It took us an hour to drive the near 30 miles to Skipton, a market town of approx. 15,000 people in North Yorkshire. A picturesque place, close to the moors and a draw to tourists. They held regular ghost tours and walks, which tended to draw the kooky crowd.
And, BLACKCATMUSTARD, the person who had contacted me.
I'd dressed for the cold, wet and miserable weather, with thick black tights, another skirt – and a reminder to buy some jeans or something – and a thick, knitted wool, sweater. Knowing how cold my new body was, I'd opted for wool gloves and scarf too, leaving me toasty warm for once.
Kevin wore a light jacket and pale blue cotton shirt with trousers and shoes.
Show off.
"You fancy a coffee first?"
My immediate reaction was, 'ew, no!' until I remembered that I actually enjoyed the taste of it now. "Sounds good. You buying?"
He laughed and tapped the pocket of his jeans which contained his wallet. "Of course."
"Then I definitely want a coffee."
I was sure that Chloe had money. If not her own, then access to at least some of her parents. They didn't seem the type of people to expect her to work for a living to support herself while going through college and university.
But I didn't know where it was or how to access it.
There were cards in her purse, though I had no way of knowing how much they gave me access to or the pin numbers to use them. So, I opted to take advantage of Kevin for a little while longer.
"Oh, you are a star," I muttered, taking the coffee he handed to me. I wrapped my fingers around it and felt the warmth through my gloves as I inhaled that roasted coffee aroma that I found so delightful of late.
Kevin paid the barista manning the cart and we set off walking through the town. It wasn't busy for a Thursday morning in November, just locals running errands and workmen grabbing bacon rolls between jobs.
Pigeons scattered as we approached and circled before landing again as we passed. I sipped my coffee and didn't realise I had slipped my arm through his for a few minutes. I hastily withdrew, taking a surreptitious step away to create some distance between us.
The address we'd been given led us to a house not far from the town centre. A short walk, though long enough for me to finish my drink. Kevin took the cardboard cup without comment and dropped it in a bin as we passed, and then we were at the house.
In my head, I'd expected an overgrown lawn and leafless trees, branches rising like skeletal fingers to claw fruitlessly at the sky. Windows coated with dirt and grim, cobwebs around the frames, and scattered leaves covering the ground.
I was sorely disappointed, then, to find a neat two storey semi-detached house with a small garden that was very clearly well-tended. The wooden gate had been painted recently enough that it still had that sheen of newness to it, and the hinges didn't even creak ominously when I pushed it open.
My lips formed a small moue and Kevin chuckled, as though he'd been reading my mind. "Tell me again why we're here," he said.
"She knows about demons." I rolled my eyes at his expression. "You asked!"
The doorbell buzzed and we waited a moment before it was pulled open by a woman not much older than me, instead of the bent over, old hag, wearing a black dress and a pointed hat.
My day was positively ruined.
"Ah… Hi," I said, smiling brightly. "You sent me a message last night."
"SecondHandSoul?" She clapped excitedly, eyes sparkling. "Oh, my god! You came."
She ushered us in and with a quick shared glance with Kevin, I lifted my shoulders in a shrug and stepped through the door.
The house was neat, tidy and clean. No dead animals, no arcane symbols on the walls or herbs drying above the air fryer in the kitchen. We settled at the sturdy wooden table as she filled the kettle.
"Oh, hey there." Kevin bent to stroke a black cat that rubbed at his legs. As soon as his fingers ruffled its fur, it began purring.
"Mustard?" I guessed, and the woman laughed.
"Yeah, guilty." She held out a hand. "Anna."
"Chloe," I replied, without thinking. That was coming too easy to me now, as though Danny was slowly fading away.
A shiver took me, and I shook it off as I removed my gloves and scarf, then unbuttoned my coat. The warmth of the kitchen was pleasant. As was the host.
She was a little taller than me, perhaps 5 foot 7, and without much in the way of excess weight. An hourglass figure and breasts that strained the buttons of the shirt she wore in a way that should have excited me.
But didn't.
Hair the colour of copper, falling past her shoulders, the ends resting against the centre of her back and a smile that lit up the room. It was at once welcoming and infectious, and I found myself wanting to smile back at her.
"Coffee or tea? I have both."
"Happy with Coffee," Kevin said as he introduced himself.
Was I supposed to have done that?
Oops.
"Yeah, same." I glanced at Kevin, wondering if he looked annoyed or merely confused, then decided on the latter.
Anna finished making the drinks and set a mug down for each of us on the table before sitting herself. We shared smiles, and clutched our mugs, letting the silence grow awkward as neither of us seemed willing to be the first to speak.
"So," Kevin said, looking from me to her. "Demons."
Her cheeks coloured a little as she blushed and then she lifted her chin and nodded. "Yes, demons."
"You believe in them, then?"
"You don't?"
He wore a faint smile as he shook his head once. "Not really, no. Sorry."
"No need to apologise. I understand it's not for everyone." Her eyes fixed on me. "How about you?"
"I do."
Kind of hard to deny their existence when I'd made a deal with one.
And killed another.
"So do I," she said, smile widening.
