“Looks like something burst its way out.”Lars’s calm tone was at odds with the tense way he squared his shoulders.
Brimstone-scented air swirled around them.“It must’ve been recent.”
Lars nodded.“Shall we investigate?”
“Yes, but be careful.”He cast a spell to detect living beings and received a response: one green light, one white light, and a faint pink light.“One person injured, but not fatally.”
Lars tilted his head.“I don’t recognize that spell?”
“I invented it.”
“Impressive.Teach it to me later?”
“Sure.”It gave him a boost of confidence that his father was interested in something Quentin had created.It was like bringing home a drawing and having his mother put it on the refrigerator door.
He walked through the gaping hole in the wall and promptly choked on the stench.Hafrey’s house reeked of brimstone far more than Grevin’s had.“I wonder how long the demon was here.”The only reason the smell would be more pungent was if the demon had lingered.
Since Hafrey only used a couple of rooms in his house.It didn’t take long to find him lying on his living room carpet, not moving.Quentin’s spell was the only indication of life in his still form.
He dropped to his knees beside the old wizard.“Hafrey.”
Up close, he could see Hafrey’s nostrils were caked red with dried blood.
Hafrey’s eyelashes fluttered.When his lids flicked up, he gasped.“Quentin, you have to leave.He must not find you here.You would make a much better host.”
“Hafrey, what happened?”He resisted the urge to shake information out of the wizard.
“I’m all right, just stupid.”He pulled himself into a sitting position and moved until he was leaning against the couch.I thought I could handle it.He swallowed a few times and coughed.“I could use some water.”
Quentin nodded and went to fetch a glass from Hafrey’s kitchen.Luckily, the house had a simple layout, and Quentin had been there several times before.He returned with his glass of water to find Hafrey and Lars staring at each other.
Quentin cleared his throat.“Here’s your water.”He handed it to Hafrey.
It sloshed slightly in Hafrey’s shaky hold.He was tempted to steady the older wizard’s hands, but he didn’t want to insult him.Hafrey had a delicate ego.Once he had drunk most of his glass, Quentin began his gentle interrogation.“Were you the one who broke Grevin’s circle?”
Hafrey didn’t meet his eyes.“Yeah, that was me.”
“But why?Why would you want to be possessed?”
“I didn’t.”
Quentin frowned.“But you went there to free the demon, didn’t you?”None of this made any sense.
“Who did you do it for?”Lars’s voice cut through Quentin’s confusion.
Hafrey clenched his jaw as if Lars was trying to force the answer out of him.
“Hafrey, trust us, tell us what happened.We can’t help if we don’t know what we’re facing,” Quentin pleaded.He’d always liked the old wizard, but if he’d gotten involved in dangerous things, Quentin needed to know what happened.
“Ms.Mearson.”
“Dean Mearson?”
“Yeah, that fancy dean with the heels.She threatened to tell people where I was.”
“And that’s a problem?”He suspected for years that Hafrey was hiding.This was his first confirmation.
“They would’ve killed me.”Hafrey’s serious tone was reflected in his solemn expression.
