667: Issue #7 Pt. 2 "The Seventh Son"

“You’re sending her to Salem?” Henri and I were up before anyone else, save for Violet and Cassandra.

“She asked me for a reading last night and we had a little talk. I told her exactly what I told you the other night and we agreed that she needed to steer clear of Seven for a bit.” Henri sliced up a banana and dumped it in my cereal.

“Was she mad?” I wondered how angry she must have been with Henri’s suggestion.

“Surprisingly, no. She agreed that it was for the best right now and I told her I would handle the Seventh Son thing while she was gone.” Henri downed a glass of orange juice and poured himself another.

She hadn’t been upset…Henri always had a way with words.

“Good, and I can help you with whatever you need.” I was relieved that she’d be gone for a few days.

“And we’re off.” Cassandra bustled into the kitchen and grabbed a few bagged lunches from the fridge before dumping them in a cooler.

“Everything is packed up and in the crossover?” Henri slipped a couple bottles of water into the little cooler.

“Yes. Violet was finishing her shower and then she said she’d be down.” Cassandra packed a few more snacks just as Violet came down the stairs.

“You ready?” Violet nodded at Cassandra, “Do you mind driving a bit on this trip? I know the roads are different here, but it is a long drive.”

“I think I can do that; I’ll just have to remember that you drive on the right.” Violet took a mental note. She looked absolutely exhausted.

“Then let’s go. We will make sure to let you all know when we get there.” Cassandra hugged Henri and then came to me to say her goodbyes.

“I want updates along the way so we know that you both are safe.” Henri was now hugging Violet and then it was my turn to send her off.

“Text me if you get bored. Josiah wants me to help him go over more of the files and finish up your catalogue on us while you’re gone.” I spoke apprehensively. I knew it was good for her to be going on this trip, but we had almost lost her the last time we were in Salem.

“My laptop is in my room; it has my notes saved on it.” Violet pulled her damp hair away from her face and braided it down her shoulder as we talked.

I noticed that she didn’t have Asher’s feathered clip in her hair, but my necklace was tucked inside her T-shirt.

“Good. Be safe, okay?” I wanted to say something else, but that was all I could get out.

“We’ll be fine. Just a quick drive there and back.” Violet cracked a slight smile and leaned in for a hug.

I held her face against my chest for a moment as her arms encircled my waist. She squeezed me tighter as I gently ran my thumb over her cheek.

“Tell Salome I love her and I’ll be back soon. Khaine too.” Violet slowly pulled away from my body, but her hand had found mine in the process.

“Of course.” I let my fingers slip from hers as she waved goodbye and disappeared with Cassandra down the hall.

I let out my breath in one long exhalation.

“Don’t worry yourself so much, brotha. She’s safe with Cassandra and there’s a GPS tracker on the crossover so we can see where they are at all times.” Henri seemingly thought of everything.

“I’ll try not to worry myself sick then.” I went back to eating my cereal, but it had gotten soggy and I suddenly wasn’t hungry anymore.

(*)

“She left off on Subject Number 123, I believe.” Josiah pointed at the ancient dinosaur of a computer set up on his desk.

“Only 544 to go.” I sat down and booted the machine up before getting to work on my laptop.

“I want to make a master file for all of you and add in your current DNA sequences to keep it updated. We just received Naomi’s results, but we are still waiting on Asher’s.” Josiah was picking through worn volumes on a shelf.

“How do hers look?” I started with Subject #124 and began typing.

“Just like the rest; inhuman and otherworldly.” Josiah tossed a book down onto a worn cushion and began looking for more.

“I figured.” I knew I sounded like such a downer at the moment, but my mind kept wandering off to Violet’s road trip.

“She’ll be alright, you know. Cassandra is more than just a pretty face and can hold her own when she needs to. She may not be one of you, but Violet has that covered. If she could just get past all that anxious energy, she would be unstoppable.” Josiah returned.

It wasn’t the first time someone had said that about her. It was clear that Violet’s powers were far more advanced than the rest of ours, and all the more reason for me to worry. If there were things hunting us, trying to kill us, she would be Target #1.

“She’s doing better with it all.” I typed out another name onto my laptop and transposed some basic information before going on to the next.

“I know; she’ll be fine.” Josiah tossed down a few more books before climbing from his ladder.

Henri entered the room with a wave and gathered all the books that were littering the floor.

“These will probably be your best bet in finding anything on the Seventh Son. It isn’t a term that I am familiar with, but based on what we know, these books could have what you’re looking for.” Josiah stacked a few more on the table that Henri was sitting at and I watched my brother get to work.

He had been able to get Jackie to cover the shop while he stayed home and worked on what he had promised Violet he would.

“These are a great starting point. I have a good feeling that we will find something.” Henri began reading and I went back to copying file names.

(*)

Several hours had past and I had only taken two trips to the kitchen, one to the bathroom, and a few to the balcony outside the study for a smoke.

The list I was compiling was growing longer, but my eyes were getting sore from staring at the dim green light on the screen.

“I think I’ve found something.” Henri looked just as frazzled as I did when he stood, holding a large leather-bound book in his hands.

“Which book is that?” Josiah had been reading the paper in a lounge chair and he looked over at my brother over his reading glasses.

“It’s an old one on Abramelin magicks and the Goetia.” Henri beckoned for the two of us to come take a look.

“You see that right there?” Henri tapped the page and I leaned into read it.

“He presides over the Seventh Mansion. It also says that he is the second of Seven names that were used to describe hell in Talmudic texts and there actually was a seal created, it just hasn’t been documented publicly.” Henri flipped the page and surveyed the rest of the passage.

“But this doesn’t mention anything about the Seventh Son.” There was the number seven in relation to this Angel, but nothing like what we were looking for.

“He is the Angel of the Apocalypse, though. If he wants the Seventh Son, maybe that is a piece to triggering the end of the world.” Henri’s eyes were glistening as he made a connection.

“But what makes Asher so special? Why is he more necessary for the task than the other six-hundred-and-sixty-six of us?” I shook my head. We still didn’t have the right answer.

“I’m not sure, but I’ll keep reading.” Henri went back to scanning the book and I took my seat in front of the old computer to begin working again.

“Wait.” Henri’s voice startled me in the silence that had fallen over the room. “I found something.” His face was grave as he held his place on the page with his finger.

I jumped from my seat and this time Josiah followed too.

“I found the connection.” Henri’s words came out in slow motion as he turned the book around for me to get a better look.

My eyes were watering as I read the passage over and over again.

The Seventh Son wasn’t at all what I had expected…

It was worse.