Sadie blushed, and though she looked away, she sent one final thought in response.You have a similar divan in your rooms, right?
Nicholas’s groan was audible and unmistakable. Sadie did her absolute best not to let her magic loose, not wanting to know what Beatrice was thinking at that moment, watching them make eyes at each other across the room.
A minute later, Nicholas installed the divan in its new spot, nudged Sadie to sit down, and then leaned over and kissed her before taking his own seat so close that their thighs touched.
Beatrice ignored it all, or perhaps she didn’t even notice, since she had pulled open another book. She looked up the instant they were settled, however. “What makes you think there is a demon in the manor?”
Nicholas detailed what they had noticed, omitting only the strange thoughts Sadie had heard.
“You are certain Jane was intentionally brewing a poison, not just making a mistake due to inexperience?”
Sadie nodded. She had given Nicholas permission to share that she was a water-witch, agreeing it was the only explanation they could give short of sharing her telepathy that would satisfy Beatrice. “Positive. The ingredients and methods had nothing in common with the potion she had planned to make. Even if she had changed her mind, the only benign potion I can think of that she could have possibly been trying to make is so advanced Jane would never have attempted it. She knows she is a novice, and no one writes that recipe down without multiple warnings about how dangerous it is if a mistake is made.”
Sadie added one more detail that Nicholas had forgotten. “Her reactions when I asked her about what she was making were off, too. First she was belligerent that I had questioned her at all, then confused about what she was even doing.”
Beatrice tapped her index finger against the book in her lap. “You think the demon took control, and she wasn’t even aware?”
“Is that possible?”
“Oh, yes, but generally requires a strong demon or a victim whose mental will is relatively weak, or a combination of the two. That’s why demons prefer to make deals with humans, to secure their willing help. If you are right, that tells us both that this demon is powerful, and that it wants to stay hidden, since it could have more easily possessed Jane without hiding its presence.”
Nicholas’s hand found Sadie’s, lacing their fingers together. “You know more about demons than I expected.”
“I’m no expert, but I have been working through these books for the past week, and there is a lot of information in the Huxley family journals. Demons have haunted the Gloaming Forest in the past.”
“You’d think that would be something passed down in the family.” Nicholas looked at the books spread across Beatrice’s desk. “Obviously the information was there, but there were no stories about ancestors dealing with demons included in the familial history I learned.”
“Well, the journals I’ve been reading are from over two centuries ago. Your ancestors probably didn’t want stories of demons being told around every heat-glyph. Look at how much trouble the vague stories of hauntings have caused you.”
“True. And we are still hiding our suspicions for fear of panicking everyone. So, Beatrice, what have you learned about killing demons?”
“It can’t be done. Not by a human, at least. Only a demon can kill another of its kind. The best we can hope for is to banish it back to its realm and trap it there.”
“Good enough for me. How do we do that?”
“Can we even manage on our own? It doesn’t sound safe.” Sadie asked, for the first time worrying not that they were taking on an impossible task, but a dangerous one.
Beatrice shrugged. “Demons can’t directly harm humans. It won’t physically attack us.”
“Then what is it even doing?” Sadie frowned. “Why make the effort of possessing Jane in such a way that she didn’t even notice? Why come into the manor?”
“Chaos,” Beatrice answered calmly. “Fear. There’s much more to be had with everyone here than trying to find random people in the forest. And, while demons can’t hurt humansdirectly, there are plenty of loopholes. For instance, nothing stopped the demon from brewing a poison, and it could have left it out for anyone to consume. Or Jane could have given it to someone, convinced it was benign. And demons feed on fear and pain.”
“‘They come to feast,’” Nicholas intoned, clearly quoting something. “‘So be wary. Be strong of heart and do not tarry. Deprive the demon: no food, no water; then send it home, to the slaughter.’”
“Yes,” Beatrice nodded, recognizing the quote. “Sir Avern’s poem is a bit sparse on the details, but it gets the main idea across. The only way to deal with demons is to banish them, and that is easiest if they are weak.”
“So how do we banish this demon?” Sadie asked.
“The easiest method will be to find the tear between our realm and the demon’s, then seal it—with the demon on the other side, obviously.” Beatrice rose and sorted through a few of the books on the desk, handing one with a blue cover to Nicholas. “Lord Alfred Huxley successfully sealed a demon portal he found in the Gloaming Forest. That seal could very well have weakened over the centuries since, and could be the spot where our demon came through. Alfred didn’t detail the exact spot of the portal, and the landmarks he mentioned may have changed over time, but it gives you a starting point.”
Nicholas studied the journal in his hands. “I’ll see if I can recognize anything. My steward also reported an uptick in complaints about the woods being haunted since this past spring—and then followed up with a report that more of the claims seem justified than ever before. I’ll ask him to compile a list of locations of the incidents that truly did not seem to be caused by accidents. Maybe that can help us narrow the search area.”
Sadie frowned. “I’m guessing the details of how to seal away the demon are also in that journal, but I still don’t see how we getthe demon to the tear, let alone force it through to its realm so we can seal it off.”
“Everything I’ve read agrees,” Beatrice said calmly, “if a demon is blocked from any hosts, it will be pulled through the nearest portal. If you lure it directly there, then cut it off, it won’t have a choice.”
“We need protections, then.” Nicholas eyed the table of books. “Did any of the journals you read detail how to stave off demonic possession?”
