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ChapterFourteen

Rasmus, it turned out, owned a car. It was at his actual home, not the building where the demon hunters had been keeping him. The three of us called for a ride that took us there. The plan was to drive from Massachusetts to New York. By the time we left Katie’s and got to his home, it was nearing noon.

While Rasmus packed an overnight bag and gathered some of his things, Conn and I wandered around his living room. We found no photos, no books, and no shoes under the coffee table. There was one sad-looking throw pillow on the end of the sofa. Even the furniture at the cottage had been nicer.

But what I couldn’t get a handle on was the total absence of anything feminine. Where was the evidence of the wife he mentioned? Goddess, where was proof that he even had a personality? No one’s home was this sterile. It was like a hotel room that got cleaned every day.

“Something’s not right here, Conn. Rasmus mentioned a wife. I remember it clearly,” I said.

Conn nodded. “Yes. I’m quite sure you do.”

“Not for the reason ya think, ya wisecracker. Will ya leave off that?”

My familiar was traveling with us in human form, but he lifted his head and sniffed loudly. “This place doesn’t smell like the hunter. It smells like nothing, as if all scents were purposely eradicated. There is the faintest smell of hand soap in the bathroom. The kitchen barely smells of the food trash that was taken out weeks ago. I doubt this place is someone’s permanent residence.”

I made a face over what that meant. “I went over every naked inch of him. Where bloody else could a compulsion have been hidden on the man?”

“I stopped you before you finished checking his crotch area. There could have been a second or even a third one down there. The man was endowed enough to hide six or seven.”

“That’s not funny, Conn.”

“No, it’s not funny, but it’s still true. I got startled at the sight of Lilith. You probably stopped searching the moment I left the room.”

Sighing, I looked around. No way was I admitting he was right. “Would another compulsion explain this place?”

Conn’s only answer was a shrug.

“If we remove any others, whoever put them there will surely know the game has turned again.”

“Agreed,” Conn said and put his hands in his pockets. “Plus, I don’t think you have the willpower not to jump his naked body if we search him again.”

I walked to Conn and punched his arm hard. He laughed, but it came out of his throat in his evil voice. It was creepy to hear it coming from someone who looked so much like me.

Rasmus came back carrying a duffle that bulged. He grinned when he looked at us. “Did I miss another fight between you two?”

“Something like that,” I said. “Ready to go?”

Rasmus held up car keys and jingled them.

* * *

By now itwas nearly two. We were losing the day fast.

After we cleared Salem and headed west to Albany, I cleared my throat to get the driver’s attention. “When did ya become a demon hunter, Rasmus?”

He stopped making man-talk about cars, looked at Conn, and snorted. His eyes met mine in the rear-view mirror. “That’s a strange question.”

“Is it? I was only making conversation, but I would like to know. When I met Jack, being a demon hunter was all he talked about. He’d studied mythology and sociology at university. Then he came to Ireland for his post-graduate work. He said Ireland had more magickal mythos than any other place on Earth.”

Rasmus was quiet for a moment. He seemed to wrestle with his brain again. Conn swiveled slightly in his seat to watch him.

“Do you have a headache?” Conn asked.

Rasmus frowned. “My head hurts frequently, but nothing can be done. I was in an accident that robbed me of my memories and gave me a permanent head injury. I can only recall the last few years of my life.”

“How terrible,” Conn said, offering genuine sympathy.

Rasmus nodded. “Before I became a hunter, they said I used to be special forces in the military. Since I started receiving a monthly pension for being medically retired, I finally accepted the story everyone told me was true.”