Haunted

The surprise call.

James-

"Go home Harry, you've been at this for twelve hours." I plead, he shakes his head without looking up from the dining room table that is cluttered with even more files that my brother had called to have brought over. Dan is passed out on the couch after cramming with Harry, between the two of them I think this case is pretty much solved. "At least take a break, eat and take a shower because you stink," I beg, he huffs and nods before heading upstairs.

I take Harry's seat and pull over the three autopsy photos of Kyler, Jake, and Aaron, something struck me though. Kyler's scar is just a bit different from the other boys. I quickly jump up and stride over to my bookcase to find one of my demonology books, it was a fascination of mine which is why I minored in religious studies and demonology.

My father was convinced that I was a demon because of my sexuality when I proved him wrong with facts and science he never spoke to me again especially since my mom divorced him. That fueled my interest in it really, it's mindblowing how much evil is in this world.

Once my fingers locate the old leather-bound book and I quickly stride back to the table, my eyes cross as I skim through the pages until I find what looks like the marking on Kyler's back. It's almost the same as the others but has a star design through it. Baphomet, a satanic deity. 

Why is Kyler's different though? His demonic persona is that of a Beelzebub, how he's able to control Eden and influence her but the other two are more like his chihuahuas yipping at her ankles. 

Alastor, the tormenting spirit. Bingo! That's what made the two so different, Jake and Aaron couldn't make her hurt anyone but Kyler.... He could, he was the ringleader. He was the mastermind behind this all.

Harry bounds back down the stairs, his hair wet and I see that he's helped himself to one of my shirts and a pair of sweats. We've been best friends since he and his mom moved here from England, I'd be lying if I said I didn't have a crush on him at first but I'm clearly not his type. Instead of being bitter I just accepted that he's the way he is and that I'm better off having him as a friend then not having him in my life at all. He's my best friend and I just want him to be happy, it looks like Eden could be the one for that.

"Feel better?" I ask as he sits next to me and grunts yes, "Good cause you smell a hell of a lot better." I tease as he furrows his brows at the book in front of me, "think I figured out what kind of demons they are and I'm almost positive that the occult has something to do with it."

"Occult huh?" My brother Dan asks groggily as he staggers over to us and sits down, "there is a lot of underground satanic clubs and cults in Seatle. I can look into their contacts and see if there are any ties," he offers and I nod. "You know, if we're right about this three boys this is going to rock Madison Park. Their families are very wealthy and prominent in the local government."

"I don't give a fuck," Harry shrugs. "These bastards hurt my girl, they wanted to kill her like they did the other two and all those animals. The world needs to know what they did, their families need to know what they were living with and who they raised." Harry adds growling in frustration as his phone pings. "Fuck, I gotta take mum to her doctor's appointment."

"Everything alright?" I ask, my eyes wide with worry.

"She's hit the four-year mark so they want to do a checkup to make sure nothing has come back." He says, his voice thick with worry. Just after they moved here his mom was diagnosed with cervical cancer, Harry had a lot of guilt since he had to work so much but was still there for her.  His mom is an amazing woman and he adores her, I do know that she won't like that he's in love with Eden.

"Give her a hug for me, I'll see you tomorrow at Eden's for the blessing," I reply and he nods before saying goodbye to Dan.

"I've never seen him so focused before, this girl must really be something special," Dan says chuckling and I nod.

"She's actually pretty sweet when she's not biting me or choking me against a wall."

"Eh, sounds like when we used to horse around." He smirks as I look at him, he's five years older than me. We both have black hair and blue eyes but Dan is taller and more well built then I am.

"Can I ask you something?"

"Go for it little bro," he shrugs.

"Why didn't you ever treat me any differently? Why didn't you hate me like dad?" I question, he sighs and leans forward as he rests his elbows on the table.

"I already knew you were gay James, doesn't change the fact that you're my brother." He says softly, his blue eyes sparkle with honesty. His phone buzzes and he sighs as he looks at it, "I need to get back to the station with these files. I'll look into their contact and see if I can find anything to help," he says before getting up and gripping my shoulder. "Call me if you need anything." He says before exiting the house.

We were up all night so I decided to go upstairs and crash for a bit, I woke up a few hours later to a text from Harry that his mom's tests were all clear.That's a relief.

I busied myself with dinner and reviewing some files until about midnight when my phone began to ring when I didn't recognize the number I hit decline but they called again.

"Hello?"

"James?" A woman's soft voice sounds.

"This is he."

"It's Eden, Harry gave me your number in case of emergency." She says and my heart drops.

"What's wrong? Are you alright?" I ask.

"I'm fine, I just need to talk to him and he's not answering his phone." She replies, "can you give me his address?"

"I don't know if that's a good idea, Ede-"

"Please James, I really need him right now."