He tried to recreate the scene. He searched through the bathroom. It wasn’t until he found a red, orb-type focus half hidden beneath the crumpled clothes that he put it together. He slipped it into his pocket. No reason to let a good focus go to waste.
Devon moved back to the bedroom and took a look around. The window had been completely shattered. That fit in somehow. The hoof prints came to an end next to the window. They didn’t turn or go anywhere. Devon peeked out the window.
The window opened over the side of the house. Devon stepped out, onto the snow.
A large impact hit and slid across the snowy ground. The snow was melting somewhat, but enough remained behind to be plainly visible. A pair of footprints, bare feet by the look of it, trailed off towards the front side of the house.
No hoof marks were anywhere in the snow.
None on the sidewalk either.
It didn’t chase her?
Devon frowned and made his way back inside. He used the back door to avoid the nun around the front.
In the bedroom once again, Devon started snooping. He pulled open desk drawers. He sifted through remains of the marble table.
The only thing of any notice was the melted hunk of plastic and metal that might have been a laptop at one point in its life. Devon had no hope of recovering anything useful from its hard drives.
Devon pulled out a prepared card. A small ritual circle covered one side. He scraped a good pile of ash from one of the hoof marks onto the center of the circle. He found a relatively clear spot on the floor and set the card down.
As he channeled magic into the circle, a small flame erupted. It stayed the standard red and yellow for only a moment before it flared a brilliant purple.
Devon sighed as he stared deep into the flame.
“Find something interesting?”
Devon stumbled forwards, his sleeve caught fire. Luckily the demonic flame gave way to regular fire that he quickly patted out. He sighed again. That was his favorite trench coat. He quickly stomped out the indicator flame with the soles of his much more hardy combat boots.
A nun, wearing a black habit rather than the standard white, stood in the doorway. Just behind her sneered the white-robed nun from the entryway.
Devon immediately readjusted his glasses–they actually needed it this time. “Tell me,” he said, “who was it that was kidnapped?”
The lead nun narrowed her eyes. “A subordinate of mine. The nun’s identity is not up for disclosure.”
“Was she actually kidnapped?”
“What else would you call what happened here? I have one dead and one missing nun. The demon that attacked did not attempt to cover its tracks at all.”
“No, I ah, suppose not. In that case, who did you piss off?”
The nun blinked at that. “What do you mean?”
“That,” he pointed to the little stomped on scrap of paper with a snort, “burned bright purple. You know what purple represents?”
“Royalty,” she almost snarled.
“Oh, an educated nun. Surprising.” Devon wasn’t lying. It may have been a guess. Purple was traditionally a royal color. Yet it wasn’t incorrect in this situation. “The question then becomes, why is one of the seventy-two after your nun?”
She glowered. Not really at him, but her entire face darkened. “Frankly, Mr…”
“Carter,” Devon said as he offered a hand. His only hand.
She didn’t spare it a second glance. “Mr. Carter, I think it is time for you to go.”
Devon pulled back his hand to his chest. He let his fingers twitch before the dove into his trench coat and withdrew his forged documents. “I have these papers that–”
The papers exploded out of his hand as a lightning bolt struck them. Tiny flakes drifted to the floor in a miniature snowstorm.
“Well I never,” he said as he thrust his glasses up on his face. “My superiors will be hearing about this.”
“You tell them that this is an internal matter of the Elysium Order. Do not let me catch you skulking about our business again, Mr. Carter.” She stepped to one side of the door and thrust her arm out, pointing at the doorway.
She almost caught the white-robed nun in the chest. That nun hopped to one side of the door. She stared as Devon quickly made his way past.
He had at least three more tests to run, more depending on the results. It wasn’t worth getting a blast in the face over.
The white-robed nun followed him out, all but stepping on his heels. The other nun didn’t follow. She stopped at the edge of the property.
Devon could feel her eyes glaring holes into his back as he walked off.
— — —
“So?”
“Stay out of it. I sure as hell am.”
Eva crossed her arms. She tried to glare at her master, but it didn’t seem to have much of an effect. “You can tell me what you found.”
“You’ll run off and try to get involved. Then you’ll either get yourself injured or have to summon a demon worse than that hel. You’ll then offer it a whole building in the prison to mark as its territory.”
