With the fight over, the hunters take a moment to collect themselves and look around the basement. Clearly ritual space, the basement has polished marble floors, dark lacquered wood walls, and the ceiling itself is arched slightly. The ritual space extends under the entire chalet with only a small section behind the stairs given over to storage and the oil burner. Statues have been placed in almost half the room and a quick examination shows the two fu lions are not recreations, but instead are very, very old - and William recognizes Kef-Ahmekh's sigil carved in them! The walls are lined with photos and artwork, so the hunters quickly look. To William's surprise, he finds a piece of Aztec art on the wall that he recognizes from his memory.

Some of the photos are old and sepia-toned while others are paintings, but one picture seems to be a hyper-realistic picture that blurs the line between art and photography.¹⁾ Merat-Su is in every picture, dressed to fit into the times, but the pictures do not follow any chronological order. However, they recognize Hakim in several of the pictures, and William tentatively identifies Kef-Ahmekh in a few. There is a fourth person who pops up regularly, a tall, lanky man with coffee-colored skin that they assume is the one known as Deathwalker. Several pictures also have a noticeable space where something was removed, and they assume that was the fifth member of the meret. With mounting uneasiness, the hunters realize the pictures are arranged by Merat-Su's personal chronology, and that this room functions as a memory palace for when she awakens.

The hunters then notice Doctor Ranjip has completely ignored the artwork and the interior design to head over to the wounded cultists to provide medical assistance. They join him there and immediately recognize Barry Kells, the high priestess Lucia, and Marisol. The other two women definitely are not sex workers; thanks to his brief connection with Kef-Ahmekh, William realizes that Marisol and the other two women are Guardians of the cult, those that protect it from outside - and inside - threats. He also realizes that Barry Kells himself was once a Guardian, probably the head of the subgroup until age caught up with him. All five cultists are wounded, and Doctor Ranjip has already begun triage. Josh does his best to ignore the carnage and decides to try to help the cult look for any other members, injured or dead, in the chalet. He asks, "Is there a security room?"

Kells nods and carefully gets to his feet; he waves Josh over to the wall on the right side of the doorway. He gently rotates one of the paintings and a section of the wall slides open to reveal a cramped but very advanced security system. Josh looks around the computer station carefully and realizes a few of the cameras showing the exterior of the house are offline. He marks them and then looks around the screen showing the interior of the chalet.

Unfortunately, he finds the other two cult members dead upstairs, one with her throat slit and the other one shot in the back of the head. He assumes that shot is the one they heard initially. He then sees the four militiamen upstairs bound tightly in webs before he spots a gigantic spider skittering around. Finding the intercom system, Josh toggles it and asks, "Veltis, are you spidering?" The spider looks up and retorts, "No, it's the evil… yes, it's me, you dumbass! Tell Leta I got to go out for a bit, and don't leave without me."

Leta hears Veltis through the open door to the security room and demands, "Are you still spidering?" Veltis retorts, "Not for much longer. I have to go outside and take care of something; don't leave without me." Leta immediately demands to know what he could possibly doing outside, so Veltis retorts, "Dude, incubus, interrupted! I got things I need to finish!"

Leta groans when she realizes that Veltis is about to go out and find the lady bear to resume sex; she yells, "Don't leave half-demon bears running around in Cummington!" Veltis gives a noncommittal grunt and then Josh watches as Veltis ambles to the house as a giant spider before stepping outside and shifting into bear-form. He deliberately steps on Mitch's skull, and he makes it very clear to Josh that he doesn't care one whit if anyone catches him on camera.

Leta heads over to the other cult members and warns them but the inevitable bear sex. They all stare at her; she says, "He ate some of the dudes outside." Kells retorts, "Before, during, or after sex?" Leta replies with a noncommittal shrug leaving Kells to just eye William helplessly. William gives him a nod and says simply, "Yup."

