When he came back, he had on a pair of shorts and carried a rope and roll of duct tape.
“Ugh, I feel like we’re committing a felony,” Gabby said, helping Luke wrap the demon’s inert body with the heavy rope.
“Duct tape its mouth good. I don’t want any of that salt to wash away as we drag the bastard behind the boat.”
“Luke! We can’t do that.”
“Which? Duct tape its maw or drag its ass?”
“Drag it behind the boat. What if it uses the water as a portal and escapes?”
He grinned, tying the rope off with a constrictor knot. “Demons use water as a portal, like in a birdbath or a scrying bowl, but they’ll never touch it. Water is an anathema to them. They hate it. Trust me. If it regains consciousness, it will wish it didn’t. The only demons who tolerate water are lessers, but only because they are too malformed in brain and body to know better.”
She ripped off a wide strip of duct tape, and then closed its salt-crusted mouth before taping it shut.
“That’s for going after my baby, you evil piece of shit! And I hope it hurts like a mutha when Aiden rips your lips off.”
Luke raced for his clothes and his backpack, throwing it all over the gunwale before securing the demon’s rope to a deck cleat.
He helped Gabby onboard, and then revved the engines. “I’ve already told Aiden. He and the others are meeting us at the dock.”
“This should be very interesting.” She exhaled. “Maybe it’ll score points with your father. Proving my witchy blood as an asset.”
“You already are an asset. In fact, you’re a treasure, and that little wolfitch sleeping inside you makes it even more so.”
Chapter Five
“Grab the line,” Aiden directed Jared and the other sentinels. “Tie off the boat, and then help move the demon inside. The witches set up a holding cell in the basement. Raven and Alain are waiting for you there.”
The demon’s body bobbed alongside the hull, tied up like a Christmas ham. “Jeez, Luke.” Jared laughed. “You dragged it alongside the boat? Very Deadliest Catch of you.”
“Not deadliest demon, though.” Luke grinned in reply. “Not with super weather witch on site. Gabby pulled salt right out of the water to stun it.”
“Don’t exaggerate,” she said, bending for Luke to help her down from the boat. “It was just waves. Even freshwater has a certain salinity. I let nature do the rest.”
“More like a mini tidal wave. The demon saw it coming and ran for cover.”
Tanya walked onto the dock, stepping beside Jared to watch them hoist the demon from the water. “Aiden, Capiria said the holding cell is ready when you are.”
“Time to open up a can of witchy whoopass.”
Aiden pushed past them. “There’s nothing funny about this, bro. Getting answers out of this demon will be a lot harder than that juvenile.”
“There are four blood witches in this house, Aiden. One a very experienced elder,” Tanya replied with a face like stone. “In New Orleans there was just me and Raven, neither of us understanding the scope of our abilities. We do now, and we’ve got them down to a science. This incarnate doesn’t stand a chance.”
“I’m so proud of how far you’ve come, love,” Jared responded. “But Aiden’s right. We shouldn’t be overconfident.”
Aiden nodded, but then barked orders for the remaining sentinels to run the perimeter scanning for anomalies. “We need wards. Strong ass wards. Get the witches to help. We don’t need the incarnate demon’s buddy punching through and stealing our playbook.”
“C’mon, T. We should see if Raven needs anything else,” Gabby jerked her head toward the house.
Jared and Luke joined them, and the four walked up the path ahead of the others.
“Hey!” Aiden called after them. “Briefing in an hour. Everyone is required. Let the others know.”
Gabby raised an eyebrow. “Jeez, is he always like that?”
“Yes,” Luke and Jared answered in stereo.
Tanya nodded. “He’s much better since being with Raven. When I first met Aiden, he was ready to kill me. Jared had to claim me to make his brother stand down.”
“Wait—” Gabrielle shook her head, flabbergasted. “You’re serious? Jared had to mark you—”
“Claim me,” Tanya interrupted.
“Whatever. Are you’re saying he did so in order to save you?”
“He didn’t actually claim me for real. Well, not until much later. He verbally claimed me to buy me time.”
“Time for what?” Gabby’s looked from one to the other. “What did you do?”
“Wrong place, wrong time,” Tanya replied with a shrug. “I saw them take down a lesser demon, and then spied on them while they disposed of the remains.”
Jared kissed the side of her head. “There were extenuating circumstances. None of which would have been a problem if you had listened and stayed put.”
“What do you want from me? I was scared out of my wits. Still, I couldn’t not look. At least Raven and Gabrielle had an idea of their paranormal abilities. I was completely in the dark.”
“Okay, head totally spinning here.” Gabrielle shook her head again. “Your mother is a blood witch, yet she never told you or taught you about your gifts?”
Tanya laughed. “I already told you. The Motherhouse put the kibosh on that. Besides, we have our own eclectic coven now, and the Motherhouse can kiss our collective ass.”
“Amen to that.” Gabrielle nodded.
Aiden’s sentinels went around them carrying the still prone demon up the path.
“Ugh. I will never get used to that smell,” Tanya said, pulling her cellphone from her back pocket. “I’d better text Raven so she can
