GAME ON - GoM 2

2

Claire sensed Alex even before hearing the Hilux at the driveway, so she hurried to put the tea kettle on the burner and grab some speedwell. However, nothing of the turmoil boiling inside of her showed when she walked into the kitchen and dropped the shotgun on the breakfast bar. Ollie stood up and grabbed his jacket, but Alex shook her head.

"Stay, kiddo. You need to hear this," she said.

"Alice told you what happened," said Claire.

Yeah, and Alex wished she hadn't. But no matter how hard it was to process, she had no doubt that her now-dead friend was telling the truth. She forced herself to utter the words. "Markus killed Alice."

Claire and Ollie froze, eyes wide open in shock.

Alex shook her head. "And he didn't snap and killed her out of a moment of rage, madness, whatever. He did it as a ritual, and then drank her blood."

Ollie rushed to hold Claire up, and keep her from dropping the mug and the speedwell jar. He helped the girl to a chair and turned to Alex.

"We gotta tell Graham!"

"No use. Alice was killed in the woods south of Markus' house—past the town line."

"Then we gotta call in the state police!"

"Calm down, kiddo. There's more to it. Markus was taking part in a ritual. He found Alice peeping around and used her as a sacrifice. But he wasn't alone. Men from outta town were there with him." Alex turned to Claire. "Ian Blake was there too, with those two guys supposed to be in charge of the complex's marketing."

"I saw them," said Ollie, grimacing. "They look like thugs, not marketing nerds."

"And guess what, Claire. Alice swears their eyes were glowing red as they drank her blood—Markus, the techs... and Blake, of course."

Claire let out a strangled cry. "The dream!"

Alex nodded and shrugged, overwhelmed. "Exactly. So we have Markus going satanic and homicidal, and demons in his house. And there's a hunter coming for him. And this Father Thames, scholar in all things demonic, arriving for dinner. Now shoot me if this isn't just too much of a coincidence."

"You think it's all related?" asked Ollie, rubbing Claire's back as the girl shivered from head to toes.

"You don't?" Alex replied.

In the thick silence that filled the kitchen, she turned on the coffeemaker. The doorbell startled them. She went to the door, wondering who could it be, and found a tall, fit stranger at her doorstep.

"Alex Corban? I'm Harry Bormstone," he said before she could ask anything.

She invited him in and led the way to the kitchen, where she introduced him to Claire and Ollie.

"Nice to meet you. Betty's waiting for you at the inn," said Ollie, shaking his hand.

"Oh, great. Thank you."

Harry noticed the pale faces, and the shotgun on the breakfast bar. The three of them looked pretty upset, but he didn't ask. He accepted a seat at the table and the coffee Alex offered him.

She stood by the table, between him and Claire. "Aidan said you had something to explain," she said. "But I have only one question: does it have anything to do with a duke of hell?"

Harry stiffened, taken aback by such a blunt question about such a secret subject. He glanced at Claire and Ollie. Alex arched her eyebrows—well?

So he nodded. "Yes. Askaroth."

"Then save your breath for a while. You'll explain later."

"Duke of Hell?" Claire repeated, taking a hand to her chest.

Alex replied as she produced her phone. "Yeah. The demon in our dream is a frigging blue-blood downstairs." She dialed and took the phone to her ear. "Father Jason? It's Alex."

She paced away from the table to talk on the phone and Harry turned to Claire. "You dreamed of him?" he asked in a whisper.

Claire replied in the same tone, "Yeah, and Al too, at the same time. About a week ago."

Harry frowned, suspicious. "D'you remember anything about it?"

The girl hesitated, not sure about how much to say. She could sense Harry was on their side, but she didn't know how he'd take the fact that maybe they knew this demon in person. "He looked like an ordinary man, but his eyes were red... And he said the game was on—"

"May the odds stay on my side," Harry muttered, closing his eyes.

Claire's eyes widened. "You too...?"

Harry breathed deep before saying, "You, me and everybody somehow related to what brings me here. We all had that 'dream'. Askaroth wanted to taunt us."

"Oh, boy..."

"This sounds even bigger than we thought," said Ollie.

Alex disconnected and joined them back. "We're meeting as soon as his Father Thames arrives," she said. "Call Graham, Ollie. He should come, too."

Harry turned to her, frowning again. "Did you say 'Thames'? As in Father Gregory Thames?"