Donna Fletcher Short Story Collection (18 page)

Sebastian clamped his hand shut. “I’m not
doing that.”

Both men were out of their seats in a flash
and followed the floating blanket to the cradle and stared in
amazement. Alexander’s tiny finger was up in the air, his eyes
half-closed and as the blanket settled over him he tucked his arms
beneath and closed his eyes.

“I thought you said it takes a while for
witch babies to develop their abilities,” Sebastian said.

Dagon beamed with pride. “My son is
developing early.”

“After that little incident when Jade and
Alex were but a few weeks old and Jade sent that rattle
flying—”

“And Alexander stopped it from crashing into
his cradle.”

Sebastian shook his head. “I worried that
Jade would far surpass my meager powers, but so far I’ve been
lucky. She hasn’t displayed anymore signs of her witch abilities.
However, now that I’ve seen this... I’m worried.”

“Don’t worry, all will be fine and if you
start a business here Jade will have Alexander to temper her
impulses to do magic whenever she feels like it just as I did with
Ali.”

“Do you know of any homes nearby that are for
sale. No castles, though I imagine my wife wouldn’t mind a manor
house.”

“You’re right about—” Dagon never finished,
the commotion coming from the foyer had both men hurrying to the
closed doors.

Before they reached them Bernard flung them
open and all he said was, “Hurry.”

Dagon’s heart caught in his throat as he saw
Ali struggle to keep hold of Sarina. He flew to her side and
scooped his wife up in his arms.

Sarina was never so glad to see her husband’s
face. The pain had subsided but had left her exhausted. All she
could say before her head dropped to her husband’s shoulder was,
“Demon.”

She heard them all gasp and heard Dagon issue
orders, the one she was most relieved to hear was that Ali and
Sebastian were to get Alexander and follow them. She was also glad
that he ordered Bernard to place extra protection spells around the
outside of the castle. And she blessed him over and over when he
heard him tell Margaret to bring tea to their bed chamber.

Sarina sighed with relief though suffered a
pang of disappointment when her husband moved her out of his arms
and into their bed, tucking the covers around her. She wanted to
speak, to tell him what had happened, but she hadn’t yet regained
sufficient breath to recount the tale.

Dagon leaned over her and kissed her
forehead. “Rest, have tea, say not a word until you have regained
your strength. Ali can tell us what happened.”

Ali turned from having placed Alexander in
his cradle near the bed. “He’s such a champ. He didn’t even wake.”
She then sat on the bed and reached for Sarina’s hand.

Sarina grabbed hold of it and smiled.

Dagon understood and forced Ali to her feet
with a hug. “Thank you for saving my wife.”

Ali smiled and hugged him close.”I did what
she told me. I brought her home to you.”

Dagon released Ali and went to sit at his
wife’s side, taking her hand in his and giving it a squeeze. “Good,
you listened to me this time.”

Sarina responded the only way she presently
could. She brought their joined hands to her mouth and kissed his.
She could always tell when he wanted to kiss her senseless and she
saw it there now in his eyes. But she knew that he was well aware
that it would rob her of much needed breath so he simply placed his
other hand over their joined ones.

“Tell us what happened, Ali,” Dagon urged. “I
want to hear it all.”

Ali started with their arrival and detailed
everything that had happened. She even told them about the black
marble eyes in the stone loins and the extent of the work done in
the dining room and how Adam Lottimer suggested she leave Sarina to
rest there while she went to fetch Dagon.

Dagon’s eyes narrowed at the suggestion and
he interrupted Ali to let her know how much he appreciated that she
didn’t do as Lottimer had suggested.

Ali shook her head. “Please, Dagon, there’s
no way I would have left Sarina. We went there together and we
intended to leave together. Now where was I?”

Ali continued detailing the incident and how
Lottimer almost prevented them from leaving and that got Sebastian
annoyed.

“I think we should pay this Lottimer guy a
visit,” he said to Dagon.

“That depends,” Dagon said.

“On what?” Sebastian asked.

“On what type of demon I saw,” Sarina said
her breath finally fully restored.

