Plan

Posted on Sat Dec 10th, 2022 @ 2:08am by Dominique LaFramboise & Jarrod Lask & Nathaniel Cunningham & Gideon Asher & Andrea Carter & Tamsin Bragg & Frederick Matthews III

Mission: Daemoniacus Tribulatio
Location: Basement of St. George’s Episcopal Church

Episcopalians were notoriously accepting of witches and so it was no surprise that the Reverend Penelope Jones of St. George’s Episcopal Church had agreed to not only assist in the exorcism and reinstallment of the soul of Lily-Mae Arnett to her rightful body, but had also offered her church basement as a meeting place for those dealing directly with the situation.

Which of course, turned out to be from many walks of life, most surprisingly an Imam from a nearby mosque and a Catholic bishop. “The enemy of my enemy is my friend,” the bishop had explained when Penny expressed surprise that he would ally himself with Witches and Muslims. And to be perfectly honest, she saw his point. No matter how anybody felt about any of this, everyone could agree that a demon running amok was definitely a negative development. (The Imam has agreed wholeheartedly with this sentiment, which was slightly less surprising.)

Jim had come in early, speaking rather urgently with another man on the phone, seemingly getting an update on something that had happened, but he kept it quiet and wrapped the call quickly. He approached the religious leaders. "Reverend Jones, your excellency, good day. Imam Elamin, asalam 'alaykum," he greated before taking a seat. Frederick Matthews had followed him shortly and quickly sat himself, plainly less than thrilled to be there.

There were sixteen people sitting in a circle, but the arrivals had trickled off, so she decided it was probably time to start the meeting. “Well, I suppose it’s time we started,” she said. “I suggest we dispense with the formalities; we all know why we’re here. I trust I don’t have to explain the gravity of the situation to any of you. I do, however, ask that anything not to do with our situation is left outside. Meaning religion, politics, any of that. Nobody is here to prove that they’re right and everyone else is wrong. We’re here because we don’t want a demon running around in our city. We’ll discuss that as well as how to get rid of it, but nothing else. Understood? Good. Now, since I know precious little about what we are actually up against, I’d like to call the leader of the blood rangers, Havildar-Major Gideon Asher to explain what he knows about the demon in question. Major?” she gestures to the vampire, effectively giving him the floor.

"Thank you," Gideon said. "Astaroth, in their male form is the Great Duke of Hell," Gideon said. "But they go back farther than that. In the second millennium before the common era, they may have been known as the Phoenician goddess Asarte. In the Tanakh, they are also described as female and known as Ashtoreth. They are referenced as male in a book called the Book of Ambramelin, said to be originally written in the 15th Century in German, but later translated into Hebrew. It told the story of an Egyptian mage, presumably a witch, named Abram-Melin teaching his magic to a Jew from Worms in Germany, known as Abraham of Worms. Later Kabbalistic texts also refer to them as male, calling them an archdemon and ruler of the 'adverse forces' of Jupiter. I've never encountered the demon directly, thankfully. But I have crossed paths with lesser demons that, in theory, served this 'Duke of Hell', though with demons, loyalty is questionable. And before I surrender the floor, allow me to introduce Doctor Batya Pereira," Gideon indicated the woman sitting next to him. Doctor Pereira has undergraduate, graduate, and doctorate degrees in Near East and Judaic Studies, specifically Torah studies and Kaballah. She is also ordained as both a Pluralistic Cantor and Rabbi. She is also an experienced exorcist. Please extend her every courtesy." Gideon turned towards Andy. "May I also introduce Miss Andy Carter. She is a recent arrival here in Nashville, where she is setting up an antiquarian and rare book store. She graciously agreed to dig through her collection and was able to find several very valuable texts she is equally graciously allowing us to use to deal with this crisis. She should also be extended every courtesy."

