, Nye,” he started.
“It’s almost time,” Amelia intoned as she stood by her altar, looking out the window at the dark sky and down at her phone.
Feeling desperate, she demanded, “Nigel, please.” The last thing she needed was for him to back out now, or worse, make himself a target for McManus again.
Finally, he relented and stepped into the circle. “There? Happy now? I’ll stay here and I won’t break it.”
“Thank you,” she breathed vehemently. Turning back to the center of the room, she looked to her two friends, Amelia with her silver circlet on her head depicting the three faces of the goddess, Mags with her crystal necklace reserved for such occasions out and displayed prominently, and Nahia with her pouch. They took their places on the triangle outside the summoning circle, Mags in front of Nico, Amelia in front of Nigel, and her where she could see all of them. After a moment of silence, she nodded as her body told her that it was time. “Let’s do this.”
Nico watched the women join hands and speak in a language he didn’t understand with a terror he had never known. A brief glance down at the camera made sure it was recording, but his eyes were drawn to the scene in front of him.
The women switched to English when they started the dedication, speaking the names of those dead at the hands of McManus, and proclaiming the rite in their honor by the power of three. As they said each name, the tension in the room ratcheted up, and though it had been insufferably hot in there with the sealed windows and burning candles, it now felt downright cool. It wasn’t long before his arms erupted in gooseflesh. One look at Nigel as he rubbed his own arms told him he wasn’t imagining the shift.
“We summon you, McManus. In the name of all those who went before you. We summon you, by all that we hold holy. We summon and bind you to this place.” Nahia’s voice was strong and surprisingly not shaky, and he was struck again with the image of her, ten feet tall and bulletproof. It was comforting to see her so in her element and unafraid. She was fearless enough for all of them put together, he was pretty sure.
The candles on either side of the door flickered and the flames danced, pointing in the direction of the circle. He didn’t need Mags’ announcement of McManus arrival to know something had fundamentally changed in the room.
All the hair on his body rose as he heard a growl, almost feral in nature, come from the direction of the women.
“You…came back.” The voice was soft, but audible in the silence of the room, the surprise in it was quite obvious. The fact that Nico could hear him so clearly was stunning to him, and not something he wanted to ponder too deeply.
“You didn’t think I was going to let you get away with your little display last time, did you?” Nahia demanded on a laugh.
“You…can’t…keep…me.” The snarled threat made Nico’s blood run cold.
“I know your name. I can do whatever I want,” Nahia responded arrogantly. “I told you I was dangerous, and you came for me and my friends anyway.” She sniffed in distain. “Your mistake.”
Though Nico couldn’t exactly see what was going on inside the circle, his body told him bad things were afoot. He could now see his breath, his nose was numb, and he had begun to tremble. From the cold, from the fear, he didn’t know, but then the windows began to rattle in their frames, and he knew he wasn’t the only one shaking.
“I will kill you.” McManus’ voice was gravelly, and he spoke with a confidence of a man long used to getting his own way.
“Like you did your wife? And your kids? You’re welcome to try,” she goaded. Nico could make out her predatory smile.
For a moment, the room was completely still, like ‘the world had stopped spinning’ still. Then it exploded in light as all the candle flames jumped at once, casting dancing shadows all around them, and an opaque black mist g
athered in the center of the circle, almost obliterating his view of Nahia. The windows resumed rattling, this time accompanied by pops and cracks as the wood and glass slowly succumbed to his relentless pressures. A bowl from one of the altars flew across the room of its own accord, flying between the women, and he could see Nahia fight the need to take a step back.
“Valiant effort. You failed again.” Shaking off her fear, like a wet dog, she soldiered on. “I demand you tell me why you killed those people. Your wife. Your children. Aurelio Scarpino.”
The growl sounded dangerous, lethal, like a cornered animal preparing to fight. Something else crashed to the floor just out of Nico’s eyesight in the dark room, and the last thing he wanted to do was fire up his flashlight and draw attention to himself.
“They weren’t my children.”
