Game was 4/18/20; we missed a week due to homework.

Chief Vandernoot and Richard MacLeod pull into the Northampton airport, sirens blaring, and immediately spot a decapitated corpse right in front of the gate. They get out of Isabelle quickly and join Officers Gordon, Davidson, Graham, and Curry. Vandernoot is relieved to see them all unharmed but then Gordon begins a clipped, detailed briefing in a soldier's cadence – with timestamps. Vandernoot grits her teeth; she appreciates every detail but realizes the heavy gunfire triggered Officer Gordon's PTSD and he's disassociating. She does find a note of dark amusement; even in Gordon's dissociative state, Josh Troy is still 'the boy.'

Once Gordon finishes his briefing, he asks, "Orders, captain?" Vandernoot thinks carefully and replies, "We sweep the property first, just the six of us. Keep things tight until we know what we're dealing with." She turns to lead them to the homestead, but Gordon immediately steps in front of her and starts performing a soldier's sweep of the area. MacLeod quickly glances to Vandernoot; she gives an almost imperceptible nod and sweeps in behind Gordon. They can all smell cordite, blood, and excrement so they steel themselves as best they can.

Gordon follows an almost invisible trail along the fence separating the property from the airfield, and they come to the ripped-open section of the fence. They all pause at that, but then Gordon grimly presses on. They start sweeping the property but are stunned by the sheer scale of this massacre; bodies are everywhere. Gordon rattles off a rough order of battle, but falters when he sees the minigun and the wounds caused by massed AK-47 fire. He starts to shake, and Davidson immediately steps up to keep his partner calm. MacLeod announces, "Time for a break. Everyone, take five." Vandernoot nod in agreement.

MacLeod drifts over near Davidson and Gordon, just in case he's needed, but doesn't interrupt. Vandernoot eyes the others; Graham is staring in mute horror at two corpses, one that's been crushed to death without any sign of a weapon, and the second with his head smashed almost as flat as a pancake. She tells him softly, "Sometimes, you can't ask how it happened, you just have to carry on." Graham nods miserably. Vandernoot notes that Curry's eyes are empty, but she is cataloging the dead even now.

The officers gather their courage and continue the sweep into the farmhouse, where they find an abattoir. Pieces of bodies are scattered everywhere and blood drips from the walls, the ceilings, and pools on the floor. They also find massive pawprints in the blood. They continue their grisly cataloging and estimate the number of corpses present by the heads they find. They then sweep the rest of the property and find the three catatonic survivors, their faces still locked in expressions of absolute horror. The three survivors in the outbuilding are moving at least but aren't fully lucid yet. Vandernoot notes they seem to be academics versus the soldiers, and the empty shelves and odd walls that do not match the shoddy exterior.

It's a little after midnight when they regroup and Vandernoot growls, "I am going to kill him, and then eat him." Assuming she means William Troy, MacLeod nods and starts theorizing mundane explanations. The officers listen as he and Vandernoot swap theories, including domestic terrorists, crazed preppers, and a drug and/or exotic animal smuggling ring. Realizing there's no way they can keep this contained, Vandernoot reluctantly concludes they need to call the state police. MacLeod offers to do that, as he has extensive connections with the MSP. Vandernoot agrees, so MacLeod calls it in. He swiftly learns the barracks went to full alert when Vandernoot called in earlier, and they've just been waiting for her word.

As the state police mobilize Vandernoot quietly tells Davidson, "Get Gordon out of here. He can't help right now. Go to the station or wherever." Davidson nods and manages to lead his partner away; Gordon has lapsed into a fugue state. Several minutes pass as the officers try to recollect their wits, and then they hear the sirens. Three MSP cruisers roar into view and slew to a halt outside the airport or on Cross Path Road. MSP officers move in to help, but even they are taken aback by the sight of so many bodies.

Vandernoot meets Lieutenant Arroyo, a tall, well-built Hispanic man with a thin mustache. Arroyo makes it clear that this is still Vandernoot's scene and she is in charge. He looks in the farmhouse and nearly gags at the massacre inside. He and Vandernoot go for a 'walk and talk' and Vandernoot tells him everything they've found. Ironically, he rattles off the potential explanations himself: drug smuggling, preppers, or terrorism. The last will bring in the feds, but Arroyo confesses, "My gut says this isn't a terror thing, foreign or domestic." Vandernoot agrees but concedes, "This might be the Berkshire free State." Arroyo leans in and asks softly, "Is this related to that thing on New South Street?" Vandernoot admits, "Possibly. Still working on it."

