Raven grinned, sliding onto Aiden’s lap at the table. “That’s exactly what I’m saying, and moreover, she figured out how to separate Timothée Brodeur’s dual natures without hurting either.” She reached for an apple from the fruit bowl on the table and took a bite.
“Luke,” Aiden picked up where Raven left off. “Moe has to agree to help us before we tell him any of this. We can’t risk the Sisters of the Sacred Web because we’re trying to broker a deal with a demon.
The plan is to get Moe to convince the in spiritu that he’s got Raven at the Brock farm, and that he wants to make a deal. Raven will be demon bait, and we’ll have the in spiritu where we want him.”
“How?” Luke lifted the text from the table and gestured with the book.
Raven pressed her lips together, sparing a look for Aiden. “That’s the only fly in the milk. We need the in spiritu’s true name in order to control it.”
“So we’re back at square one.” Luke dropped the book on the table with a muffled thud. “I’ll tell you this, though. Moe is not getting one second of freedom until this plan is foolproof.”
Gabby’s forehead creased. “Maybe Moe can help with that.”
“Nope.” Ray shook her head. “His mind was booby trapped against revealing the name, same as Ilaria Brock.”
Aiden frowned. “Except the demon’s brain didn’t fry.”
“Lucky for Ray.” Gabby nodded. “Still, you said the in spiritu was pretty braggy when he tracked you to St. Louis Cathedral. Maybe he was as braggy with Moe.” She shrugged. “Can’t hurt to ask.”
Chapter Nine
The four went down the basement steps. Gregory had cameras installed, but it didn’t matter. If Moe agreed to cooperate, everyone would know the plan come morning.
The demon stretched out on the couch Greg provided. He was propped against the sofa’s arm, with one arm over his forehead, reading a book.
Moe didn’t move from his relaxed pose, even when Raven walked to the edge of the holding cell.
“Back for a dumpster dive?”
“Watch it, Moe. You have no idea what an ally you have in my mate. It’s her hope that even the most irredeemable can be redeemed, so I’d listen up if I were you.”
Moe’s feet dropped to the concrete floor with a thud, as he swung around to sit. “Well, you’re not me, wolf. So I’ll be the judge of all that.”
“Ray, this was a good idea when it was just a kitchen table notion.” Gabrielle shared a look with Luke. “I’m not so sure anymore.”
The demon seemed back to full strength. That meant it had tapped into an energy source somewhere, or worse, a soul.
“I’m surprised to see you looking better, Moe,” Gabrielle prompted, not expecting much of a reply.
“You think so, little witch? Well, don’t let my dark good looks deceive you.” He lifted his arm, and a flurry of tiny black hairs fell to the concrete. “I’m not better. I’m dying.”
“Nice try.” Luke scoffed. “Demons are immortal.”
“As immortal as vampires or Fae. If a vampire meets the sun or a sharpened stake it’s game over. Same for Fae and anything made of iron. We are immortal in there is no inner clock aging us toward a finite end, but there is an end for all paranormal beings.”
Gabby elbowed Raven. If she wanted a perfect segue into Let’s Make a Deal, this was it.
“Uhm, Moe…I have a proposition for you,” Raven began. “You know you were never our main quarry.”
“I’m aware.”
She nodded. “Good. When you shared your mind with me this afternoon, you tried to give me the in spiritu demon’s name. You did this without my asking. Why?”
The demon seemed at a loss. He blinked his reddish eyes, still muddied from the energy drain. “I don’t really, know. Chalk it up to a moment of weakness.”
Raven nodded. “Was it a moment of weakness that spurred you to show me that part of you so deeply buried? My guess is anyone other than an angelic scion wouldn’t have witnessed its glow.”
“I didn’t show you anything. That part of me is dead.” Moe wouldn’t look at her, instead he looked at his splayed toes on the concrete.
Gabrielle snorted at that. “Okay, I call bullshit. If you didn’t show her that residual core, then who did? Maybe you’re a split personality, and your alter ego showed her that glowing purple orb. Maybe it saw a chance to take over. Afterall, I wouldn’t want to share a body with someone with your questionable hygiene.”
The demon’s eyes jerked up at that. “I do not have questionable hygiene. I reek because of my nature.”
“Your nature makes you smell like old garbage?”
Moe was not happy. “Witch, I’m liking you less and less.”
Gabrielle shrugged. “Back atcha, Beelzebub. But you know what they say, right? You are what you eat. You’ve been stealing lives and life essence. Corrupted acts. It’s no wonder you stink.”
“Gabby!” Raven whispered, turning her back to Moe. “Can you not provoke him, please? We need him to agree to help us.”
“I can hear you, angel face. Stop prevaricating, and spit it out.”
Raven explained the plan they discussed in the kitchen. She conveniently left out the fact Capiria already had the ancient text to follow. She hated to admit it, but it was an out in case the ritual didn’t work.
“Let me understand what you’re asking. You want the witches to hold me by the short hairs, under a threat of complete energy drain, while I trick a fellow demon…an in spiritu, no less…into falling for a trap. In return for my services, you throw me back into a salt and spell-infused holding cell with a promise you’ll come back and redeem my angelic
