“What is it?” asked Reese.
“I’m not sure…” I turned around and froze at the advertisement board in front of me.
“Folklore & Anthropology Seminar, Speaker Dr. Jonathan Madsen,” read big, bold letters.
For the first time in a long while, I actually felt like I was on the right track. We asked one of the students if they knew where Dr. Madsen was teaching, and he directed us to the east wing. Sculpted vaulted ceilings and warm wall sconces made up every hallway inside with carved stone and woodwork only emphasizing the school’s regality. Finding the lecture hall in question, I slowly pulled open the back door upon hearing the commanding voice talking on the other side.
“The Book of Enoch referenced demons as the evil spirits of the Nephilim. These were the half-breed offspring of human women and the male angels that fell from Lucifer’s rebellion. Christian theology suggests that demons are the spirits of evil angels. Others will say that they’re malevolent specters that were once human. And some even suggest that demons were created by the hands of Satan himself.”
Reese and I quietly crept into the back row of the stadium raised seats, taking focus to the man standing center at the pitched floor below by the projector. Dr. Madsen looked exactly like his photo on the placard with the exception that his hair was now a little longer, still neatly slicked back. He put up a number of slides on the overhead, asking the class if they could identify each of the depictions shown above. Students chimed in, listing off a number of demons from Caim, Balam, Paimon, Azazel, and so on. All of which I knew nothing about.
“Does anyone know what this represents?” Madsen asked next as he put up a drawing of a pentagram with a star and goat head placed in the middle. He had an accent I couldn’t quite ascertain. Perhaps Dutch or Danish.
A girl raised her hand, and he called on her. “It’s considered a diabolical symbol.”
He nodded in agreement. “Yes, it is. Do you know why?”
“When inverted, the pentagram mocks the five holy wounds of Christ,” she replied. “Same as an upside-down cross.”
“Correct. But the inverted cross simply signifies one’s denial of Christ. This pentagram has a particular function, one that’s been used since the Middle Ages,” said Dr. Madsen. “Does anyone know its purpose?”
Everybody quietly exchanged glances, but no one raised their hand.
“Nobody?”
I hesitantly lifted my hand.
“Yes, the girl in the back.”
“Circle of Containment?” I suggested, seeing the blatant similarities to the one I’d seen while Reese had been flipping through one of his dad’s journals.
His eyebrows piqued. “No, but that’s a very good guess. It’s actually a Conjuration Sigil. There’s a reason why knowing a demon’s name is so important. Containment Sigils are used to permanently exorcise a demon from a person by calling out the spirit’s true name. With a Conjuration Sigil, it has the opposite effect. When a conjuror draws this symbol and calls upon the demon by name, it summons that particular demon to that very spot, meaning you now have control over it.”
Madsen flipped the lights back, making us all wince at the sudden brightness. “If you have any questions, feel free to ask. My door’s always open.”
Here was our chance.
“Excuse me, Doctor Madsen,” I said, as sweetly as I could. It was important we didn’t draw any extra attention. “Do you have a moment?”
He looked up from the materials he was gathering up and smiled back. “I think I could spare one. What’s on your mind?”
I looked over at Reese, suddenly unsure as to how I should word this. “This might sound odd, but…”
“We were wondering if you could tell us what this might be,” Reese stepped in, placing a sketch out on the desk.
My eyes shot back up at Reese. He mentioned how he liked to draw, but I had no idea he was that good. He’d rendered an exact illustration of the creature from the boiler room.
Madsen paused for a second before reaching out for the drawing.
“It’s for a graphic novel we’re working on,” added Reese as casually as he could. “We just want to be thorough, so I guess we were just curious if you’d ever come across anything in your research that might look like this.”
The doctor studied the image. “You know, I just might have.”
Reese and I both shared an excited glance, trying to repress from outwardly sighing.
“I’ll have to take a look through my studies, of course. And I have another lecture starting shortly, but if you have time later…”