Allison Brennan - Carnal Sin

To the rear was a vast kitchen and great room, and a wall full of windows looking out into the dark valley dotted with lights from other people’s grand houses. To the right was a hall with several dark, closed rooms.

Without speaking, Moira pointed down the hall. There was a staircase that led downstairs, and Rafe nodded.

As they descended, Moira tensed again, but she kept moving, leading the way. Jackson took up the rear.

They didn’t stop on the second level, but continued silently down. At the base of the stairs was an office of sorts, only ten feet wide but twice that in length, the far-side sliding doors leading to the balcony. It looked as though it had been divided off from the rest of the floor. Two desks, bookshelves, and a few chairs filled the space. Double doors led to another room.

They stopped at the base of the landing and listened.

Silence.

Moira pointed to Jackson with her dagger and motioned for him to stay and watch the stairs, then gestured toward the closed doors. Rafe understood. They stood on either side of the doors and Rafe cautiously opened the knob on his side. Moira opened the other door. Incense wafted through the open door-myrrh and sandalwood and something else Rafe couldn’t identify right off. He peered through the crack. It was pitch black in there.

A memory rushed into his head and he froze.

Screams of agony pierced the silence as Samuel Ackerman’s two closest friends were tortured by a demon. The sound shredded Samuel’s heart .

“Stop, stop! Please leave them alone.”

The witch turned to him, satisfied he would give her what she wanted. “Samuel. You know better. What will you do for me?”

“Don’t do this, Susan. Please, stop.”

“You stole from me.”

“You know what you’re doing is wrong. How could you turn your back on God? On what is good in the world?”

“Who’s to say what is good? What has God ever done for me?” She waved her arm toward the living room where a succubus and incubus tortured William and Tessa Burns. They’d been stripped naked, unable to move, unable to stop the horrid acts of sexual violence being done to them. Samuel was spared only because for him, it was worse torture to watch. He had brought this down on his friends because he’d tried to do the right thing. William and Tessa knew more about the supernatural than he did. He hadn’t believed in such evil until he’d witnessed Susan’s horrid acts. He realized now that she’d been born without a conscience; that was the only explanation for her actions .

He’d stolen the chalice, and now …

“I have everything I want because I have the knowledge,” Susan said. “I have power. I need the chalice you stole from me.”

He hesitated. Susan chanted in ancient Latin, then said, “Kali, the soul of William Burns has been pledged, and is freely given by your mistress; take what you will!”

William screamed as the succubus kissed him, sucking his soul out of his body until he died. It took a long minute, and through it all Samuel prayed for deliverance, begged God to stop this .

God did not answer. Instead, Susan laughed. The demon, satiated, was dismissed with an incantation from Susan’s teenage daughter who watched the entire proceedings, the rapes and the soul-snatching, with rapt attention. Wendy had been such a sweet child, and now …

“My chalice, Samuel! Now! Or Tessa will die next.”

“Raphael Cooper!” Moira hit him, her voice a harsh and worried whisper.

Rafe shook his head, his eyes still seeing the violence of his vision. Samuel Ackerman had been murdered at Santa Louisa de los Padres Mission three months ago. Why was this important-why did he remember this now?

“Rafe, please!”

“I’m sorry,” he mumbled, still trying to rid his head of the horrific images. He still heard the screams of William Burns as he was sacrificed.

“Listen,” she whispered.

He remained silent. They stood outside the doors. There was no movement; there were no sounds from above except for the ticking of the grandfather clock in the entryway.

Moira frowned and her hand tightened around her dagger.

He mouthed, “What’s wrong?”

She shook her head, uncertain, but Rafe trusted Moira’s instincts. He motioned to leave, but she shook her head again and pushed open the door.

Rafe shined his flashlight into the space. He found a light switch that had a dimmer, and put the overhead light on at the lowest possible setting.

It was a long room, three times the size of the one at the base of the landing. One wall was windows with three sliding glass doors. The scent of incense was stronger, as well as the smell of fresh candle wax. Candles sat on every available surface, both black and white, and in the center, under a spirit trap painted in black on the ceiling, was a hexagram with a solitary black candle in each of the six triangles. It looked much too similar to the trap Fiona’s coven had used to summon the Seven.

There was enough space for a couple dozen people to move about. Comfortable furniture, both contemporary and feminine, was strategically placed to provide conversation and optimal viewing. The windows looked out on the brilliantly lit Los Angeles Valley.

Moira took in the room quickly, then her gaze locked on the double doors on the far side of the room.

“Mo-”

She cut him off and whispered so low he almost didn’t hear her. “There’s a demon in there.”

Rafe’s blood froze. “Let’s go.”

She shook her head. “This is it. We trap it now and take it with us.”

“I’ve never known a demon to go quietly.”

“Tell Jackson to get in here. We’ll lock the doors and hold them off as long as we can.”

“Moira-”

“Rafe, we cannot let it go!” She bit her lip, glancing at the door, her eyes narrowed.

She was right, but Rafe hadn’t been expecting to face the demon tonight.

“I’ll tell Jackson.” Rafe stepped back through the doors.

Moira started across the room. She relaxed her senses, letting them feel the magic and evil that filled the room. She calmed her breathing, and focused on the demon behind those doors.

From the moment she’d entered the house, she’d known something was off. As she walked down the stairs, her apprehension grew. But as soon as she stepped through the doors into this chamber, she smelled it. Hell. There was a portal to the underworld right here.

The demon Envy had been able to change form at will-from human to beast, and every combination. They had all nearly died trying to contain it. She feared the demon Lust would be the same, except that it had been trapped by Wendy. That meant it was weaker. It couldn’t take different forms. She hoped.

A possessed human had increased strength as well as the demons’ ability to violently move people and objects with their will. But in a spirit trap, the demon would be largely impotent. This truly was their best opportunity to stop it, and while Moira didn’t relish facing Wendy or Nicole Donovan, she’d do what she had to in order to leave with the demon.

She glanced over her shoulder. Where were Rafe and Jackson? She was already across the chamber at the door, which led, she expected, to the demon. Her heart quickened with fear that someone had seen Rafe. But he would have alerted her, wouldn’t he? He would have made noise, bumped something.

Then Rafe stepped through the chamber door with Jackson, who closed it quietly behind him and locked it.

“I don’t like this idea,” Rafe said.

“It’s our only option.” She held up three fingers, two, then one.

Moira opened the door. Candlelight flickered in the windowless room. The demon possessed the body of a mysterious and beautiful woman, was dressed in the Velocity uniform. She hissed at her. “I’ve been waiting for you, Moira.”