But this was complete fucking bullshit. This was someone fucking with my life just to fuck with it. I resisted the urge to shoot a death glare at the mayor. “Is it just me,” I muttered to Ryan, “or does the mayor seem hell-bent on getting into my house?”
Ryan flicked me a glance. “You think he could be the summoner?”
I cast a sideways look at Peter Fussell. “Fuck, I don’t know, but he sure is acting weird. I mean, I know he hates me, but what if all this is just because he wants a look at my summoning chamber? Or the storage diagram?”
A grimace passed over Ryan’s face. “If so, he’s tipping his hand pretty heavily. And how would he know about it anyway?”
“He could have learned of it from a demon,” I said after some brief thought. “I’ve used it to summon quite a few demons, so I would imagine that word has spread a bit.” I jammed my hands into my pockets and hunched my shoulders. “This sucks.” I didn’t mind them sifting through my not-so-delicates, but the thought of them rooting around my basement made my stomach hurt.
“Can you get the demon you just summoned to check him out?” Ryan asked.
“That would be ideal,” I replied, “I’ll need to renegotiate terms with him.” I glanced at my watch. “Shit. Maybe not. He’s been here for a long time.” At Ryan’s questioning look I explained, “The lower-level demons can only stay a couple of hours. Not like reyza who can stay most of a day or longer.” In fact I really needed to dismiss the nyssor soon, but I couldn’t do that until all the searchers had left. Crap. I didn’t want to draw attention to the demon by going to check on him. Instead I pulled my phone out and thumbed in a quick text to Jill. How is he doing?
A few seconds later the reply came: he says he’s tired. Yep, I’d have to find another way to check out the mayor.
It was nearly twenty minutes later when Chief Turnham emerged, followed by my sergeant and Tracy.
The mayor straightened and lifted his chin as the chief walked down my steps. “Well? Did you find the evidence you need?”
I was thrilled to see the Chief Turnham give the mayor a withering look. “No, we didn’t find any evidence. I told you this was a waste of time.”
Well, that confirmed my suspicion that Mayor Fussell had been the supreme driving force behind this crap.
Fussell’s face twisted into a scowl. “You didn’t look hard enough. Get back in there and tear the place apart! She has drugs hidden in there somewhere. You know she had to have poisoned those people!”
Chief Turnham’s eyes narrowed, but I didn’t give him a chance to speak. “Hey, asshole!” I shouted as I stalked over toward him. “You got a problem with me, that’s fine, but while you’re dicking around with this shit, the real killer’s sitting back laughing at us.” Unless it’s you, I added in a silent death glare.
He drew himself up. “What did you call me?”
I stopped, thought back to my words. “I’m pretty sure I called you an asshole. But that was wrong of me to do. I meant to call you a complete blithering fucking asshole idiot.”
“Gillian!” The chief’s voice snapped out. “That’s enough.”
I struggled to hold onto my anger. I had the cuff on—this was my own very righteous fury. “Really? He won’t be happy until he tears my house to the ground to look for evidence that doesn’t fucking exist! I want him off my property. Now!”
“Detective Gillian, dial it down,” he said through gritted teeth.
I took a ragged breath. “Certainly, sir. But as a citizen, I respectfully state that this man is not welcome on my property.
Fussell sneered. “I’m an elected official. I’m on official business.”
The deputy cleared his throat. “Nope. Yer out of yer jurisdiction, and yer not law enforcement. Under title fourteen section sixty-three, if she forbids you to stay on her property, and you don’t leave, then I’m obliged to carry out my duty as an officer of the law.” He spat, then added. “Y’ain’t my boss, Mister Mayor.”
Fussell stared at the deputy, then spun and marched back to the chief’s car, got in, and slammed the door.
The chief gave me a dark glare. “Gillian, the only reason you didn’t just earn yourself a suspension for insubordination is because, as you said, you were acting as a citizen and not as an officer of the law, and these were most assuredly extenuating and trying circumstances. But, from here on out, if you so much as look sideways at the mayor, or fail to calm your shit down when I tell you to, you’ll be out of a job so fast your head will spin. Am I clear?”
