A quick and magickally aided search of Crowley's library discovered the text and nature of the "great rite" that he was enacting. It was a series of spiritual tests designed to strengthen the soul of the magus casting it. This did not hearten the team.

An idea was proposed to create a second circle and then try to mentally contact Crowley and possibly bolster him mentally long enough to convince him to end the rite himself.

Nobody was pleased by this plan but it seemed the best thing they had and the rite did appear to be killing him... Cordelia reached out with her mind using her compatriots as an anchor and touched his mind.

All they heard was an earth-shattering crack and the words "You fools...you've killed us all." and then nothing but bright white light.

Jules awoke to find that he was in bed in an unfamilar place. Shockingly enough, Millicent was by his bedside.The navigator of the Egalite explained that they had tracked Jules through a tranceiver in his goggles, they had found him outside the burning wreckage of Crowley's house. he had been in a coma for three days.

Jules was bewildered to say the least, he was also a little stunned to discover that Milly was VERY attentive to his needs. Milly wasn't like these stunted english girls. She was funny, open, sexy, and she smelled like engine solder and hot dogs. Jules found himself getting aroused...

Cordelia awoke to find that she was in bed in an unfamilar place. Shockingly enough, Jack was by her bedside. They had found her outside the burning wreckage of Crowley's house. She had been in a coma for three days. Jack was near apoplectic with worry for Cordelia and her safety. Not to mention the safety of Justine. He begged her for her own good to leave aside this horrific quest before she got herself killed.

Cordelia told him no. The creature behind jack's face smiled.Cordelia knew it for what it was and began to prepare for an attack. The creature simply said, "Well. it would appear that your feelings for Jack are pure...It is Anger that is your sin."

Emily awoke to find that she was in bed in an unfamilar place. Shockingly enough, her ex-fiance was by her bedside. They had found her outside the burning wreckage of Crowley's house. She had been in a coma for three days.

But something was wrong...Emily saw right through the demon's disguise. The demon for his part was completely non-plussed and seemingly terrified of Emily, Which puzzled her some. After trying unsuccessfully to intimidate her it left quickly.

The group awoke slowly. Crowley was softly crying in the corner. Cordelia was furious at being tricked. Emily was mildly confused and Jules? Well Jules was pitching a tent in his trousers.

As Cordelia struggled to master her temper and Jules struggled to remain master of his domain, Emily was left to deal with the fact that her compatriot had been emotionally manipulated in some way.

There was an insistent pounding on the doors downstairs. Jules said "I'll go answer the door. they might be attractive!" and set off with Emily in hot pursuit.

At the door there were a number of kilt wearing Templar with large-ish Primium swords who seemed disinclined to talk. In fact all they said was "WHERE'S CROWLEY!" and when both Emily and Jules hesitated, they drew their swords and looked to hew them down.

Thankfully, Jules's muscles don't stutter and he whacked one with his charged cane while Emily judiciously used Entropy to topple one of the pieces of erotic statuary that Crowley had littered his foyer with onto one of the templars.

This racket drew Cordelia and Crowley from upstairs and once the door had been shut they began to discuss their options as the remaining templars began assailing the heavily warded front door. Crowley wanted to give himself up in order to allow them to escape but Cordelia strictly vetoed that. As they began girding themselves for the inevitability of attacking the remaining templars. they noticed something odd...The pounding had stopped.

Looking outside the group noticed that the templars were faced the wrong way and looking up at the sky. They opened the door and stared in the direction the templars were looking. Hoving into view over the mountains on the horizon was an enormous black serpent flying through the air. straight for their position.

The Jormungandr!

Aleister, Cordelia, and Emily didn't know what the bloody hell it was but they knew they wanted no part of it. Deciding that discretion was the better part of valor, Aleister decided to abandon his house and told the group of a one-way gate back to London secreted in the library. The four of them made for the gate as the monstrous Captain Tromos incinerated the Templars and then the house around them.

