Celeste rolled her eyes as Gray responded, “Trying to help.” Gray poured Damien a drink.
“Good evening, Damien. Couldn’t sleep?” Alexander greeted him.
“No, I couldn’t. No wonder! I probably sensed the Wicked Witch of the West was here!”
“Calm yourself, Damien,” Gray said, handing him a brandy. “She won’t harm anyone.”
“She is the enemy! She ruined Celine’s life. And she bit Michael! How can you stand there and say that?” Damien shouted.
“Things change,” Gray replied.
Celeste heaved a sigh. “I am on your side, Damien.”
“Yeah, right!”
“You have a lot to learn about the supernatural world, Damien,” Celeste added. “Gray is correct. Allegiances change, alliances vary. Things are not as black and white as you’d like them to be.”
Damien frowned at her. Alexander added, “She’s correct, Damien. It seems foreign to you, but we have dealt with this for centuries. Trust us.” Damien collapsed onto the couch with his brandy, nodding. “What has interrupted your sleep? You look unwell.”
“Same thing I said,” Gray added.
“Another one of those dreams,” Damien answered, rubbing his face. “I wake up from them exhausted. More exhausted than before I slept!”
“Dreams?” Celeste prodded.
“He’s been having dreams about Celine,” Gray informed her.
“I talked to her this time. I wanted her to stay, but she told me she had to go. She left,” Damien added, staring straight ahead. He ran his fingers through his hair. “Every time I close my eyes, this happens. Every time. I don’t know how Celine handled this.”
“How Celine handled this?” Celeste echoed.
Damien nodded. “When she was Josie, she had dreams like this. Same type of thing. She’d wake up with her heart racing, gasping for breath, couldn’t sleep after. I don’t understand how she survived being this exhausted all the time.”
“Perhaps you should discuss this with Millie,” Gray suggested.
“I agree. This seems to be troublesome,” Alexander added.
Damien shook his head. “No. I don’t want a sedative or any drugs.”
“Millie may be able to relieve the source of these nightmares,” Gray responded.
“Why not speak with her tomorrow? It couldn’t hurt,” Alexander added.
“I guess it couldn’t,” Damien agreed. “But I won’t take any drugs! I can’t afford to have my senses dulled while Celine is missing.”
Gray smiled at him. “I appreciate your stubbornness, Damien. It reminds me of Celine.”
Damien appreciated the comment. He finished his brandy. “So, any new leads you’re working on in the middle of the night?”
Gray chuckled. “Nothing that needs your immediate attention. Do you think you can sleep after the brandy?”
“I’d rather hear your theories,” Damien countered.
“How about a game or two of chess,” Alexander suggested. “It may soothe your mind.”
“Why does no one ever want to share information in this house?” Damien lamented, frustrated.
“There’s nothing to share, I’m afraid,” Celeste answered. “We haven’t any real theories. Just discussing possibilities, all of which are rather improbable.”
Damien considered her statement for a moment. “Try me,” he answered.
“Damien, we’re not holding anything back,” Alexander assured him. “We had a brief discussion about any misgivings Celine may have had about returning to her life with us. The possibility that she left on her own came up. We dismissed it almost as soon as it was mentioned.”
“She wouldn’t leave,” Damien insisted.
“I agree, which is why we dismissed the idea,” Gray answered. “But…” Gray paused. “Is it possible she went to Josie’s home? To your aunt’s?”
Damien pondered the questions. “Why wouldn’t she tell us?”
“Perhaps she doesn’t realize.”
“Huh?” Damien questioned.
“Those painful memories she experienced, perhaps they harmed her in some way. Perhaps she’s developed amnesia or reverted to Josie.”
“Ohhhh,” Damien answered, understanding dawning on him. “Oh, I never thought of that! Maybe! I could text Aunt Monica and ask her. Wait,” he paused. “I’ll have to be careful how I word it. If she hasn’t seen or spoken with Celine, I don’t want to panic her.”
“It’s more important to find out if she has seen or heard from Celine than beat around the bush.”
“If Aunt Monica concludes Celine is missing, she will come up here. I love Aunt Monica, but the last thing we need is Josie’s mom running around asking questions while we search for Celine.”
“Good point,” Gray conceded. “Okay, word it however you want, but try to find out.”
“As far as her being at our old place. I don’t know a good way to check that…” Damien paused again. “Oh, wait, I do!”
“Short of traveling there, which I am happy to do,” Alexander chimed in, “there is no other way.”
“There is,” Damien answered. “I can do it right now. Just a second!” He dashed from the room.
“My, he does get a bit overzealous at times, doesn’t he?” Celeste asked.
“Celine says you get used to it,” Gray answered, pouring himself another brandy.
Damien rushed back into the room, his laptop in hand. He opened it and began clattering on the keys. “What are you doing?” Gray queried.
“Well, we have several cameras in the house for security, smart thermostat, lights and so on. I can check our account to see if there has been any movement or changes in temperature. I can also check Celine’s accounts to determine if she has accessed them. I tried to track her cell phone already. I can’t locate it, so we’re out of luck there. It makes sense, her phone is probably dead if she has it.” Damien continued clacking on the keyboard. He brought up a series of windows displaying various views of their old home. Gray, Alexander and Celeste peered over his shoulders at his screen. “Okay, front door shows no cars in the driveway.” He clicked to another display. “No one in the living room, no movement in the upstairs hall, nothing in the office.” Damien clicked to another screen. “No history of lights being used, no calls for heat, thermostat is and has been in away mode since before Celine disappeared. So, she’s not at home.”
Gray sighed. “It was worth a shot, I guess.”
Damien continued typing. “What are you doing now?” Alexander inquired.
“Logging in to a few of her accounts, email, social media, that kind of stuff.”
“You can do
