Game was 11/2/19; Anne-Marie was absent

Anita remains at the botanica and intends to stay late to make up for opening late. She is busy from the get-go as people shop for the Day of the Dead, but she also listens for any gossip about Silas Black. Unfortunately, she comes up with nothing new. Leta finds Abby doing actual homework, and she tries to take an interest. Abby explains she’s taking an English class on local stories and urban legends, and jokes, “We’ve gotten to the 18th century, so no William yet.” Leta retorts, “Just wait, the Troys have been creeping around this valley for a while.” Abby snorts and shows Leta collections from local authors and the like. Abby then curses, “Motherfucker, I need to go the library.” Leta is game, but Veltis remains behind to continue cataloging his collection. Abby drives Leta to the Forbes Library for their learning adventure.

Once there, Abby teaches Leta how to research, and finds references to a collection of works on local supernatural phenomena collated by one Sally Troy in the late 1800s! They drive to the Jones Library in Amherst, and then walk over to the archives at Amherst College; luckily, Abby’s UMass Amherst ID gets them inside. Eventually, Abby finds what she was looking for: a reference to Sally Troy’s collection, which she sold to one ‘SM’ in 1919. Abby has been hunting this same collection for weeks.

Back at the Troy household, Josh tries to summon the Academitrix of Classical Studies at Smith College for Women. The house suddenly smells of old books as the totem spirit manifests directly behind William, and Josh asks, “What sort of supernatural types have flashing blue eyes?” The spirit whispers in reply, “There’s not enough data points. I need more information.” She adds, “From what I’ve witnessed on campus, mages’ eyes sometimes flash different colors when they cast spells. However, it could be things that fell from heaven, things that crawl out of humanity’s primordial nightmares, or things that were made from dead parts. If it was infernal, Leta could tell.”

The spirit continues, “Oh, tell Abby that ‘SM’ refers to ‘Salvador Montoya.’” Josh nods and takes a note before asking, “Do you know Silas Black?” The spirit shakes her head, as her frame of reference is the campus, with a dim knowledge of greater Northampton and nothing beyond. Josh says, “At least four gang members went after him and they died. Very killy.” The spirit replies, “That doesn’t help; you humans are fragile.” She then turns to William and says, “You. These are for you.”¹⁾ She opens her hand and two dozen pairs of eyeballs drop onto the kitchen table!

Josh retches at the sight, and even William is startled. The spirit says, “That pair is your eyes. Well, a dream-you, anyway. I found these here, at Sam’s, at Jake’s, and even your cars.” Josh turns away and the spirit murmurs to William, “Should I tell him which set is his?” William replies, “No.” Josh tries to come to terms with his great-aunt’s casual use of other people’s eyeballs, and writes a note demanding they speak. He lifts the note to the eyeballs in the hopes she’ll see it. His stomach then curdles, and he announces, “Be right back.” William jokes, “Take these with you,” and Josh replies firmly, “No.” He then runs to the half-bath to be violently sick.

The spirit tells William, “They’re… I think you call it ensorcelled. You must bathe these under the light of a full moon to disconnect them from her magic. Otherwise, they’ll simply return to their original locations.”²⁾ William confirms the totem means the various spyholes and not the owner’s eye sockets. Josh returns and asks the totem why his great-aunt would do this. The spirit retorts, “Because she’s bat-shit nuts, yo.³⁾ She prefers pairs.” Josh freaks out and writes another note demanding a meeting that he again holds up to the eyes. He then runs to be sick again, and the spirit says quietly, “This pair I had to pull from your granddaughter’s coffin. You should know, but the boy should not.”

William agrees, and asks, “Can we see what they’ve witnessed?” The spirit replies, “Yes, but the method would drive anyone mad. Too many perspectives at once.” William nods and asks what they should do with the eyeballs until the next full moon, the spirit points to the freezer. William sighs but grabs Tupperware and collects the eyeballs. The totem vanishes as Josh returns, and William sticks the eyeballs into the freezer. Josh sends Abby a text, and William decides they should go to the NPD to see Vandernoot and MacLeod. Josh agrees, and they get into his Ford Explorer and head there.

Vandernoot is in her office dealing with various administrative details, and banished MacLeod into the basement to review old case files for hints of the supernatural. There comes a knock on her door, and she growls, “What?” A sergeant steps in and informs her, “William and Josh Troy are here and asking to see you and officer… special agent… special MacLeod.” Vandernoot snorts with amusement but agrees to see the Troys. The sergeant adds, “We’ve gotten Officer McManus’s prognosis. The doctors don’t think he’ll regain full use of his arm, but he’s awake, alert, and seems determined to return to duty.” Vandernoot sighs and the sergeant concludes, “And finally, everything we have on Officer Travis LaCombe. I’ve checked some unofficial channels as well as the official ones, and nothing stands out as to why he’d shoot a fellow cop, much less steal two corpses. He’s also awake, but not answering questions.”

