Chapter 7 #2
Quentin sighed. “Unfortunately, I didn’t find any new clues when I went to your house.
There wasn’t any detectable magical signature.
” He hated to share bad news, and from the slump of Grevin’s shoulders, he didn’t like hearing it either.
He pulled out his phone and scrolled to find the photo that best showed the rune circle. “I took pictures,” he offered.
“Good. Even after knocking me out, they shouldn’t have been able to break my circle so easily.”
Quentin nodded. It took magic and power to break through activated runes. Once sealed, circles were more than their collective chalk, salt, or ash. They were magical boundaries to remain unbroken until their creator ended the task.
Grevin took the phone and rotated it to look at it from every angle. “There!” he pointed to something on the phone. Spreading his fingers, he enlarged the section for Quentin. He pointed at an oddly shaped symbol. “See the foot of this rune? It isn’t right.”
It took him longer than Grevin to identify the error with his limited knowledge of necromantic runes. “What’s the difference from the rune you wanted?”
“This introduces a weakness into the rune scheme. It would allow anyone to break the circle if they were on the outside.”
“You think something influenced you, and what, did a pact with a demon they knew you would call? That seems overly complicated.” Quentin paused to consider the facts.
“It must have been a coordinated attack, or the person who hit you from behind wouldn’t have known when you were summoning.
Did you tell anyone you were planning to summon a demon tonight? ”
Grevin tilted his head back. “I might have told Hafrey? I don’t remember.
We were discussing his new marijuana blend, and he said it was good for rituals because it put you in a calm headspace.
I told him I didn’t have time to pick some up before my next summoning, but I wanted to try it out later. ”
A cold chill shivered through his stomach. Hafrey, the laid-back wizard who spent most of his time in a drugged haze, was the last person he’d expect to attack anyone, and maybe that was the point.
“I don’t want to say it is impossible, but…”
“It doesn’t sound like him,” Grevin finished.
“It doesn’t,” he agreed. “But maybe I can stop by and talk to him. Just casually. You said he can get into your ritual room, right, so he wouldn’t have needed to break in, but he might have mentioned it to someone else.
He does like to talk.” He didn’t sincerely think Hafrey would hit Grevin and steal a demon.
However, he couldn’t be completely ruled out.
“He wouldn’t need to break in,” Grevin repeated as if it were a mantra.
“Unless he wanted to hide his actions.” Quentin bit his lip. “It wouldn’t hurt to check in on him. I often stop by just to chat.”
Grevin nodded. “Just visiting a friend isn’t suspicious.”
They both fell silent, eyeing each other as if trying to silently determine if the other was serious about Hafrey colluding with a demon.
“I’m sure it’s nothing,” Quentin said.
“Absolutely, but he’s getting old. It wouldn’t hurt to check on him.”
“Right. Check on him.”
Grevin grabbed Quentin’s wrist. “Be careful.” He squeezed Quentin’s arm before he had a chance to say anything.
“I know you’re a strong mage and have a lot of tricks up your sleeves, but this isn’t something we’re prepared for.
If Hafrey is somehow involved, we won’t be expecting whatever he has planned. ”
Quentin swallowed back his instinctive snarky response at Grevin’s panicked expression. “You’re right. I’ll be careful.”
He wasn’t in a hurry to be torn apart by a demon or a retired wizard. Hafrey never said much about his past, but Quentin always suspected there was more than one reason the old wizard changed phone numbers often and hid out in his house rather than practicing his magic openly.
“I mean it, Quentin, be very careful and take someone with you. You need someone watching your back. I know you don’t want to hurt Hafrey, but if he’s the one who hit me, he’s not afraid to harm us.”
Quentin nodded. “I’ll haul my sexy vamp around with me.”
“You do that.” Grevin squeezed Quentin’s wrist once more before letting go.
“Do you think they’ll yank your license over this?” It wasn’t a subtle change of subject, but then Quentin wasn’t known for his subtlety.
Ritual rooms had to be licensed by the state.
If they pulled Grevin’s licensing, it would hurt his wallet and reputation.
A significant part of Grevin’s income came from helping others communicate with their deceased loved ones.
He’d confessed to Quentin once that half his money came from family summoning jobs.
“They’ll probably try even though it was my first offense.” Grevin didn’t bother hiding his disdain.