Help soon starts flowing in as more MSP officers arrive from the barracks in Shelburne Falls, Westfield, and Springfield.¹⁾ Also, other local police from Holyoke, Easthampton, and Hadley arrive to assist, knowing that the NPD hasn't fully recovered from the events in April. At one point, Davidson calls Vandernoot and tells her, "I'm with Gordon at home, but I may need to bring him to CDH." Vandernoot replies firmly, "Do whatever you need." MacLeod keeps an eye on Graham and Curry; Graham seems better once he sees the MSP also recoil, but Curry remains robotic. The sun is up when Lieutenant Arroyo bluntly tells Vandernoot and the others, "Go the fuck home."

Meanwhile, William decides the dagger is his top priority. He waits for Josh to head upstairs and then heads to his car and drives off. He zips down Route 66 to downtown Northampton and parks on New South Street. He crosses the street as Josh realizes William's absence and texts the group, "Anyone have eyes on grandpa and his mysterious companion?" William knocks on the door and Abby lets him inside. Leta looks up and texts back, "Is his mysterious companion a spoon?" William looks down at the spoon he's clutching and replies, "I'm here for soup." Veltis grunts, "I could go for soup. But first things first." He hops on the kitchen table and tells William, "Put down your spoon and summon the dagger."

William just switches the spoon to his left hand and tries to summon the dagger, but it doesn't work. Veltis asks suddenly, "Where is the boy?" William snaps his head up, his concentration broken – and then the dagger is in his hand. William eyes it and realizes Veltis did that deliberately. He places it on the table as Veltis requests and transfers the spoon back to his right hand. Veltis taps the dagger with his paw, and William watches as the purple ripples turn an angry red. Veltis hisses, "Oh, shit." He snaps his head back to William and growls, "Question for you, youngster. How familiar are you with papal history?"

William concedes, "I know some names and dates, but that's about it." Veltis asks, "Do you know anything about Honorius III?" William frowns as he racks his brain, dredging up old lessons. He finally says, "Vaguely, 11th or 12th century?" Veltis nods and states, "Not bad. 1216 to 1227, actually. Most papal historians overlook him as a boring placeholder, but in truth he was a pious man who just had an odd hobby: demon summoning." The others stare at him incredulously, but Veltis insists, "Oh, it's true. He was so pious the 'normal' temptations didn't do anything, so he thought he'd challenge himself by summoning demons and pitting himself against them. He actually summoned me a few times, and once had me clean his hat."

Leta bursts out laughing, and Veltis says flatly, "Moving on." Leta shakes her head and gasps, "When was this? What form did you take?" Veltis blasts air through his teeth and growls, "Before I became part of the Lucifuge, back when I was spreading my seed across Europe. I am an incubus, remember? I sired dozens of bloodlines over the centuries. Thankfully, I have confirmed the Troys are not one of them." William mutters, "Thank God," while Leta shudders as she's never considered that possibility.

Veltis returns to Honorius III and explains, "Sometime around 1220… I think? Yeah, 1220. He found two ancient daggers and fashioned them as demon-killers. He called them Purity and Grace." William freezes suddenly as Abby and Leta eye him carefully. Veltis smirks and nods before continuing, "Anyone the daggers slew was trapped in the metal, mortal or otherwise. When Honorius III died in 1227, the daggers went to his successor, Gregory IX. He didn't know what they could do and tossed them into a box. Our side immediately started planning our revenge."

Veltis continues, "We spent centuries infiltrating and corrupting the Catholic Church as much as possible to get those blades and free those trapped within. It finally culminated on October 30th, 1501 with Alexander VI and the Banquet of Chestnuts." Leta demands, "What was that?" Veltis replies, "Fifty prostitutes crawling on the floor trying to collect chestnuts. And fucking. Lots of fucking. The early church was wild. Anyway, this was the Borgia Pope, so… yeah. I miss the old Papal States." William recalls the legends of the most controversial pope in history and concedes the point.