It was difficult to go into specifics with Kevin sat there petting the cat. It leapt onto his lap, and he seemed content enough to sit stroking it and listen. So, I took a deep breath and dived in.
"Do you know Leeds?"
"I've been there before, sure. I'm not really familiar with it though."
"Okay, well there's an area called Harehills-"
"Oh, I've heard of that place. Bit rough. Lot of crime."
"Yeah." My home for almost 18 years. It really hadn't seemed that bad. "I believe there are demons there making things worse."
Kevin turned his head, brow wrinkling as he studied my face in silence. My cheeks heated and I refused to glance his way, instead focusing on Anna who nodded slowly.
"Chloe…"
I waved him to silence, pressing my lips together in frustration. We'd had this argument in the car when I'd explained where we were going. He thought I was either crazy or suffering some lingering effects of the coma and needed to return to the hospital.
There was no real way for me prove I wasn't without revealing that I wasn't Chloe. Which left us at a kind of stalemate where he was humouring me and looking increasingly worried.
"What do you know of demonology?" Anna asked.
"Bugger all," I muttered. "I think I need to learn though."
"Right, well, without going into too much of the history and lore, demons are creatures of the nine hell realms. Places of horror and torment, and there's a hierarchy. Lords, Dukes, Princes, kings and so on."
She took that deep breath people do before a lecture. I braced for a long day.
"Mostly, it's the lesser demons that come through," she continued. "They get summoned by some greedy fool here, in our realm, and find a way to hang around."
"Summoned?" I said. "Like, a ritual with candles, sacrifices and stuff?"
"Pretty much, yes, though a sacrifice doesn't always mean what you think."
"Okay, fair enough."
"So, anyway. Once here, they tend to create chaos." She raised a hand to forestall questions just as I opened my mouth to ask one. "They feed on it. The pain, the fear, the torment. It's what excites them and gives them the strength to remain on our plane of existence."
"Increased crime rates," I said, tapping my index finger against my lip absently. "You're saying they will just make life miserable as a way of staying here?"
"Pretty much, though…" she hesitated and leaned forward, lowering her voice as though afraid of being overheard. "Some in my circle had put forth the suggestion that they will try and build a power base to become strong enough to open a gate between our realm and theirs, so more can come through."
I had no idea what the circle she referred to was and no real desire to ask. My attention was fixed on the idea of demons causing chaos and growing in strength.
Orryn didn't strike me as being weak, or lesser, in any way. Obviously, I could be wrong. What the hell did I know about these things, but I didn't buy it.
"Why?" Kevin asked, breaking my chain of thought and I glanced at him warily. As did Anna. "Why, would they need to make a gate?"
"So, the lords and dukes of hell could come through," she said, somewhat primly as though wary of being mocked by a non-believer.
"But couldn't they just be summoned?"
"No." She shook her head, smile growing, eager to share her knowledge. "The lesser demons can slip through the cracks in reality, because they're weak. The stronger the demon, the harder it would be to come through, even if summoned."
"They would need a gate," I muttered. "So, if a demon became powerful enough to create this gate, their intention would be to, what? End the world?"
"Oh no," Anna said. "They'd come for the souls."
"The souls?"
"Hell is a place of chaos and war. The demons constantly jockeying for power and position and their primary source of power are the corrupted human souls that end up there."
I exhaled a soft sigh. Understanding coming like someone had just flicked a switch and revealed a large part of a puzzle that I'd been missing.
"They come through, they gain access to billions of souls."
"An insurmountable source of power for any demon that can take them back home," Anna agreed. "Which is why we exist."
"We?"
"The circle." Her smile turned to a grin. "Well, circles, really. Witches who watch for sign of demons and do what we can to negate their power before they can break open a gate into our reality."
She seemed so proud, and I was almost loathe to point out that she was doing a pretty shitty job of it considering what I'd seen in Leeds.
"Harehills," I pointed out. "There's demons there."
Kevin was staring at me again, expression showing concern again, and eyes alight with worry. I ignored him.
"Yes, we are aware."
"You are?"
"Yes." She nodded, lips pressed into a tight smile.
"Then why aren't you doing anything about them?"
She didn't immediately reply, just sipped at her drink and watched me thoughtfully over the rim of the mug. When she set it down, she'd come to a decision.
"We are… pressed for resources at the moment."
"The hell does that mean?"
"It means we are monitoring until we can allocate the resources to combat the issue."
Corporate speak. It was the kind of thing customer service reps said to avoid actually giving the bad news. Trying to make it sound nice and palatable.
I'd always hated that.
"How can I track a demon?" I asked, barely holding my temper in check.
"You can't."
"But you just said…"
"Yes, we can track hotspots, but we are unable to locate a single demon. At least not from afar."
Then what bloody use were they to me? I pushed my seat back and rose, grumbling as I shook my head. I was about to turn to the door when I swung back to her. "Why did you tell me to come here if you can't help me?"
"I can," she said, blinking innocently. "You can't locate where one is, but there are ways you could track one down."
"How?" I asked, sinking back down into the chair.
"It won't be easy, and it will take time," Anna began. "But there are signs…"