The three stared at her and Margaret had just
entered the room with a tea tray in her hands followed by her
husband Bernard and they stopped and stared as well.

“There is a demon about?” Margaret asked with
a nervous quiver.

Bernard took the tray from his wife and saw
to his duties though not before giving his wife a reissuing pat on
the arm.

Sarina thanked Bernard with a nod for serving
her first. She was dying for a soothing cup of tea. A cup of tea
made everything else inconsequential, at least for a moment she
wanted to believe it so.

“I have grown to like this habit of afternoon
tea,” Sebastian said attempting to ease the obvious nervous tension
in the room.

Sarina sighed. “It does help, though I know
you all wish to hear about the demon.”

Her breath caught in her throat and Dagon’s
arm quickly wrapped around her. “Take your time. Do not tax
yourself.”

Sarina nodded attempting to relax her
breathing and noticed that Dagon had signaled for Bernard and
Margaret to remain in the room. She was glad; they were, after all,
like family.

“The demon was red and not overly large,
though thick in form and horns protruded from his front lobe though
they weren’t very large. It simply stood there staring at our
retreat. It made no effort to follow.”

“Could you sense if Lottimer knew of its
presence?” Dagon asked.

“I sensed shortly after meeting him that he
was trying to conceal something but I had sensed no danger so I
didn’t worry.”

“He was quite the gracious host,” Ali said,
“though it could have been his distinctly handsome features that
had captured our attention.”

“Handsome?” Sebastian asked and glared at his
wife. “You left that part out when you detailed the incident.”

Ali shrugged. “What do you want? I enjoyed
his fine features, which actually seemed a bit familiar, but he
isn’t half the man you are.” She leaned over to kiss her husband
but stopped. “Come to think of it he was familiar with the
Wainwright name.”

“He was?” Sebastian and Dagon said
simultaneously.

“It would seem he knows more about us than we
do about him,” Sebastian said annoyed.

“Did you sense anything that would help us to
understand what’s going on at Devil’s Den?” Dagon asked.

“Now you call it by a fitting name,” Ali
said.

“
Now
,”—Dagon emphasized—“I know a
demon resides there, but does Lottimer? And does he need help?”

“Since I’m not experienced with demon
sightings,” Sebastian said, “perhaps someone could offer an
explanation like do demons take up residence without the owner’s
knowledge? Or how do demons make it into this realm?”

Everyone looked to Sarina, she being the
oldest and most knowledgeable witch there.

“There are all levels of demons,” she
explained. “Naturally, some are more powerful than others. Few if
any make it into this realm unless of course they find a portal
that allows them easy access.”

“The Devil’s Den,” Ali said in a reverent
whisper.

“Of course there is another possibility,”
Sarina said and everyone waited in silence to hear it. “A demon can
become indebted to a witch and then the demon serves his master
until the debt is paid.”

“Are you suggesting that this demon could be
indebted to Lottimer?” Ali asked with an unbelievable shake of her
head.

“I’m not only saying that,” Sarina said. “I’m
saying that the demon’s debt may very well have been paid and it is
here now waiting for the ceremony that will send him back to the
depths from which he came.”

“That means that the demon would need to get
to a gateway to Hades at an opportune time,” Ali said.

“And what better time than when the dead can
walk the earth,” Dagon added.

“So if I understand this right,” Sebastian
said. “This Lottimer is somehow in cahoots with the devil?”

“A good chance that he is,” Dagon said.

Sebastian shook his head. “He’s obviously
practicing the dark arts. Wouldn’t that make him a warlock?”

Once again they all looked to Sarina.

“I sensed no warlock, but if he is an old,
knowledgeable warlock he could have prevented me from sensing his
true nature,”—she paused scrunching her brow—“he did hesitate to
take my hand.”