I’d never seen the chief so angry. And especially not at me. “Yes, sir,” I replied, as meekly as I could.
He turned, stalked to his car, and drove off. I let out an unsteady breath and then turned to the deputy. “Thank you. Seriously, you have no idea how grateful I am.”
He chuckled. “No problem. Fussell’s my brother-in-law. He’s a complete dickweed. This was the most fun I’ve had in months.” Giving me a wink, he climbed into his car then headed off down my driveway.
Smiling weakly, I walked back to my house. Sarge stood on the bottom step.
“Did y’all take anything?” I asked. By law if anything was seized, they had to provide a receipt.
“Just pictures,” he said. “Probably would have seized your computer, except apparently you don’t have one.” He cocked an eyebrow at me. I replied with an innocent shrug. “Anyway,” he continued, “sorry about all this.”
“Not your fault.” I glanced back at Tracy. “Just, please make sure those pics don’t get out. I don’t trust the mayor. He’s up to something.”
“They won’t,” Tracy assured me gravely. “Promise.”
“Thanks, y’all,” I said, suddenly insanely weary.
“But, Kara?” Tracy said. I turned back and gave him a questioning look. “You might want to do something about that bag of old gym clothes in your closet.” He gave a comic shudder. “Next time warn a brother!”
“Damn,” I said. “I should have given those to the mayor!”
Chapter 17
The first thing I did after everyone left was to go to where Jill and Votevha were waiting. The demon sat with his legs pulled to his chest, face pale. Jill shot me a worried look. “I don’t think he feels good.”
“He’s been here for several hours,” I said as I crouched in front of Votevha. “Forgive me for the delay, honored one. I am deeply grateful for your service. Are you ready to go back?”
Votevha nodded, then bared his teeth in a razor-tipped smile. “Fun.”
I grinned. “I’m glad you enjoyed it.”
Standing, I gave Jill a nod. She scrambled back while I began the dismissal chant, but then I stopped and scowled. Hard to pull potency when you’re blocked from the arcane. “I’m sorry, Votevha. We need to get onto the back porch so that I can be inside the wards.”
The demon nodded and trotted to the porch. I joined him there, pulled the cuff off. I had absolutely no doubt that Eilahn had restored the wards the instant the interlopers had left. Once again I began the dismissal chant, exhaling in pleasure as the power came into my control. Pulling potency, I focused on the bindings that held the demon in this world, shaping the portal that would pull him back to his own. A wind rose, bringing with it the stench of sulfur as a light-filled slit widened behind Votevha. A few seconds later a ripping crack split the quiet of my backyard, and the demon was gone.
I sank to sit on the back steps until the spots could fade from my vision. Dismissals were like sprinting while holding your breath. A rustle from the woods grabbed my attention, but before I could even think to find a weapon Zack emerged from the woods, carrying a large cardboard box. Grinning, he came up to the steps and set it down in front of me.
“We figured you didn’t want anyone seeing this stuff,” he explained.
Puzzled, I looked down into the box then laughed at the sight of the knife and candles and various implements I used for my summonings, as well as half a dozen books with titles that would likely rais
e eyebrows.
“I have the best friends in the world,” I announced as Ryan and Eilahn came out to join us.
“Anytime, babe,” Jill said. “At least that’s over.”
“For now,” I replied. I went inside and did a quick prowl through my house and basement to be absolutely certain nothing had been unduly disturbed. Other than the clothing in my drawers being a bit mussed, everything seemed to be all right. I headed to the living room where the others had gathered, and flopped onto the couch. Eilahn was looking out the window with a troubled look on her face.
“Is something wrong, Eilahn?”
She glanced my way. “I am troubled that it was necessary to destroy your storage diagram.”
I grimaced and ran both hands through my hair. “Yeah, well at least I was able to use it to get Votevha here to check Roman.” Then I made a disparaging noise. “Not that it mattered.” I heaved a sigh. “And at least I kept Mayor Asshole out of here. But now he’s my number one suspect for being the mystery summoner, and it would have been damn nice to be able to get a demon to verify that for me.”
