“He thinks he’s slick,” says Houston.
I hold up the pocket watch. “Come to think of it, I can think of someone you would be useful to, however.”
“It would please me to assist any ally of yours.”
“Good. Then you should enjoy being introduced to Morrigan Magus.”
The demon sighs wearily.
I go upstairs to talk to Amber and find her father walking toward the house. I force myself to smile. “Hello, I’m Nancy Werlock. Amber—”
“Werlock? Oh thank God,” says William as he shakes my hand. “When Amber called me, I was afraid she had let some hack into the house.” He turns around and waves to Amber. “Honey, call your mother and tell her I’ll be able to pick up that stuff for her after all.”
“Oh…Okay, dad.” Amber walks down to the sidewalk to call her mother.
“I take it you were aware of your father’s…hobby?”
“Yeah. Amber didn’t see anything, did she?”
“No, we kept her outside. We found the issue.”
“Good. You’ll take it with you?”
“Yeah, actually that was what we were going to discuss with Amber. We found all of your father’s things.” I study William’s aura. He doesn’t seem to have any magical talents.
“When mom died, I tore the house apart trying to find them to get rid of them. I didn’t want Amber stumbling on them. But then she called me telling me an exorcist was breaking down a wall and she didn’t know if it was right that she gave them the okay and…I’m just glad she actually managed to find someone… like you.”
“Your father told you what he was?”
“He danced around it. Never really talked about it directly. From what I figured mom made him quit practicing when we got old enough to realize what he was doing. We never said anything to Amber. But he always said that if anything weird happened, call Three Wishes. He said Werlocks were professionals.”
“Mom said to bring home milk,” says Amber as she approaches. “Is…everything all right?”
“Everything is fine, honey. Ms. Werlock is handling the clean-up. It was just—”
“Poltergeist,” I say. “Was stuck behind the wall and couldn’t get itself free. It happens sometimes. Perfectly harmless. Just annoying. Like having a squirrel in the attic.”
“Oh. Well…good. So, about the cost?”
“Grandma had some antiques in the basement Ms. Werlock is interested in,” says William.
“Yes, instead of worrying about the estate paying, we’ll just pick through the …antiques and anything your father is comfortable parting with we’ll go with that.”
“Oh! Cool. Yeah. So…good.”
“Sweetie, why don’t you head home and I’ll finish up here with Ms. Werlock?” Amber hugs her dad and leaves. William sighs with relief. “So, what exactly did you find?”
“Do you really want to know?”
“Come to think of it, no. I don’t.”
Eric teleports back to the shop and returns with some storage boxes. We get everything boxed up and put in the car. I hand Houston Courtland’s copy of The Lesser Key of Solomon. “That is a vintage 1803 edition produced by Warweisser and Clark. Supposedly there are only nine copies still in existence, and three of them are at the Nexus in Hamburg.”
“Bet this would be worth something on eBay,” Houston quips.
“Don’t make me hurt you.”
“I’m kidding! I’ll make sure it gets in the library.”
“Houston, I want you to have it.”
He looks at me with a confused expression. “Have it? As in like, baby’s first grimoire?”
“I wasn’t going to put it that way, but, yeah. If you are going to be a demonologist, you should start your own collection.”
“Bet it’s bound in human flesh,” says Eric.
“That’s gross. It’s not, is it?”
“Of course it is. All the Warweisser and Clark editions were bound in the flesh of murderers.”
“You are screwing with me, right?”
“No, look,” I take the book back from him and open it to the title page. They even include details on the crime in the introduction. That’s what made them so valuable.”
“That’s…disgusting! I should have been wearing gloves or something!”
“Oh by the gods, Houston. Half the demonology tomes in the library are bound in flesh.”
“Why did you not tell me this before?”
“It’s not like they were skinned alive, Houston.”
“Told you, mate,” says Eric. “Sage Mardalucco had one where the bloke was skinned alive. Heretic that defiled a church or something like that.”
“See? College of Divinities,” I say. “That is disgusting. And excessive.” I shove the book back at Houston. He reluctantly takes it. “The Rank Four trials always have a few questions about The Lesser Key. So it is a grimoire you should read.”
“Fine. But if this thing makes me go crazy and I cut off my hand and replace it with a chainsaw, it will be your fault.”