Vandernoot mutters, “Lawyered up?” The sergeant nods, so Vandernoot tells him, “Tell the Troys to come up, and then get MacLeod and send him up too.” The sergeant nods and exits. The Troys arrive a few minutes later and Vandernoot waves them to chairs as they wait for MacLeod.

MacLeod is working in the archives and the clerk on duty is taking the opportunity to file. MacLeod sits at the call desk and tries not to think about how this is the same spot where Danny Moulton committed suicide back in 1984. The sergeant comes down and passes along Vandernoot’s request, so MacLeod quickly bundles everything up and leaves a note promising he’ll refile these when he’s done with them.

MacLeod walks into Vandernoot’s office and stands behind her as she glares at Josh. She growls, “William keeping this from me, I can accept that. But you kept this from me… that is a lot.” MacLeod adds, “On the one hand, well done, On the other, creepy.” Josh looks pained and tries to apologize, but MacLeod waves it away and demands, “What new fuckery?” Josh blurts out, “Eyeballs!” Vandernoot and MacLeod stare at him in shock before turning to William; William clarifies, “We didn’t bring them with us.”

Josh states, “We have several pairs of eyeballs at home. This weirdness is not limited to our family.” William adds, “Not a Troy,” and Vandernoot retorts, “So there was an eyeball hunt this morning? Did someone walk into your house with them?” William replies, “Basically, yes.” MacLeod opens Vandernoot’s desk drawer and openly takes a swig form her flask. Josh clarifies, “Something friendly passed two dozen pairs of eyeballs along to us; they were used to spy on us.” Vandernoot sputters, but MacLeod frowns as something clicks. He grabs Vandernoot’s computer and uses his state police access to bring up several files, all from about three months ago. Each file is an incident report about desecrated corpses or homeless people found missing their eyes in Ware, Palmer West Warren, and Barre. The state police labeled it a gang initiation.

MacLeod shows them the files and Josh asks, “Wait, how were the eyes removed?” MacLeod shrugs and replies, “A melon baller, I’d guess.” Josh looks like he’s going to be sick again, but MacLeod peruses the files and says, “Looks like an officer in Ware pulled all this together and thinks we have a budding serial killer or a black market organ harvest. The eyes all had two things in common: the victims were easily accessible, and they had no vision problems. There are eighteen reports, so if you have two dozen there’s six victims unaccounted for.” William remains impassive, as Josh looks sick again.

MacLeod demands, “You have a reason for bringing this to our table?” William allows, “We did want to see how you were doing after yesterday.” In response, MacLeod pulls open the desk drawer and takes another swig of whiskey. Josh adds, “That’s a short-term solution,” as Vandernoot silently wonders if this is what led to Polly Wagner’s alcoholism. William says, “If you come across any new cases of missing eyes, maybe we can help. Do you want them after we disconnect them?” MacLeod replies, “Call me after all the hocus-pocus. You all are a never-ending crap cannon.” Josh nods forlornly, but then asks, “Do you know anything about Silas Black?”

Vandernoot and MacLeod share a look and MacLeod replies, “Why are you asking?” William retorts, “We’re asking, draw your own conclusions.” Josh says, “He’s something, and we don’t know what.” MacLeod shrugs and says, “We’ll keep an ear to the ground, but so far the guy’s Springfield only.” Josh asks about the Night Watch gang, so MacLeod accesses the SPD’s computer system, thanks to his state police credentials. Josh implies Black killed some of them, but MacLeod finds no missing person’s reports. The Troys then take their leave and return home. Josh heads down to Springfield for his shift at the Montoya Botanica.

The afternoon passes, and Abby finally notices Josh’s text around 4:15. She grumbles as she picks it up, and Leta jokes, “Josh sent a dick pic?” Abby glares at her, but then actually reads Josh’s text and stares. She swears suddenly and calls Anita. Anita picks up and Abby ask, “Do you know of a Salvador Montoya, from about ninety years ago?” Anita replies, “Yeah, that’s my great-great-grandfather. Why?” Abby replies, “He bought a collection from one Sally Troy back in 1919. I’m trying to track it down.” Anita goes silent and Abby grouses, “You have it in your basement, don’t you?” Anita replies, “Yes,” and Abby swears. Leta calls into the phone, “We’re on our way down!” Anita replies, “I hope you can read German.”

