Chapter Three
Neith
“Why do I get the feeling that you mean that literally?” Coen asks.
The stranger simply taps the side of his nose and points at Coen, letting him know that he’s correct.
“Can we help?” I ask.
I’m not sure why I offered to help him, he is a stranger and one that is in danger, and from his power level, dangerous as well. I’m not taking it back though, because I want to help him, and if Ethel is protecting him, then he’s clearly worth protecting.
Plus, all hell breaking loose is definitely something that I want to avoid.
“In time,” he replies, and then disappears.
“I thought he was down here for protection?” Van asks, as he looks around the small room, “Where did he go?”
Ethel sighs, “He is. But he uses his magic to create a fold in the realm, so his house is actually there, but safe in here.”
“Well, that doesn’t sound complicated or confusing at all,” River mutters, a slight furrow between his eyebrows as he tries to figure it out.
“It’s not worth explaining for the moment, you’re very unlikely to see him again. He’s just nosey,” Ethel replies.
“If he’s not what you wanted to show us, then what was it?” Griff asks, sounding confused and a little bit impatient, too.
“Neith dear, do you see that wooden box in the back corner? Go and open it carefully,” Ethel instructs me.
“Whoa, hold on,” Reed says. “It’s not going to hurt her, or curse her or something, right?”
“No, of course not,” Ethel says, understandably sounding a bit offended.
Reed winces, “Sorry. It’s just . . .”
Ethel’s voice is kind as she replies, “I know. You’ve been through a lot, and I am extremely grateful that you are as protective of Neith as you are.”
“They’re awesome,” I grin as I do as Ethel asked, and make my way over to the wooden box that she pointed out.
I have to admit that I didn’t even think about the potential dangers of opening a box with something so guarded in it, and that’s mostly because I completely trust House and Ethel.
“Actually, bring it here before you open it,” Ethel says. “Everyone is going to want to see what’s inside.”
I nod and pick up the box. It’s a lot heavier than I thought it was going to be. It’s not a big box, so I didn’t expect to struggle to lift it.
I haven't been to the gym for a while though, maybe this is my sign that I need to go back.
Once I’m back with the others, Reed takes the box off me and holds it so that I can open it.
“Can I?” I ask Ethel, just to double-check, because I really don’t want to have any nasty spells attached to me.
“Go ahead. I’ll explain what it is, and why certain members of the dead are looking for it after you’ve had a good look,” Ethel replies.
Reaching out, I unlatch the lid and lift it. Singing in my head the music that always plays when a box gets opened in the movies.
Huh, that’s not what I was expecting at all.
Frowning, I ask, “What exactly am I looking at?”
“A bone. At least that’s what it appears to be,” Doc says as he leans closer to study it.
“It’s inscribed using symbols that I have never seen before,” Raiden adds.
Griff frowns and looks at Ethel, “Why are you guarding a bone?”
“Because if the wrong people get their hands on this bone, then they can use it to bring back a very evil race of supernaturals that were hunted to extinction a millennium ago. They are sealed in a prison of sorts in the Spirit Realm. If they were to be brought back, then the realms as we know them would end,” Ethel explains.
Yikes.
I nod. “So it’s like a key? Wouldn’t it be easier to destroy it so that it's never a possibility that it’s used to bring back these supernaturals?”
“Destroying the bone will set into motion the events that will unlock the prison that these creatures were sealed in,” Ethel explains. “The bone isn’t the only piece of the puzzle. It’s a lot more complicated than that, and was designed to be that way, so that they could never be freed.”
“Ahh, gotcha. Don’t break the super old bone,” I reply with a slight smile.
Raiden leans closer to get a better look, “I don’t recognize any of these symbols, not even one. What kind of creature did this bone come from?”
“The easiest explanation would be that it's from a god,” Ethel replies. “Although it’s not strictly correct.”
“A god?” Doc asks, doubt in his tone.
“Yes, one of the originals,” Ethel says.
“And you’ve been guarding it?” Van asks.
“Yes, and every now and then, some of the dead get it in their heads to try to take it. They have never succeeded, and they never will. It’s not a new situation for us,” Ethel explains, not sounding worried at all.
“So what you’re saying is that we don’t need to be concerned about it?” Van clarifies.
“That’s exactly what I’m saying. It’s important that you know that it’s down here, and that we may be attacked every now and then, but we’ve been looking after this bone for a long time now.
It’s just something you need to know about House, especially since Neith is the owner of House, and you’re going to be here more often,” Ethel explains.
