where they can do no harm.”
“What if one gets loose?”
“One or two guardsmen cannot manage a large demon like this. It takes at least a dozen, and then only within the Castle. If it were merely a matter of rounding up our friend under guard, Mac would have sent reinforcements. He can help only once the demon is inside the Castle walls.”
Holly gave him a surprised look. “What have you done in the past with cases like this?”
Reynard gave a resigned sigh. “We rely on the help of sorcerers and witches. The old guard used to have sorcerers in our number, but the years have taken their toll. I have some magic, but not enough for this.”
“I have the key Belenos was using,” Ashe said. “Is that any help?”
“The keys don’t work with fey or most demons,” Reynard replied. “They won’t pass through doorways made by the keys. There were safeguards put in place against the most dangerous species, and only additional sorcery can open a door for them. However, I can open a portal using guardsmen’s magic. It will pass through that well enough.”
Ashe cursed. “So we treat this like we did the rabbit: You open a portal, and the rest of us get old Tony into Mac’s loving care?”
Reynard nodded. Holly and Alessandro exchanged glances and agreed.
“Shouldn’t we look for the urn while slime-boy isn’t around?” Ashe suggested.
“I’d rather know where the demon is first,” said Holly. “That could be a trap.”
“You’re quite right,” Reynard agreed. “I had best let Mac know we are ready to proceed. He needs to alert his men to be standing by.”
“Why not open a portal now?” Holly asked. “I mean, to me that’s the hard part. Get it over with.”
“I don’t want to alert our friend that there is a guardsman in the house. Surprise is an advantage.” He turned to Ashe. “May I borrow your cell phone?”
Ashe fished in her pocket. “They get cell reception in the Castle?”
“No. We relay messages through the hounds guarding the gate.”
Reynard took the phone, opened it carefully, and began deliberately punching numbers. He held it up to his ear. Ashe took it away, hit send, and gave it back with a smile. He gave a sheepish grin. She loved a man who wasn’t afraid to laugh at himself. She didn’t have to walk on eggshells.
As Reynard made the call, she took a few steps away from her friends. We’ve found the demon’s treasure, but where is the demon? She looked down the gloomy corridor at the largely empty mall. She’d spent so much time there over the years, she felt protective of the place. She searched out each display window, checking to see which ones were still okay. The watch store and the florist looked okay. So did the bridal shop.
She took a few steps toward Louise’s Weddings, running her eyes over the gown in the front window. With a thrill of relief, she saw her favorite dress was still unslimed. It was a long, strapless white sheath, plain but classic. She’d had a quickie civil ceremony, over before the ink on the paperwork was dry. She didn’t like fuss, but that dress made her think a little might be nice. Champagne, photographs, a honeymoon . . . sirens.
She could hear sirens approaching. Distant, but moving fast.
She started toward the mall door to see what was coming. Had somebody figured out the slime wasn’t a maintenance issue and called the cops? Maybe the gas company, mistaking the bad smell for a leak?
More humans on site meant bad news. Casualties would be blamed on the supernatural community as a whole, and the nonhumans were barely tolerated anyway. All the more reason to wrap this up, fast.
“We’ve got company,” she said to the others. “Emergency vehicles are on the way.”
“Look at this.” Alessandro pointed. Halfway down the aisle was the Easter Bunny’s throne, where kiddies sat on the Bun’s knee and wished for bushels of chocolate eggs.
Given her current feelings about rabbits, Ashe was glad His Floppiness was off that day. “What about it?” Ashe asked. Why is this important?
The throne was surrounded by displays of fuzzy chicks, jelly beans, and cardboard lambs in unlikely pastel colors. The nearby card shop replicated the scene in their window, with the addition of a tiny Easter-themed village complete with moving train. As Ashe drew closer, she heard a small, asthmatic wheeze meant to be its whistle.
She felt Alessandro walking beside her; the vampire made no noise. “The card store sells this Easter village,” he said. “The individual pieces are collectible and expensive.”
Ashe suddenly understood where he was going with this. She drew the Colt she was carrying at the small of her back. “The store has only one of the churches. That piece costs hundreds of dollars.”
Alessandro’s face grew grim as he gripped his sword. “I can’t see our demon passing up such a prize, can you?”
They stopped their advance a few yards away from the card shop’s entrance. More slowly, they edged toward the door. Ashe risked a glance behind her. Reynard was with them now, gun drawn, Holly behind him.
She peered around a big display of souvenir mugs and into the store. Shit. Hostages.
Tony sat on the cash desk, an affable smile on his face. He was opening every box that held a piece of the collectible village and setting the miniature beside him. About twenty customers and staff huddled on the floor. He was using this store for his holding cell. Ashe counted five under Eden’s age, and two elderly women. She turned and waved at the others to stay out of sight. He’s got to have taken out mall security. Someone would have seen all this on a surveillance camera!
But maybe someone had used their cell phone to sneak a call to the cops? She’d heard sirens—where the hell were they?
“I’m still missing the bridge,” Tony said. His pleasant expression didn’t reach his voice. It was flat and cold as a dagger.
The saleswoman hurried to a cupboard with a sliding door. She opened it, rummaging frantically through what looked like dozens of identical boxes, reading the labels to find the thing he wanted. She finally found it and rushed back. “Here you are, sir.”
Carefully, Tony eased open the lid and pulled out a block of Styrofoam. He pulled that apart to reveal a small stone bridge ready to take the Easter Express across an imaginary river. A delighted smile played on his lips until his face suddenly fell.
“There’s a chip in it!” He held it up, pointing to something Ashe couldn’t see. He rounded on the saleswoman. “This is flawed!”
“I’ll get you another, sir,” the woman squeaked, and hurried back to the cupboard.
The demon hurled the offending bridge against a glass display case. The safety glass exploded with a resounding boom, sending a shower of chips to the floor. The saleswoman screamed, and two of the children started to cry.
“Give me another!” Tony roared in an unearthly voice.
Ashe used the moment to slide inside the store unnoticed, Alessandro on her heels. Reynard and Holly headed to the other side of the store. She was pretty sure a bullet wouldn’t kill a demon in human form, but it would hurt and maybe incapacitate. All they had to do was shove Tony through a portal, and they were done.
A woman squealed when she saw the gun, but with the crying children the noise made no difference. When Ashe had a clear head shot, she squeezed the trigger. She felt the recoil and heard the blam a microsecond later.
In the next eyeblink, Tony slid off the counter, the bullet between his thumb and forefinger. “You’re starting to annoy me.”
Ashe felt a ripple of earth magic. Holly was gathering her forces. Thank Goddess her magic’s back. Ashe faced off with the demon, keeping his focus on her. “Well, you’re past pissing me off, so we’re even.”
“Get out. Leave me alone. I own this mall.”
“Demons can’t hold property. Not so much as a post-office box. Any agreement Bannerman drew up is a fraud.”
“Possession is nine-tenths of the law, and believe me, demons are good at possession.” He laughed at his own joke, and tossed the bullet aside.
“Why the hostages?”
“The policemen I hear pulling up outside.” Tony flashed his dimples, looking almost jolly. “Hostages keep
