Between Rachon’s vehicle and Alexia's, the vampire hunters, the dhamphir, the witch, the vampires, and coyote returned safely to Austin, regretfully leaving Sergio behind to deal with their cover story. Having missed the battle, Sergio felt it was the least he could do. It had been difficult to leave Innocente and Pete's bodies behind in the graveyard.

When they left, Cian had to forcibly carry Amaliya away from Innocente's body. Strangely, it was Samantha who gave Amaliya the greatest comfort as they rode back to Austin. Holding Amaliya's hand, Samantha told her of about Innocente's appearance and the mysterious ghost who had helped her.

“What did he look like?” Amaliya asked, her face streaked with blood tears.

Samantha described her ghostly helper in as much detail as she could remember.

With a sad smile, Amaliya nodded. “It was my grandfather. He came for her.”

Curling up in Cian's arms, Amaliya had clung to him the whole way home.

Part Six

Two Weeks Later

Chapter 27

The back room of Jeff's occult bookstore was even more cramped than usual. Extra chairs had been brought in from other rooms inside the shop and it was very crowded around the table.

Jeff took his usual position at the head of the table. He was amused when Cian and Rachon sat on either side of him, angling their chairs so that it appeared they were also at the head. Amaliya sat at Cian's side, followed by Samantha. Whatever animosity had been between them was gone now. They chatted with each other in soft voices, waiting for the meeting to start. Benchley and Alexia had their usual seats, though both were still immensely grumpy over missing the big battle once again. Sergio and Eduardo sat next to Rachon, while Cass and Aimee sat at the opposite end of the table. Cian’s daughter and the witch had shoved the chairs together so they could snuggle into each other.

Jeff felt awkward every time Cass looked at him. They had a history they had yet to divulge to anyone and he wasn’t too sure how Cian would take it.

But there were more important matters to discuss.

“We have a full house tonight. Talk about performance anxiety,” Jeff said, trying to break the ice.

The somber expressions around the table informed him that he had not succeeded. It was two weeks since the death of Pete Talbert and Innocente Ottmer. They had anticipated a big media blitz after the deaths, but the police had kept it very hush-hush. Rachon suspected that maybe Ethan's old contacts or family had worked their usual magic to keep it suppressed. The group had stayed apart from each other during that time. Only Jeff and Samantha had attended Innocente's funeral.

There had been concern about Etzli or The Summoner attacking in the aftermath of the battle. As a precaution, each of their homes was now heavily warded by Aimee's spells. Jeff was grateful to finally have a witch in their midst.

“Cut the chit chat. How fucked are we?” Cassandra asked with her usual lack of tact. She was clad in jeans, beat up Converse, and a Spider-man shirt. In contrast, Aimee was wearing a long green maxi-dress adorned with Celtic designs in gold.

Jeff rested his hands on the book in front of him, dreading what he was about to tell those gathered in front of him. “I’m not sure.”

“The Summoner is not going to give up,” Amaliya said. The dour look on her face was one that he was not used to seeing. It was hard for all of them to see the pain etched into her face, but she had lost two loved ones to The Summoner. She had Jeff’s complete sympathy and support. He didn’t take the sharpness in her voice personal.

“We're not sure what he's planning yet, either,” Rachon pointed out. “Or do we?” She looked significantly at Jeff.

“Tell us what you found out,” Cian said, trying not to sound like he was ordering Jeff about. “Tell us why you called us here.”

Jeff felt the intense scrutiny of those gathered and squirmed around in his chair. The usual jovialness that accompanied these gatherings was gone. There was no joking, no playfulness. Everyone looked somber and a bit frightened. Benchley was staring at his bitten-down nails and Jeff hadn’t seen him smile once since that terrible night. When Benchley wasn’t cracking a bad joke, the world felt a lot gloomier.

Jeff took a deep breath. “Okay, where to start. I…uh…took that photo that Cass and Aimee took of the ring they stole and did a lot of research. I had to call on several overseas resources and really dug deep into my dad's works.” He paused for effect, but saw that everyone was looking annoyed that he wasn't just getting to the gist of it.

“What's he not saying?” Benchley asked Samantha.

“I have no clue. He hasn't told me yet either.” She glowered at Jeff. “He's being all mysterious.”

