Several hours later
"So – essentially we need to pry that stupid book open like a lock-box, snatch out Candice's soul and replace it with the Countess, than weld the book shut so it can never be opened again. Right?" Stone's voice had taken an aggrieved tone after hours of debate and study in the cramped torture chamber of Čachtice Castle.
"Or you could just release me and walk away as though nothing had happened" Candice's accented voice called out from a corner.
It had been hours since they had first arrived, too late to stop the Countess from taking over the body of descendant of her family's bloodline. The Countess – in her new form – had made a break from the group but had ended up wandering sullenly back when it became obvious that the old Warlord had enchanted the hallway, keeping her always looping back to the point she had started from. Now she was sitting beside the snoring forms of the women she and her minions had kidnapped, watching angrily as her Book of Shadows (still in its crystal container) was passed back and forth between the group discussing her demise.
"Shut up" Rowan and Baird called out simultaneously.
"Really – I'd listen to the ladies" Vlad commented dryly. "They both are quite capable of cutting your tongue out if you continue to annoy them."
Baird blinked then smiled. "Thank you – I think."
Arthur grinned. "Trust me – that was his idea of a compliment. He likes strong women – just ask the elder goddesses he's bedded."
"After this case is closed" Stone said with a chuckle, "we all need to hear a few of those stories."
"Feed him enough beer and you'll get more information on what it takes to seduce a goddess that you'll ever need." Khan grinned at his foster father. "That's what I did."
"As I recall" Jenkins commented dryly "by the end of the night you were both drunk and comparing number of conquests. By the way – Master Vlad won that conversation."
"Only cause he's lived millennia longer than I have" Khan protested.
The sound of wind chimes echoed in the small room as yet another set of scrolls and books appeared on the floor in front of Flynn. "Looks like someone found more information for us" the Librarian called out, happily sorting through the material.
"Tell me again why we're doing this here and not in the library or back at your place?" Jones asked in a bored tone. "Be a hell of a lot more comfortable – and we could order pizza!"
"I, for one, am not taking some nutcase humans and a sorceress into the Library without assurances they can't mess up anything else there." Baird called out in annoyance.
"And humans tend not to survive an entrance through the Fae Black gates" Master Christoph murmured, checking over notes he had made before returning to the castle with the elder Warlord.
"Jenkins survived" Stone pointed out calmly.
"Jenkins isn't exactly mortal" Arthur replied, checking on the rapidly cooling form of János, the tour group's driver and descendant of one of the Countess's servants.
"You know, I think we killed this one" he commented, looking back at his father with a frown.
"I killed him" Khan replied, giving the crumpled body a quick look. "Probably broke something when I slammed him into the wall."
"Not surprising" Rowan said quietly. "Mortals tend to be rather fragile. They don't take to being smashed into stone well despite what you see in the movies. And he wasn't exactly a spring chicken to begin with."
"Well, crud" Khan grumbled. "Guess the Old Man is going to have my hide of this one."
"Old Man?" Stone mouthed to Jenkins.
"God" Arthur replied with a shrug. "I doubt he'll be too bothered. Bloody sod kidnapped and planned on killing those ladies on the floor over there. And was on his way to helping with the resurrection of the first female serial killer on record. I kind of think the Boss will allow as the wretch had it coming." He glanced down at Cindy's unconscious form, nudging her with a toe. "At least she's still with us – I guess that's a good thing."
Baird shrugged. "Probably. And not something we need to worry about now. Have any of you found something in those books and scrolls that will tell us how to reverse what was done to Candice? Something that doesn't include Arthur's father taking on the Countess in a death match?"
"Still not sure why we can't get Lucifer to deal with her" Jones grumbled. "Seems like she really should be his problem."
"Before we go down the path of summoning Satan, maybe we should see what we can accomplish ourselves." Flynn laid a scroll to one side, peering up at the Book of Shadows in its case. "You know – the one place we haven't looked for an answer it the Book itself."
"Possibly because the Book's power makes it an unlikely ally in eliminating its owner" Stone replied sarcastically.
Master Christoph, on the other hand, stared back at the Librarian in approval. "He has a point, though. This lot had to have found the spell to switch out the soul of the Countess with the soul of her descendant somewhere. We don't need a reverse spell – we just need what was used to complete this transfer."
"So we cast the same spell again only this time we change out Candice for the Countess" Baird replied, calculating the odds of success in her head. "But we have a few variables to contend with that they didn't."
"Like we don't know exactly how the spell was cast" Flynn said thoughtfully. "What did they use – a potion or an incantation? Was Candice awake or unconscious when this was done? And what kind of barriers do we have to throw up to keep anything else from escaping from the book if we do cast that spell?" The Librarian looked quizzically over at the possessed woman. "Don't suppose you want to help us out with this?"
"I'll die first" she hissed. "And this wretched girl's body will die as well."
"We don't need to question her" Arthur said softy. "Her servants actually cast the spell – they can tell us what we want to know."
"Cindy's out for the count" Stone said coldly. "And I'm betting Dorothy over there won't be willing to help us either."
The older woman, tied tightly to her chair, glared in agreement with Stone's statement. "Never! I am loyal to my mistress."
"You might be" Baird said coolly. "But I'm betting your boyfriend over there won't be."
"He's dead" Dorothy and Candice both scoffed. "There is nothing you can do to make him speak."
Rowan and Christoph looked at each other and smiled. "I wouldn't be so sure of that."