Angelic (part 8)
Mr Zoat
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28th January
11:22 GMT -5
Raquel waits until the door closes.
"You took a look at her soul."
I glance back, nod, then lead the way towards the room Chief Clayborne set aside for Tula.
"Try what out?"
"Gosh, Rocket, I just can't imagine what a group of teenagers from a socially conservative background might want to try out when their parents weren't around. Do you think we should go back and clarify it for the record?"
I can feel her eye roll. "So what does that have to do with that Buzz guy? Did he just like to watch?"
"That's possible. But there are ways to draw magic power from that sort of thing. And ways to use magic to lower people's inhibitions. If he knows enough about magic to dodge a police cordon, he's easily good enough at magic to do both."
"You think he was mind controlling teenagers into 'trying things out'?"
"Easy to explain away if anyone found out about it. But even if he was, we'd never be able to prove it. That sort of magic barely uses any energy. He'd be in more trouble for concealing himself from the police with magic."
"She didn't mention DMN. He might not be the supplier."
"All sorts of things are possible. If she can't locate anything by scrying we can take Tula down to the building they were using for a meeting place, see what sort of reading she can get. Trying to locate Linda Danvers will be our third avenue."
I learned that her father was on the local police force when I did my initial sweep, but if she hasn't done anything worse than have a boyfriend from the wrong side of the tracks I don't plan on embarrassing either of them by sticking my oar in.
"Why not do both?"
"Travel speed. Devil Jizz can make things that are hard for us to fight-. Fight without killing the user, anyway. You and Tula have kinetic belts and I can teleport, but if this 'Buzz' has summoned something and there are also users-"
I push open the door. Artemis nods at us and Chief Clayborne looks up from Tula's water… Tablet? Slate? She appears to be making thaumaturgical notes on it with her right hand while holding her left over the map.
"-somewhere else-."
"We don't split up."
I nod. "Split up further anyway."
Tula's eyes clear as she comes out of her trance, and she turns to look at us.
"Got something?"
"I may have." She doesn't sound convinced. "They're definitely using demonic magic, but it does not feel… The energies involved do not feel like those of the combat demons we have encountered before."
"Okay, so what is it?"
"I think that it is a carnalite of some kind."
Artemis smirks, checks where on the map Tula is indicating and pulls her phone out, while Chief Clayborne frowns. "And what does that mean?"
"'Carnalite', from 'carnal', meaning-."
He closes his eyes, nodding. "We've got a succubus."
"Technically, there are demons that can feed on any overwhelming sensation. There are greed demons who get powered up by people gorging themselves. Succubi are just the most popular for…" I shrug theatrically. "Some reason."
"Can't imagine why."
Artemis holds up her phone. "It's a succubus. That's-" She nods at the map. "-a massage parlour."
"Artemis, I'm a masseur. I've massaged you bef-."
"Not a massage parlour massage parlour. A massage parlour."
Chief Clayborne holds his hand out for the phone. "Can I see that?"
Artemis presses a couple of buttons and then hands it over. Chief Clayborne looks at the place and nods before handing it back. "Yeah, I know the place. We've… Had people poke around there a few times. Never caught anyone in the act-." He looks up at me. "We haven't had any unexplained deaths where it looks like the… Deceased had been… Y'know, drained."
I shake my head. "Succubi can kill when feeding, but they don't need to. Sex demons working in the sex trade usually just leave their partners extremely tired. That way they can get repeat business, and it's far harder for demon hunters to find them. And I know of at least one who's married." Hm. "I know that both 'DMN' and prostitution are illegal in Virginia, but how do you want to handle this?"
He shrugs. "I mostly want to shut down the supply side. If they are using DMN then I don't mind looking the other way this once if that gets us the ringleaders. But you can be sure that we'll be going back there on a regular basis afterwards. If they're actually summoning demons then everyone there gets prosecuted to the full extent of the law, no exceptions."
"Do you have the facilities for containing demons?"
"Ah… Not-. No."
