Page 78 of Demon and the Raven

“That smell, that’s sulfur, isn’t it?” I asked, though I was pretty certain that’s what it was.

“It is,” Lorne confirmed.

“Do you see anything?”

“Just an awful lot of scorched ground,” he reported back.

“Nothing else?”

“There is no body and no blood.”

I was relieved. Thero had told me they’d recovered Nott’s remains, but I’d been worried something might have been missed. I was so glad to be wrong.

“But the smell here, more than anything, points to a demon,” Lorne stated, turning to look at Father Dennis. “Don’t you agree?”

“I do.” Father Dennis sighed.

“Can you do anything to”––he waved his hand around––“bless this place, purify it?”

“I don’t have anything with me,” he answered Lorne, then turned to me. “Perhaps you, Xander?”

I glanced at Lorne and saw how sad and pained he seemed. Finding the place where the demon came through, where Nott had died, hurt him. I could see it in the narrowing of his eyes, the tightness of his jaw, the clench of his fists.

Walking a few feet toward him, I called on the wind to purify and protect, for the highest and best of all the living things there, flora and fauna alike. I lifted my hands and felt the air swirl around me for a moment before it broke off, engulfing Father Dennis, moving by Lorne, and then briefly lifting branches and debris, over in the blink of an eye. The earth that had been burnt and blackened was left with a promise of healing. It was fragile, but resilient. Given time, it would rise again, lush and new. When the wind blew by a second time, the odious smell was gone.

“That was remarkable,” Father Dennis whispered.

“Thank you,” Lorne husked, then squinted at me. “How come the wind blew around Father Dennis but it didn’t touch me except in passing?”

“With Father Dennis, it checked if he was friend or foe. But with you, since my magic lives in you, and it knows that and sees you as part of me, there was no need.”

He nodded. “I like that.”

I did too.

“Lorne, you seem a bit depleted after this discovery. If you’re not up to accompanying us, Xander and I can go and meet the paranormal investigators without⁠—”

“Father, with all due respect, have you lost your mind?”

Father Dennis turned to me.

“I think we should all just go ahead and go, don’t you?” I smiled for emphasis.

“Yes,” he agreed quickly. “That sounds like an excellent idea.”

I didn’t think Father Dennis liked Lorne scowling at him any more than I did.

Lorne drove us to the Osprey Cemetery, passing the newer area and continuing toward the back, where the paved road became cobblestone, finally parking in the circular arch by a giant marble statue of a female angel with enormous wings and open arms.

We saw a van, but there was no one there waiting for us.

“What time did they say they were going to be here?” Lorne asked Father Dennis as the two of them got out. I had to get my mixture out of the glove compartment first, along with a smaller drawstring bag I’d brought along.

“Now,” he answered. “We’re not late.”

“Maybe they were early,” I offered, getting out as well. “Let’s walk toward the older part and see if they’re down there.”

“There’s an older part?” Lorne sounded horrified.