Page 29 of Chaos
The spirit started laughing, and it wasn't enjoyable to watch or hear. It was like she was laughing and choking on water at the same time.
“Some of us are content with our new purpose in the buildings built on this land, but some of us have grown discontent. We want to be released. We don’t care what you are or what power you possess. We want what they promised to us.”
Reyson just flicked his wrist.
“Away with you, witch.”
It was like a black hole opened in my spell room and sucked her through. We got a little, but not all, of the information. Spirits didn’t like to cooperate on a good day, but especially not when a promise had been made. Reyson wasn’t done yet.
“One of the good spirits of this library better get their asses in here and explain.”
Gabriel and Felix had their mouths wide open, catching flies, and I was sitting here trying not to laugh.
Every one of my classes at the Academy of the Profane on dealing with spirits always involved placating them and being careful what you promised them. They took it personally if you reneged and could make your life miserable. My professors also drilled into us they seldom did anything without some sort of vow being made unless you stroked their egos.
Reyson was just up here in my circle bossing spirits around, and he hadn’t promised them a fucking thing. After dealing with a few shades myself, it was fucking beautiful to watch.
A child appeared before us. Tendrils of smoke were wafting up from the transparent spirit. That just made me fucking angry. The Puritans killed a fuckingchildwhen someone slipped up and let the supernatural be known to them. Reyson visibly softened and got a little nicer when he saw we were dealing with an eight-year-old.
“I’m so sorry,” Reyson said. “You didn’t deserve what happened to you. What is your name?”
“My name is Saul. Most of us have come to terms with our fate. We enjoy protecting these buildings because it helps keep our existence a secret. What happened to us has a better chance of never being repeated. There are those of us who have never been happy being tied to these buildings. They think they could have done something to give mass rites to everyone in the graves, but it’s not possible. The rituals are different for every supernatural group, and there were just so many of us who died.
“You aren’t the first to try to talk to us. Every time someone summons us, someone who is not happy with our lot asks for the knowledge to perform a mass rite and release us.
“Almost everyone says that information doesn’t exist, and it would involve destroying all of these historic buildings to exhume us.
“Until recently. Someone claimed to have the knowledge and the power to get every single building built on our graves torn down. Most of us thought she was lying but she revealed herself to be demon touched. A lot of us here want to leave things as is because we don’t trust someone who has made a deal with a demon to release us, and it not be part of her payment later on. Others are so unhappy. They want to risk it. All she wanted in return was for someone who wasn’t supposed to be allowed in to have a library card.”
I would not let Reyson run this show. This was my library, and I had questions.
“Who promised mass rites, and who did they let in?”
“Someone who was abusing their power and shouldn’t be anywhere near this place. She’s responsible for helping run this library. She wanted to allow another demon touched access to information here. We wanted no part of it, but enough of us did that they could grant her request and keep the library from banning him every time he visited.”
“Do you have names?” I asked.
“We don’t deal in names here. We barely remember our own. The witch and the man she let in were both very vain and paid too much attention to their appearances. Both the man and the woman heavily painted their faces.”
I didn’t need a name. That was enough for me. I had my suspects. Now I had my proof. Silvaria made a deal with the spirits to sneak Dorian in. I knew who did it but not why.
Why had everyone involved in this made a deal with a demon, and how did Bram play into all this?
Chapter 26
Balthazar
I
didn’t ask to get recruited to some team of magical superheroes trying to stop whatever was going on, but I was bored and between jobs. Honestly, the god and the witch were the sexiest things I’d ever laid eyes on. I would love to be in a sandwich between them. One had to set frequent life goals, and that was now a big one.
I joined up, and now I needed to prove myself useful. My job was underground but it involved finding things that didn’t want to be found. Sometimes it was people’s money they secreted away in offshore bank accounts that found its way into my account. I found artifacts before they ended up at the Museum of the Profane. I’ve been known to find wayward people too. I never admitted this to anyone because I had a reputation to uphold, but the supernatural police had brought me in a few times.
Hunting down a few hedge witches was child’s play. I could watch without them ever knowing. Witches never advertised their coven’s meeting place, and it was no different this time. Except if you had a name on a few coven members, you could hack the GPS on their phones and quickly figure that out.
It was usually a remote piece of real estate the coven had banded together to purchase and passed down through the ages. This was no different. The hedge witches met in a greenhouse near the forest, and I could easily hear and see inside.
“What do you think happened to Hettie? She should have been back with him by now.”
