Gabrielle bit her tongue. Could she get into it with Luke, her body, her choice? For sure. What would that prove, though? He wasn’t telling her no. He said he wouldn’t send her. Well, she wasn’t being sent. She was choosing to go. Raven was right. They needed this in spiritu off guard and off their scent.
“Luke,” she began softly. “Raven told us in New Orleans there was a better than even chance we’d have to use her as bait. No one liked the idea, least of all Aiden, so if he’s willing to see merit in her plan, then who are we to question?
“Moe is still weak. Tanya and the blood witches aren’t going anywhere. They can drain him again, if necessary, but I agree with Ray. I don’t think that’ll be necessary. I was with her when she delved into Moe’s head. I saw the purple light. He has an angelic core. Is it corrupted? Most likely. Will he jump at the chance to find out if Ray can restore him?” She shrugged. “There’s only one way to find out.”
Raven took Luke’s hand and stopped his pacing. “Gabrielle is my best friend. Before I met Aiden and the rest of you, she was my only family. Do you think I’d risk her or your baby for some cockamamie scheme that hasn’t a snowball’s chance in hell of succeeding?”
Luke didn’t comment, but he didn’t pull away.
“Demons can’t resist a bargain,” Ray continued. “They love to make deals with humans, and my guess is Moe would kill to make a deal with us.”
“That’s my worry, Raven. That he’d kill for a deal and double cross us for an encore.” Luke crossed his arms at his chest, but he stopped pacing.
“Babe, we just have to ask ourselves, what does Moe want most?” Gabby nodded.
Aiden answered. “His freedom.”
“Yes,” Raven agreed. “But not necessarily his freedom from our cell. Deep down I think he wants freedom from what he’s become, or why else would he show me that inner light?”
“Uhm, because he’s a consummate manipulator and deceit incarnate,” Luke shot back.
Raven bent over a messenger bag on the kitchen table and took out a book. “After we finished with your sister in the great room…” she paused, “How is she, by the way?”
Gabby tugged Luke to the bench seat against the wall at the table, making him sit. “Evie is really good. Anger at Tim is setting in, so that’s halfway to healing. Josee is going to keep her busy practicing her shift while Greg has his hands full keeping Tim under house arrest. Too many phones and laptops for his sneaky fingers.”
“I’m glad. Things seem to be better all-around for you all.” Raven opened the book on the table and pointed to a highlighted passage. “This is why I called you guys so late. After we left the great room, I spoke to Capiria about what I saw in Moe’s head.
“She told me we couldn’t do anything for him at this point, but there might be a way in the future. As an elder blood witch, she has certain privileges at extensive occult libraries, and she needed time to access those resources.
“Leave it to Capiria to call in a few favors. She had this book messengered here from Montreal. There’s an organization called the Sisters of the Sacred Web. It’s not a nunnery, nor is it an offshoot of the internet. Though, it’s an unwitting cover for their actual work.
“They’ve collected and housed the largest collection of occult texts and lore in the world. Paranormal scholars, witches, mages, necromancers, you name it, all petition the Web for access to their archive.
“One even referred to it as a kissing cousin to Anne Rice’s Talamasca in her Vampire Chronicles. Of course, that’s fiction and this is very real.”
“Raven, are you telling me that Capiria Byrd is a card-carrying VIP of this Sacred Web thing?”
Ray nodded. “In fact, they know all about the Sentinel Brotherhood, and they’ve even heard of me.” She shrugged. “Demonologist fame.”
“What are you showing us, exactly?” Luke asked, turning the book toward him and Gabby.
“It’s a reproduction of an ancient text too fragile to be lent out. The original was written in Aramaic, translated from Enochian.”
Gabby looked up from the text. “You mentioned that when you first questioned Moe.”
“Yes. It’s the language of angels and demons. It predates humanity.” Ray put her hand up. “Don’t ask me how we know or how it was translated. I chalk that up to the divine.”
“That grimoire you mentioned to Moe,” Gabby tapped the book. “Is this related to that book?”
“No, cher. But I’m impressed you made the connection.”
“Ray, I may be a bartender, but I’m no dummy.”
Raven flashed Gabby a soft smile. “I know, cher. That’s not what I meant. This is confusing stuff. The Ars Goetia was written over a millennia ago. It was written anonymously, and no wonder since it’s a book on conjuration. A how to for conjuring demons in particular.”
Gabby laughed. “Demon Conjuring for Dummies.”
Aiden laughed, and even Luke cracked a smile at that.
“The book in your hand is something similar, but in this case, it separates malus magia, or black magic, from naturalem magicae, or good magic. It also names seventy-two of the most prominent demons throughout the circles of hell.” She clicked her cheek. “Dante’s Inferno didn’t even scratch the surface.”
Luke looked at Gabby, and then at the book. “Are you saying Capiria found a way to harness Moe’s
