Chapter 13

“We start fresh arrivals off with Alopeus as—”

“Demonology for Dummies?” I asked. “Witchly Wikipedia?”

“In a sense.” For an allegedly ancient being, Delphine got the rather modern joke. It made her smile. “Alopeus captures truths Libre des Esperitz and Saducismus Triumphatus touch on but miss. It’s quite comprehensive,” she said. “There were sorcièreslong before Salem, Otto. Since life, there’s been afterlife.”

“Haunting since homo erectus, huh?”

“Yes. Nymphs before Narmer.”

“Ah. That name I know. I’ve read about his existence in Egypt in the thirty-second century BC.”

“We were friends,” Gamila claimed.

“Really?” Was I that gullible?

Gamila said, “No.”

I told myself yes.

“You’re a learned man.” Delphine took both of my hands in hers. “N’est ce pas? A desire for knowledge runs in our DNA.”

“Our DNA?”

“As I mentioned, we are related. I am your many times great grandmother and also a teacher.”