Veltis explains, "During the banquet, we got the blades and slipped away, but it took one hundred and thirty years to corrupt them enough to release the demons inside. Unfortunately, we found that those gathered essences had fused into two new beings: Impurity and Disgrace." Leta muses, "So that's why they seem so young." Veltis nods and says, "The blades were stolen sometime around 1700, possibly by the Aegis Kai Doru. They appear to have been split up, because one of them was the SS knife, and I didn't realize that until now."

William groans and Veltis asks him quietly, "Did something offer you assistance when you stabbed Astrid and/or Greta Helmund?" William admits, "Yes." Veltis sighs and states, "That's why this one found you. It wants you to continue its purpose." William asks, "Which is?" Veltis retorts, "To stab. To keep stabbing and draining souls or essences until it is full, and then it meshes the souls within and creates a new being. And the cycle begins again. So, don't stab Josh!" Abby wonders why the pope fashioned such a weapon, but Veltis reminds her, "He acquired them in 1220, he didn't make them. No one knows where they came from, but they are very old."

William is determined not to give in to the dagger, and Abby jokes, "Good thing denial is William's strength!" Leta and Veltis titter, but William pretends he didn't hear that and asks, "So now what?" Veltis grumbles, "I need to reach out to Milan for help with this. And possibly that bastard Robert. You need to hold tight for now and keep yourself as calm as possible. The longer you have the dagger, the easier it will be to fly into a murderous rage. Eventually it will appear in your left hand if your right is occupied, but you have about a year before it starts materializing in your feet."

Leta derides that idea but Veltis replies, "Knife fights with people just using their feet is a thing." She retorts, "And just how many have you seen?" Veltis replies primly, "Eighty, at least." Leta adds, "In the past century?" Veltis thinks for a second before replying, "Twenty or so? Since 1900 at least." Leta groans but Veltis says bluntly, "Josh may need to move out. For his safety." William grunts but doesn't discount the idea at all. He asks, "How 'full' is it?" Veltis frowns and says, "About eighty souls, I think. Each blade could hold a hundred human souls, but other creatures are 'heavier.' Three or four demons would fill it right up. So theoretically if you stab twenty people, it might let you go."

William decides not to risk that strategy, and Abby and Leta ask Veltis about more weird papal history. Veltis replies, "Look up the Cadaver Synod. That's a good one, but I am not getting into a papal drinking contest again. Last time I did, I blacked out. But first, I want lunch." William offers, "I'll cut the bread." Veltis snorts but starts gathering the materials. He asks William, "Have you considered smoking weed?" William gives the demon familiar a look, Veltis snickers, "Oh, you smoked the good shit when you were younger, didn't you?" William smirks slightly before walking into the living room.

Veltis serves a lunch of grilled cheese sandwiches with tomato and bacon, and cups of homemade tomato soup. They all dig in as Josh arrives to carpool with Abby. He chirps, "Got everything figured out?" William says flatly, "No," and Josh deflates. He offers, "Anything I can do?" Veltis interjects flatly, "Yeah. Move out." Josh looks horrified as Leta and Abby eye Veltis incredulously, but the rat snaps, "Subtlety doesn't work on the boy." William silently agrees while Veltis turns to Josh and adds, "Keep your grandfather as calm as possible with both of his hands occupied. Crocheting, drumming, kirtan, whatever. Otherwise he may flip and come after you with that dagger." Leta jokes, "Here's Johnny!"

Josh and Abby depart for UMass. William leaves a few minutes later but takes his Skylark to his trusted mechanic Clyde at Metrix Auto on Chapel Street/Route 66, smack between the two decaying asylum campuses. Clyde waves him into a bay and stares at the roof as William gets out of the car. Clyde demands, "What fell on this?" William replies, "A big tree branch. Didn't realize the extent of the damage until I went out this morning." Clyde doesn't seem to buy it, but he grunts and says, "Body work alone will be all week, possibly into next week. I'm more concerned about your shocks, though."