Andy, now with greater color and vibrancy in her eyes and complexion since she had properly fed (even if it was beef blood), gave an awkward wave to the group, feeling out of sorts now that she had been introduced. "I, uh, provided the Lemegeton Clavicula Salomonis, also known as the Lesser Key of Solomon, as well as the Dictionaire Infernal and the Grimorium Verum. If you feel the need to interact with these texts, please wear gloves and handle with care, they are very delicate," she explained, then awkwardly rubbed her hands together. "Uh, even though I own these books, I'm not a demonologist by any stretch of the imagination, though as a former alchemist, I'm quite familiar with the runes and arithmancy that goes into the creation of the rituals and seals documented. Outside of that, I'm not sure how much help I'll be," she offered, then averted her eyes, still feeling like the odd man out in this little pow-wow and wishing the Major had not drawn attention to her.

"There's two other arthimancists... arithmatic... what's the term for people who practice arithmancy again?" put in Clem.

"Arithmatists," offered Jarrod.

"That's the one!" exclaimed Clem with a snap of his fingers. "Arithmatists. We've got two other arithmatists in the area. I'll get you their contact info. I'm sure the three of you working together will be able to avoid any holes. Can't aford 'em. Clemence Fletcher, by the way. Altar of the Witches' Guild."

Andy nodded in response to the introduction, but that did nothing to remove the slight frown from her face.

"Not to be a pain in the ass, but are these Arithmatists human?" Andy asked, shifting uncomfortably in her seat. "You see, I'm still kinda new to this whole vampire thing and I don't have a good grasp on my cravings yet," she admitted, her cheeks flushing with a combination embarrassment and shame at the admission. "I'm okay for the moment," she lied easily, as she was far from okay; she had fed well, so she wasn't feeling any cravings, but the collective smell of the small group of humans was... well, suffice it to say it left her feeling deeply uncomfortable. "But if I have to work with humans for a long prolonged period, I'm not sure I'll be able to handle it," she continued. Not to mention, she would likely find them more of a hindrance than a help anyway, but as she said earlier, she didn't want to be a pain in the ass by saying so.

Clem chuckled. “Good point,” he said, nodding. “While I think they would be understanding, I’m sure they wouldn’t want to put you in that position. Probably you can work out a zoom call after you’ve all had a chance to look the thing over.”

Andy hesitated before finally nodding; a zoom call would work just fine, though she doubted that she would need anyone double checking her work.

"Anyway, a seal for Astaroth is drawn out in the Lesser Key of Solomon," Andy explained, turning her attention to those that had been identified as being religious authorities and exorcists. "I don't know how the seal is used in terms of an exorcism or if there is a ritual that accompanies it, but, uh, I guess that's up to you guys to figure out," she said, then winced; don't be an ass, Andy, you can't afford to be alienating these people!

Jim looked at the young vampire quietly. "If it is unavoidable, you may call me, Miss Carter. I will ensure the safety of humans if needed. You cannot turn me, and being fed upon doesn't even come close to the top 10 most unpleasant things to have happened to me in the last week, much less my entire life"
he said, with Fred throwing him a very dark look. He knew the Alpha wolf had decreed no wolf was to allow a vampire to feed from them, but he'd could take a long walk off a short pier on the matter as far as the Beta was concerned. "Now, about the Lemegeton Clavicula Salomonis, is your copy in Latin? Forgive my ignorance, but will it be necessary to use Latin to activate its seals?"

"Uh, yeah, my copy, and the other texts I provided tonight, are all in Latin, but that shouldn't hinder research any," Andy said, feeling not quite at ease with the man, but at the very least less tense. "When I restore antique texts, I usually- or, I used to, uh, apply a translation spell into the pages, rendering the text in a language most comfortable to the reader. Of course, some nuances are often lost when translating from one language to another, so a foundation in Latin is advisable, and I'll defer to the experts if the rituals need to be incanted in Latin, but everyone here should be able to contribute to the research and planning even without any knowledge in Latin."

Gideon suppressed a shudder at the thought of drinking from a lycan. It caused most vampires to wretch. Drinking from a lycan was about a half step up from living off of rats. Truth be told, while as far as anyone knew, a vampire couldn't turn a lycan, it didn't really matter, because no vampire but the most utterly desperate would even consider drinking from a lycan, let alone a draining one dry in the attempt to turn them. Conversely, as Gideon understood things, vampire flesh didn't taste good to werewolves.


"Latine legi et loqui possum," Batya said. "But I can't help with this kind of magic. Not a witch. But if you lock the possessed individual down, I can definitely help banish the demon."