“Just another one of House’s quirks,” Griff smiles.
“Does the owner know about this?” I ask, ignoring the fact that she just said that I was the owner.
Ethel sighs heavily, “I think it may be time to end this debate once and for all.”
“River dear, could you go into the top drawer of the desk and bring the document inside to Neith?” Ethel asks him while I frown in confusion.
“Of course,” River nods, as he goes to do what she’s asked him to do, “do you mean the scroll?”
“Yes, that’s it,” Ethel confirms.
River pulls it out and then hands it over to me.
Unrolling it, I start reading, “It’s the deed for House. This house, all of its contents, and all magical responsibilities belong to Neith, daughter of Bhaltair and Emeri, King and Queen of Trieneliea.”
“So House is yours then?” Coen asks with a smile.
“What’s wrong?” Reed asks, and I can feel his gaze on me.
“Erm, I think there might be a mistake,” I start.
“It’s unlikely.” Doc disagrees, “From what I can see from here, it looks like an official deed.”
I nod. “Yeah, I agree with that. I’m not questioning whether the house is mine. It’s right here, there’s no denying that.”
“Then what are you questioning?” River asks.
I look up at them all, my eyebrows dipping down into a frown, “The date that it was signed.”
“The date?” Van asks. “Neith, you’re going to have to explain with more than just a few words.”
I sigh, “Sorry. It’s just this deed was signed and dated in twelve hundred and thirty-six.”
Raiden’s eyes widen, “I’m sorry, did you just say twelve hundred and thirty-six? As in seven hundred and eighty-eight years ago?”
I nod really quickly, “Uh-huh. That’s what it says here.”
“That’s got to be a mistake,” Coen agrees as he moves to look over my shoulder.
“It’s not,” Ethel says.
“How can that be?” Raiden asks.
“Magic,” Ethel replies. “House knew you were going to be its next custodian. House always knows, such is its magic.”
“Erm,” I stutter, not really sure what I’m supposed to say in this situation.
Ethel chuckles, “Well, we did tell you, my dear.”
“Why didn’t you show me this sooner?” I ask.
“Because you weren’t ready to know then,” she replies simply.
I think about it for a moment and then shrug, “Yeah, that’s probably fair. At least that’s something that I don’t have to worry about anymore.” I narrow my eyes slightly, “It says magical responsibilities. What exactly does that entail, and have I already failed at it?”
Ethel chuckles, “No, dear, you haven’t failed. The magical responsibilities mostly refer to House and me, and we’re perfectly happy. It’s nothing for you to worry about.”
Crossing my arms over my chest, I level her with a look, “Are you sure about that?”
“I am. There is nothing else that you need to know about right now,” Ethel replies.
“But there are more things that I need to know?” I ask because there was a distinction in her reply.
“There is always more that you need to know, my dear,” she replies. “Let’s put this all back where it belongs.”
“Fine, I get it,” I reply, knowing that there is absolutely no point in arguing with her because she’s just going to ignore me anyway, and I’ll just get frustrated.
We put everything back where it belongs, after Raiden has taken a long look at the bone and no doubt categorized every detail that he can, so that he can do some research on it at some point.
Although it’s not going to be until we can get back to the guy's place and he gets his books back that he’s going to be able to look into it.
I know he brought some of them with him, but he left a lot behind, and I doubt that he brought the books that he would need in order to research this.
“Let's head back upstairs before Zephyr gets annoyed with the noise and comes to shout at us like the old man he is,” Ethel says with amusement in her voice.
“I heard that!” A disembodied voice calls out, thankfully also sounding amused.
“I know you did. Nosey!” Ethel calls back.
My eyebrows raise as I distinctly hear the slamming of a door.
“So he really does have a whole fucking house in here?” River asks as we turn around and start to head back up the steps.
“Sort of,” Raiden is unsurprisingly the one to reply. “If I’m understanding correctly, he’s somehow managed to create a tiny pocket realm that is the size of his house and no bigger. He must be very powerful.”
“Should we be concerned that he’s hiding out here?” Van asks. “Does he need help?”
“If he needs help, I am sure that he will ask. He is very aware of who you all are and what you are capable of,” Ethel replies.
“That’s good, I suppose,” Reed replies with a slight frown. “At least I think it is.”
“Don’t worry, dear, he’s a good ally to have should you need him,” she replies rather vaguely.
As soon as we’re all clear of the door, it slams shut and then completely disappears.
