Ravenous

'First of all, we have to find it. A piddly demon would never have made it through the portal, so it has to have power. It will be a master demon, and that means it can shape-shift. It won't look like a mouse anymore.'

That has its pros and cons, thought Holly. She never wanted to see that mouse again.

Grandma took a sip of tea. 'A very powerful demon appears human. You can't tell the difference just by looking. You can't even tell the difference sharing magic. Only deep Sight will reveal its true nature.'

'Human?' Holly was surprised. 'Any demon I ever saw looked like a dark, dirty cloud.'

'That's a demon's weakest form. Human form is hardest. In between, they can assume an animal shape. Usually snakes or rats—they like the ick factor.' She paused, pursing her lips. 'Anyway, nothing less than major spellcraft will work on a master. And you have to work fast, because the first thing it will do is make more servants on this side of the portal.'

Holly had eaten a few mouthfuls of cinnamon bun, but now pushed the plate away. 'How does the Turn— whatchamacallit—the Dark Larceny work?'

Grandma shook her head. 'I don't know exactly.' She paused, memory lighting her eyes. 'I had an offer for it once. A very handsome man—well, I thought he was a man until I learned otherwise—promised me the moon and stars if I would just let him taste my soul.' She smiled wryly as she spooned sugar into her tea. 'A bad bargain, but he was extremely nice to look at.'

'Oh, Grandma,' Holly said in a teasing tone. She never knew how many of her grandmother's war stories to believe. Except… her story almost exactly mirrored what Alessandro had said about being Turned.

'Those were good days.' Grandma gave a short, dry chuckle. 'So, back to the immediate problem. If you're going to protect yourself from a demon, you have to think about where your routine takes you each day.'

'Oh, crap.' Holly smacked her forehead with the heel of her palm.

'What?'

'Tomorrow's the first day of classes. I can't go to school with a demon on the loose.'

Grandma waved a dismissive hand. 'Well, on the positive side, you're safer with others around. Demons prefer a sneak attack. A crowded campus is the perfect safety zone.'

Holly shook her head. 'I don't know. Demon hunting sounds pretty full-time.'

'What do you want to do?'

'Well, I want to go to classes, of course. Everything's set to go.' She felt a wave of unreasoning, frustrated stubbornness. 'I want my business degree, for my sake and for the sake of the Three Sisters Agency. I'm tired of not knowing how to work smart. But once again life gets in the way of big plans.'

Grandma sat up straighter. 'Then go to classes.'

'But—'

'We'll manage. You can't let a demon ruin your semester.'

Doubt and disbelief vied for top billing. 'How can I just show up for class?'

'There're protection spells. I have books of them. If you want school to work out, sweetheart, you have to go for it. Take some risks. Sometimes young people are too cautious.'

'But protection spells can't be enough. There has to be something more we can do.'

Grandma narrowed her eyes. 'Such as?'

'Get rid of the demon for good. How do you kill a master?'

Grandma shook her head. 'Witches aren't strong enough to kill them. For a permanent solution, you have to send the demon back where it came from and then seal the portal behind it.'

Holly swallowed her tea the wrong way. 'That sounds up close and personal.'

'Yes.' Grandma said the word quietly. It hung in the air in a gust of cigarette smoke. 'But Elaine Carver, one of the original members of our Three Sisters Agency, did it back in 1885.'

'I've heard about this,' said Holly. 'There was a war between a master demon and the vampires back then. The demon had gathered all kinds of followers.'

'Including the Flanders family, which is interesting all on its own. Anyway, the story goes that Elaine opened a full-blown portal in the customs house right by the inner harbor. She sent the master demon and many of its servants packing.'

'How'd she do it?'

'I don't know. I've never seen the spell. Can't be the one you want, though.'

'Why not?'

'Killed her. Backwash of power was too much.'

'Oh.' That's a big help. Holly stood up and walked to the window. She had no idea what was outside. She was blinded by a stampede of thoughts and emotions, panic leading the herd.

Grandma cleared her throat. 'As I said, protection is the way to go. As for something more than that… well, it's hard to find good demon hunters these days, but maybe there's someone we could call in.'

Holly turned. 'Good demon hunters all have waiting lists. There aren't enough witches left who could do it. The wait could be months, and this thing could have taken over half of Fairview by then.'

'Better than you tangling with it. Magic shouldn't hurt you the way it does.'

'Listen, that's no reason not to fight the demon. We can ward ourselves, but eventually someone's going to get hurt. I'll live with the pain if that means getting rid of the demon for good, and right now.'

'Are you sure about that?' Grandma said, narrowing her eyes. 'It's big-M magic. The biggest. It will be agony for you, and with some of these spells, failing in the middle is worse than never starting at all.'

Holly's stomach did a slow roll of anxiety. 'Strength isn't the issue. I beat the Flanders house. Besides, motivation is everything. The demon is standing between me and the quiet enjoyment of my calculus classes.'

'You're sure you want to start down this road?'

The words came out on a shudder of breath. 'I can do it I just need to know how.'

There was a long pause. Holly looked away, afraid she would tear up. Fright? Pride? She wasn't sure what she was feeling. This wasn't a step she wanted to take, but there was no way around it.

'Then we'll work on booting this critter back to jail.'

Grandma ground out her cigarette butt, her eyes lowered. 'You are your mother's daughter, you know that?'

'Thanks,' Holly said, suddenly feeling like a child again.

'There's got to be something in all the books and notes we've gathered up over the generations. If not, I know people to call for information. In the meantime, you can borrow O'Shaughnessy's Charms and Protections and beef up the guardian spell on the house. Keep out any more surprise guests. Book's on the bookcase, third row down. Have a look at chapter eight.'

Holly pulled the book off the shelf. It was so old, the dark brown leather was flaking off the binding. 'Hey, it's got pictures, too. Do you think some of these talismans would work?'

'Not the ultimate answer, but they'll be helpful until we figure out something more permanent. I could whip up a few this afternoon while you look after the house.'

Grandma's expression was unexpectedly chipper, as if this were going to be the most fun she'd had in years. By Holly's calculation, it had probably been a decade since her grandmother had seen active service. Perhaps there was only so much canasta an old witch could take before she started jonesing for a dustup with the forces of darkness.

Stiffly, Grandma got to her feet and opened a drawer in the buffet where she stored her magical tools. She began pulling out vials of dried things, balls of twine, and feathers—the makings for charms and wearable spells. With arthritic hands she unwrapped a tiny white-handled sickle, caressing it like an old lover.

'Still sharp,' she said, running her thumb against the blade, but she might have been speaking of herself as well.

'Would a talisman work for Alessandro?' Holly asked, laying the book open on the table and resuming her seat. 'He's fighting the demon, too.'

'Sure. So you're still working with him?'

'Yeah,' Holly said, unable to stop heat from rising to her cheeks. Grandma knew very well that Alessandro