Bishop Spalding spoke up, "I would warrant a fair number of us at this table speak Latin or another liturgical language. For clarity, the Holy Mother Church's experience is that while the agents of Satan, Iblis, and so on, have a special hatred of Latin and Arabic, as the universal language of those most opposed to them, the precise language used in an exorcism is far less important than the faith, intent, and spiritual fortitude of the one performing it. I would suggest, for simplicity and consistency that we simply all use English unless there is a reason to do otherwise. I am more interested in the possibility of returning Miss Arnett's soul to her body. I believe that was mentioned as a possibility, and one worthy of exploration."

Before anyone could respond to that, Fred Matthews snorted from his spot. "Do we really care? Wouldn't it be easier just to incapacitate the body through the most direct means possible, say dismemberment, and then perform the exorcism straight away? Would it even be necessary if we destroyed the body? Why bother trying to preserve the body and return the soul of the thrice-damned harlot to it?" he asked, with a dark look at Jim. He'd be ordering the beta to kill her anyway if they did return her soul to her body. Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live was still a valid part of the good book after all.

“Well first of all,” started Nicki, after the initial shock of what he’d said wore off, “we have to find out why they summoned the demon in the first place. The only person who could tell us that is Lilly-Mae. If the other participant hadn’t been a vampire, we might be able to raise him as a zombie and see if he remembered and would tell us, but that’s not possible. Even summoning his soul wouldn’t do any good because it’s been removed from his body for so long, I doubt it’s anywhere nearby and therefore, it wouldn’t have any idea why they did it. We could summon Lilly-Mae’s soul, but then if she was an unwilling participant, we’d have to send her back to wherever she went- in this case probably hell- until we can locate her body and put her back. And I will not summon someone from hell and then make them go back; that’s just cruel. Better to just do it once. And if it turns out they did it for laughs, I’ll let you deal with her whatever way you see fit.”

"Danken Got, az di shdim hobn aoykh faynt hebreish, oder ikh volt nisht gekent fardinen dos gantse gelt, vos ir hot mir gefint tsu batsoln," Batya said, pretending to whisper. She didn't usually speak Yiddish, but her elders had, when they were alive, and she picked it up. She knew Gideon spoke it as well. They'd had dealings before. "Farvas halten di goyim alemal az zey zenen di kdushim? zey veysn nisht az zey zenen gekumen fun aunz?"

Gideon chuckled. "Aoyb es iz eyn zakh vos tsvelf hundert yor fun lebn tsvishn di goyim hat gelernt, es iz az ruv fun zey zoygn," he said. Gideon looked at the confused expressions on everyone's faces and shrugged. "Batya just wanted you all to know that demons hated Hebrew and Aramaic before they hated Latin and Arabic and that the Jewish people are as opposed to demons as the rest of you. Now, if everyone wouldn't mind focusing more on the problem at hand and less on archaic bigotry and antisemitism, I would be most grateful. To that end, how do we find Lilly-Mae? There's been an uptick in violence in the city. I supect that Astaroth in Lilly-Mae's skin is the cause, but I'm not certain yet. We're trying to map the area in which the violence is focused. If we can nail down what part of the city she's in, that could narrow our search. Does anyone have another idea on how to speed this search up?"

Matthews was not altogether pleased at all, but he could also read a room reasonably well and the vampiric Jew was correct that they were at risk of straying off from the core need. "I suppose that is a reasonable place to start. Whatever is to be done to eliminate the problem, it will be necessary to hunt down the demon. I believe the pack's whoremonger has something to say on that."

Jim bristled at the appellation from his alpha. It was a continual point of contention between them. The beta's first and most stringent rule was that no sex happened in the theatre. Still, there was some information he could give. He glared at Matthews momentarily, and made himself a note to keep a watch on what Fred looked ordered later. Still, there was chatter in the entertainment venue ownership circles that seemed relevant. "Just before we started I received a call. Aside from the general uptick in violence, there seems to be a trend. Three days ago there was a riot at an establishment known as Denim and Diamonds. Two days ago an incident broke out at another establishment called Stirrups. Last night was at a third bar called Silverados. What's odd about it is that all three bars are along the same bus route, all three cater to, charitably, blue-collar clientele, and all are country-western bars. That seems like a bit much for mere coincidence to me."

