Hannah and her companions stopped at the cottage on their way to the village. There was a "To let" sign outside of the house and they made further investigations to make sure it was in fact empty. They knocked at the door and peered through the windows as well as phoning the letting agent. It was definitely vacant.
The agent had been quite excited when they phoned about the cottage. It had been empty, for a few months, and he was disappointed when they didn't want a viewing. This property had always been a problem. The location, isolated from any neighbours, had been a negative for some renters. When the place had been occupied the tenants had never stayed for long. They reported that they had never felt comfortable in the place, but could never definitively say why.
That was one problem solved, they could get access to the house, now all they had to do was complete an ancient ritual, hope that it worked and also that they would survive whatever ensued. They would all feel a bit silly if they intoned the incantation and then a few days later, they were all still waiting for someone to turn up.
In films and books these things usually relied on a great deal of serendipity. So far that had happened. The three people that were required had come together and they were fairly sure that they had the right location. It seemed appropriate somehow that it would be the cottage where Anthony was conceived.
The spell had said that after the summoning all the men would arrive at the venue the next day. That was easier these days with cars, buses and planes but in antiquity how would that have worked? The people required to summon the demons would likely come together when the beasts were close enough to respond to the call. Fate definitely had a hand in making sure everything was in the right place.
This was Hannah's only chance to try to save Anthony. The ominous words in the book were that only one would survive. Was there anything that she could do to ensure that the one would be Anthony? And if it wasn't him who would be left. Whoever it was they would be purged of their demon.
In a couple of days, Hannah would see her son. The thought made her heart ache for the years when they should have been together. What would he look like? Dark like his father, probably. Would he, somehow, recognise her? Most importantly, would they be in time to save him from his fate.
If the spell brought Anthony, it would also bring Carl. That would be an uncomfortable reunion. There was no fear about being drawn to him again. All that Hannah had learned, over the years, had made her strong. What would she feel? Regret, shame, for allowing him to rule her life and steal her baby. Not love, not anger, maybe pity.
How would she feel if Carl was the one that survived the encounter? Whoever remained was purged of their demon. Would Hannah fall in love with the new version of Carl, now that he could not coerce her? Oh, but if Carl was alive, that would mean that Anthony was dead.
"How are you coping, Hannah?" Jane asked.
"I'm trying to think of all the things that might happen. Which one will survive, Carl or Anthony? Or maybe someone else. The ritual calls members of the family. More people might turn up. I'm driving myself mad thinking about all the permutations. If anything happened to you or Edward, well I can't even imagine how terrible that would be."
"There are a lot of things we don't know. The book held a warning about enacting the ritual. Some of the original text had been lost and we don't really know what is going to happen. What we do know, is that we have been drawn together in time to act before Anthony turns sixteen. I can only hope that this is the moment to save him." Jane hugged her friend as she spoke.
"I think all of us are here because we have some sort of faith in what we are about to do. The timing must be significant. We all hope that Anthony will be saved. Having said that, and Jane is right, we don't know exactly what the result will be. Have hope, Hannah, certainly, but also be prepared for an outcome that is not what we want."
"The result will be bad because someone will die. It said that only one would remain. We are calling Carl and my son, and maybe others, to their deaths. What if Carl has younger sons and they die? I can't think about this anymore."
"What if. It raises a lot of questions. But what if it rids the world of a number of killers, and potential killers. How many people might die if we don't do it? I can only reiterate that you, Edward and I have found each other and I'm taking that as some sort of sign. None of us are doing this for our own amusement or as some sort of adventure. We are trying to save someone, hopefully Anthony."
"The main what if, is about whether it will actually work. If the cottage is full of beasts the next day, we can congratulate ourselves on having summoned them, but we have no idea what comes next. We don't know if we have to witness the events or, if after we have done the ritual, we take no further part. I want to be there when they come. I need to see what my friend, Michael, saw that time. It might be dangerous, but I'm prepared to risk it."
"Do you think that we should be armed in any way?" Jane said.
"One of the things that I packed was a revolver. When this conjuring was written they would only have had knives and swords, but I bet they had them handy."
"Now I'm seeing a new problem. If you had to shoot someone, Edward, how would that look to the police. Saying that you shot them because they had turned into a demon isn't a very good defence."
"I was rather hoping that you would help me bury the bodies, Jane."
"Don't joke about it. In so may ways we are completely unprepared for what might happen." Hannah was becoming more distressed as the conversation went on.
"And so, we are back to an act of faith again. It will be almost impossible, I'm sure, but we must try to get some sleep. Tomorrow we will enact the ritual."
Each of them had a sleepless night as they considered what they were going to do. Jane's thoughts ranged from how ridiculous it all was to how vital it was. They were going to do a magic spell for heaven's sake. If it worked, they could rid the world of demons and hopefully save Hannah's son before he turned sixteen.
Edward was sleepless too. His anxiety was a mixture of excitement and dread. He was about to meet beasts, he hoped. Would he see a transformation? He must not get too caught up in the drama. He wanted to see what happened, but more than that he wanted to remember all of it. Observe the event like a scientist. That would be hard to do. Who could concentrate on the minutiae when one was surrounded by demons?
Hannah was awake as she thought constantly about her son. It was two weeks to his birthday. They had cut it fine, but this would finally, hopefully, be the thing that would save him. If the worst happened and he died at least his death would save him from a life of killing. She really hoped and prayed however, that he would be the one who would survive.