William admits, "I didn't even think about that." However, he's fine leaving the Skylark with Clyde, so Clyde calls out to his son – Clyde Junior – and tells him to give William a ride home. The teenager nods and brings William out to his orange and black 2001 Camaro. William manages to wiggle in, and Clyde Junior takes off in a cloud of black smoke. However, he gets William home safely, and William thanks him. He heads inside and spends a quiet afternoon watching TV and doing crossword puzzles. Josh and Abby have a full afternoon at UMass while Leta and Veltis hang out. Dr. Ranjip leaves work early to start cooking, while Mick stays at the Smith College parking garage with Chelsea disconnecting the C4.

Polly's day is unpleasant, as she spends the morning and afternoon back at the farmhouse massacre. Vandernoot returns to the scene around 3 o'clock and asks her nastily, "Get a sound night's sleep, Polly?" Polly retorts flatly, "No." Vandernoot growls, "Good," and stalks off. Several minutes later she finds out Homeland Security has commandeered the Smith garage and reactivated McManus; she is definitely not happy. Lieutenant Arroyo gives her an update and admits, "More and more, this looks like an artifact smuggling operation."

At 8:30 PM the cell gathers at William's home; Dr. Ranjip arrived thirty minutes early to utilize the oven. Now, William's sturdy dining room table groans under the weight of homemade Indian food and Leta jokes, "I shall benefit from your saltiness." Dr Ranjip grumbles about the quality of local Indian food but gestures to the feast and marks out which dishes are vegetarian and the rough level of spiciness. The hunters relocate to the living room and dig in; Dr. Ranjip and Veltis enjoy the spiciest fare while Anita and Leta top out just under them. The others sample as they see fit, and then Dr. Ranjip jokes, "So, what did the boy do this time?" William snorts but the others chuckle. Josh just shrugs.

Polly sobers the room by updating everyone on the farmhouse massacre and the presence of the MSP and several local police departments. She shares with them the current theory is an armed conflict within a gang of artifact and exotic animal smugglers; apparently those two circles overlap more than one might think. Mick admits, "I'm beat. We pulled over twenty pounds of C4 from the garage, and we're not even close to done." Abby wonders, "Isn't that excessive?" Mick nods and says flatly, "The garage wasn't just wired up to explode. It was wired to shatter and become a gigantic fragmentation grenade. If it had detonated, an entire block would have been leveled by the pressure wave, followed by deadly shrapnel. Hundreds of people were at risk. Still are, potentially."

Leta declares, "Konstantin was a giant douche and while I'm glad he's dead, I kind of want to kill him myself again." Several of the others agree, and Dr. Ranjip says bluntly, "I performed heart surgery, and then home early to start cooking." Leta exclaims, "Do you do everything at that hospital?" Dr. Ranjip frowns as he seriously considers the question, but admits, "I do a lot, much more than your standard surgeon should do. It's part of my… gifts. However, I get paid twice as much as my peers and CDH still saves a lot of money." Leta points out, "They don't have to hire and pay an M.E." The doctor nods and adds, "And the best part is I have a ton of vacation time banked because I never used it before I met all of you. It's why I can slip out early to cook or take a few days and drive to Boston."

Anita then explains her visit from Samir and how he's an Ascending One – and apparently, they have no issue with the Troy cell. Leta grumps but Veltis provides some historical context: The original Ascending Ones were called the Order of the Phoenix back in ancient Egypt and they are ancient – so ancient that cells of Ascending Ones sometimes don't recognize each other. He adds, "The Lucifuge has had some issues with them over the centuries as they think we're corrupted by the djinn, but their sulha, their peacemakers and mediators, have an impeccable reputation."

Dr. Ranjip asks about the cell's 'special members,' but Veltis reiterates Anita's belief: most Ascending Ones only attack a 'monster' if it's actively hurting people. He muses, "Honestly, us having members that are supernatural in one sort or another is probably a bonus for them." Anita admits, "That is what Samir said. He wants to talk to all of us about the Aegis Kai Doru to strengthen his hand in an attempt at mediation. However, it was weird that he could see The Witch." Veltis explains, "The Ascending Ones use mystical potions – poisons, really – to grant themselves supernatural powers temporarily." Leta jokes, "So he took a potion so he could see The Witch butt-grab someone?" Anita grumbles but Veltis replies, "Basically, yes. They're not stupid."