"Yippee ki-yay," Andy remarked with a smirk, reaching down into the box that sat between her and Gideon and pulling out one of the books. She retrieved her cell phone from a pocket in her leather jacket then donned a pair of gloves, and with an ankle resting on the opposite knee to create a space for her to rest the book, she opened the tome and found what she was looking for. Pulling the stylus from her phone, she opened an app and started drawing, occasionally referencing the tome resting in her lap. "So, seems pretty straightforward, find another bar along the route, lay a trap," she said distractedly as she continued drawing.

Gideon chuckled. "Well said, Miss Carter, well said," he said. "This trap would have to include a way to contain the demon and Miss Arnett simultaneously, and prevent Astaroth from meddling with anyone's minds. If I was only worried about them wolfing out and using brute force, fangs, and claws to defend themselves, I'd just suggest we overpower her physically. The Blood Rangers and the Hounds could do that, and since I assume the Werewolves and some of the other Lycans would be willing to be deputized, that would make it even easier. But in this case, Astaroth could psychically influence the minds and emotions of our forces and have them killing each other and then the demon would escape during the chaos. Worse, they could jump ship and commandeer a different body while escaping."

"Hey Padre," Andy said rather spontaneously, looking up from her scribbling to look at the bishop sat within the circle. "How much water can you turn into holy water? Could you bless a body of water as large as, say, the Nashville water tower?" she asked, then immediately blinked rapidly as another thought occurred to her and she shuddered. "Nevermind, that would not be good for the next time I took a shower..." she grumbled, then scribbled some more. "Oh wait, can you holify anything other than water?" she then asked with a curious tilt of her head.

Father MacKenzie- otherwise known as Father Mac- grinned in spite of the situation. “Unfortunately, no,” he replied. “We must start with pure water. Or at least as pure as it can possibly be. It’s nearly impossible to get pure water on earth, you see. And while I could technically turn the whole city’s water supply into holy water, I certainly wouldn’t want to kill all the vampires.”

“You’re full of surprises Father MacKenzie,” put in Reverend Jones.

“Well, the Catholic Church may have their thoughts about Vampires, but God also instructs us to love everyone. I can’t very well claim to do that if I destroy all the vampires, can I?”

The reverend chuckled. “That is a very good point,” she admitted, and then turned to Nicki. “Miss LaFramboise,” she started.

“Call me Nicki,” said Nicki.

“Very well, Nicki,” said the Reverend. “You said earlier that we need to find out why they summoned the demon. Is there ever a good reason to do that?”

“Not really,” answered Nicki. “But sometimes people who are terrified will resort to drastic measures.”

“What could be more frightening than a demon?” asked Father Mac. “To the layperson, anyway.”

“Lots of things,” answered Nicki. “Skin walkers, the wendigo, Nun’Yunu’Wi, Baba Yaga. If they thought something was out there and didn’t know how else to deal with it, they may have decided to summon a demon to deal with it. Pretty ridiculous thing to do, really, when you consider how many people in the area would be able to deal with just about any monster that crops up. So why they wouldn’t tell someone about it is beyond me, but if there is something out there, I think we should know about it.”

"Hmmm," Andy hummed, nibbling her lip as she considered this information. Then she nudged Gideon with her elbow. "Hey, gimme your phone. I need to cross reference a book in my digital archive," she said, using her teeth to deglove her thumb so she'd be able to type on his phone once he handed it over.

Gideon pulled his phone out of his pocket and handed it to Andy. It had a Batman symbol on the back. "Here," he said. He unlocked it for her.

"Batman? Really?!" Andy remarked as she took the phone, then started typing away. "Okay, so it occurred to me that we still don't know if we're really dealing with Astaroth or not," Andy started to explain as she browsed her list of books. Finding the book she wanted, she quickly found the spell she was looking for then went back to scribbling on her own phone. "I mean, yeah, summoning a demon to take out a skin walker or a wendigo makes sense in a warped sort of way, but you don't go straight to Duke of Hell, so either this isn't actually Astaroth, or they didn't mean to bring him through and he took the opportunity afforded to him and came through anyway. I still have my doubts; blue collar western bars just seems a bit low-brow for him, er, her. So I'm tryna write a spell that should tell us either way: I'm working in elements of Astaroth's seal that should illuminate if they come into contact with the circle, and if it's a lesser demon then the circle should outright trap it."

