Drew gave Rosemonde a look of surprise. "I wouldn't have pictured you as a death metal fan," he said.

Mairead rolled her eyes at him. She knew what Rosemonde was referring to, and it was neither the name of a band nor one of their songs.

"You'd be right!" Rosemonde replied, amused. "While I'm not surprised that there are bands out there that have referenced the name Azazael, I don't think that's what the Detective means, somehow." She smiled at Drew, before continuing. "Detective, I was initially hired by Ms Wilson to catalogue her collection of rare books, along with some antiques. Among the collection, was an old-world travelling trunk. If you stood the thing on its end, it became a portable wardrobe.

"There were several books inside that she had purchased as part of a collection at an auction. I thought nothing of this at first and began to catalogue the books, along with the trunk itself. Inside one of these books however, I found the personal diary of a young woman who appeared to be on the run from some sort of, er...sinister group. The name of this group as she refers to them is The Children of Azazael.

"It makes for rather uncomfortable reading. At first, I'd assumed she was a writer, that the diary was a journal of her notes. She was writing a horror story, or so I'd thought. That wasn't the case. After a few entries, she makes it clear, that she is writing about real-life events.

"Of course, I showed Ms Wilson the diary as soon as I discovered it. Initially, I thought that perhaps the owner could be traced, but she was twenty-one in 1925, and as soon as Ms Wilson handled the diary..."

Here Mairead took over from Rosemonde. "It was one of the few times that I doubted my visions. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. In fact, I had nightmares for months, and asked Ms Durand to stay with me at that time."

"Mum, why didn't you tell me?" Drew asked, concerned.

"You were abroad, darling. Besides, I can hardly expect you to put your career on hold every time I have a crisis."

Detective Berg had a look of revulsion on his face as if he suspected what she had seen, as if he had seen it himself. "If-if it's not too difficult to talk about. Would you mind explaining what you saw?" he asked Mairead.

"I saw...I-I saw... Oh God, even now, more than a year later, I can barely form the words... I'm sorry Rosemonde, at the time I merely told you that I had seen the young woman's death. When you asked me to elaborate, I told you I could not. It was too...disturbing, and I was thankful that you didn't press me. What I saw — forgive me my dear, but...I am certain that Summer has experienced a similar fate..." Her hands began to shake. She paused to take a deep breath.

Drew became angry. "That's enough mother! Detective Berg, is this really necessary?"

"It's quite alright Andrew." Mairead breathed deeply before continuing. "The Detective is merely seeking confirmation. He too has seen what I have seen, but unlike me, he has not understood how it was done. You see, the woman who wrote in that diary, Florence was her name, Florence and Summer were consumed alive — drained of all bodily fluids from the inside out. The bodies look like they've been mummified. They are intact but completely dehydrated. That's correct is it not Detective?"

"Yes," he replied, in a small voice.

That was it. Rosemonde had finally reached the breaking point. Mother, father, brother and now a good friend. She knew it was true. She knew that she had to accept it. Was it her? Did she attract death? Perhaps her ancestors, had done terrible things and, it was she who would atone for their sins in this lifetime, by losing all those around her that she loved. But there was death, then...there was this. How could such evil exist? She was going to be sick. She needed to get out of that room before she embarrassed herself. She needed to move, but her legs felt like lead. She felt as though she were fading away. Everything around her seemed to become dark. She vaguely heard people talking...

"Quick she's falling!"

"She's hit her head. She's bleeding. Call an ambulance!"

☆☆☆☆☆

Drew explained to his bandmates that his mother's personal assistant had fallen ill and was being taken to the hospital. They understood and took their leave without any drama.

Myrddin was different. As their photographer, he had been professional but easy going, great to work with. As a human being, Drew wondered what had happened to him. Upon seeing the ambulance enter the driveway, Myrddin became so worked up that Drew began to wonder if he was altogether stable.

And this is the man you've chosen Rosemonde? God help you. I hope you know what you're doing.

"WHY DIDN'T YOU CALL ME, IMMEDIATELY?"

It was a fair question, but did the situation warrant this level of anger? Drew tried to console him. "Mate, she's conscious, she just fainted. She's just going to be checked out as a precaution because she hit her head."

"HOW DID SHE HIT HER HEAD? WHAT THE HELL WAS HAPPENING IN THERE? SHE SAID SHE WAS JUST DOING SOMETHING FOR YOUR MOTHER. WHY DID SHE FAINT? DID YOU UPSET HER? LET ME SPEAK TO HER!"

He looked as if he was about to throw a punch, but Drew stepped aside. Myrddin looked up to find Rosemonde being led into the ambulance by paramedics. She was walking, but unsteadily, and she looked extremely pale.

"ROSEMONDE!"

He shouted and ran towards her. He tried to enter the ambulance with her but was stopped by a male paramedic, who asked who he was. Myrddin didn't respond and physically pushed the paramedic out of the way. The situation quickly escalated with Detective Berg, himself a large man, physically restraining Myrddin and telling him that he would arrest him if he didn't calm down.

Rosemonde was too frail to respond to the commotion but nodded when Drew asked her gently if she wanted him to come with her. Myrddin, still struggling and arguing, realised too late that the ambulance was leaving without him. He hurled a stream of expletives at the departing vehicle before being handcuffed to a fence post by Detective Berg.

"LET ME GO PIG! SHE'S GOT NO ONE LEFT. DON'T YOU UNDERSTAND? SHE NEEDS ME!"

"You need to calm down right now, or I'll call tactical response to taser your arse!"

Mairead decided to take matters into her own hands and aimed a bucket of water straight at Myrddin's face. It had the desired effect, and Christian Berg struggled not to laugh. "When I asked for your help ma'am, this wasn't quite what I had in mind, but I thank you."

Not missing a beat, Mairead spoke directly to Myrddin, "Young man, you need to behave yourself if you wish to remain on my property. Rosemonde is like a daughter to me, and I can assure you she is in good hands. But there is something of great importance that I wish to discuss with you." Turning to Detective Berg she said, "There is something else that I saw, that you need to know about. It involves this young man."