Oh damn. Nico met Nahia’s gaze briefly before she turned back to the thing in front of her. It made sense now, and he had to admit it was a thought that had come to mind when he’d talked about it to Nahia. Though from the letters, he wouldn’t have thought it possible Aurelio would betray Thea, and he knew it wasn’t possible for Aurelio to have kids. Justice for my wife…the phrase kept rolling around his head as McManus spoke again.
“She betrayed me, with him. She bore his guinea bastard spawn. They didn’t deserve to carry my name.” He spat the words like the very concept of it offended him, no contrition or remorse. “His wife left because she couldn’t bear the shame.”
“His wife left to care for her dying mother,” Nahia fired back at him. “They had no children because they couldn’t have any. You took him from her. Just like you took the lives of your children and your wife. For no reason. The only thing you didn’t take that day was responsibility for your actions by killing yourself.”
He sounded panicked, desperate, as he exclaimed, “She was the one responsible! She took him to her bed. I did the English twat a favor by ridding her of him.”
“You killed an innocent man. You damned an innocent man.” Nahia’s voice reeked of disgust and was full of the steel Nico saw in her earlier.
Her condemnation was met with laughter, slow rumbling laughter that had Nico reaching for his gun out of habit. The temperature dropped further, and the windows began to frost at the edges.
“And if I did? I’m dead, what else could you possibly do to me?” He continued laughing, and more things fell off the altars and flew across the room. “I have power. Beyond your understanding.”
Nahia snorted derisively. “You can walk through walls, throw stuff. Big deal.” The window frame behind her cracked dangerously. “You have parlor tricks. I have power. Donnell McManus.”
He snarled as soon as she uttered his name.
“That’s right,” she purred, her voice and demeanor now completely predatory, “I meant what I said. I have your name, so I own you, and now you will leave this house.”
“It’s my house! Mine! I won’t leave!” the voice was no longer even close to human, little more than a rolling growl.
She raised her blade and pointed it at him, with Mags and Amelia following suit. “Donnell McManus, I bind you.”
The howl of pain tore through the room, and Nico crossed himself out of reflex and suddenly felt the need to take a leak. They each repeated the phrase by themselves, but didn’t get to repeat it together since one of the windows spiderwebbed from the bottom up like it had been slammed shut, though it had never moved. The flames on the candles danced madly and grew to worrisome heights.
The walls began to tremble and the floorboards began to shake and separate. Nico understood why she’d told him not to move. He’d have liked nothing better than to tuck her under his arm like the game-winning ball and carry her out of there like he did last time, but knew she wouldn’t have allowed it. In a fumble for the suddenly-off kilter camera, he noticed the salt from the circle seeping through the equally sudden gaps in the floorboards. “Nahia—”
“Not now,” was the curt response. She was so focused on the situation in front of her, she didn’t even look at him. “Donnell McManus, I—”
Growing increasingly alarmed at the growing holes in the protective circle she’d confined him to, he tried again, raising his voice. “Nahia, the circle!”
She looked then, and her distraction caused by her concern for his safety was all the opening McManus needed. The mist shot out toward her as the entity shoved her back. All the way back into her altar, out of the circle, and breaking it as she dragged her heels in a futile attempt to halt her movement. She slammed into the wall and slid down into her candles and burning incense. “Mother fucker!”
Now Nico had two problems. His desire to go to Nahia and check on her was winning, but his desire to be away from the suddenly free entity was a close second. Unsure if he should move, he took a step toward Nigel. Maybe he could take refuge in the other circle. He felt the terrible moment the entity’s attention focused solely on him. His skin chilled and all the hair on his body stood up.
He lunged toward Nigel’s spot. Nahia scrambled to her feet, and the faint scent of burnt hair and flesh stung Nico’s nose. His larger senses told him McManus was hot on his heels and gaining fast. Blood pounded in his ears. He registered the look of terror on Nigel’s face as he watched over Nico’s shoulder. Whatever was behind him was bad, really, really bad.
