Pat was waiting for them the instant they walked inside.
Zoe’s bangle started humming. Why was it doing that now? She’d been wearing the bangle when she’d met him earlier.
Instead of aiming at the Theban symbols on his fingers, the bangle glommed on to a tat on his right forearm. NON SUM QUALIS ERAM.
“Sorry about this,” Zoe said in embarrassment.
“It’s a quote by Horace,” Pat said. “I am not as I used to be.”
As soon as Pat spoke the translation, the force holding the bangle to the tattoo was broken.
“Her bracelet keeps zeroing in on Latin sayings,” Damon said. “First at the embalming room at the funeral home, then at the bar, and now here with you.”
“Which sayings?”
Damon repeated them for Pat who asked Zoe, “May I see your bracelet?”
She nervously fingered her bangle. “I can’t get it off.”
“Maybe the sayings are a sign,” Pat said.
“Or a spell,” Damon said.
“There seems to be a theme,” Pat said.
“A Latin theme?” Zoe said.
“A theme of death,” Damon said.
Zoe didn’t like the sound of that.
“It’s obvious,” Damon continued despite her wishing he wouldn’t. “Bodies grow slowly and die quickly. Fame to the dead comes too late. I am not as I used to be.”
“That last one could be anything,” Zoe said. Turning to Pat, she asked him, “When did you get that?”
“I don’t recall,” Pat said. “Several centuries ago.”
“Before or after the tattoos on your fingers?” she asked.
“After, I think.”
“Why wasn’t my bangle attracted to your tat when I met you a short while ago?” she said.
“It has to be a demon thing,” Pat said.
“Really? Why? I mean, aren’t these all just famous Latin quotes?” Zoe said. “
“Silence!” Gram shouted as she ran to Zoe’s side. “Not another word.”
Zoe froze.
“It’s black magic!” Gram said. “What you’re saying. It’s part of a black magic incantation.”
“What does it do?” Zoe whispered.
“It’s an appeal to the other side to do something bad.”
“Something bad like what?” Zoe said unsteadily.
“Release the forces of evil.”
Zoe felt light-headed with fear. “I thought it was just a bunch of Latin sayings.”
“Or it could just be a bunch of Latin sayings,” Gram agreed.
“Wait.” Zoe shook her head, which made her dizzier. “I don’t understand. It can’t be both. Which is it?”
“I’m not sure. My Latin is a little rusty. Most of the spells in our coven are in English now.”
“I know. That’s why I didn’t think this was a spell,” Zoe said.
“Where did you find it?” Gram said. “Was it in the family Book of Spells?”
“No. My bangle bracelet was acting like a magnet or something and attaching itself to Latin sayings in various businesses in Vamptown. The first one was at the funeral home.”
“You went to a funeral home?” Gram’s voice expressed her disbelief.
Zoe pointed at Damon. “He made me do it.”
“What’s wrong with going to a funeral home?” Damon demanded.
“Nothing if you are a vampire,” Zoe said.
“Plenty of humans go to funeral homes. Alive and dead. It’s no big deal,” he said.
“This particular funeral home is a big deal to you, though, isn’t it?” Zoe said.
He made no comment.
“Don’t give me that I’m-going-to-fry-you look,” she told him. “You need my help dealing with these demons.”
“Was there another astral projection?” Gram said. “At the funeral home, I mean.”
“No, it was a demon possession,” Zoe said.
“Of you?” Gram said.
“No, your protection spell is working,” Zoe assured her. She left out the part about Damon whisking her off. She was still freaked about the latest crisis, a possible black magic Latin incantation.
“I should hope so, but still it is reassuring to hear that. So who was possessed?”
“The embalmer Phil,” Zoe said.
“How did you get rid of the demon?”
“I didn’t. Silas called him back. But before that, he said his name was Guy and that my mother had condemned him to hell. He also said she introduced him to Dr Pepper.”
“Well, that may have been true,” Gram said. “You know how your mom was about her Dr Pepper.”
“Why would he say that about her?” Zoe demanded.
“That she liked Dr Pepper? She did,” Gram said.
“No, I mean about condemning him to hell. Witches can’t do that. Can they?”
“They definitely can’t condemn vampires to hell, just in case you were wondering,” Damon drawled.
“I don’t remember my mother knowing a guy named Guy, do you, Gram?”
Gram just shrugged and said, “She knew a lot of people. What about Phil? Is he going to be okay?”
“He should be,” Zoe said, hoping it was true. “I’m just glad I didn’t have to perform an exorcism. I have no idea how to do that.”
“You better learn fast,” Damon said.
“I don’t know that demons would listen to a witch even if I did learn how to do that ritual,” Zoe said.
“Silas and Guy both listened to you,” Damon said.
“I meant I have no idea if a witch’s spell would work,” Zoe said. “It could do more harm than good.”
“Well, we learned something from all this—the demon today said your mother sent him to hell, which indicates that this demon infestation is personally related to you.”
Zoe didn’t point out that Guy the demon could have been and probably was lying. Instead she said, “It’s also related to Pat and his tats. And to you as the Demon Hunter.”
“It’s the three of us here in the same place at the same time,” Pat said.
“Then maybe we shouldn’t hang out together,” Zoe suggested.
“It’s too late for that now,” Damon said.
“I agree,” Pat said. “Since you’re back, I’m going to return to my place and see if I can figure out a way to deal with this situation. I have a few reference books and sources I can consult now that I know it involves Silas.”
Once Pat was gone, Zoe asked Gram, “What is the deal with all these Latin sayings? What do they have to do with Silas and Guy and my mother?” A sudden thought occurred to her. “Do you think it was a spell to bring my mother back?”
“I’m not sure. But even if it was, we can’t bring her back,” Gram said.
“Because she’s dead,” Damon said.
“You came back from the dead,” Zoe retorted.
“I was immediately turned by a vampire,” Damon said. “Your mother has been dead for two years.”
Zoe felt the tears coming to her eyes. “I want her back. I miss her.”