Abby and Leta walk into the botanica around 5 o’clock, and Josh looks up and blithely exclaims, “Wait, he was a related Montoya?”⁴⁾ Abby glares at him, and Anita waves them to the basement. As they descend, Josh ask Anita, “Are the books allowed to leave the store?” Anita shakes her head, so Josh asks, “Do you have blankets and a pillow down there?” Anita groans as she realizes Josh’s point, Abby is unlikely to leave the books alone.

Downstairs, Abby and Leta find a large Rubbermaid container with twelve old, moldering books inside. Abby gingerly retrieves them and opens a few. Leta also carefully examines the books and finds half of them in old German. Abby finds a book that appears to be English phonetic translations of Nipmuc and Pocomtuc legends. Leta spots one book clearly bound in human skin and grabs that one. She opens it effortlessly, and finds it written in an older demonic tongue. She flips through it, unable to decipher some of it, but finds twelve infernal genealogies in Massachusetts, some starting in the 1400s and one as recent as 1810. All the genealogies cut off at 1900, presumably when the book changed hands. The genealogies contain births, deaths, some locations, and even a few notes of the manner of death. Leta then makes a grisly discovery, a list of women seduced, and another list of holy men corrupted, both written in seemingly still fresh blood!

Upstairs, the wards around the botanica suddenly shiver and contract slightly as a child walks in. The child is androgynous, seems about ten years old, and wears a sharp three-piece suit perfectly tailored to its tiny frame. It also smells of rotten eggs and cinnamon, and Anita gags as she asks, “Who are you?” The being refers to itself as Bob, but accepts Robert when Anita insists. Robert says primly, “You have something of mine, and I want it back. A book bound in human skin.” Anita roars, “Leta! Get up here!” She then banishes her customers for ten minutes. Meanwhile Leta texts Veltis about the skin-book, and he texts back, “Don’t open it.” Leta replies, “I’m already reading it.” She then hears Anita’s call and texts, “Although I think I figured out why I shouldn’t be reading this.” She leaves Abby to the other books and calls Veltis to keep an open line as she ascends the stairs.

As soon as she exits the staircase, she immediately realizes Robert is a demon. Robert sniffs and says, “Ah, Veltis the Defiler.” He immediately asks for his book back, but Leta resists out of pure spite and demands to know what is so important. Robert says calmly, “There is an ongoing competition and I need that book to tabulate my current score. Women seduced, holy men corrupted, best places for orgies or baby-eating, and so on.” Josh is horrified at the thought of eating babies and Leta derides the book as demonic Yelp, but Robert remains insistent. Anita confronts it on its smell, and Robert admits, “First human suit in a long while.” Josh shrieks, “You stole a human?” Robert sighs and replies, “No, this suit was fashioned.”

Leta asks Veltis if she should hand over the book, Veltis grumbles, “Since it can incinerate everyone in the store, yeah. Give it to him.” Leta reluctantly returns the book to Robert but demands to know how it lost it in the first place. Robert admits, “The Catholic Church stole it around 1900. How did you get it?” Anita reveals her great-great-grandfather purchased a lot in 1919 and it’s been sitting here ever since. Robert retorts, “Your family might have a hoarding problem,” and Anita doesn’t dispute that. Robert then muses, “Ah, 1919. The day the angels died.” Leta demands an explanation, but is surprised when Robert replies, “1919. It was just after the First World War, and the influenza epidemic was raging. One day, every angel on Earth suddenly died, apparently of the flu. They didn’t die permanently, of course, but were banished back and re-forged or rebuilt or whatever. A lot of sensitive people died that day too.”

Leta insists on keeping the genealogies, so Anita asks Robert if he has a card so she can call him if they want access to the book. It takes Robert a few times to access a business card that simply reads, “Bob. Critic.” followed by a phone number. He then opens the book and rips out the genealogies before handing them to Leta. Leta is startled but accepts as Robert says, “Pip-pip!” before he turns and walks out the door. Leta palms the pages before Anita realizes and heads back downstairs, intending to send the pages to Milan for study. Anita sighs and reopens her store.

Abby doesn’t look up from her book but asks Leta, “So, did you make a deal with Satan?” Leta retorts, “Not the Satan, no.” The next few hours pass as Anita does brisk business while Abby studies and Leta examines the genealogies. Then Anita closes the store at 8 o’clock, and Abby reluctantly puts the book down. Anita joins her and Leta downstairs and asks what they’ve found; Abby says, “It’s pretty garbled, but as far as I can tell, an ancient ‘shade’ or krewe banded together and fought some primordial horror back in colonial times, and The Witch was one of the geists. I think this is where one of Josh’s ancestors died. It seems this Sally Troy gathered these tales but didn’t add to them.” The women part ways, and Abby and Leta drive home. Anita finishes closeup and heads home as well.