Quentin ran a hand through his hair. “Remember, Carson? They decided his room didn’t meet standards after they changed the rules.
They could do the same to you, couldn’t they?
If they can’t get you on the summoning.” Carson had been eaten by a revenant in the end, so maybe they had been right about his safety measures.
“No, luckily, I have insurance against summoning damages. No matter how bad, a first offense only gets a mark on my record. If I get more than three, I’ll have to go for retraining, but because of the discrimination against us, the Necromantic Guild is the only one that can assign marks.”
Quentin itched to see that policy. “Good to know they can’t discriminate. I didn’t know summoning insurance was a thing?”
“Only through the Guild and only for licensed professional necromancers.”
That made more sense. He couldn’t see a regular insurance agency covering demonic injuries. “What about your ritual room? Can they invent a new guideline and say you didn’t pass?”
Grevin shook his head. “It was grandfathered in before all the new requirements. They can fine me for lack of protection or poor planning, but they can’t stop me from earning a living.”
Quentin let out a deep sigh. “Great, I was worried. I’m glad you won’t be in too much trouble.” As much as necromancy sometimes gave him the creeps, he didn’t want Grevin to lose his livelihood.
Grevin grimaced. “The fines can be outrageous, and it will be a mark against my reputation unless it can be proven that I wasn’t responsible for the issue.”
“Can you prove it?” They only had his word about the attack, a strange rune, and a smudged circle. The authorities were more likely to think he was covering his ass by inventing an assailant.
“Not yet.” He fidgeted with the blanket at his waist. “Do you think you can get your bounty hunter friends on this?”
Grevin had the best —or was it the worst —puppy eyes.
He sighed, caving in immediately. “Not on Hafrey but on tracking a demon, possibly.”
“I would appreciate it.”
“No problem.” He’d have to cash in some favors, maybe trade some capture orbs for information, but it would be worth it to help his friend.
“Did you run diagnostics on the door?”
Quentin nodded. “Unfortunately, I couldn’t detect any foreign magic on it, and I was afraid to cast too many spells around the damage.
Even though your demon was freed right away, it still affected the area around your house.
I don’t know how long you were out, but it had enough time to leak brimstone and demon fog. ”
“I wonder what the delay was. If there was a weakness, they should’ve been able to retrieve the demon right away.”
“I don’t know.” The words tasted like ash on his tongue. He liked solving problems, but this one seemed to be beyond his ability. It was a blow to his ego. He’d always thought he could figure anything out with enough magic on his side.
Grevin offered a faint smile. “Thank you for trying at least.”
“You’re welcome. Sorry, I couldn’t be more help.”
There was a knock on the door.
“Come in,” Grevin called out.
Jaks opened the door and ducked his head in. “The detectives are here to talk to Grevin.”
Grevin sighed. “Great, my day is now complete. The one time the cops are on time for something. Might as well send them in and get this over with.”
The pair of detectives who entered the room were vaguely familiar.
It took Quentin a few seconds to realize they were the same ones who answered his emergency call when Glenn was attacked.
They offered Quentin a polite nod, gave Jaks suspicious glances, then asked if Grevin minded Quentin’s presence during his interview.
“No, I’d like him to stay until my Necromantic Guild representative arrives. Quentin can be my counsel until then. The doctor gave me some strong medication for my injuries.”
It was news to him that a representative would be showing up, but Quentin just nodded as if that was the plan all along. He didn’t miss the grateful glance Grevin sent his way. That Grevin didn’t trust the police to treat him fairly was left unsaid, but highly implied.
“That’ll be fine,” Detective Forrester pulled a notepad from his inner pocket and began a gentle interrogation over the events that led to Grevin’s injuries.
They went over everything twice before they were satisfied with his answers.
Quentin had to explain his part in rescuing Grevin and bringing him to the manor.
He also decided to mention that he’d gone back to the scene in case they found traces of his magic.
“Did you disturb the evidence?” Detective Forrester’s handsome face took on a hard edge.
“No. I will admit that I looked at the ritual circle, but I didn’t touch anything or move anything from where it was after we found Grevin. There is a mark breaking the protection, but I didn’t sense anything from it. I did cast detection spells at the front door, but I came up with nothing.”
“Why didn’t you take him to a hospital?” Detective Hansen asked.