“You will be unable to gain access unless House or I allow it. You understand that opening the doors just entices those after the key?”
“Of course,” Griff replies for all of us.
“Now that’s all settled, I think it’s time that you all got some rest. Something tells me that you’re going to be pretty busy in the coming days,” Ethel replies as she floats back over to her corner and settles down.
“Good idea,” Ransom replies.
“We’ve got Ty sending over the files for the wolves case that Coen asked for, and we need to go over the file that Rana sent as well.
We then need to compile as much of the information as we can in order to make it easy for the team that’s going to be going after them,” Van says, as we all sort of gather in the hallway.
“We also need to find Pete. I’m hoping that Kar is going to give me a more precise location than just Ireland.
Ireland isn’t exactly a small search area.
We need to find Murray, too, and see if she’s being controlled by Casimir, although I’m not sure if there is any real way to test that, so I guess we’re going to need to talk to Dimitri again as well,” I start.
“Then there are the wards that the Elders suggested we put on ourselves because of my whole angel situation, the fact that the books the Elders gave us are full of shit, so we still don’t know much, if anything, about angels.
Winston is MIA again, and I have no idea if Wallace is okay, or what was in the woods and made me lose all of that time. ”
“Erm,” Coen starts as they all look at me in shock.
I wince, “Sorry that sort of turned into a rant. What’s worse though, is that I didn’t even cover everything.”
Like the unicorn mark on my wrist, that’s a pretty big one. The huge storms that I can make, which is fucking awesome, but that Winston said wasn’t normal, the fact that Ahren rang River, and that whole clusterfuck, the Reaper Council, they’re still an issue, and there’s still more.
It’ll be fine, it’ll all be fine.
Deep breath.
The Voices muttering becomes calmer, and I know that they’re trying to help calm my mind as well.
I’m kind of fond of the fuckers.
Reed smiles gently, “I think we should take it one step at a time and maybe focus on a couple of things and not try to focus on the whole.”
“Good idea,” I reply as I let out a huge breath.
“The ward thing I’ve actually fixed,” Ransom says. He frowns, “Well, I think I have.”
“Oh, the book that smacked you in the head,” Coen says with a huge grin.
I try not to laugh as I ask, “Would someone care to explain to me?”
They quickly explain what happened and how some kind of magic led Ransom to the library and the book that took offense to him in general.
“So the ingredient that you need in order to make the wards work properly is in Scotland and specifically on Griff’s clan land?” I ask, just to make sure that I’m understanding everything properly.
Isn't that a pretty fucking big coincidence?
“Yes,” Ransom replies. “The book is in my bag.”
“Awesome. I have always wanted to go to Scotland,” I admit with a huge smile.
“Yes, we need to work out where we’re going to fit that in as well, because we need to get over there pretty quickly,” Van says with a frown as he tries to fit everything together in a way that’s going to work.
“It can wait for a moment,” Ransom says. “I have to set up my lab here and several other things before I can add the ingredient that’s on Griff’s clan land and make the ward anyway.”
My phone buzzes as the guys continue to talk about what we need to do and try to make a plan.
“Er, guys,” I say as I read over the text, and they all stop to look at me.
“What’s wrong?” Doc asks with concern etched into his features.
“I think that the choice has just been taken away from us, Navy just messaged, she said that we need to find Pete as soon as possible, he’s in danger,” I explain, my heart in my throat.
“Shit,” Coen curses. “Okay, so we need to find Pete then. He’s a god-killer demon, right? So what on earth, or the realms, could put him in danger?”
“A god?” I query, the words sticking in my throat.
“Honestly, I sort of hope that it’s Murray and her magic or something, because that seems a hell of a lot easier to deal with than fucking Gods,” River adds.
“I mean, where do we even start with that? What are their weaknesses? How do you fucking kill them?” He asks, and then, without waiting for us to answer, not that we could anyway because we don’t know, he continues, “Nope, I definitely hope it's Murray. We can deal with her.”
“Agreed,” Van replies.
“So for now, until proven otherwise, we will assume that Murray is with Pete and that’s why he’s in danger,” Doc summarizes.
“I’ll go with that,” Griff replies.
“Neith, can you message Kar and see if he can narrow down Pete’s last known location?” Van suggests, and I pull out my phone again.
“So we find Pete first, and then go from there,” Raiden says.
We all nod in agreement. At least we have a vague plan now. I will be so monumentally pissed if Pete dies before I get a chance to know him as my dad.