Darker Days (The Darker Agency #1)(60)

Turning back to the circle, he asked, “Ready?”

“Don’t you, like, need something that belonged to him?” Not that I had anything belonging to Simon Darker, but still.

Paulson rolled his eyes. “Another cliché. I just need his full name…”

“Simon Darker.”

He nodded and waved me over. “Just need a drop of your blood. Since this Simon guy is a relative of yours…” Paulson reached into his pocket and pulled out a small Looney Tunes lighter. Positioning the blade over the top, he flicked the flint to sterilize the steel.

I held out my hand and tried not to cringe as he nicked the tip of my finger with his blade. There was a slight pressure as he squeezed the tip. Several drops of crimson trickled from my finger and fell over the bones he’d placed in the center.

He then uncorked a small glass vial and poured its thick red liquid out into a smaller circle—just inside the chalk line and around the bones. A closer look and I realized it was blood. After the circle was finished, he set the vial aside and sprinkled a fine black powder over the bones. It fizzled and sparked as it fluttered to the floor.

I’d never seen this done so I really had no clue. I would never understand necromancy. And considering the ingredients—I didn’t want to.

“IO evocare thee, alto padrone del Indistinto Regno. Apparire prima me.”

I didn’t understand a word he said. “That’s not Latin.”

He snorted. “Of course not. It’s Italian. Latin is more popular in demonic summoning.”

“Oh,” was all I could say. I’d never heard that before, but again, I knew nothing about this kind of stuff. He could’ve told me we had to dress in panda costumes and chant Michael Jackson songs around a fire at midnight, and I’d have to take him on his word.

“Remember, he won’t be able to stay long. You’ll have to ask your questions fast before he dissipates.” Paulson dropped to his knees. Eyes closed, he repeated himself. “IO evocare thee, alto padrone del Indistinto Regno. Apparire prima me.”

For a moment, nothing happened. The room fell silent and Lukas stiffened beside me. Paulson’s shoulders tensed as he braced both hands flat against the floor.

The air chilled. Though there were no windows or doors open that I could see, a strong gust of wind whipped through the room and sent my hair fluttering into my face. A second later, Paulson’s deep voice broke the silence. “Venire in avanti cos? noi Maggio crogiolarsi al sole in tuo gloria.”

A blue spark flared to life in the center of the circle, then a crack like lightning filled the air. The bones shimmied and twitched, and the ground beneath our feet trembled. Across the room, a vase wobbled off the edge of the mantle and crashed to the floor, sending bits of glass scattering in all directions. Above our heads, the chandelier rattled and quaked. One bead came loose and fell to the floor. It bounced several times before clanking into the corner, falling still.

The smoldering remains of the bone and dust grew into a deep blue mist that stretched from floor to ceiling. As I watched, the smoke swirled and began to take shape. The shape of a man.

“Simon?” I choked. The man in the smoke had a small button nose like Mom, and the same deep, crystal-blue eyes. He was broad shouldered with a thick graying moustache and chubby cheeks and reminded me of a picture I’d seen of my grandfather. I stepped forward, but Paulson grabbed my arm.

“You can’t touch him, Jessie girl. Just trust me on this one. You don’t even wanna try.”

Of course, it was in my nature to ask why, but I let it go. Turning to the shadowy figure, I smiled. Now that he was there, I didn’t know what to say. Introduce myself? Politely inquire how the afterlife was treating him? Launch right into it?

He watched me, silent for a moment, before smiling. “It’s nice to finally meet you, Jessie.”

“You know who I am?”

He rolled his eyes. Yep. Exactly like Mom. “Do you really believe I’d shuffle off the mortal coil and leave my line without protection?”

He turned to Lukas, and his smile widened. “Lukas. My old friend. I assume my summons to this place has to do with you. The box has been opened again?”

Lukas smiled. “It’s good to see you, Simon.”

Paulson cleared his throat, then looked away.

I could take a hint. “Simon, we don’t have a lot of time. I need to ask you about the box—and the Wells family.”

“The box? It’s in the church of course.”

I shook my head. “It’s not. It’s been stolen. We already looked.”

Simon chuckled. “Silly child. Of course it wouldn’t be easy to see. I cursed it. When the Sins are released, the box automatically returns to its resting place.”

“You cursed it?” Lukas asked. “Were you a witch?”

Simon laughed. “Of course not. But you don’t do what I did without picking up a trick or two along the way.” Simon’s ghost winked. “I had some pretty powerful friends.”

“Isn’t that risky? The box going back to the church, I mean. What if the Sins get ahold of it?” As much as I wanted to give them time to chat, we didn’t have that luxury.

“The only way the Sins can touch the box is if it’s handed to them by a human. They can’t take it from the sanctuary themselves. It’s part of the curse.”