“Perhaps it is time for Sebastian and me to
pay Adam Lottimer a visit,” Dagon said, though his wife and Ali’s
frown let him know that they didn’t agree.

~~~

“I’m not going to warn you again,” Sarina,”
Dagon said. “You are to stay put and let me handle this. It is only
naturally that I go thank lord Lottimer for offering to help you
and since he expressed interest in Wainwright Security it gives
Sebastian the perfect excuse to join me.” He gave her a quick kiss
on the cheek and joined Sebastian in the middle of the foyer. He
pointed a finger at her as he and Sebastian began to fade and did
what he said he wouldn’t, warned her again, “Stay put.” Then the
two vanished completely.

“I say we wait a few minutes before we
transport ourselves over there,” Ali said grabbing her long hair
and wrapping it in a ponytail.

Sarina felt a pang of guilt. Dagon had been
so tender and loving with her last night making certain she rested
and recovered from her ordeal. She hated to blatantly ignore his
demand when she knew it was given from the heart and with a touch
of fear that something would happen to her.

She shared her frustration with Ali. “But
Dagon warned me and I just can’t outright ignore him. I certainly
wouldn’t want him to do it to me.”

“Of course you wouldn’t, but there are ways
around that.” Ali grinned like the Cheshire cat.

“I should have realized if anyone could find
a way around Dagon’s order you could.”

“I used to do it all the time,” Ali
confessed. “It drove him crazy, probably still does.”

Sarina smiled. “How does Sebastian ever deal
with you?”

Ali laughed. “With lots of love. Now hurry
and switch into leggings and a sweater like I have on. It will make
it easier for us to maneuver around the Devil’s Den.”

Sarina did as Ali suggested and returned to
the foyer in a flash. “What reason can I possibly give Dagon for
ignoring his warnings?”

“Simple,” Ali said and began to fade. “You
couldn’t let me to go on my own.” She held out her hand and Sarina
hurried and took it.

~~~

Dagon sat in the front parlor sizing up Adam
Lottimer. Ali had been right, the man’s fine features could tempt
any woman and he did carry himself with an old-world, aristocratic
style. His dark eyes were sharply aware of everything around him
and there was a sense of strength about him that warned he was not
a man to take lightly.

There was no doubt that Lottimer was much
older than he appeared which meant he was a witch, though more
likely a warlock since a demon resided with him. And that he was on
guard was obvious, that he was talented at subterfuge was also
obvious.

“I’m extremely interested in security for the
manor,” Lottimer said to Sebastian. “With this not being my primary
residence, I’d like to make sure that it is protected when I’m not
here.”

“Where is your primary residence?” Sebastian
asked.

Lottimer smiled. “I suppose that depends on
how long I remain at one of my many homes.”

Sebastian was quick to ask, “And do you need
security in those homes as well? If so I can offer you a
substantial savings.”

“A good businessman, I like that,” Lottimer
said. “Let me see what you would recommend for McDevin Manor and we
can go from there.”

“I need a tour of the whole place in order to
give you an estimate and of course to suggest the best security
system for your needs.”

“We’ll have to setup an appointment for that,
since I’m presently occupied with refurbishing this place and—”

Sebastian stood. “The middle of refurbishing
is the best time for me to have a look. It won’t take that long and
since I’m here I can snap a few photos,”—he slipped his cell phone
out of his jacket pocket—“and have an estimate written up for you
in no time.”

Dagon admired the way Sebastian had really
left Lottimer no choice. It would have been rude of him to refuse
and so Dagon stood as well. “I’d love to see what you’ve done with
the place so far. You do have your work cut out for you. This place
has been closed up for some time. Did you inherit it?”

It wasn’t lost on either man that Lottimer
stood with reluctance and with even more reluctance escorted them
from the room. “I’m afraid we’ll need to make this fast. I have
much work to do.”

“Won’t take long at all,” Sebastian said and
raised his cell phone. “This baby takes great pics and will give me
all the information I need. And what is it you do for a living,
Adam? It helps me to know my clients business and hobbies since one
or both are usually the reason for the type of high-tech security
systems I provide.”

Dagon forced himself not to smile. Sebastian
was getting them what they needed without relying on his arcane
abilities. That meant Lottimer could sense no magic afoot so what
other choice did he have but to accept Sebastian’s generous
offer.

Dagon gave Sebastian a firm pat on the
shoulder. “You won’t be sorry, Adam. Sebastian is the best in the
security field. He’ll make sure no one is able to gain entrance to
McDevin Manor without your permission.”