“I accept responsibility.” I pat him on the shoulder and we head back to the shop to sort through the rest of the items.
Houston and I sort through Courtland’s things as Eric gets the shop reopen. Amy is feeling talkative and freely shares the details of how he ended up in the pocket watch and why. Courtland’s father used to tell him stories about a secret treasure hoard in the Pinelands. There is no evidence his father was a witch, nor am I familiar with any legends regarding treasure. It was probably no more than bedtime stories told to a child, but Courtland apparently believed them. Courtland was a wizard, a mundane who through research and training developed magical talent. The College of Evocation caught wind of him late in life and contacted him regarding his work. He registered as a demonologist and completed the trials, barely, but then stopped interacting with the College.
Amy doesn’t know how Courtland came across a copy of The Lesser Key of Solomon, but he had developed his talents enough to effectively call a demon. Amy had answered the call willingly, sensing a weak wizard who might easily be manipulated. The pocket watch was to serve as a compass of sorts, allowing Amy to guide Courtland to various treasures. But after the initial binding, something spooked Courtland and he sealed up the room and locked the pocket watch away.
After some research, I determine that Amy is a Rank Four Fiend. Fiends are very powerful and highly morphic, with higher ranking fiends often ruling their own fiefdoms. Courtland is lucky that Amy was cooperative; otherwise the Fiend would have easily broken the original summoning circle and probably killed him and his wife. Amy’s vice appears to be greed, which is why he so eagerly agreed to assist Courtland with his treasure-hunting.
“So are you turning him over to your grandmother?” asks Houston.
“Why, you want a pet demon?”
“No, just thought maybe the Guild would be interested in him.”
“My wealth of knowledge could prove invaluable to your guild, Lady Werlock.”
“Okay, out with it, Amy. Why on earth are you so nervous about Nanna?”
“Only that Morrigan Magus is deceased, and thus empowered in the planes itself. She would be unlikely to release me from servitude so that I might have future opportunities to visit the physical realm.”
“You know, it does seem unfair to banish him after he’s spent so long trapped behind that wall.”
“This again? You have to be the most sympathetic demonologist ever.”
“The guy just wants to get out of the abyss. Can’t fault him for that.”
“Your compassion does you credit, young warlock,” says Amy.
“Oh please,” I say. “You can stop buttering us up, Amy.” I look at the assorted ritual items. “This stuff is all in good condition. You want any of this?”
“I…I guess?”
“It isn’t like a used car, Houston. All of this stuff has already been charged and enchanted. This is all ready-to-use.”
“Wel
l, if things don’t work out with me and Risha, I could always summon a succubus, right?”
“I would kill you.”
“Liked a Rank Five. Something subservient.”
Amy laughs. “Subservient succubi. Mortal men are amusing.”
“I’m joking! Geesh. Like I don’t have enough problems. I’m not gonna summon a damn thing. Well, maybe an imp. I could use a familiar. It could do my chores for me!”
“There you go!”
“But after Sahmain. We’ve got enough going on right now.”
“Good idea.”
“All right, Amy. Since you have been cooperative, I’ll contact the Archmage and see if he is willing to take you in. I’m not making any promises, though. He may not want to deal with you at this time. He already has multiple Thought Beasts in containment.”
“Gizmo has company now?” asks Houston.
Over the Fourth of July weekend, we had caught a thought-beast. It manifested in the form of a gremlin, as in the gremlins from the movie Gremlins. Houston felt sorry for it so instead of destroying it we turned it over to the Guild. In captivity, it polymorphed into the “friendly” version of the gremlin. And now everyone calls it Gizmo.
“No, someone found a bunyip down in Dividing Creek and a family of jackalopes appeared at the zoo in Bridgeton.”
“Oh! I have to go see!”
“Call Evoker Geoffrey. He’s handling the research. I’m sure he’d be happy to talk your ears off about it.”
“I would be in your debt, Lady Werlock, if you could facilitate such an opportunity,” says Amy.
“No promises, Amy,” I say. “We’ll see.”
New to the Nancy Werlock Series?
Get caught up with Nancy Werlock’s Diary: Season One,
which features the first seven episodes of the series in one collection.
And visit Nancy at her website to explore her world.
https://sites.google.com/site/nancywerlock
Table of Contents
Deception
In A Bind
nancy werlock's diary s01 - episodes 10 Page 4