“He did seem most eager to enter.” Her mouth pursed in a frown. “But I thought perhaps it had more to do with this.” She extended her hand to show me a baggie of white powder. “Am I correct in assuming it is contraband of some sort?”
“Yowza,” Jill said, eyes going wide.
I took a careful breath. “Where did you get that?”
Eilahn tilted her head. “It was in his right coat pocket.” A whisper of satisfied amusement lit her eyes. “I noticed that he kept his hand very near that pocket, and would often dip his hand into it as if to make certain that something was there. I was curious to see what he was so concerned about.”
I took the baggie from her and peered at the contents. “Well, I have a good feeling it is contraband, but unlike on TV, one does not taste the drug to find out what it is. I don’t happen to have a field test on me, but it doesn’t matter. I’m quite sure this is either cocaine or heroin, and it’s about to get flushed.” Renewed anger suffused me. “He was going to plant it. What a cocksucker!” I shot her a grateful look. “Nice job picking his pocket.”
“I replaced it with a similar substance,” she said. “I have hopes he will not notice the exchange.”
“You seriously rock,” I said fervently. “What’d you use?”
“Powdered sugar.” Vicious amusement lit her eyes. “Though I admit I was tempted to replace it with the ant killer in your shed.”
I laughed. “And that, boys and girls, is why you never taste the drugs!”
The cat stalked in and rubbed against Eilahn, then walked across Jill’s lap and onto Zack’s lap to thrust her head into his face. He gave a surprised laugh, then obediently scratched Fuzzykins behind her ears.
Jill smiled and reached over to give her a pet. “What a sweetie kitty!” Bemused, I watched as Fuzzykins bumped her head briefly against Jill’s hand in cursory appreciation of the adoration, then returned to her passion fit on Zack’s lap.
“That’s a bizarre cat,” Ryan muttered.
“Yeah, she hates me and Ryan, but she seems to go nuts for, um,” I stopped myself and quickly fumbled for something to say besides demons. “Um, Zack and Eilahn. Do y’all use the same kind of soap or something?” I forced out a laugh while Zack gave me a Seriously? look.
“Maybe she’s mellowed,” Ryan said. He leaned forward and reached a hand out, then quickly pulled it back as the cat turned on him with a snarl and hiss. “Or not.”
We lapsed into silence, broken only by the cat’s insane purring. My thoughts continued to rampage madly. Too much I needed to be doing. I needed to rebuild my storage diagram and start channeling power back into it. I needed to figure out who the fuck was killing these people and why, so that I could get my job back.
“Perhaps I could make waffles,” Eilahn said. “Is it too late in the day for waffles?”
“It’s never too late for waffles,” I told her, relieved at any excuse for a distraction. She smiled in satisfaction and headed to the kitchen.
“Your computer and the map are out in my car,” Ryan told me. “I’ll go and get them now.”
Zack gently removed Fuzzykins from his lap. “I’ll help,” he said.
The two men left. I looked over at Jill. She had a smile on her face, but it seemed strained and I could see lines of worry around her eyes. I gave myself a mental kick. I’d been so preoccupied with my own crap that I hadn’t even paid attention to how she was doing.
“How are things with Zack?” I watched her face as I asked. I didn’t like it, but I had a horrible sneaking hope the two of them would break up. Not because I wished ether of them ill, but more because I really didn’t like that Zack wasn’t being honest with her. Or was he? Had he finally come clean to her?
“Well,” she said, spreading her hands. “Things are great.”
I narrowed my eyes. “I sense a ‘but’ coming.”
She shrugged and smiled, but it was unsteady. “I like him. Hell, I’m crazy about him. He treats me like a goddamn queen, we have a lot of fun together, the sex is great, we seem to be really compatible…”
“But?” I prompted, biting back the urge to say “But he’s a demon.” Let her say it, I thought, relieved. Zack had finally told her. At least that was one stress off me.
She took a deep breath. “But things are suddenly moving really…fast.”
I waited.
“I’m pregnant.”
I had no doubt that the expression on my face was a combination of shock, horror, disbelief, and nothing else that could make her think I was possibly happy for her. I fought to put a smile on my face, but it wasn’t happening.
