“So now what?” Jess asked, “I mean, what is actually going on here? All these bits and pieces, how does any of it actually fit together? From the demon hound to the murdered cursed ones, to you being some kind of experimental hybrid. It’s like a lot of disconnected puzzle pieces.”

I’m pretty sure that, given time, Jess would have figured out what I had in the meantime. But she was still busy getting up to date with everything, so for once, I was the smartest person in the room. Or at least the one with a working theory.

I nodded.

“Yeah, okay. So I’ve been piecing everything together and I think I’ve worked out what’s been going on. The demon that attacked me and killed the cursed one...”

“Yeah, he sounds like what you’d call a ‘proper’ demon, from what you’ve told me,” Dee cut in. “One that took the other side in our civil war and fought against the angels. Warrior demon. Hard as nails. They don’t possess humans usually, but can shape-shift to resemble them.”

“Right. Thanks. So this warrior demon. He wants to bring down the barrier between our world and Arcadia, and by all accounts, that will be bad. Like apocalyptic, hell-on-earth bad.”

“It doesn’t sound like anything good,” Dee said. “I can hardly remember our home, and there’s no telling what could have happened there in the meantime. If the demon is out for revenge, bringing down the barrier would be a good start.”

“Okay, so I think he somehow found out the first cursed one was living not too far from here. If he’s been stuck here for the last seventy years, maybe he got lucky, discovered who one of them was.”

“That’s quite a coincidence,” Jess said. “The cursed one living so close to us.”

“Maybe, but I’m pretty sure that’s the only coincidence. I’ve been thinking about this a lot. Less than eight hours after the murder, the Monster Liberation Front...”

“Dumb name,” Dee said.

“Shut up, it’s my name and I’m sticking to it. Less than eight hours after the murder, the MLF hit Section 13. The timing is way too close for it to be a coincidence, right? I think they were looking for the Operation Blackstar file, working with the demon, or the commander, as they called him. The warrior demon knew who one of the cursed ones was, but didn’t know who the other two were.”

“There were rumours the first one was tortured before he was killed,” Jess said.

“Right, good. I mean, no, not good, horrible. You know what I mean. He wanted information. The demon tortured the first cursed one to get the names of the other two. He also got the name of the operation they worked under in the 40s. The problem was that the first cursed one didn’t know the new identities of the other two. So they attacked Section 13 to get the relevant files. I heard a tech guy complaining that most of those old files are still in paper form and haven’t been digitized, so the MLF had to get physical access to them. Putting Section 13 out of commission whilst they pursued the other two was just a bonus. But that night, most of his team were out on call, posing as section agents, dealing with the demon hound that had accidentally been released. I think the portals opening when a cursed one died were an unintended side effect.”

“Yeah, probably,” Dee agreed. “That much pent up magical energy would have had consequences.”

“So as soon as they got back to the base, they set off their strike. Me being there was coincidental to the actual attack, but it was triggered by the same event. You following me?”

“Yeah, I got this so far,” Dee said. Jess nodded.

“Right. So then they had the files on Operation Blackstar. It told them who was involved in casting the spell that closed off Arcadia. It told them who were the last two members they had to kill, but they had the same problem as before. Operation Blackstar had the original names of the warlocks involved in the ritual. It didn’t contain information about the cursed ones’ new identities. So the demon warrior and his crew were back to square one.”

“That doesn’t make any sense,” Jess said. “He found the second one.”

“No,” I said. “The anonymous hacker found the second and the third one by trawling through various classified databases and bank records, piecing it all together bit by bit. When did the warrior demon find the second cursed one?”

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“Right after you went there,” Jess said, “after you called the section.”

“Exactly.”

“So either the demon somehow overheard the phone conversation, or he was tracking you,” Jess concluded.

“I think so, yes. Somehow I led the demon to the second cursed one. Either Moorecroft’s phone was bugged or I was being monitored supernaturally, I guess.”

Something was itching at the back of my mind. Some detail that wanted to get to the surface but which I couldn’t quite recall connected to how the demon might have found me. I’d ditched my mobile. I was pretty sure I’d ditched my tail, so how could he have found me so quickly?

“Why would he be monitoring you?” Jess cut in.

I shrugged.

“Why wouldn’t he be? Weird kid with powers shows up out of nowhere, gets involved with both Section 13 and the Pryces. I’m an unknown variable in the scheme of things. I’d want to know what this new kid was up to and how he was involved. If nothing else, he might have been planning to recruit me until I got in his way.”

