“Take a number,” Austin advised.
Claire ignored them both. “What did Mom say?”
“That I did the right thing and we’ll talk about the rest when I get home.”
“Well, she actually said,” Samuel began and broke off as Diana glared.
“So what do we do with Byleth long term?” she asked, pointedly changing the subject. “She could live here with you, you’ve got the space. I think you two would make wonderful parents.”
Dean blanched. “Uh, better idea.” He pulled out a crumpled envelope. “I found this in her jacket pocket. It’s got the address and the phone number for a Mr. and Mrs. Harry Porter and a note that says ‘if you ever need us, call.’”
“I don’t know,” Claire began.
He handed her the envelope. “The ‘i’ has been dotted with a little heart.”
“Oh, yeah. They deserve each other. Although…” She sighed, frowning at the little heart. “I still don’t like the thought of releasing even an ex-demon into the world.”
“She’ll be going to high school,” Diana reminded her grimly. “Anything demonic she managed to do in the short time she was here, she’ll more than pay for.”
“Good point.” The envelope changed hands again. “She’s your project, Diana, you can do the honors.”
“Okay, but I’m doing it from the phone in Dean’s old apartment, I so don’t want to run into Mr. and Mrs. Scary Old People again.” Pivoting on one heel, she scanned the hall. “Samuel?”
Just as she started to worry, he emerged from the elevator, jaws working.
“Come on, we’re going to go ruin Byleth’s life. What are you chewing?” she asked as they started down the basement stairs.
“Someone left a piece of calamari in that little room.”
“Eww. Don’t eat stuff you find on the floor.”
“I’m eight inches tall. My options are kind of limited.”
As their voices faded, Claire moved back into Dean’s arms, slipping her hands under his coat and grinning at his reaction to the temperature of her fingers. “Now that Hell’s back out of the picture, you really have to put a furnace in this place.”
“I know. Claire, I was wondering…”
“Natural gas is probably cheaper.”
“Not that…”
Her hands dropped lower. “Just as soon as we get rid of everyone.”
“No. Well, yes. Wait a minute.” He caught hold of her wrists while he was still capable of stopping her. “The angel, is it gone, then?”
She nuzzled his neck. “Not exactly. Diana turned him into a cat.”
“Samuel?” Shoulder blades pressed into the wall, he detached enough to look down at Austin.
“Samuel,” Austin told him. “But Diana thinks Claire doesn’t know, so keep it to yourself.”
“Why?”
He shrugged and wrapped his tail around his front paws, managing to somehow look like a small, furry, one-eyed Buddha. “It’s an older sister thing. In an effort to keep a small piece of the high ground, Claire needs to know things that Diana doesn’t know she knows because Diana is so much more powerful. Keeperwise.”
“Okay. But couldn’t this whole thing…”
“No, he’s no more an angel now than that girl’s a demon. They canceled each other out when he knocked her away from the hole.”
“Did he know that would happen, then?”
“Does it matter?” Claire asked.
“I guess not.”
“I wouldn’t worry about him,” Austin said soothingly. “He’s a cat.”
“Which means?” Claire demanded from inside the circle of Dean’s arms.
“Which means—and do you have to do that in front of me?—that he’s still a superior being.”
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The finest in Fantasy and Science Fiction
by TANYA HUFF from DAW Books:
THE SILVERED
THE ENCHANTMENT EMPORIUM
THE WILD WAYS
The Confederation Novels:
A CONFEDERATION OF VALOR
Valor’s Choice/The Better Part of Valor
THE HEART OF VALOR (#3)
VALOR’S TRIAL (#4)
THE TRUTH OF VALOR (#5)
SMOKE AND SHADOWS (#1)
SMOKE AND MIRRORS (#2)
SMOKE AND ASHES (#3)
BLOOD PRICE (#1)
BLOOD TRAIL (#2)
BLOOD LINES (#3)
BLOOD PACT (#4)
BLOOD DEBT (#5)
BLOOD BANK (#6)
The Keeper’s Chronicles:
SUMMON THE KEEPER (#1)
THE SECOND SUMMONING (#2)
LONG HOT SUMMONING (#3)
THE QUARTERS NOVELS, Volume 1:
Sing the Four Quarters/Fifth Quarter
THE QUARTERS NOVELS, Volume 2:
No Quarter/The Quartered Sea
WIZARD OF THE GROVE
Child of the Grove/The Last Wizard
OF DARKNESS, LIGHT, AND FIRE
Gate of Darkness, Circle of Light/The Fire’s Stone