William turns back to the large set of golden double doors and realizes that he can read some of the hieroglyphs etched on its surface. Carefully translating silently, William realizes with a start that the hieroglyphs essentially say, "Your princess is in another castle." The door is a total decoy, and Merat-Su sleeps elsewhere. Meanwhile, Anita ends the Boneyard Haunt, leading to noises of displeasure from Abby, The Witch, and Petite. She retorts, "Halloween was three weeks ago!" Abby volleys back, "It's always Halloween with us!" Anita opens her mouth to reply, but realizes Abby is right.

Shifting gears, both Sin-Eaters decide it's time to check out the dead and look around. To their awe, they see an extensive ward running through presumably the entire chalet, with a geometric precision that is impossible to recreate. They spot the dead cultists sleeping peacefully, while the dead militiamen are being violently torn apart and dissolved into this death-web-ward! Anita murmurs, "Even in death they serve," and Abby nods in agreement. Leta notices the two Sin-Eaters staring up at something she can't see and calls out, "Are you two tripping?" Anita drawls, "Nope," and Abby snorts. High priestess Lucia eyes them and makes some murmuring noise, but Anita hastily assures her, "We're not touching anything! We're just looking at this web-ward thing." Abby adds excitedly, "The magic behind this is so old, it came from before we counted years!"²⁾

Leta heads over to join the others and asks if she can help. Marisol, who's already been treated by Doctor Ranjip, replies, "You can help us gather the bodies of the dead. Wait, did you say there were survivors?" Leta replies breezily, "They don't have to be! Just don't let Josh see. Oh, and some may be wrapped already in webs, he was a giant spider after all." Marisol visibly shudders in horror and Leta quickly realizes the other woman is a serious arachnophobe. Leta takes the hint and heads upstairs to collect the bodies.

While Doctor Ranjip works on the heavily wounded Guardian, William checks in with Marisol and realizes high priestess Lucia was shot in the left knee, and Barry Kells is in the process of trying to dig out the bullet, despite the fact that he was shot in the shoulder! William starts to talk to them, but Kells cuts him off with, "Not the best time!" Lucia retorts, "I disagree. I need something else to focus on, sweetie." She then winces in pain and grabs Kells' arm. Kells tries to wiggle free before giving up and using William as a lever to escape her grasp. Lucia looks up at William and growls, "Please start talking before I kill him!"

William smiles briefly but then sobers and starts with, "So, I ended up making a deal with the Judge and getting some hieroglyphs…" Lucia interrupts, "We know. We saw the pictures." William starts in surprise but grudgingly concedes, "Oh, right." Lucia hisses in pain again before looking back up at William and saying sweetly, "For a 75-year-old man, you've got a great.." Kells interrupts her, "I'm right here!" William says awkwardly, "So… we need to get the meret back together. It's the only way to prevent a disaster, especially for me."

Lucia gasps, "Keep talking - oh my God!" She stares past William in horror as Doctor Ranjip barrels in and bodily hauls Kells to his feet; he yells, "What the fuck are you doing? Do you have any idea how much damage you're doing to that knee? Get out!" He is so enraged that his fae mien starts to show through his mask, and Lucia and Kells both recoil in terror.

As Doctor Ranjip starts to work, he and William start to snipe at each other a bit until the good doctor tells Lucia, "Hold still." William puts pressure above her knee as Doctor Ranjip pulls out a small tub and opens it. Whatever's inside smells strongly of mint and old milk, and then he sticks his fingers in and pulls out a large dab of some sort of off-white ointment that he promptly starts working into her wounded knee. Lucia cries out in pain and Kells snaps, "What are you doing?" Lucia hisses through clenched teeth, "Honey, the nice, scary doctor man just gave me LSD. At least I hope it's LSD, because otherwise William has three heads." William shakes his head and Lucia tells him, "Oh, good. So, here's the plan. I'm going to pass out now, so go talk to my husband."

