The Good, The Bad, And The Undead

appeared on its wrist the instant it looked down. The watch was a twin to Nick's. 'What to do, what to do. Kill you or keep you? Hold to tradition or bow to progress? I do believe the only thing that will stand up in court is to let you decide.' It smiled, and an unstoppable shiver shook me. 'And we do want this to be legal. Very, very legal.'

Frightened, I slid down the counter to tuck into Nick. When did what was legal mean anything to a demon?

'I will not kill you if you summon me without a circle,' the demon said abruptly, its heels making a sharp tap on the linoleum as it backed up, excitement showing in its jerky motions. 'If I'm right, I will be giving you this anyway. We'll know soon.' It grinned wickedly. 'I can hardly wait. Either way, you're mine.'

I jumped as Nick took my elbow. 'I've never heard of a promise of safety without a circle,' he whispered, his gaze pinched. 'Ever.'

'That's because it's only given to the walking dead, Nick Sparagmos.'

The bad feeling in the pit of my stomach started working its way upward, tightening every muscle on the way. There was nothing on this God-stinking earth worth a risk-free summoning, but it gave me that instead of absolving me from my debt? Oh, that had to be good.

I had overlooked something. I knew it. Resolute, I pushed the feeling aside. I'd made bad deals before and survived them. 'Fine,' I said, my voice quavering. 'I'm done with you. I want you to go directly back to the ever- after with no deviations along the way.'

The demon glanced at its wrist again. 'Such a harsh mistress,' it said elegantly, in a grand mood as it opened the freezer and took out a frozen box of microwave fries. 'But as you're in the circle and I'm out here, I'll leave when I damn well please.' Its white-gloved hand was enveloped in a red smear, clearing to show the fries steaming. Opening the fridge, it frowned. 'No ketchup?'

Two p.m., I thought, glancing at the clock. Why was that important? 'Nick,' I whispered, going cold. 'Take the batteries out of your watch. Now.'

'What?'

The clock above the sink said five minutes to two. I wasn't sure how accurate it was. 'Just do it!' I shouted. 'It's connected to Colorado's atomic clock. It sends out a pulse at midnight their time to reset everything. The pulse will break the circle, just like an active phone line or gas pipe.'

'Oh… shit,' Nick said, his slack face going white.

'Damn you witch!' the demon shouted, furious. 'I almost had you both!'

Nick was frantically working at his watch, his long fingers prying at the back. 'Do you have a coin? I need a dime to get the back off.' His eyes were frightened as they jerked to the clock above the sink. His hand went into a pocket, searching.

'Give it here!' I exclaimed, snatching the watch. I threw it on the counter. Plucking the meat-tenderizing hammer from the rack above me, I swung.

'No!' Nick cried as pieces of watch went everywhere. 'We had three minutes yet!'

I shrugged off his grip and beat at it. 'You see!' I exclaimed, bringing the hammer down again and again. 'You see how clever it is?' Adrenaline made my motions jerky as I brandished the wooden hammer at him. 'It knew you had that watch. It was just waiting! That's why it agreed to giving me a safe summoning!' With a cry of frustration, I threw the hammer at the demon. It hit the unseen wall of the circle and bounced back to clatter at my feet. There wasn't much left of Nick's watch but a bent back and shards of quartz.

Nick slumped against the counter, the fingers of one hand pressing into his forehead as he bowed his head. 'I thought he wanted to teach me,' Nick whispered. 'All those times, he was just trying to get me to keep him with me until the circle broke.'

He jumped as I touched his shoulder, staring at me with frightened eyes. Finally he was frightened. 'Do you understand now?' I said bitterly. 'It's going to kill you. It's going to kill you and take your soul. Tell me you won't call it again. Please?'

Nick took a quick breath. He met my eyes, shaking his head. 'I'll be more careful,' he whispered.

Frustrated, I spun to the demon. 'Get out of here like I told you to!' I shouted.

With an unearthly grace, the demon stood. The vision of a British gentleman took a moment to adjust the lace about its throat and then its cuffs. Motions slow and deliberate, it pushed the chair back under the table. It inclined its head to me, its red eyes watching from over its glasses. 'Congratulations on binding your familiar, Rachel Mariana Morgan,' it said. 'Summon me with the name Algaliarept. Tell anyone my name, and you're mine by default. And don't think that because you don't have to be in a circle to summon me that you're safe. You are mine. Not even your soul is worth your freedom.'

And with that it vanished in a smear of red ever-after, leaving the scent of grease and fried potatoes.

Seventeen

I sat at the lab stool and tapped my ankle against the rungs. 'How much longer do you think she can drag this out?' I asked Janine as I tossed my head to Dr. Anders. The woman was at her desk before the blackboard, testing one of the students.

Janine popped her gum and twirled a finger in her enviably straight hair. Her previous fear of my demon mark had turned into a rebellious daring after I told her I got it through my past work with the I.S. Yes, it was ninety percent a lie, but I couldn't bear her distrust of me.

'Familiar evaluations take forever,' the young woman agreed. The fingers of her free hand were gentling the fur between her cat's ears. The white Manx had his eyes closed, clearly enjoying the attention. My gaze slid to Bob. I had put him in one of those big peanut butter tubs with a lid to get him there. Janine had 'oooohed' over him, but I knew it was a sympathy oooh. Most everyone had cats. One had a ferret. I thought that was cool, and the man to whom it belonged said they made the best familiars.

Bob and I were the only two left to be evaluated, and the room was almost empty, but Janine was waiting for Paula, the student with Dr. Anders. I nervously pulled Bob's bucket closer and glanced out the window to the lights just now flickering on over the parking lot.

I was hoping to see Ivy that night. We still hadn't crossed paths since Nick knocked her out. I knew she'd been around. There was coffee in the pot that afternoon, and the messages were cleared. She had gotten herself up and out before I woke up. That wasn't like her at all, but I knew better than to force a conversation before she was ready.

'Hey,' Janine said, jerking my attention back. 'Paula and I are going out to Piscary's for some lunch before the sun goes down and the place fills up with undead vamps. Do you want to come? We'll wait for you.'

Her offer pleased me more than I wanted to admit, but I shook my head. 'Thanks, no. I've already made plans to meet my boyfriend.' Nick was working in the next building over, and as he quit today about the time my class was supposed to end, we were going to Micky-d's for his dinner and my lunch.

'Bring him along,' Janine urged, her thick blue eyeliner clashing with her otherwise tasteful appearance. 'Having one guy at a table of girls always brings the good-looking, single men to the table.'

I couldn't help my smile. 'No-o-o-o,' I hedged, not wanting to tell her Piscary scared the peas out of me, set my demon scar tingling, and was my roommate's uncle, for lack of a better word. 'Nick's human,' I said. 'It'd be kind of awkward.'

'You're dating a human!' Janine whispered harshly. 'Hey, is it true what they say?'

I gave her a sideways look as Paula finished with Dr. Anders and joined us. 'About what?' I asked as Paula shoved her unwilling cat into a collapsible carrier amid yowls and spitting. I stared, appalled, as she zipped the door shut.

'You know…' Janine nudged my arm. 'Do they have, uh… Are they really…'

Pulling my eyes from the shaking carrier, I grinned. 'Yeah. They do. They really are.'

'Yowsers!' Janine exclaimed, reaching to take Paula's arm. 'You here that, Paula? I gotta charm me a human before I get too old to appreciate him.'

Paula was flushed, looking especially red against her blond hair. 'Stop it,' she hissed, shooting a glance at Dr. Anders.

'What?' Janine said, not a bit flustered as she opened her carrier and her cat voluntarily went in, curling up