Page 61 of Dead Serious Case 5 Madame Vivienne
“Didn’t Mr Hadley explain everything to you?”
Lucien shrugged. “He gave me the basics. From what I understand, Hadley and Mason have had some suspicions about a devil’s trap for several decades, but they were unable toconfirm, and the owners of the property were being quite tight-lipped. For someone like me, who’s from the Hell dimensions, I’d be able to recognise demon activity anywhere.”
“And you definitely can’t read the symbols that were used on Vivienne?” Harrison clarifies.
Lucien shakes his head. “Like I said, that particular version is one of the oldest forms, a lost language. There’s only one person I know who would definitely be able to read it, but she’s busy right now.”
“That’s not very helpful.” Harrison crosses his arms.
“You know, the demon that’s trapped down there?” Lucien strokes his beard. “If he’s old enough, he probably knows the language. Which means he’s awake enough to be whispering in someone’s ear.”
“What do you mean?” Danny asks.
“It’s a bit complicated, but if the demon is powerful enough, he could communicate with someone on the outside. It would be limited, but possible.”
“You think the demon’s been influencing the witch that killed Vivienne?” Harrison’s eyes widen in realisation. “Yes, that makes sense. I would imagine what it wants is to be free of the trap, so we would have to assume that, whether this witch is a willing participant or not, the end goal is to open the trap. Vivienne’s death must somehow be connected.”
“Whoever this witch is, they’d have to have a high level of skill themselves. Although I can’t say for certain, that kind of spellwork looks like a very complex binding ritual.” He nods towards the photos. “The demon can only instruct from inside the trap, he can’t use his own magic while he’s being held, so he’d need someone with a certain amount of talent. I’d say you’d be looking for someone older, definitely more experienced in the older magics, with an interest in the darker traditions.”
“But what does this witch get out of it?” Danny interjects.
“Ultimate power,” Harrison whispers, and Lucien nods.
“If you can raise a demon and control it, you’d be a god among men,” Lucien explains to the rest of us.
“Does anyone else get the feeling we’re in really deep shit?” Sam murmurs.
“This is so way above my pay grade,” Dusty says, looking to Bruce, who seems equally as concerned. “I really need to dig out that boring arse handbook and see what it says about demons.”
“I have to go.” Lucien frowns. “There’s someone who needs to know about this.” He turns towards the door. “We’ll be in touch.”
“Who’s we?” I reply.
“Wait!” Harrison says loudly, and Lucien pauses, twisting to look back in our direction. “What do you know about the trap itself? How was it made? How was it used to imprison a demon?”
“I’ve only ever heard of one other demon trap like this one. It was created and sealed with blood magic, the strongest magic there is. If this is the same, then it means it can only be unlocked by the blood of a direct descendant of whoever trapped the demon in there in the first place.”
“Shit,” Danny swears under his breath.
“I have to go,” Lucien says, and without another word or backwards glance, he stalks out of the shop, the merry tinkle of bells ringing out in the sudden silence as the door closes.
“Well.” Harrison chews his lip. “Sounds like we need to find out who trapped the demon in there and why.”
“Do you think it was Cordelia Crawshanks?” Danny asks. “After all, she was a self-proclaimed witch and the one who originally opened the doorway to the spirit world. She obviously had the power and skill needed.”
Harrison shakes his head. “From what we know of her, Cordelia was far more likely to set a demon loose than trap one under the family home.”
“Cornelius?” Sam offers, and this time it’s me who shakes my head and answers.
“Unlikely. With his mindset and substance abuse problems, I don’t think he’d have had the concentration to pull off something like that.”
“I’m inclined to agree.” Harrison nods. “Besides, he died without marrying and had no descendants.”
“That we know of,” Sam points out.
“I’m pretty sure he didn’t,” I say quietly. Danny looks at me and nods. I feel kinda bad, like I’m betraying someone’s secrets, but Cornelius has been dead for over a hundred and twenty-five years now. “From the journal entries of his that I’ve read, I’m pretty sure Cornelius Crawshanks was gay and in a secret relationship with someone. I don’t think he fathered any kids. Besides, after reading all his private notes and entries, I feel like I know him. If he had a kid, even an illegitimate one, I think he’d acknowledge them.”
“So he’s a dead end, then,” Sam muses.