William agrees and Lucia passes out with a soft sigh. He turns to Kells but then they all hear a soft whistling from the wound! Kells asks shakily, "Should we be concerned about that?" William shakes his head and says, "No, she'll be fine. We've all gone through something similar." William then provides Kells with a brief overview of his meeting with Kef-Ahmekh. Suddenly, Lucia's knee wound starts singing softly in Spanish! Anita recognizes the old song and starts singing along without conscious thought, while Kells tries to bolt past William! William grabs him by the uninjured arm and insists, "It's working. Trust me, it's working."

Kells start spewing incoherent syllables as he stares at Lucia, so William lets him go and turns around. To his horror, he sees that lips have formed around the knee wound and then a tongue sticks out! Doctor Ranjip murmurs, "Huh, that's new." Every other member of the cell, engaged with cleanup or security, all turn when he says that, as they know that's never a good thing.

Anita ends up sniping with Doctor Ranjip next, before everyone sees the tongue retreat into the wound to heal the muscles, and then the lips close and seal the wound! Doctor Ranjip concedes, "Well, that worked." He then says with mock sweetness, "Alright, Mr. Kells, let's see that shoulder!" He heads over and starts singing creepily as he examines the wound before the Hippocratic Oath kicks in and he takes it seriously. William resumes his recap of his encounter with Kef-Ahmekh, which is the first time the rest of the cell has heard any of these details!

Leta rejoins the cell in the basement as William finishes his summary and asks Kells, "So, can you contact the others?" Kells replies, "Yes, I should be able to. But what did Kef-Ahmekh say was going to happen?" William grudgingly admits, "He said that his return would destroy my soul and he would take complete control of my body, and that he would something called… a Swanson? Something like that?"

Kells stares at him for a moment before realization strikes and his eyes widen in horror. He whispers, "You mean Shuankhsen. By the gods, he's coming back as a Shuankhsen!" William asks, "What is that exactly?" Kells says slowly, "One of the greatest horrors to the Deathless, a mummy that has been consumed by Ammut the Devourer. They become creatures of hunger, pure hunger, and care only for destruction. They also often manifest teeth where there shouldn't be. I only ever saw a Shuankhsen once, back in 2000, which is why I retired after that."

William bites back a snarky comment when he realizes that Kells is being completely serious and is absolutely horrified. He says quietly, "Kef-Ahmekh hinted that we would need the meret for ancient magic that might be able to remove these hieroglyphs. He made it very clear to me that I was to do anything and everything I could to prevent his return. His hope is for the meret to try to summon his Judge to remove his marks and destroy him completely."

Kells grumbles, "So we're all having a shitty night." Josh chirps, "Except Veltis!" Kells retorts, "How would you know?" but Josh gestures to Leta. She states firmly, "I do not want to check that. We've got enough problems with demons, these Bible thumping jerks, and vampires! By the way, they suck!" Kells glares at her and snarls, "Really?" Leta looks at him blankly for a second before she realizes her accidental pun.

Kells asks, "Wait, how did you know we were under attack?" Leta replies, "An Irish ninja!" Kells stares at her and asks, "What?" William interjects, "There are some hunter organizations, and tonight we met a man who warned us about this. He was from the Catholic Church, the Malleus Maleficarum." Kells looks blankly at him and asks, "So, what, a modern Inquisition?"

Leta nods answers, "Yeah, but less CBT for Jesus!" Anita howls in anger over Leta's terminology but Leta turns to her and insists, "It's historical! I can't make that up!" Kells frowns but asks, "Wait, was the Cadaver Synod real?" Leta says, "Yeah, Veltis was yelling about it at one point. I think he was there. What, didn't Merat-Su tell you stories of the old days?" Kells retorts, "Yes, but nothing about CBT for Jesus!" Leta replies airily, "Well, she might not remember it." Kells's eyes flash in anger and he snaps, "Shut up," and Leta realizes her faux pas.

Still working on Kells's shoulder, Doctor Ranjip jokes, "Oh, I can't wait for that phrase to come up tomorrow!" Anita insists, "No CBT for Jesus tomorrow!" Kells groans but says, "So a Catholic hunter warned you about an attack on us, a quote-unquote monstrous sex cult, and he told a half-demon and… two living challenged women? Sorry, I don't actually know what you call yourselves." Anita shrugs and says, "Honestly, that's the nicest way it's been referred to." Abby nods solemnly and Kells mutters, "So glad I left the church when I did. Or…" as he trails off. He then looks at William and says, "So, about the raid in 1986." Leta chirps, "I was two!" Barry and William share a pointed look.

