Page 55 of Warrior Unraveled

They both exited the car. It was late afternoon and the sun stood low over the horizon, throwing long shadows over the neighborhood. Wes glanced around, trying to be as inconspicuous as he could. None of the neighbors seemed to be outside.

Everything worked just as Hamish had promised. Invisibly, they reached the back of Faldo’s house. The lush yard was large and private. Double doors led from the house out onto a large wooden deck. As they approached, Enya opened them from the inside and ushered them in.

The Colonial style house was decorated in a style that could only be described as mafia-chic: gold tassels on the heavy brocade curtains and all the furnishings, gold-rimmed mirrors, pictures, and coffee tables mixed with bold color choices and eighties-style opulence.

“Whoa. This is… uh… different.” Wes exchanged a look with the three guardians.

Manus shrugged. “Just because he worked for us doesn’t mean he had good taste.”

“What did this guy do for a living?” Wes asked and followed Hamish, who was heading toward the hallway.

“Something in construction.”

“Or waste management,” Enya added. “Who cares?”

Wes couldn’t help but wonder whether that was code for organized crime. “So he had enemies.”

“Everybody has enemies,” Hamish said, looking over his shoulder, then pointing to a door. “He was found in his study.” He ripped off the tape the police had put over the door and opened it.

Wes followed the others into the room. More mafia-chic décor. More gold tassels. And blood on the oriental rug. Perfect. Wes had been hoping there’d be blood. He needed it for his spell.

He knelt down next to the large spot where Faldo had bled out and opened his backpack, taking out a few crystals. When he looked up, he found the three guardians looking at him with wary expressions.

“I could use some help here. Somebody find a bathroom and bring me some Q-tips or cotton wool to soak up some of the blood. And find the spice rack in the kitchen. I need rosemary, thyme, and verbena. If there’s no verbena, lemongrass will do.”

“What are you doing, making tea?” Hamish asked.

“You wanted to know whether any demons were here, right? I don’t question your methods, you don’t question mine.”

After a moment, Hamish nodded. “Manus, bathroom. Enya, kitchen.”

“Somebody should check all windows and doors, too,” Wes said. “The police didn’t say anything about how the killer got in.”

While Manus and Enya were already leaving the study, Hamish seemed to hesitate.

Wes rolled his eyes. “You can leave me here on my own. It’s not like I’m gonna go anywhere.”

“Better not.” Hamish turned on his heel and disappeared into the hallway.

Meanwhile Wesley spread out a black cloth with a pentagram stitched in the middle with white thread. He weighed each point of the pentagram down with a crystal. By the time he was done, Manus was back.

“Here, found some cotton wool.”

Wes took it and dabbed the dark blood stain with it, soaking the white cotton wool full with Faldo’s blood. He did the same with a second and then a third cotton ball, then placed all three in the middle of the pentagram.

“We’re really hoping this isn’t a spell for conjuring demons,” Manus said dryly.

Wes smirked, though he knew that was impossible. “Very unlikely. But in case it is, I hope you’re all armed.”

Manus put his hand on the dagger sitting on his hip. “Always ready to kill me some demon.”

“Leave me some too,” Enya said, entering the study. She was carrying several small glass containers with herbs in them. “Didn’t find any verbena, but he had lemongrass.”

Wes nodded. “Great, put it all down here next to the cloth.”

One by one he took the containers and emptied a generous amount over the center of the pentagram, covering the bloody cotton balls. He had just completed his preparations when he heard footsteps in the hallway. A moment later, Hamish re-entered the study.

“That looks creepy,” Hamish said and pointed to the pentagram.