Chapter 12 #2
We watch as he takes a few steps toward the centre of the shop, then reaches down and touches the wooden floorboards.
Light blazes across the ground, a fiery red and orange that runs through invisible grooves until it completes a large, intricate circular pattern which covers nearly the entire room.
“Holy shit!” Bruce gasps loudly.
“What the fuck is that?” Tristan’s mouth falls open and my stomach jolts in shock.
“That, my friends,” Lucien says calmly, “is a one hundred percent bona fide demon trap, complete with one very old and very pissed-off demon.”
My heart starts pounding at his words. A demon.
Cordelia’s demon.
So that’s what I sensed below us. It makes sense that I should feel it with my strange connection to Cordelia.
The question is, how did it get from terrorising London to being trapped inside a bookshop?
And not just any bookshop, the one occupying the ground floor of the Crawshanks home.
But if the demon is down there, what happened to Cordelia?
“I’m sorry, what?” Tristan blinks slowly. “It’s crazy, but I could’ve sworn you just said there’s a demon under the floorboards.”
Lucien straightens up and meets our eyes.
“It’s a bit further down than just under the floorboards, but, yeah, you got yourselves a demon, alright.
” He glances back at the brightly glowing circle stretching across almost the entire floor and filled with complicated symbols and sigils. “I wonder who trapped it down there.”
“I’m less concerned with how it got down there and more worried about whether it’s getting out.” Tristan’s voice has gone all squeaky. “A demon, really?”
“Well, that’s the question now, isn’t it?” Lucien replies. “What do you know about demons?”
Tristan’s eyes widen. “Oh no, not me. I’m the ghost whisperer. Please direct all occult-based questions to my colleague.” He points to me.
“I’m aware of some of the darker magics,” I reply, staring contemplatively at the trap.
I’ve got to be careful about what I say because I’m really not ready to start sharing with Tristan or a complete stranger about the dreams I’ve been having ever since I arrived in London.
“There is some vague mention of demons, but it was my understanding that they are all trapped in Hell.”
“You’d think, wouldn’t you?” Lucien shrugs. “But no, some are unaccounted for. Caught in traps like these, some have lain undiscovered for centuries until?—”
“Until what?” Tristan asks warily.
“Until they’re awakened,” Lucien replies. “Mostly, these types of demon traps are very effective. A trap like this should have held the demon in a dormant state, like a kind of stasis, but this one’s very much conscious.”
“Great,” Tristan mutters sourly.
Suddenly, the front door bursts open, and Danny and Sam rush through. They skid almost comically to a halt, looking first at the giant, flamey demon trap glowing like the dance floor from Saturday Night Fever and then to the giant, hulking, sexy wolf of a man towering over me and Tristan.
Shit. Tristan must’ve messaged them earlier and told them we were heading back to the bookshop.
Danny grabs an umbrella from the nearby stand and Sam grabs a plant pot and they brandish them like weapons.
“It’s okay!” Tristan holds up his hands. “This is Lucien. Um…” He edges carefully around the demon trap. “He, uh…well, I’m pretty sure he’s not the psycho killer who hurt Viv, but then again, what the hell do I know? I just cut up dead bodies for a living and talk to ghosts.”
“Can’t you stay out of trouble for two minutes?” Danny sighs.
“Sorry to point out the obvious,” Sam interrupts, “but what the hell is that?” He points his plant pot at the floor.
“A demon trap,” I admit.
His eyes snap to mine, and I can tell he’s thinking the same as me. After telling him about Cordelia and the dreams earlier, it doesn’t take a genius to figure out who this demon trap is connected to.
Sam clears his throat, his gaze briefly flickering to the others. It’s obvious none of them have the same information we do. “A demon…what now?” he says for their benefit.
“What the fuck is going on?” Danny glowers.
“That’s what we’re trying to figure out.” Tristan takes his hand. “Lucien, this is Danny, my fiancé, and our friend, Sam.”
Lucien nods in greeting.
“Danny, Lucien was sent here by Mr Hadley,” he explains.
“Did Hadley know about all that?” Danny’s eyes track back to the trap.
Lucien shrugs. “I think he suspected, which is why he called in a favour. So here I am.”
“So you don’t actually work for Hadley and Mason?” Sam asks.
Lucien shakes his head. “Let’s just say I’m on temporary loan.”
“Okay, I’m back! Oh holy fuck, what did I miss?” Dusty gasps as she takes in the giant man, the glowing floor, and Danny and Sam looking very belligerent as they stare at the stranger.
Lucien does a double take at the new arrival now standing beside Bruce. It’s not every day you see a dead six-foot drag queen.
“Apparently, we’ve got a demon trap on our hands, complete with demon,” I say to Dusty and point to the floor.