Anita wakes up late and swings by the botanica to check on things. She finds nothing disturbed, but sees tiny footprints scorched into the asphalt entering and exiting the store. Anita curses, “Goddamnit, Robert,” and then the demon says behind her, “That already happened.” Anita spins and eyes the small demon, who still reeks of spoiled eggs and cinnamon. She demands, “How?” and Robert replies, “Uh, demon. Damned. Done.” Anita sighs and says, “I meant how are you here?” Robert shrugs and says, “Spent the night wandering Springfield. Different feng shui from last time I was up here. Also getting used to this suit.” Anita grumbles but Robert offers, “Want to shag?” Thrown for a loop, Anita snaps, “No!” Robert then asks, “Want to eat a baby?” Horrified, Anita howls, “No!” Robert shrugs and replies, “Very well. Pip-pip!” It walks away and Anita yells, “No one says ‘pip-pip’ anymore!”

Leta does a few hours at Dunkin Donuts and then pesters Veltis about Robert. Veltis refuses to divulge anything further than, “We met in the 1200s. I owe it a favor.” William and Josh visit Mick at Cooley-Dickinson and they talk. Mick reveals the prognosis, but William replies, “You should get a second opinion from Dr. Ranjip.” Mick smirks and agrees. After they depart, Josh calls Veltis and asks if it would be possible to make a vegetarian option, as Robert's comments about eating babies has put him off meat for the moment. Veltis retorts, “You’re upset about baby-eating? You ate baby-blood cookies last year!” Josh nearly throws up and insists Purity and Grace didn’t actually kill the baby they got the blood from, but Veltis derides that. However, he reluctantly agrees to make something vegetarian.

The cell – save for Mick – gathers at the Troy household at 6 o’clock. Veltis provides spiced pork loin, potatoes au gratin, and a vegetable medley drizzled in herb butter. He also produces a small vegetarian lasagna, which Josh appreciates. Anita grabs a piece and Veltis reluctantly admits, “I’m not sure how that will actually taste. I haven’t made anything vegetarian since… the 800s? I think?” Dr. Ranjip also samples a bit of the lasagna and declares, “Above average, but the ratio of spices is off.” Veltis takes notes. As they eat, the hunters reveal everything they each experienced since Friday, bringing everyone else up to speed about Sally Troy, Robert, Ray Curran, the shootout with Mick, and the eyeballs the totem brought them. At 7:30 Sarah and Flo arrive for dessert and inform the others about Dr. Brett Chapman’s demise and grape-flavored remains. The Troys stare at the two women in shock.

Suddenly, a doorbell rings – from the basement door. Josh instinctively gets up and heads to the front door before William calls out, “Josh, wrong door.” Josh backtracks and opens the cellar door as Anita, Flo, and Sarah eye the cellar door in confusion while the others tense. Josh opens the door to reveal a meatling Anita! Anita is horrified and snaps, “Rude!” but Leta calls out, “Oh, a meatling! Hello!” The meatling remains silent but reaches between her breasts and then rips open her ground beef ‘flesh!’ She pulls out a letter in a Ziploc bag and hands it to Josh. Josh shakes off the meat-juice and sees the letter folded neatly, and addressed to Dr. Amar Ranjip, so he turns and hands it to the good doctor.

Everyone turns to Dr. Ranjip, and Sarah and Flo recoil when the see the doctor’s fairie mien. Dr. Ranjip extracts the letter from the Ziploc bag and breaks the wax seal. He reads the letter silently, and then tenses. Everyone feels a sudden wave of pure terror engulf them! William, Josh, and Polly shudder but push the feeling down, knowing Dr. Ranjip is the accidental source. Leta and Veltis feel the terror wash over them without effect, but Anita, Flo, and Sarah all lock up in sheer horror, and the meatling-Anita explodes! Dr. Ranjip crumples the letter and says tersely, “They reopened Shelburne Falls three weeks ago.” Leta touches his shoulder lightly and jerks her head to Anita, Sarah, and Flo. Dr. Ranjip grunts but leaves the room, and the feeling of pure terror fades.

Anita gasps as her body unlocks and Polly gets up and closes the cellar door. Any of the meat on this side of the door remains, but when Polly carefully reopens the door and sees the cellar stairs, the bulk of the dead meatling is gone. Josh starts cleaning the meat while Anita rasps, “I need a drink.” Sarah nods in agreement, so Veltis pulls out a bottle from his dimensional pocket and hands it to Anita. Anita eyes a bottle of sherry and swiftly pours a glass for herself before handing Sarah the bottle. Dr. Ranjip returns a few moments later and quietly says, “All forty senators voted to override the federal blockade and reopen Shelburne Falls three weeks ago, claiming it was to recoup lost tourism dollars. Nothing has been made public yet, but they’ve diverted money for reconstruction, people have already relocated, and rebuilding is underway.”

