“They sent a fire elemental in after him,” Daryl added, then leaned on the table and steepled his slender hands together. He had known Elizabeth and Sarah for over a century now and wanted it known that she still had at least one ally at the table. “Mike Radley was able to destroy it, which caused the situation to escalate. We drastically underestimated him.”
“That is correct,” she said. “We waited until after he refused our cash offer for the house, which was only a couple of days. Like Garrett told us, the house takes time to awaken, but I wonder now if his information was wrong.”
“I see. And what happened next?” The shadow at the end of the table shifted. Clearly the high priest’s attention was on the real world as well; he appeared to be in the middle of dining, a shadowy goblet raised to his lips.
“We decided that the best course of action would be to eliminate him discreetly. Despite any power he has already amassed, his mind would be incapable of withstanding a spiritual assault.” Elizabeth shivered visibly. “So we utilized the succubus.”
Whispers around the table were exchanged and then immediately ceased. The shadow at the other end of the table darkened, and the lights in the room dimmed.
“Where is my succubus?” he asked.
Daryl kept his face neutral. If the high priest wanted, he could turn Elizabeth to a pile of ash, and it was well known that the succubus was a cherished possession of the high priest. Used primarily for assassinations, she slumbered inside of a fist-sized ruby known as the Heart of the Succubus.
Elizabeth shook her head. “I used the heart to send the succubus after Mr. Radley and promptly locked it away. Sarah removed it from the safe for observation while I slept, I assume because she was anxious to know when he was dead. It was her fire elemental that got destroyed, and she was quite angry about it. When I woke up in the morning, I found that Sarah, the heart, and a few other magical implements had gone missing.”
“I see.” The shadow leaned on the table, frost spreading from his fingertips and across the wood. “And have we located Sarah?”
“Attempts have been made,” Daryl announced. “I myself have cast several locator spells, both on the missing objects and on Sarah herself.”
“And?” The voice was impatient, and a couple of those physically present scooted back from the table, making room for the potential outburst to come.
“The bracelet is gone, its magic spent. There exists no further trace of it on this plane.” Daryl paused to sip water from his chalice. Elizabeth could be reduced to ash in an instant, but he was a necromancer and had plenty of tricks up his sleeve. He had a tremendous amount of respect for the high priest but did not fear him as the others did. “I tracked the other magic items to the grounds of the home but was unable to penetrate the magical barrier of the geas around it. The wand, the dagger, and Sarah never emerged from that place.”
More mumbling around the table. Each of those things was irreplaceable, but the dagger most so. As far as any of them knew, there wasn’t another like it.
“And my succubus?” the high priest asked.
“I fear she is yours no longer. The tracking spell I used came up empty, so I used the Infernal Mirror to try and find her,” Daryl continued. The Infernal Mirror was one of the greatest objects in their possession; long ago, the society had managed to summon and trap a greater demon inside, one capable of answering three yes-or-no questions asked of it once every lunar cycle. “When I discovered the loss of the heart, I asked if Lily’s pact was still intact. The demon told me no.”
A shadowy hand slammed onto the table, and the earth quaked beneath them. “And your second question?”
“I asked the mirror if Mike was her new master, and the demon laughed.” Daryl shook his head. Everyone knew that laughter meant that the demon had found a way to avoid answering, a fault in the question itself. This also wasted the question. “Unless Lily has been destroyed, I am at a loss. Something has happened outside of my understanding regarding this matter, and I defer to your guidance.”
“And your third question?” Activating the mirror meant asking all three questions at once. The other members leaned in with interest.
“I asked the mirror if Sarah still lived,” Elizabeth said, her gaze steady on the high priest. “The demon laughed until I severed the connection.”
More mumbling at the table, low whispers that sounded like a bundle of snakes. Daryl watched the high priest, interested to see his reaction.
“I believe this matter will require more personal attention,” said the high priest. “Something more than simply going to the house and threatening the Caretaker. Kali and Sebastien, I want you to travel to the States and assist Daryl with recovering the dagger and the succubus. Find somebody who has already been in the house, someone who has been invited. They are the key to breaching the barrier of the geas, for only those invited in by the Caretaker can enter it freely.”
Two of the shadows at the table nodded.
“What about me?” Elizabeth asked.
“You are too close to the issue, and until we know your daughter’s fate, I want you nowhere near that house.”
“And what about Mike Radley?” Daryl asked.
“If the opportunity comes, kill him. But take no chances.” The high priest faded from view, the lights