I look at Tula, who nods. "I have binding chains, and I can place spells of containment on the holding cells. If they are within the usual power distribution curve for carnalites then that will be sufficient."
I nod. "Could you put a containment ward on the building from the outside?"
She nods again. "I will just need to direct a circle of water around the area to be warded. It will only take a few minutes as long as you only want me to create a version which requires my constant attention. A lasting version will take longer."
"No, that should be fine." I look at Chief Clayborne. "And if by some freak chance it turns out that they've hired a demon chef or something..?"
"Can't say I really.. like the idea, but… My job is to enforce the law. If they're in America legally and they're not hurting anyone, that's… Really all there is to it." I nod. "What sort of support do you need?"
"A small cordon to keep people back, just in case there's a fight and it spills outside. A scene of crime team to check the place over with Tula. A van for prisoner transportation, and you'll need to make sure that the officers who will be in direct contact-."
"They'll need your magic amulets, right." He nods. "You need a SWAT team?"
I frown, regarding him curiously for a moment. I'm not sure what he thinks they'd do, but I suppose that he's only trying to be helpful. "Ah, no, thank you. How soon can you get that together?"
"Apart from the forensics guys, twenty minutes? Do I.. need to hurry things along?"
I look at Tula, who shakes her head. "I can not feel any particular build up of power. There may be an advantage in waiting until there are more cultists present."
Chief Clayborne nods at me, then marches out of the room to set things in motion.
Artemis shrugs. "We don't actually know they're a cult."
"I do not know the English collective noun for a group of prostitutes."
"Actually, a succubus could probably survive as a masseuse, even without happy endings." Hm. "I think."
Raquel looks between me and Tula. "If they are using succubus-flavored Devil Jizz, what can they actually do?"
"Enhanced sexual appeal, limited shapeshifting including wings, enhanced strength and toughness… They might have thralled their clients, but I doubt it. I won't ask whether you ladies think you might be susceptible, but do you all have your wards?" Three nods. "Glad to hear it. Let's take a look at the building plans while we wait for the police to ready themselves."
11:22 GMT -5
Raquel waits until the door closes.
"You took a look at her soul."
I glance back, nod, then lead the way towards the room Chief Clayborne set aside for Tula.
"Try what out?"
"Gosh, Rocket, I just can't imagine what a group of teenagers from a socially conservative background might want to try out when their parents weren't around. Do you think we should go back and clarify it for the record?"
I can feel her eye roll. "So what does that have to do with that Buzz guy? Did he just like to watch?"
"That's possible. But there are ways to draw magic power from that sort of thing. And ways to use magic to lower people's inhibitions. If he knows enough about magic to dodge a police cordon, he's easily good enough at magic to do both."
"You think he was mind controlling teenagers into 'trying things out'?"
"Easy to explain away if anyone found out about it. But even if he was, we'd never be able to prove it. That sort of magic barely uses any energy. He'd be in more trouble for concealing himself from the police with magic."
"She didn't mention DMN. He might not be the supplier."
"All sorts of things are possible. If she can't locate anything by scrying we can take Tula down to the building they were using for a meeting place, see what sort of reading she can get. Trying to locate Linda Danvers will be our third avenue."
I learned that her father was on the local police force when I did my initial sweep, but if she hasn't done anything worse than have a boyfriend from the wrong side of the tracks I don't plan on embarrassing either of them by sticking my oar in.
"Why not do both?"
"Travel speed. Devil Jizz can make things that are hard for us to fight-. Fight without killing the user, anyway. You and Tula have kinetic belts and I can teleport, but if this 'Buzz' has summoned something and there are also users-"
I push open the door. Artemis nods at us and Chief Clayborne looks up from Tula's water… Tablet? Slate? She appears to be making thaumaturgical notes on it with her right hand while holding her left over the map.
"-somewhere else-."
"We don't split up."
I nod. "Split up further anyway."
Tula's eyes clear as she comes out of her trance, and she turns to look at us.
"Got something?"