Jeff sighed. “I'm trying to lay a foundation here for my discovery.”

“We just want to know what it is!” Amaliya snapped.

“Okay, first off, how did The Summoner get into Bianca? I figured that out with Samantha's help. When The Summoner died, there were a ton of ghosts around the motel and graveyard according to Roberto.”

Cian arched his eyebrows. “Roberto?”

Jeff nodded. “Samantha saw his ghost the night it all went really bad. Roberto told Samantha that he tried to escape the town, but couldn't. When he was slingshotted back to the motel, the ghosts were gone. Rachon, meanwhile, told me she found Bianca, the night The Summoner died, resurrected and already fully in control of her powers in the graveyard where she was buried.”

Rachon gave a curt nod, agreeing. “I should have known something was wrong.”

Jeff quirked an eyebrow. “Well, hindsight is always 20/20. I firmly believe that The Summoner consumed all the ghosts in the surrounding area after his death. He used their ectoplasm to travel to Bianca's body and claim it. Just like Amaliya, Bianca is one of his necro-vamp offspring.” Jeff let his words sink in. “I don't know if Bianca was a mad fledgling, or rebirthed brain dead, but The Summoner implanted himself inside of her. He then waited until Rachon set her plan in motion to begin implementation of his own.”

“To get his ring back?” Cassandra asked.

“I think to get his ring back and Amaliya under his control.” Jeff glanced at Amaliya, who shrugged. “He wants you. That was very apparent that night in the cemetery. And I think it might have to do with the rings.”

“Is this the fucking Lord of the Rings now?” Benchley grumbled.

“One ring to rule them all!” Alexia said, pounding the table.

“Actually, thirteen rings to tear down the veil between our world and the abyss,” Jeff corrected.

“Thirteen?” Aimee's eyes widened, looking at Cassandra with concern. “What the hell?”

“We hid the one we stole. The Summoner has one. Etzli has one,” Cassandra said. “Who has the other ten?”

“I don't know, but I do know where they came from.” Jeff flipped open the book in front of him and displayed a photo of a painting. It was a dramatic rendition of Lucifer falling from the heavens. “So, long ago, there was a war in heaven and Lucifer was cast out. When he fell, he hit the earth. More precisely, he landed in the Yucatán Peninsula.”

“Huh?” Benchley gawked at Jeff. “Lucifer? Hitting Mexico? How do you know that?”

“I think he means Chicxulub, the meteor that hit like sixty-five million years ago,” Sergio said incredulously. When he noticed everyone looking at him curiously, he said defensively, “We keep National Geographic in the bathroom. You know...toilet reading?”

“That’s what tabloids are for,” Alexia grumbled.

“Sergio, you’re absolutely right. But Chicxulub wasn't a meteor, it was Lucifer,” Jeff said excitedly.

“Wait!” Samantha glared at him. “Since when do you believe in Lucifer? You were all against me saying the devil is real.”

“Well, since I found out about the rings, I have to say I now believe, okay?” Jeff felt annoyed by the interruptions. He hated to admit he was pretty excited to share his newfound information.

“So Lucifer lands in Mexico and what does that have to do with the rings?” Aimee asked.

“His sword,” Jeff replied. “His sword was in Mexico.”

Cian lifted his eyebrows as he turned to stare at Jeff. “In Mexico? Where Etzli is from?”

“Lucifer's sword was found by the Mayans. They believed it was the weapon of a fallen god and built a temple to house it. The Spanish conquered the Mayans, took the sword and the myth around it and delivered it as a gift to the Catholic Church.” Jeff paused for dramatic effect.

“They gave the Catholic Church Lucifer's sword?” Eduardo snorted. “That's pretty stupid.”

“Actually, it makes sense,” Alexia interjected. “It would’ve been made in heaven. It may have been his sword, but it could’ve been considered a holy relic.”

Jeff nodded enthusiastically. “It actually was, Alexia. It was made of pure gold with precious stones in the hilt.” Jeff held up the photo again. “See. Just like this. So, someone in the Vatican decided that it would be a great idea to melt down the sword and create rings out of it. Well, originally, they wanted to make a crown, too, but when the blacksmith melted the sword it lost mass. In the end, he only had enough gold for the rings. The jeweler made thirteen rings: one for the Pope, and twelve for select archbishops.”