“So, do you think the hacker was in on it?” Dee asked.

“No, I don’t. If he was, he would have just handed the cover names and addresses over to the demon. They wouldn’t have bothered contacting me. The MLF was probably keeping an eye on me, and as soon as I found the second cursed one, they made a move.”

“Yeah, okay. I’m impressed, Ethan,” Jess said.

“Yeah, thanks, well, I’m not all dumb.”

“No-one ever said you were,” Jess teased.

“Actually, you did half a dozen times.”

“Let it go.”

“So how do the Pryces fit into all of this?” Dee asked.

“I don’t think they do. I think the warrior demon and the MLF are doing their own thing. If the demon warrior was working with the Pryces, I doubt he would have stabbed me. Victoria has invested way too much in me for that, and besides, I’ve got no reason not to trust her. There are three factions in play here. The Monster Liberation Front, headed by the demon warrior, Section 13 with their shoot to kill policy and the Pryces with their sanctuary. Four factions, if you count the hacker.”

Jess thought of something else. “Wait, Victoria and Vincent Pryce?”

“Yeah.”

“You mean like the actor?”

“I guess?” I said.

“Vincent Pryce. That’s funny.” Jess nodded.

“If you say so.” I shrugged.

“Okay, but another thing: The demon knew your name,” Jess said.

“The doctor at Section 13, remember? Pierce. She’s working with him, so she’d have told him about me.”

“I think she was another demon,” Dee said. “From what you told me, probably a possession demon. She’d have got inside the original Doctor Pierce, taken over her body. Easiest way to infiltrate Section 13. At first I thought she was a troll from your description, but possession demon makes more sense.”

“A troll?” Jess said, “Trolls exist as well?”

“Yeah, okay, little Miss X-Files. One day we’ll sit down and I’ll fill you in on all the supernatural creatures that exist. Trolls are fey, in essence. Most of them left before our barrier went up, but there are still a few kicking around. Wait till you meet a real-life goblin.”

Dee winked at me at the ‘goblin’ line. I wasn’t sure if he was pulling her leg again.

“I’ll hold you to that,” Jess said. I could see her filing every detail away.

Ever since she was twelve, she’d been looking out for evidence of the supernatural, believing it existed despite all the cover-ups. Now that she’d finally had it confirmed, she certainly wasn’t going to stop digging into it.

“So in theory there’s still a chance to stop all of this,” Jess said, “If we can protect the last cursed one.”

“I think so, and I think I know how to do it.”

I went into the kitchen and retrieved all of our mobile phones from the draw I’d put them in. I’d become aware of how easy it was for people to listen in to conversations through phones, so I’d made sure that we’d switched ours off and then put them in another room to be on the safe side.

I fished out the phone Victoria had given me, figuring it was the least likely to have been bugged by Section 13. Dialled Victoria’s number.

“Ethan,” she said, “What can I do for you?”

“I need your help, Victoria. I need transport. Maybe a couple of your soldiers, if possible.”

“Are you in trouble?”

“No, someone else is, and it’s serious. I’ll explain everything when we’ve got this person to the sanctuary. Right now, I need your help to pick them up.”

“Why not just tell me where they are and I can send someone?”

“It’s too risky. I think our phones are being monitored. If I say or text the address, someone else could get there first. It’s best if I pick this person up and bring them to you.”

“This sounds very serious, Ethan,” Victoria replied.

“Victoria, please believe me when I say to you that it is. I can’t go into details now, but we can stop it. Together.”

Victoria considered.

“I can send the limo and the driver. I can’t spare more than that right now. We’re on high alert after Major Wilson’s attack. I’m still half expecting Section 13 to show up at any second.”

I’d been hoping for a helicopter. The limo would have to do.

“Tell your man to hurry. And thanks, Victoria.”

I ended the call.

“You’re taking the cursed one to the Pryces?” Jess asked. “Why not Section 13?”

“Because quite frankly, Section 13 just screw everything up.”

“Fair point,” Dee nodded.

“Good, right. That’s all sorted. I’ll pick up the last cursed one, get her to safety. Victoria will have to work out what to do from there. Whatever this is, it’s way above any of our heads to be dealing with.”

Jess and Dee looked at each other and then at me.

“What do you mean ‘I’?” Jess said. “You aren’t doing this on your own anymore, Ethan.”

“What?”

“No chance we’re letting you go solo again after what happened the last time. We’re coming with you, mate,” Dee nodded.