"I may have." She doesn't sound convinced. "They're definitely using demonic magic, but it does not feel… The energies involved do not feel like those of the combat demons we have encountered before."
"Okay, so what is it?"
"I think that it is a carnalite of some kind."
Artemis smirks, checks where on the map Tula is indicating and pulls her phone out, while Chief Clayborne frowns. "And what does that mean?"
"'Carnalite', from 'carnal', meaning-."
He closes his eyes, nodding. "We've got a succubus."
"Technically, there are demons that can feed on any overwhelming sensation. There are greed demons who get powered up by people gorging themselves. Succubi are just the most popular for…" I shrug theatrically. "Some reason."
"Can't imagine why."
Artemis holds up her phone. "It's a succubus. That's-" She nods at the map. "-a massage parlour."
"Artemis, I'm a masseur. I've massaged you bef-."
"Not a massage parlour massage parlour. A massage parlour."
Chief Clayborne holds his hand out for the phone. "Can I see that?"
Artemis presses a couple of buttons and then hands it over. Chief Clayborne looks at the place and nods before handing it back. "Yeah, I know the place. We've… Had people poke around there a few times. Never caught anyone in the act-." He looks up at me. "We haven't had any unexplained deaths where it looks like the… Deceased had been… Y'know, drained."
I shake my head. "Succubi can kill when feeding, but they don't need to. Sex demons working in the sex trade usually just leave their partners extremely tired. That way they can get repeat business, and it's far harder for demon hunters to find them. And I know of at least one who's married." Hm. "I know that both 'DMN' and prostitution are illegal in Virginia, but how do you want to handle this?"
He shrugs. "I mostly want to shut down the supply side. If they are using DMN then I don't mind looking the other way this once if that gets us the ringleaders. But you can be sure that we'll be going back there on a regular basis afterwards. If they're actually summoning demons then everyone there gets prosecuted to the full extent of the law, no exceptions."
"Do you have the facilities for containing demons?"
"Ah… Not-. No."
I look at Tula, who nods. "I have binding chains, and I can place spells of containment on the holding cells. If they are within the usual power distribution curve for carnalites then that will be sufficient."
I nod. "Could you put a containment ward on the building from the outside?"
She nods again. "I will just need to direct a circle of water around the area to be warded. It will only take a few minutes as long as you only want me to create a version which requires my constant attention. A lasting version will take longer."
"No, that should be fine." I look at Chief Clayborne. "And if by some freak chance it turns out that they've hired a demon chef or something..?"
"Can't say I really.. like the idea, but… My job is to enforce the law. If they're in America legally and they're not hurting anyone, that's… Really all there is to it." I nod. "What sort of support do you need?"
"A small cordon to keep people back, just in case there's a fight and it spills outside. A scene of crime team to check the place over with Tula. A van for prisoner transportation, and you'll need to make sure that the officers who will be in direct contact-."
"They'll need your magic amulets, right." He nods. "You need a SWAT team?"
I frown, regarding him curiously for a moment. I'm not sure what he thinks they'd do, but I suppose that he's only trying to be helpful. "Ah, no, thank you. How soon can you get that together?"
"Apart from the forensics guys, twenty minutes? Do I.. need to hurry things along?"
I look at Tula, who shakes her head. "I can not feel any particular build up of power. There may be an advantage in waiting until there are more cultists present."
Chief Clayborne nods at me, then marches out of the room to set things in motion.
Artemis shrugs. "We don't actually know they're a cult."
"I do not know the English collective noun for a group of prostitutes."
"Actually, a succubus could probably survive as a masseuse, even without happy endings." Hm. "I think."
Raquel looks between me and Tula. "If they are using succubus-flavored Devil Jizz, what can they actually do?"
"Enhanced sexual appeal, limited shapeshifting including wings, enhanced strength and toughness… They might have thralled their clients, but I doubt it. I won't ask whether you ladies think you might be susceptible, but do you all have your wards?" Three nods. "Glad to hear it. Let's take a look at the building plans while we wait for the police to ready themselves."
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