Reluctantly, Leta checks on Veltis through their shared link and murmurs, "Great, I think the lady bear's about to combust from friction!" Anita jibes, "Lucky bear!" Kells announces, "Those are two phrases I never want to hear again!" Doctor Ranjip steps away and Kells looks over and then lapses into stunned silence as he rotates his fully healed shoulder! He eyes Doctor Ranjip and says, "If you ever get tired of these assholes, look us up!" Doctor Ranjip shrugs noncommittally but Leta interjects, "Not gonna happen. We're more nutritious!"

Kells formally acknowledges the cult's appreciation for their assistance, and declares the cult now considers them allies. Anita says pointedly, "I can hear Josh's erection!" Josh shrugs without shame but Kells ignores the exchange and asks, "What is your next step?" Leta announces, "Go home and shower!" Josh interjects, "We can also reach out to Hakim." Kells frowns and replies, "It might be better if we do that." Josh shakes his head and says, "We already know Hakim, and we reached out to his organization to tell them that you were under assault."

Kells turns to William and asks pointedly, "Can I talk to you privately?" William nods and allows Kells to lead him to that back area behind the stairs; He warns William about possible side effects of Merat-Su's awakening. William flashes to his vision of Barry Kells's death but decides not to say anything now for fear of causing that vision, but also because he's a dick. The others can hear the two men whispering and Leta asks Anita, "Do you think he's telling William that he'll have to bone Merat-Su?" Anita groans at that, and because The Witch is pouting in the corner, seething with jealousy.

Mick suggests, "Should we check out the Goshen cell first? Maybe swing by the church?" Leta suggests hopefully, "And burn it down?" Kells and William rejoin them and Kells drawls, "Oops?" Mick groans and replies, "Maybe not do that? They're still part of the Vigil, and there's professional courtesy to consider." The others reluctantly agree and decide to make a quick stop at the church before driving home.

Leta reluctantly checks on her familiar, and groans when she realizes he's still busy. Veltis is unrepentant and says, "Don't blame me, there's a line! I'm on my fourth partner and I've got three, maybe four still to go. Hold on a moment. Uh oh." Leta demands, "Uh oh?" before telling the others, "He's got a line!" As Anita boggles at the thought of a line, Veltis tells Leta, "So, the fourth customer isn't a bear. It's… well, you really don't want to know. Actually, I don't want to know either."

Leta grudgingly passes that on to the others but tells Veltis, "We'll come back and get you. But I am concerned about the fourth thing." Veltis replies, "Me too, but it's waiting patiently, and I am an incubus. I'm going to be here for at least another hour, so get going and I'll just fly to you when I'm done. Goshen church is your next stop, I assume?" Leta reluctantly agrees but tells him, "Don't get eaten by whatever you're fucking." Veltis retorts, "That's nature. And Venice."

Polly cries out, "Shit, we forgot about Boris!" Kells is startled to hear the Croatian is still alive, but tells them, "I'll follow you down in the van to bring him back up here." Doctor Ranjip indicates he's willing to give Boris medical attention, so Leta warns Kells about the side effects from the doctor's prior treatment. Doctor Ranjip shrugs and replies, "They should dissolve in time." Leta argues about the goblin fruit singing, which segues into a criticism of modern country music. Leta and Doctor Ranjip both agree that country music from the '60s and '80s was the best, but Marisol vehemently disagrees.

Leaving Marisol in charge of the chalet, Kells follows the hunters out and then gets into the cult's van. He follows them down slowly, until they get to the guardhouse. He gets out to help, but the hunters stop when they see Boris, still unconscious, curled up next to a sleeping, satiated black bear. There's a moment of silence and then Kells pulls out his cell phone to take a picture. They carefully extricate Boris from the bear's embrace; luckily, she never wakes up. They get Boris into the van and Doctor Ranjip performs some last-minute treatment.