“Everybody stop!” The voice, a vicious growl, almost sounded like Nahia, but he’d never heard her like that before. He came to a halt out of reflex to the command, and everything in the room fell silent.
There was mayhem, and there was hot mess. This situation was a disgusting blend of both. McManus’ rage had freed him from the circle, threatening the love of her life. And to add insult to injury, she had solid wax in her scorched hair from where she fell into the candles, and more than likely had a few burns up her back from the incense.
“You!” She pointed to Nico. “Hallway, now. Don’t break the seal.” Part of sealing the hallway was to cut off McManus’ escape route, but it also served as a good back up plan in a pinch. Not waiting to see if Nico did as she’d asked, she turned her considerable attention to the black void hovering just behind him.
She was shocked at his strength, after all these years of being alone in the house without any fear to feed on. His power spoke more to the depths of his rage than anything else. It should have dawned on her when he threw the chifferobe at them that he was unlike anything she’d dealt with before. But to her credit, she was the same to him.
“McManus, you will return to the circle,” Nahia commanded. She pointed with her athame as she fished in her pocket for her spare pouch of salt. She stared at the two gaps in the salt, left by her dragging heels as she was forced across the room. These two small breaks had allowed his malevolence to escape into the room.
“You can’t control me.” The voice was soft, taunting, high on the small victory he’d achieved so far.
“You’re wrong.” She knelt and filled in the spots with salt and redrew the sacred symbols her flailing had damaged. When she stood, she rolled her head around her shoulders, completely pissed this was what it had come to, this sheer battle of wills and spellcraft. This was what she’d walked away from, was happy without now. But no, he had to bring her back to this place. Well, if that’s how he wanted it… “In the circle, McManus. Do not make me ask again.”
“Or what?” The voice was in a different place now, closer to Nigel, as he reveled in his newfound freedom. Her eyes tracked the black void of his embodiment as it moved from Nigel, to behind Amelia and then over to Mags. Still, he kept away from her, which was probably for the best.
There was no contingency in place for this kind of emergency, nothing in the plan they’d conceived to cover this. She met Mags’ questioning eyes and knew she had to make a decision. “Or I will summon something infinitely nastier than you to make you do it. You think I’m bad? I can show you things, old man, things that will scare the dead right off of you.” It was an indelicate solution, b
ut very doable given the circumstances. She wasn’t worried about the circle. It would hold now, and she’d designed it for just this purpose, but her friends? That was another matter.
“Nye—” Mags’ warning tone wasn’t unexpected. She was not familiar with the dark forms of magic. It wasn’t her scene, but Nahia hoped she’d go along with the ruse long enough to accomplish their goal, and Amelia would not be pleased, but would hopefully follow Mags’ lead.
Ignoring the collective misgivings of the room, she focused solely on her opponent. “You wanted this. I came here with peaceful intentions, but you wanted to do this the hard way.” She spit into the circle and held up her hand. She drew her athame down her palm and blood dripped into the circle.
The room echoed with screams of protest. Mags. Amelia. McManus, because he knew what she’d done and what it meant. And Nico and Nigel out of confusion, she was pretty sure. Either way, all the cards were on the table. She’d brought a rocket launcher to a gun fight, even if her right hand was now on the growing list of casualties from this adventure.
“Now, as I said, Donnell McManus, you will get your ass back in that circle, or so help me—” her threat was cut off by the rush of cold past her as McManus took his place between the three women. He knew now that she was serious, at least she hoped he did. “I bind you,” she spat scornfully. “In the name of everything I hold dear, I bind you.” Mags and Amelia repeated the binding and then they all said it together, finally, finally completing the ritual.
All at once, it was silent again. The summer’s heat returned by almost imperceptible degrees until Nico’s skin no longer prickled from the cold. He peered out of the hallway at Nigel, whose mouth hung open in mute shock and eyes only blinked sparingly.
“Everybody okay?” Nahia asked, her voice sounding as on edge as he felt.
“Good here,” he said immediately and met her gaze, the love between them almost tangible right in that moment.
Dead and Disorderly (Behind the Blue Line Series Book 2) Page 22