The hunters discuss the offer and William states, "I'm uncertain that there's so many people involved, but avoiding a war is good." Leta agrees and Anita says, "I'm in favor, for if nothing else we could use all the help we can get when we tackle the Shelburne Falls problem." Josh asks, "Do you need to check in with Milan about this?" Veltis nods and says, "Yes, absolutely. But like I said, our history is mostly 'live-and-let-live' so I don't think they'll object. Personally, I do support it. And to be fair, the Aegis started this war last year." Anita, Mick, and Dr. Ranjip look confused until Veltis reminds them, "The Aegis attacked us last June after William and Josh inherited Helmund's artifacts. They didn't bother with negotiation, likely because we'd already allied with a shapeshifter. Us dealing peacefully with shapeshifters and sorcerers is a major issue to them, which will be a problem at any mediation."

Dr. Ranjip interrupts, "Oh, one thing before I forget. Swinging back briefly to the Shelburne Falls issue that Anita rightfully is concerned about, I have received official word that when we do make a move, the Bostonian changelings will be there to back us up. This is personal to them, especially to the ruling motley. Or cell, I guess, in your terms. Shana was one of their own. So, we will need to coordinate with them." Leta jokes, "Will they bring heavy weaponry?" Dr. Ranjip shudders and replies, "Hopefully in proportionate numbers. The attack helicopter was overkill last time." The hunters all stare at him as they realize he's not kidding, but Dr. Ranjip refuses to say more.²⁾

Dr. Ranjip swings the conversation back to Samir and the Ascending Ones, he says, "If Veltis vouches for his group and Anita for his character, I'm willing to give it a shot." Josh nods enthusiastically, so the doctor states, "That's me, William, Josh, Anita, Leta, and Veltis all in favor, leaving Ms. Henderson, Detective Wagner, and Officer McManus to give their opinions." Polly considers it and agrees, followed by Abby a moment later. However, Mick hesitates and admits, "I learned about them from Task Force: VALKYRIE. They're heavily involved in the illegal drug trade, aren't they?" Leta jokes, "Everyone's got a hustle," but Anita says, "Yes, Samir openly admitted it." Mick sighs and says, "That's an issue with me. Can I abstain?"

The others nod and Leta says, "That actually makes me feel better, knowing someone had concerns." Mick shrugs and says, "I think my cop instincts may be in overdrive on this one." Polly snorts and replies, "Good. One of us needs to be objective." The others agree, so the discussion turns to where and when they should meet Samir. Anita reveals she has his contact info and Josh enthuses they should call him – now.³⁾ William points out, "It's late. Let's call him tomorrow and see if he's willing to meet then." Leta exclaims, "Oh, the murder-knife! William definitely needs his sleep."

Anita says slowly, "Ok…" and Dr. Ranjip murmurs, "Oh, this is going to be good." William immediately brings the conversation back to Samir and says, "Where should we ask him to meet? If he comes here, we're comfortable and have the home turf advantage. But we could meet him in Springfield, even the botanica, or meet somewhere halfway." Leta makes it clear she is fine with wherever, but sooner is better than later. Most of the others agree, and Dr. Ranjip again summarizes the options and the like.

Anita admits, "I'm fine with wherever, but the botanica is famously neutral and could be seen as a gesture of good faith on our part." William agrees, and Anita adds, "I'm in the slow period anyway; it won't pick up again until Christmas." Dr. Ranjip looks at her blankly and admits, "I'm sorry, but I know very little about Hispanic culture." Anita snorts and says sardonically, "Not many brown people up here in Noho, huh?" Dr. Ranjip smirks and admits, "No, not really." Anita quickly explains Dios de los Muertos and how things slow down; Dr. Ranjip nods and thanks her. He then asks, "So, what did you do this time?" to William. William sighs and explains the dagger as best he can, including the dagger's desire for more death. Veltis quickly summarizes history of the papal blades, and how the blades drain souls or essences to forge brand new monsters. The hunters add that to their list of problems and switch topics of conversation to simpler matters. They hang out until 10:30, and then go their separate ways; Josh goes down to Abby's for the night, leaving William alone.