“It’s Zack’s?” I asked, somehow keeping my voice in a mostly normal register.
A scowl flashed across her face. “No, it’s Pellini’s! We’ve been doing the nasty in the back of the van after every crime scene. Of course it’s Zack’s.”
“Sorry,” I muttered. “Um, are you okay with this?” Don’t you know he’s a demon? I wanted to shriek. “And does he know?”
She was silent for several seconds. “Yeah, he knows, and yeah…I think I’m okay with this. It was a shock, to be sure. I use protection, but nothing’s foolproof, I guess. But if I have to get knocked up by accident, at least it’s with a guy who’s pretty damn awesome.”
I reached out and squeezed her hand, since it seemed like the right thing to do. “That’s great, then.” And because I couldn’t hold the question in any longer, I blurted, “How much do you know about Zack?”
She opened her mouth, then closed it and gave me a penetrating frown. “Why? You have that look on your face.”
“What look on my face?”
“The one that you get when you’re—” She broke off as the door opened and the two men entered, laden with my stuff. We both leaped up to help them, and the next several minutes were occupied with getting my computer hooked back up, and the map on which I’d marked the portal locations up in the hallway by the kitchen.
By that time Eilahn announced that waffles were coming off the iron, and so we trooped into the kitchen. Ryan gave me an odd look as I sat in the chair that faced the back door.
“I thought you hated that chair,” he said as he took a seat.
I blinked, frowning. “Yeah. I do.” So why did it feel right to be facing this way?
Then Eilahn plopped a waffle onto my plate, and I forgot all about where I was sitting. Ryan even got up to help Eilahn with the cooking, giving her a chance to sit and eat as well.
I caught Zack’s eye. “I hear congratulations are in order,”
His smile faded. I had no idea if he had any ability to read thoughts, but I had no doubt that mine were pretty clear on my face. I made a quick flick of my eyes toward where Ryan stood at the counter with the clear message, If he wasn’t right here I’d spill the beans because I’m not going to let you fuck with my friend, and holy fuck how can a demon get a human woman pre
gnant anyway?
Okay, maybe that was a lot to read in my face, but he seemed to manage it. He gave me the slightest of nods, acknowledging. But now I couldn’t help but wonder—why was I so shocked that Zack had knocked up Jill when only a little while ago I’d been worried that Rhyzkahl had done the same to me? But the demonic lords aren’t demons, I reminded myself. Yeah, great, so what are they?
Ryan turned. “Who are we congratulating for what?” he asked, gaze flicking from me to Zack and Jill.
Zack spoke up first. “Jill’s pregnant.”
Ryan inhaled sharply and gave a cautious smile. “Surfer boy’s going to settle down now?”
“Looks that way,” he said. Zack gave Jill’s hand a squeeze along with a look of such fondness that I almost felt guilty for being so angry at him. Almost. I was still plenty pissed. I wasn’t an expert on relationships by any stretch, but it didn’t seem like starting off with a big whopping lie—like the fact that he wasn’t human—was a good way to go about it.
“He’s stuck with me now,” Jill said after giving him a return squeeze and an equally fond look.
Ryan finished up at the counter and slid into his seat. He lifted his chin toward the map hanging in the hallway. “I get that the red marks are where bodies were found. But what are the blue marks?”
“Well…” How to explain this? Crap. Nothing to do but just say it. “Not long ago Rhyzkahl went onto my computer,” I told him. “Did some sort of internet search on a bunch of locations in this area.” I waved a hand at the map. “That’s the blue marks.”
Ryan’s brows drew together. “Well what are they?”
I shrugged. “No clue.”
His frown deepened. “You didn’t ask him what he was doing?”
I poked my fork into a waffle. “I wasn’t there when he was doing it.” I jammed a piece of waffle into my mouth. “I fas sweep.”
Jill’s eyes were dancing in amusement, but Ryan’s narrowed even farther. “You were what? Asleep?”
Jill piped up to save me. “Maybe they’re places where people are going to die. Have you checked out those sites?”
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