One teleport later:

They arrived in the dusty root cellar of the flat in north london where they were discovered by Cambridge who took the master upstairs to be doctored and attended to. For the moment the group was left to their own devices while they tried to figure out what just happened. Thinking quickly, Jules got out his pocket tool kit and opened up his Ether goggles...He found that the demon had not been lying about the tranceiver in his goggles. He quickly toggled it to the off position. Captain Deveraux might not be able to find him now but neither could Captain Tromos. If the demon had told the truth about this...perhaps it had not also lied about other things...like Millicent's real feelings and the fact that Deveraux was still alive and effecting repairs in Tangiers.

Dinner was laid on and the group met a slightly restored Crowley at the table. He seemed broken inside and appeared quite older than his 26 years.

At Cordelia's insistence, Crowley began to relate what he knew about the death of Robert Nyles. Aleister and Robert had known one another passing well, and during the course of one of his investigations had uncovered a disquieting fact which he had appraised Robert of. Crowley had discovered that an extremely high level hermetic magus named Charles Wentworth Blake had become an infernalist. This was especially disquiting because he was so highly placed and was quite powerful in the sleeper realm as well. ( Being an MP and a highly visible member of polite society. it was even rumored he knew the Prime Minister.) Robert had quickly informed Maximillian Praeger who ordered him to keep it quiet. Normally this would have been sent directly to house Quaesitor to be handled. Crowley found out that Tytalus had decided to watch Blake and try to root out his cult and present it all wrapped up to the Hermetic council in one nice package. Quite a coup if they could pull it off.

The wheels began to come off when an attempt was made on both Robert's and Aleister's lives. When Blake shopped Robert's whereabouts to the Technocracy, Aleister decided to go to ground...and that is where he'd been ever since. in the meantime, Blake had produced "Incontrovertable" evidence that Crowley was an infernalist and had begun smearing him in the sleeper world as well. This of course was not helped along by crowley's lifestyle or the fact that he was in fact guilty of a number of infractions of the hermetic code.

The subsequent investigation of Robert's murder by house Quaesitor was quashed and as such they never tumbled to the Technocracy's role. Blake's hands were incontrovertably clean and the Tytalus mages kept mum and hoped Blake would make a mistake....which to date, it would seem he has not.

Filled with a fury far beyond what mere demons could engender, Cordelia turned this intelligence over in her mind. Praeger had known all of this...had allowed Robert to be slaughtered like a sacrificial lamb. Jack couldn't have known about this. he wouldn't have sat still for it at all.

Praeger had a lot to answer for...and he would. So would this Blake person.

In the meantime it was getting late. A letter had been sent out in the evening post that would summon Thomas in the morning. Crowley offered his meager hospitality for the night which the group gratefully accepted.

Emily couldn't sleep. That part of her which she was unable to ignore felt as if things were unfinished. everything in the visions had come to pass so far except...Could she really go through with it? Here she was a shy little virgin and a proper English girl to boot. Was she really considering having relations of a sexual nature with that man? Certainly he was a nexus of possibilty that much was clear to her but he seemed as if he had lost the will to live.

She went down the hall and consulted a half asleep Cordelia...Who was not much help but told her that if she felt it was right then maybe she should do it. (She thankfully refrained from telling her to lie back and think of England...)

Emily was a little shocked when Aleister thanked her with a ruefull smile and declined her shy advances. The man had really lost all confidence...and Emily's heart went out to him. They talked for a time and Emily decided that this man wasn't so bad. As he began to show her out of his room, He did ask if he would be permitted to kiss her. He was practically shaking with emotion...So was she.

They made love. Emily for the first time, and Aleister felt as if it was the first time. Aleister was a surprisingly tender and capable lover and the both of them fell asleep each with a weight cut from their shoulders, in one another's arms.

Morning breakfast was an extraordinarily awkward affair for everyone except Jules (who slept like a log, dreaming of American girls who smell like hotdogs and engine solder.) After dealing with the herculean feast set before them, Aleister pulled Emily aside before she left and bid her call him Alexander (which was his true name) and told her that she was welcome to call on him at any time and for any purpose. She thanked him demurely and stepped aboard the carriage bound for home...wondering if she would ever see him again.