“Sounds kind of jacked when you put it like that,” Luke admitted.
Moe stopped pacing at that. “I’m glad you see it, too.”
“Look, I know it sounds like a pie crust promise, easily made, easily broken, but if this ritual is successful, and I’m not saying it will be, then you’ll be exactly like me.” Raven walked right up to the edge of the cell. “Not angel, but scion. Angelis Gloriana. The ritual is ancient, and hasn’t been attempted in thousands of years, so there’s no guarantee. I know you showed me that part of you. You wouldn’t have done so if you didn’t harbor a flicker of hope.”
Moe didn’t reply.
Aiden chimed in at this point. “This deal or no deal is fine and all, but there is one caveat. If you help us set this trap and then double cross us, your life is over. Done and dusted. Two shifter elders will be here, as will the blood witches. Anything happens to us, and they will drain you until you wither to a dried husk. Your fur is already falling out just from a taste of their abilities this afternoon, so think on it carefully before you agree.”
“Even with that threat hanging over his head, how can we trust him?” Luke voiced his concern.
Moe walked to the edge of the cell’s interior and stood basically toe-to-toe with them all. “I’m an incarnate demon. Not a Djinn. I don’t get off trying to outsmart humans.”
“We’re not human,” Gabby replied.
“Semantics, love. I don’t get off trying to trick anyone with semantics. Djinns twist words to fuck those they bargain with. I’m a shapeshifting demon. My deceit is more tantalizing and finessed than simple word salad. For example, I could force a stalemate in return for my help. I could demand unbridled and unbidden access to and from this plane as the price for fucking over one of my own.”
Aiden snorted. “Yeah, not gonna happen, buddy.”
The demon inclined his head. “As I’m well aware.” Moe paused. “Still, there is one vital piece of information still eluding you.”
“I know.” Raven exhaled. “The in spiritu’s true name.”
“Exactly. You do know.”
Gabrielle caught the demon’s inflection, even if no one else did. There was something important in its subtlety. So much for not playing word games.
Moe held up a finger, stopping Gabby’s immediate question. “Before you ask the obvious, I have a question for Raven. Why do you seek what you already know?”
“Are you saying Raven already knows this entity’s name?” Aiden cocked his head, doubtful.
“That’s exactly what I’m saying.” His muddy red gaze tracked Raven. “Think back to when you were a child. To you and your spirit friend. The Lutin.”
Raven’s lips parted, but she shook her head, puzzled. “Lulu. How do you know about Lulu?”
“I can’t tell you that. Not because I don’t want to, but because I can’t. The same way I can’t speak the in spiritu’s name.” Moe dragged a clawed hand over his brow, and then sat on the couch.
Gabby watched, noting how the demon’s hand shook. Moe was clearly more depleted than she thought.
“Think back to what you witnessed with the Lutin spirit.” The demon continued without blinking.
“Lulu and I did a lot of things together. She showed me magic when no one else would.”
The demon pressed. “Think. You witnessed something that both frightened and awed you.”
“Lulu and I—” Raven looked at Aiden, her eyes widening. “We watched my aunt’s priest perform an exorcism on a farmhand.”
“And?” Moe prompted. “Ask yourself what’s necessary to perform a successful exorcism of a demon whose taken possession of a body. What do you need?”
Raven’s brows pulled together. “That’s asking a lot from a lapsed Catholic.”
“Try, babe.” Aiden nodded.
“A priest, obviously. Chrism oil. Holy water. Some sort of ritual prayers.”
“Besides those trappings. If you have this one thing, you don’t need the rest. Think. Your priest stumbled on to it by sheer luck.”
Raven looked up from squinting into the void, thinking. “At the cathedral in New Orleans before I collapsed. The demon said as much.” She raked a hand through her hair. “Why couldn’t I remember sooner? I could’ve saved so much time and heartache.”
“Babe.” Aiden squeezed her hand. “Your memories were scorched when you tried to help Ilaria Brock. It’s taken a long time for everything to mend.”
“I remember now.” She nodded absently. “I should call Father Pete to confirm.”
“Father Pete can’t help us, Ray,” Gabby interjected. “He’s got mush for brains, courtesy of cheap whiskey and demon-generated firewalls.”
Moe stood again, and when he walked to the edge of the cell, he held his hand up, palm flat. The same as Raven did when she asked to search his mind.
“You have what you need in your memory, little angel. If you have the strength to try and redeem me, then you have the strength to delve into your own mind and find what you need.”
Raven met his gesture, skin to skin, but the demon paused, holding her gaze. “Feel what I say next so there’s no question. If you discover the in spiritu’s name, then I will help you trap him. He’s no friend of mine, especially after he tampered with my head.” Moe grinned, and the effect was terrifying. “I owe him one.”
“Asmodos, one of the Seven Princes of Hell and Demon of Wrath,” Raven nodded, “you have a deal.”
***
“I’m not happy about this, Ray,” Gabrielle stood with her hands on her hips as Raven settled into a chair in front of the great room hearth.
“I’ll be fine, Gabs. Aiden is a pro at this now.”
“But I’m not. I think we should wake Capiria. She was with you in New Orleans when it counted. Her and Alain.”
Raven scooched her butt
