Novak looked puzzled, but took the phone and wandered off.
That taken care of, I hopped on my cycle and headed to Kirsten’s shop to see about a charm.
I had only gone a block when a large SUV pulled out of a side street, tires screaming, and headed directly toward me. I goosed the throttle, and the bike leaped forward, but the SUV still caught my back tire. A normal motorcycle would have gone down, but the magitek gyroscopic stabilizer kept me upright. That still left the problem of not crashing into something.
By the time I got the bike under control and slowed to a stop, the SUV was gone. I dismounted to check the bike and found that the back rim was bent. Not a lot, but too much to ride. My legs were a little shaky, too. That ‘accident’ was a little too close for comfort. I took a deep breath and looked around. It didn’t seem as though anyone out on the street had noticed the incident. Someone wanted me dead. The question was, who? And why? I turned around and pushed the bike back to the police station, constantly looking over my shoulder for anyone else who might want to take a shot at me.
I parked the bike next to where my police-issue car was parked, pulled out a tool kit, and removed the bike’s rear wheel. I threw it in the trunk of the car, jumped in, and drove over to my friendly local motorcycle store. I left the wheel there and proceeded on to Kirsten’s.
When I entered the shop, a large man wearing a black leather jacket was sitting on a small couch near the door. He looked up from the magazine he was reading, nodded to me, and went back to his magazine. I recognized him as one of Osiris’s men.
Kirsten looked up from where she was helping a customer, saw it was me, and returned her attention to the customer. I wandered over to the guy on the couch and sat down.
“Someone just tried to kill me,” I muttered. “Tried to run over me on my bike.”
“I’ve heard that you inspire that kind of reaction,” he said in a low voice, not even raising his eyes from the article on the new fashion trends in bathing suits. “Was the bike hurt?”
“Bent the back rim.”
That got his attention, and he turned to me. “Shit. That’s a nice ride.”
“Thank you, I think. More worried about the bike than about me?”
“You’re not bleeding.”
“You really know the way to a girl’s heart. I’ll remember to commend your sympathetic attitude to Osiris.”
He grinned, showing an impressive number of teeth. “Thank you. I’m sure it will help on my next performance evaluation.”
“Dani.”
“Yeah, I know. Arnold, or Arnie if we get friendly.” Nice smile. He was large, as Kirsten had said. Well over six feet, and broad as the doorway. Dark hair and tanned skin, pretty brown eyes, and somewhat nice to look at. I decided my admonition to Kirsten hadn’t been out of line.
“Where’s your partner?”
“Out back, on the roof next to the greenhouse. Probably sleeping.”
“That doesn’t sound very professional.”
“He has an alarm spell set. No one’s going to get past him. I’ll go relieve him in another couple of hours. He’ll get upset if I have all the fun.”
Kirsten finished with her customer and wandered over to where we were sitting. I noticed that Arnold didn’t even pretend to be uninterested.
“You two know each other?” Kirsten asked.
“We do now,” I said. “I was just complimenting him on his professional demeanor.”
Her eyes darted back and forth between Arnold and me. “So, do we know what I’m being protected against?”
I turned to Arnold and raised an eyebrow.
“Nasty people who might want to hurt you, kidnap you, or damage your property,” he said. “You really should consider whether you’re associating with the right people. Nice girl like you, hanging out with a cop.”
Kirsten laughed. “Ah, what a dull life I could live if only I listened to my mother.”
“Speaking of your mother,” I said, “did you talk to her?”
“I did indeed. Come on back. Arnie, watch the store and call me if a customer comes in.”
We left Arnold to his magazine, and she led me to her workshop.
“This is the charm.” She held up a delicate golden heart on a chain. “It should block enthrallment and coercion.” I slipped the chain over my head and let the charm slide down between my breasts.
“And this, is the backup.” She held up a perfume spritzer. “Mom helped me with this, and I think it’s exactly what you need. It’s a combination of two different potions. One is designed to nullify a demon’s influence, and the other is a demon attractant. Mixing the two is a little tricky, but I got it right, and they merged properly the second time I tried.”
“An attractant and a nullifier?”
“Yeah. The nullifier cancels out any magik he tries to use on you. A null-magik spell, if you like. The attractant is like a pheromone, but it’s magik and acts a little differently. You will have problems with demons following you around when you use it, so I’d suggest only putting it on when you’re around Ashvial.”
“And if he’s a little too attracted? Even Arnold isn’t physically a match for Ashvial.”
She made a moue and glowered at me. “I checked, and I’m all out of have-your-cake-and-eat-it-too spells this week. You either want the demon attracted to you and not using his brain, or you don’t.”
“No antidote or way to cancel the spell?”
“A shower will work. It’s water soluble. Maybe if you get real sweaty, but by that time, it’ll probably be too late.”
“Don’t go there. Not using his brain?”
“It basically turns a demon into a high-school boy. All hormones and no brain. But it doesn’t enhance his aggressiveness.”
“You don’t need to enhance a demon’s aggressiveness.” And to my knowledge, none of the demon