"You should see what happens when I turn on the flashlight, Miss Carter," Gideon said. "So your spell will trap it if it is a lesser demon, but if it is not a lesser demon, and is actually Astaroth, it will confirm that it is Astaroth we're dealing with. An excellent start. Next, I suppose, is deciding how to handle this if it turns out it is, in fact, Astaroth we're dealing with. I assume that at that point they'll be aware that we've found them and fight or flee. We need a plan to stop them from doing either of those things."

"That's where I come in," said Nicki. "I've bound demons before. Well, a demon. I've bound a demon before. One of the secondary ones, I forget its name. The trick is, it's best if I don't have to say the binding spell out loud, otherwise the demon knows what we're up to. In order to do that, I'll need a distraction. Keep his attention off me, you know? Last time, they just tried to reason with it, give it a chance to give up. Not sure that would work with this one, though."

"How long do you need?" Andy asked, peering over her work at Nikki, the same chick that had spilled coffee over her the last time she went to the coffee house near her store. "Seconds, minutes? Please don't say hours because I don't think I can work that into this trap."

"Goodness, no," answered Nicki. "A minute, maybe two on the outside."

Andy simply hummed and nodded, then went back to her scribbling.

Jim broke back in. "Three things. First, I think we should consider the possibility that the summoning did not go entirely according to play. I don't claim to be an expert, but the gist of what I read between the summoning and now seems to indicate that if done properly the demon is not supposed to kill the summoner, or possess them, but is supposed to manifest and be bound to their will. Hubristic as it might be to try that on an entity of the scale of Astaroth/Astarte, but does anyone here know what would have to go wrong for the demon to be let lose, and what unintended effects might that have had?" he asked.

"Well," Gideon said. "Even assuming they used runes and symbols powerful enough to contain Astaroth, which is not easy to do, the effectiveness of those runes and symbols is tied to the will of the summoners. Astaroth is very willful. They might be smart and clever enough to cause the summoner's will to waver and strong enough to brute force their way to freedom. If I understand the magic correctly, it can come down to a battle of wills. As for unintended effects, could it have opened a crack or fissure that other entities could use to pay us a visit?" Gideon hoped not. Demons were tiresome for the most part, but some of them were quite dangerous. For example, there was the Anul bărbăției putrede (Year of the Rotting Manhood) incident in Romania, the A pusztulás hete (Week of Putrifaction) incident in Hungary, the Mánuðurinn með sýktum inngrónum tánöglum (Month of Infected Ingrown Toenails) incident in Iceland, the Dagen för den infernaliska klåda anus (Day of the infernal itching anus) in Sweden, and many others caused by demons on a tear. There was even the anderhalve week ontstoken neusholtes (week and a half of inflamed nasal passages) incident in the Netherlands, but the jury was still out on whether that was demons or just airborne allergens. Whatever the case may be, Astaroth, or whoever this was, had done enough damage as it stood now. Nashville didn't need more demons at the moment, thank you very much.

"I'll double check with the demonologists, but I doubt it," answered Clem. "That would take a tremendous amount of power and I think we'd have all noticed something."

"Thank you," Gideon said. "If I don't hear from you, I or one of my people will be in touch. I've never been a 'no news is good news' type of person. More of a 'the obvious reason for the lack of news is that something horrific has happened, is happening, and/or will happen' type of person."

“Smart man,” chuckled Clem. “I’ll try to remember to keep in touch whether they’re investigating or have an answer.”

