Allison Brennan - Carnal Sin

“I don’t know who you are,” Nina said. “When I came to the station today it was to talk to Grant about the investigation into George’s murder. And you’re the one who asked me to coffee,” she pointed to Moira. “I’m not here to set anyone up.”

“I’m going to tell you the truth,” Rafe said. “It’s hard to take, but I am not lying to you.”

“I’m listening.”

“Nadine Anson was a witch. When I say witch , I mean someone who uses spells to draw on demonic forces for personal gain. Most witches are innocuous”-he put his hand on Moira’s leg to keep her from arguing that point-“because they don’t have access to or experience with ancient spells and rituals that summon demons into our world.”

Nina stared at Rafe. She wanted to believe, Moira saw it in her eyes, but her logical, lawyerly self doubted.

Rafe continued. “We don’t know exactly what happened with Nadine and her coven, but the manager of Velocity, Wendy Donovan, is the leader. The high priestess-the head magician, whatever you want to call her-is in charge. Most of the members of the coven worked at Velocity or were affiliated with it in some way.”

Nina leaned forward, hands splayed palms down on the table. “Pamela is a supplier. She works for a food and beverage service and handles alcohol supplies for local bars, including Velocity.”

Rafe nodded, though the information was news to both him and Moira.

“Though witches aren’t all women-hardly, as most magicians in ancient times were men-Wendy’s coven is all female. They are practicing a particularly vile form of sex magic.”

Nina frowned and leaned back in her chair. “Sex magic?”

Rafe continued. “I just spoke with Anthony Zaccardi, the preeminent scholar in ancient demons. He confirmed our fears, and more. Wendy, and her mother before her, and likely women in their family for generations, have been the protectors of a legion of demons known as succubi. They are female demons who steal the souls of unfaithful men. In exchange, Wendy’s family members are given favor on Earth and believe they will also have authority in the underworld. What they don’t realize, and will never accept, is that fallen angels control the underworld. They will never allow a demon who had once been human to have any power in Hell.”

Moira watched Nina’s expression closely. She’d listened, but Moira didn’t know what she thought about Rafe’s revelation.

Rafe continued. “From what we’ve learned, Craig Monroe was targeted because he was a jerk who was cruel to his girlfriend, a waitress at Velocity. George Erickson was targeted because he reneged on his arrangement with his wife, namely that she could have sex outside of marriage but he could not.”

Nina hit her knee. “That’s what I told Grant! He told you that?” She glared accusingly at Moira. “You didn’t tell me that. You said you thought it was an open marriage. You lied to me.”

Moira shook her head. “I told you we heard he had an open marriage. Nelson didn’t tell us it was one-sided.”

Before Nina could become more irritated, Rafe continued. “That fits with what we know about witches. She would want complete and total freedom, and as a member of a sex coven, she would participate in a multitude of sexual activities in order to maintain her supernatural strength. The more they participate, the more they need , if you understand.”

“Like drugs. You need more and more coke or heroin to get the same high.”

“Precisely. Only with sex magic, the more you participate, the greater your supernatural power-your magic-is here on Earth. Spells and rituals are still important, as part of the big picture, but on the micro level, you can essentially wiggle your nose and gain small favors.”

Wiggle your nose? Since when had Rafe watched popular television? Moira wondered.

“And Pamela Erickson was part of this sex coven?”

“That picture proves it. If you look at the symbols, you see the occult, correct?”

Nina stared at the photograph. “Yes. It looks sort of like what I see in the movies.”

“Sort of?”

“It’s more … simple. Almost a parody.”

“Because these rituals aren’t elaborate. In fact, they are a lot easier than most people think. Because most of the spell is done up here.” He tapped his head. “The circle there is called a spirit trap, or a devil’s circle, or any number of things. Practically? It’s a portal. It’s a place where the layer between Hell and Earth is thin, and demons can be summoned and controlled. The picture your friend took is of a classic demon trap. We were told that they have one sacrifice a year in order to keep favor with the underworld. We know that they planned three victims this time. Only, when they changed the ritual to give the succubus more power, they trapped the wrong demon.”

Nina didn’t say anything for a long minute, and Moira thought she was going to laugh at them and leave. Then she asked, “And Pamela had a demon kill George?”

“Yes.”

“But Nadine’s fingerprints were all over his bedroom.”

“Nadine volunteered her body to the demon and then killed George.”

“But Nadine died.”

Rafe was somber. “We’re not exactly sure why, but the demon left Nadine’s body.”

“Okay, I’ve been a good sport. And I can almost believe you -almost . But why would the demon care if anyone saw it? From what you just said, it’s powerful! Why not just kill Moira or you or everyone? Why aren’t we overrun by demons?”

“Like any spirit, they have limitations.”

“But you said they were fallen angels. Are you saying they’re not superhuman? They don’t have special powers?”

Moira felt Nina begin to close up, questions rolling off her tongue like those of a prosecutor. She leaned forward and took Nina’s other hand. At first the woman tried to pull away, but Moira held tight. “Nina, everything Rafe said is true. I saw a death imprint of Craig Monroe in the alley. That means that after it happened-two days after it happened-I saw him die. Nadine is the one who killed him. And yes, regardless of what you saw on the video about how freaked out she was, it was her fault. She allowed herself to be possessed by the demon because she thought that she’d gain something from it. So while we might feel bad about what she went through-because dammit, I want so badly to believe that she felt awful about what she did-she was still responsible. When I saw Nadine on the street near Velocity, the demon knew I’d spotted her. It knew its time in her body was limited. Because that’s what Rafe and I do-we send demons back to Hell.”

Moira considered what she’d just said-it was the truth, but why would the demon be fearful of her? Was it vulnerable when it was trapped in a physical body? She needed to talk it out with Rafe. There was something they were missing.

“You’re an exorcist?” Nina looked skeptically at Rafe. “You don’t look like a Catholic priest.”

“Not all exorcists are priests, or Catholic,” Rafe said.

Nina stared at the photograph, her brows furrowed, thinking.

Rafe took Moira’s hand under the table and squeezed it. Something else, something beyond this, was disturbing him. Moira wanted to ask, but it would have to wait.

“What do you want from me?” Nina asked quietly.

Moira opened, then closed her mouth. She had wanted to see the file Nina had. But the picture was enough, and she didn’t want another outsider involved. It was too risky.

“We want you to know so that you’re diligent in protecting yourself against them,” Rafe said, “and because you know these people. We need a little help because we’re not from here.”