Edward, Jane and Hannah had hardly spoken as they returned to the drawing room. They were all in a state of shock. The drinks were poured and distributed and then they paused. Surely, they were all thinking the same thing. The people required to perform the ritual were instantly recognisable.
Jane was the one who could see their "Dark Hearts". She could see the aura about the man beasts. "One who believes but has not seen", well that was obviously Edward. He had spent many years studying the subject of those that were half man and half beasts. He had never seen one but he did believe in their existence.
The third person required was "One who was trapped but has broken free." That must have seemed very cryptic to the reader, but for the assembled company it immediately identified Hannah. She had been under Carl's control, but had managed to leave him. None of them were aware what a unique occurrence that had been.
Some force had brought the right people together. Hannah broke the silence.
"Well it seems that we have the right people to perform the ritual. There is no doubt that Jane is the one that sees the dark, Edward is the believer and I'm the escapee. Somehow we have found each other and that cannot be coincidence."
It was exactly what they were all thinking and now it was out in the open. Some sort of external guide had delivered them all to the same place and ensured that the summoning spell was available too.
Edward handed them each a copy of the pages from the book, complete with the gruesome drawing of the demon. They now read the details again before resuming their discussion. The ritual, the excerpt said, was to be performed at a place where the beast had been revealed. They might have the right personnel, but they did not yet know where they needed to go.
"You know he looked like a beast the day you saw him through the window. Where were you then?" Edward asked.
"That was when we lived on a housing estate in a commuter town. I wouldn't want to bring a group of beasts to a place where so many people lived. It could lead to carnage."
"Quite right. I believe that the change occurs when a murder takes place. If we knew where that had happened, that would help." Edward said.
"I have no real evidence that Carl murdered anyone, but that doesn't mean that he hasn't killed. He used to disappear out to "work", and I had no idea what he was up to."
"The cottage." Jane declared.
"What in Cartham? Where we used to live?"
"Yes. There was gossip about a young man helping Mr Grundy, and then he suddenly died. Next thing you and Carl are moving in. I always said that Grundy had owned that place."
"Who owns it now? That would be very interesting to know." Hannah said.
"That's easy to find out. Let's do a search on the Land Registry. What's the address?" Edward was poised over his laptop.
A few minutes later he revealed the answer. "Shand Holdings."
"That's Carl. His surname is Shand. So, somehow, he got rid of Mr Grundy, got the property, and moved us in."
"With his powers of persuasion, it is not unreasonable to think that he had charmed Mr Grundy into signing it over to him." Edward pointed out.
"All he had to do then was remove him. It was reported that Grundy had died of a heart attack. What if, Carl had changed in front of him. That would be enough to give the old man a coronary. And it wouldn't look suspicious for whoever inherited the property. That's why I think that it would be a good place to use. The beast was revealed there." Jane sat back and folded her arms.
"This cottage, is it somewhere we can get access to. I mean, is anyone living there at the moment." Edward was forming an idea.
"It's empty. I walked past there the other day and a To Let sign was outside. It would be easy to get inside and its pretty remote. That would be an ideal place to use. The only thing that we are not sure of is whether Carl changed whilst he was there."
"There is only one way to find out. We go there and perform the summoning." Jane had said what they were all thinking.
"Is everybody agreed? Jane, yes. Hannah, yes. We are taking a bit of a guess, but the location seems right."
"We lived there for nearly a year. It's highly likely that at some point he would have been the beast whilst he was there, even if he hadn't revealed himself to Mr Grundy. I wasn't always there, so that would have allowed him to change."
The discussion that ensued after they decided to enact the ritual, was about the next steps. They all acknowledged that it was not a coincidence that they were in the right place at the right time. What they needed to do was get to the cottage and make it happen. With only two weeks to Anthony's birthday time was of the essence.
"Let's not delay. I have waited nearly all my life to see one of these beasts. I only need to pack a bag and then I can return with you to your village. We can have a look at the cottage and then tomorrow, we can go there and do the summoning. I'll make us a spot of lunch and then we will get going."
Jane and Hannah exchanged a look and then nodded.
"I don't know what to think. We came here with hope, but now it seems that this could be the answer. I don't want to pin all my hopes of saving Anthony on this one thing, but it is all we have got."
"Think about the string of coincidences, Hannah. Finding the mention of the summoning, coming here and meeting Edward. Us being the people that are required to perform the ritual. I know none of us are 100% sure that this will work, maybe not even 50%, but there is something in the ether that has got us to this point. I think we deserve to have a little hope."
"I'm packing my camera so that I can take pictures of the beasts. I, too, am full of hope for our endeavour."
"Thank you, both. Let's go there, do the ritual and see if we can save my son. I'll add that I hope none of us die in the process."
Edward and Jane shrugged.
They left the Georgian house after lunch and the mood was part excitement and part apprehension. There was not much talk on the car journey as they contemplated what they were about to do and what the outcome might be. Edward desperately wanted to see what his friend Michael had seen so many years before.