"Second note, I am pretty sure I can guess what the next stop is. The Electric Cowboy is what I would bet on. It's on the same path. It's a little more high class than the others that have been hit in terms of affluence, but it's the closest bar of the type to both Austin Peay and Fort Campbell and only one dedicated to country, so young college students and military should provide plenty to prey on based on the results of what we think are the prior stops. On the plus side, I also still know enough people I am reasonably sure I can get at least myself, Mr. Lask, and probably Ms. LaFramboise in. Miss Carter and Major Asher would also be easily admitted, though I suspect they would, pardon me, stick out far more. " He pause for a moment. "My third point is I don't think it's a terribly bright idea to confront this demon in the bar. Even on a slow night, there are easily more than 100 people inside. Most of them dancing, largely inebriated, and of a demographic that would be pre-disposed to object to us treating a petite woman roughly, nevermind that 'she' is actually a demon inhabiting a werewolf."

Somewhat surprisingly, Matthews spoke up to support. "I have to agree. It would be better to lure her out. If things went badly, this is the exact kind of attention we need to avoid lest we give the otherwise reasonable politicians on capitol hill more ammunition to rail against and try to pass laws curtailing the preternatural community."

"Well, if you need bait to lure him out, I guess that's me," Andy offered begrudgingly. "He preys on uncertainty and self-doubt, which is me in a nutshell, plus Astaroth has been known to dabble in mathematics, and I happen to have a PhD in mathematics, so that should make me extra tempting."

Gideon frowned. He didn't like the idea of throwing a youngling out as bait for a demon. On the other hand, in human years, Andrea Carter was a grown woman and could make her own decisions.

“I’m sure there’s plenty of natural bait out there already,” commented Father Mac darkly.

Surprising Jim again, Matthews spoke up again. "I don't doubt that, but I would still think we would rather, if Miss Carter will forgive me for the vulgarity here, be bait we place in the path of this thing, and are watching to prevent from doing anything unfortunate and starting a new conflagration, at least if we are insistent on not using sensible pragmatism."

Jim shrugged. "You have my word, Miss Carter that I, and I presume others will be there and will intervene before anything happens to you. In terms of the trap, what would we need to do put it in place and how, precisely does it function?"

Andy rubbed the back of her head, scratching an itch with the back end of the stylus threaded through her fingers as she looked over her trap spell one last time before explaining it.

"Okay, first off, Coffee Girl, uh, Nikki will have to draw this out as I no longer have access to my magic," Andy started sheepishly, then looked to Nikki. "Applying a written spell like this is a little different than verbal casting, so I'll explain later exactly how to do it if you haven't done this sort of thing already," she continued, then looked back to the rest of the group. "Basically, she'll have to draw this spell on the ground somewhere we expect Astaroth to be. I'd recommend drawing it out in a medium that fluoresces under a blacklight or one of those forensic UV lights, that way it remains unnoticed until it's needed and illuminated. Once Astaroth, or who we presume is Astaroth, is within the circle, we reveal the spell and it should automatically react to the demon's presence. If it's a lower demon, it will be unable to leave the circle for as long as it's active, giving us time to exorcise it. However, if it's Astaroth, the spell circle will luminesce brightly before breaking down, burning through the residual traces of magic and becoming inert. I've also worked in a tracker spell; should this be Astaroth and they get the better of us and get away, Nikki should be able feel a pull towards it. If it works, and I think it will, but I did just throw this all together in less than an hour without any testing, so..." At that, Andy simply trailed off and went silent, looking back down at her phone to start double checking her work.

“I know the theory,” admitted Nicki. “But last time I bound a demon, it was by nonverbal spell. It’s harder than this method because you have to maintain eye contact, which means you can’t blink, which is absolute torture for about a minute until your eyes start to water, but it’s more solid. More concrete. It… holds better. But this way has the added benefit of tracking in case the demon escapes… I say we try it. If it fails, we can always track it down and use the nonverbal spell to bind it.”

Andy nodded in affirmation. "So we have a plan, of sorts. What's the next stop on the bus route? We need to find the next target and get this circle applied as soon as possible, preferably before the bars open for business tomorrow so that the patrons don't blow our cover. And while we're doing this, the religious folk can read through the books I brought to figure out exactly how to use Astaroth's seal so they're ready when we spring the trap," the Vampire Youngling said as she casually handed Gideon's phone back to him, then carefully closed the book in her lap and put it away in the box it came from. "If there are multiple western bars in the area, we should mark them all and I can bounce between them until we find Astaroth."