Kells decides to follow the hunters down and turn around on Route 9. Leta suddenly points out, "Wait, there's a Goshen PD car blocking your driveway." Kells sighs but tells them, "If one of you can drive it back up to the house for me, we'll take care of it." Anita volunteers so they start walking down while Kells again follows them slowly. However, they suddenly sense the presence of the-thing-that-should-not-be, and smell an unsettling cocktail of fur, decay, old blood, and something else they cannot identify. They hear something buzzing like a large group of cicadas, but the pitch is constantly changing.

Kells orders them all into the van for safety, and he drives the rest of the way down as quickly as he dares. He pulls behind the cop car and Anita quickly gets out and hurries over. Luckily, the Goshen cops left it unlocked and with the keys still in the ignition, so Anita starts it and pulls out onto Route 9. Kells follows in the van and they both turn around on the deserted road and head back up the driveway to the chalet.

Anita pulls the cop car to the side of the chalet and kills the engine. She hops out and then gets back into the van, and Kells declares, "Whatever that is, we're staying inside tonight." Suddenly, the hunters all feel a sensation like a thousand stilettos poking them as it notices their presence. No one has any idea what it is, but Doctor Ranjip declares, "Well, it's not True Fae, but that's all I've got." Kells drives them back down the driveway and the short distance to their cars, which are still parked safely on Route 9. The hunters get out and quickly scramble into their respective cars while Kells waits for them. He doesn't pull a U-turn until after the hunters drive away.

The hunters drive to the so-called center of Goshen and park in the lot by the police station. They cross Route 9 silently to get to the Goshen Congregational Church. They can still feel the presence of the thing that should not be despite the distance from Cummington, but they ignore it for now. The hunters sneak up on the church, but somehow the shadows seem to completely swallow William and Leta! Anita whispers, "Where's Leta?" Leta breathes, "Here," in Anita's ear causing her to jump in shock! Leta puts her hand down in the top of Anita's head and whispers, "No jumping, be sneaky. Raccoon!" She slips back into the shadows as Anita demands, "What the fuck?"

Whatever is happening, William and Leta realize the shadows are actively tripping up Mick, Doctor Ranjip, and Polly. Luckily, no one seems to notice them at all, so they regroup by the side door. Leta finds a new and advanced electronic security system, but also something that feels like a ward. She whispers her findings to the others and asks if Anita can help. Anita checks out the door and whispers, "There is something there, but it's more like I'm sensing the absence of a thing that the thing itself. I think it's some sort of trap, probably against demons. I bet you could power through it but that would trigger it and let them know we're here." Leta grumbles as she manages to safely bypass the electronic security system, and the door opens. Mike whispers, "Let me check something," and he slips inside silently. Anita can feel the ward suddenly pop a moment later, and then Mick opens the door wide. He whispers, "There was a line of salt on the ground, right out of Castlevania. I just disrupted it the line with my foot."

The hunters can hear voices coming faintly from the main hall in the basement. Anita gestures to show them the way, but Josh suggests, "Geist it up?" That brings Anita up short, but she concedes, "That's… not a bad idea, actually." She turns to her geist and whispers, "Go check it out for us, but don't pinch!" While The Witch glides down the stairs, the others put their more mundane detective skills to work. A few moments later The Witch returns and using hand gestures tells Anita that there are four men in the main hall with weapons nearby.

Anita motions for the others to follow, and she quietly creeps down the stairs. They follow in her wake and regroup at the door to the main hall. They overhear someone say, "Jonas, relax. The Troys will never find out! Just relax!"³⁾ Leta pantomimes the guns and then points to Josh; Polly immediately pushes Josh back to the rear of the group. Anita attempts to unlock the Boneyard Haunt, but something in the church prevents her. They then hear Pastor Arthur Sheffield declare, "Relax, friends. Our allies will take care of the problem in Cummington, and the Troys will never know."