Leta decries the unanimous vote as fixed, and Dr. Ranjip nods in agreement.⁵⁾ He says, “This is big.” He turns to Anita and says, “Your missing ghosts? You don’t understand the ultimate narcissism that is a True Fae. Sethic the Hunter absolutely did this to you to punish you for escaping his hunt. I bet you anything Sethic herded them up to Shelburne Falls for sport. We need to call in every favor we can. The living and the dead are both in grave danger.” The hunters are silent as they grapple with the implications, although Flo and Sarah are lost. Veltis tells Dr. Ranjip, “We’re here when you need us.”⁶⁾ Leta and the others nod, some more reluctantly than others.

Dinner breaks up shortly after that, and the hunters head home. Sarah and Flo drive away, and Sarah immediately calls Pritchard and exclaims, “We do not fuck with Ranjip, ever, ever, ever!” Anita drives back to the botanica and arrives at 8:30. She enters the shop and calls Peter. She tells him everything from dinner, focusing on Sethic and the ghosts. Peter is worried about her but promises to inform Isobel and David. She then calls Robert and asks him to come to the store to discuss a proposal that could help him on Earth. The demon is intrigued, and tells her, “I will be there in thirty minutes.” She then calls Silas Black, and one of his Mafioso answers. She asks to speak to Black, and the Mafioso politely asks her to hold for a few minutes. Black picks up a few minutes later, and Anita asks him to come to the botanica in twenty minutes. Black is suspicious but agrees.

Silas Black’s limousine pulls up at 9:15 and he gets out with two guards. They enter the store and Anita greets him and says, “We have one more person coming.” Black frowns and asks in a low tone, “Law enforcement?” Anita replies, “Definitely not,” and he relaxes a fraction. They wait in awkward silence until 9:25, when one of the Mafioso outside pokes his head in and says, “Boss, there’s a ten-year-old kid here.” Black looks absolutely confused, but Anita says, “That’s him. Let him in, please.” Silas Black motions, and the Mafioso steps aside. Robert enters with a cheery, “Pip-pip!” Silas and Robert eye each other for a moment before Silas dismisses his two guards.

Anita bluntly says, “Both of you are not human, and I have a proposition for you.” She outlines the crisis with Shelburne Falls and Sethic the Hunter. Silas Black looks at her blankly but Robert sniffs, “A True Fae? We most certainly do not fuck with those. What could you possibly offer me to risk so much?” Anita points out the prestige and street cred helping to take down a True Fae would bring, but Robert flatly replies, “No, thank you. I wish you the best of luck in this endeavor, but I shall not be participating.” Anita nods in understanding, and Robert exits the store and walks away. Silas Black eyes Anita, who reveals Robert’s demonic nature. She also reveals she knows of his inhuman strength after speaking to the ghosts of the Night Watch he killed. Silas replies, “What are you proposing?”

Anita admits she’s fishing for assistance, so Black replies, “A True Fae can be killed, but only in very specific circumstances, individual to each creature. It sounds like this Sethic’s bane was partially enacted, thus sending him to the Underworld. To kill it permanently, you need to complete the bane.” Anita promptly declares, “For that, I’ll pay you money weekly.” Silas Black frowns and replies, “For information I freely gave you?” Anita states, “I’ll pay for information, not protection. This so good for six months, deal?” Silas Black considers it before stating, “One caveat. If I find out the full bane, you pay for eighteen months.” Anita agrees and asks for an account number; she plans to start working Sundays. Silas snorts, and says, “Account? No, this is cash, every Monday morning before you open. We’ll start next week.” Anita reluctantly agrees and they settle on the price.

Silas Black then shrewdly asks, “And Carlos?” Anita admits she has no emotional connection to her brother, hence the deal for the information. This also protects the botanica’s reputation. Silas asks bluntly, “Then how do you want your brother to die?” Anita shrugs and replies, “With some dignity, please.” Silas frowns and agrees, but then admits, “Wait. He has bruising across his back when I slammed him into a wall to knock him out, and we don’t have a convenient cliff to throw him off.” Anita retorts, “Mount Tom? Hell, stage a break in at the Delaney House, they were rude to us once and he never forgave them.” Silas agrees, and he leaves the botanica. Anita waits until he departs in the limousine before locking up and heading home.