"I have one concern," said the Imam, who hadn't offered his name. "We do not wish innocent people to be caught in the crossfire. How do we keep them safe?"

"That's where I come in," replied Jarrod. "I will put together a team who will both keep as many people out of the area as possible and will help vacate the area once Astorath is found. If any of the other lycans could help, I'd really appreciate it as there are only two hounds in the area and one of them already has a job to do in this."

"I think I could be some help with that," cut in Tamsin, slightly abruptly. They hadn't been paying close attention to the conversation since it had gotten magically complex. But this, Tamsin could do. "I'm the Tiger Wait. Tamsin, for those who haven't met me yet. I know I can recruit a few tigers from my Ambush. I've got connections with some other lycans as well. I can try to put together a well-rounded group perfect for crowd control."

“That would be amazing,” replied Jarrod gratefully. “Anything is a help for sure.”

Jim nodded along as Matthews spoke. "Cunningham can put together wolves to assist you, since we are at least partially responsible for this mess. I can be present if necessary, though, I believe Cunningham was correct that some us, like myself, would stick out badly in the type of place we are going."

Jim took over. "How many do you want, Jarrod? I can put out the calls and then we need to hustle to get the magicians into the bar before they open for the night."

“To be honest, I’m used to a significantly smaller city,” replied Jarrod. “For the population I’m used to, I’d say eight to ten would be enough, but… there’s more people here. Of course, it’s less likely that an equal percentage of them would happen across us.” He sighed. “I honestly have no idea. Twenty? Does that sound doable?”

Jim thought for a minute. "Fifteen," he said. "I could probably do 20, but I've got a few people in mind where everyone else knowing WHAT they're doing is more helpful than pure numbers."

"That should be fine," agreed Jarrod. "Between the Tigers and the Wolves, we should be okay."

Matthews couldn't resist needling. "Do try not to get them killed, if you would. It makes Cunningham there mope like a woman. Though I suppose you could do it together this time."

Jarrod simply rolled his eyes, but he also reached out a hand and squeezed Nicki’s arm. She was a bit sharper tongued and had rarely missed an opportunity to snap back at someone who had disrespected her pups. He heard her sigh and knew she had been about to answer Fred, but backed down for Jarrod.

Andy relaxed back in her chair, releasing a slow, steady exhale; she had been nervous about putting herself out there as bait, but hearing the Were's coordinating so seamlessly to gather their numbers helped alleviate some of her anxiety on the matter. Not that she thought she'd be going in alone without any back up, but the direction of the conversation had put her at ease nonetheless. She glanced over at Gideon, rubbing her palms nervously over her khakis, hoping that she could live up to the faith he seemed to have in her.

"How are we handling communication?" Andy then asked, gazing out over the assembled faces. "There's already quite a few of us here, add in the 'troops' the Were's are bringing in, we'll need some means of coordinating out in the field, not to mention I'll need some way to signal you guys once I've got the demon's attention and I'm ready to set off the trap."

"Anyone here telepathic?" he asked. "Failing that, I've got some in-ear receivers, but not enough to go around. Some of my backup will likely bring their own, but Major Asher, would the Blood Rangers be able to assist in that?"

“Sadly, true telepathy requires eye contact,” answered Clem. “And it’s incredibly hard to communicate telepathically with someone who is not telepathic. So while I do have three telepaths, it might be easier to use the receivers.”

There was a slight lull in the conversation and Reverend Jones looked up from her notes. “Okay, so we have Nicki and Andrea working on the trap,” she said. “Nicki will actually spring it. Should it work, the clergy will step in for the actual exorcism. Then Nicki will put the soul back into the body. If it fails, at least we’ll know whether the demon is who it says it is. Meanwhile, Jarrod and the wolves and tigers will keep people from entering the club and help those who are already inside escape. Have I missed anything?” Nobody spoke up, so she continued, “okay, then I think that about does it for official business. Feel free to stay and chat. There’s coffee and donuts. If you don’t want to stay, at least take a donut. Lord knows I don’t need to take them home,” she added, patting her admittedly overweight stomach for emphasis. “Other than that, I’ve got everybody’s contact information and I’ll be in touch once we have more information.”