Demon Song

at his slowly breathing body, he opened his eyes and pushed himself to a sitting position. “Okay. I guess I’m stuck. I think I have to be the one to release the bindings. I’m so used to doing my own workings that adding in the language for another mage to undo it didn’t occur to me.”

I offered him a hand up and he took it. He was as close to deadweight as I’ve ever seen and it took him a couple of tries to get his balance. Guess he wasn’t faking. “You really put a lot of yourself into this barrier, didn’t you?”

“Yeah. More than I should have. But we had a hard time closing it.” I slowed my gait to stay even with him, because he was nearly shuffling. There wasn’t any way he was going to make it around the long way. We’d have to go by Bruno.

I needed to be a big girl about this. It wasn’t like I’d slept with John—not really. I hadn’t dated him, and anyway, Bruno’s the one who called it off with me, not the other way around.

But we didn’t see Bruno until we reached Matty. My ex was muttering words and the frozen cop was lifting into the air and dropping back down in the center of a casting circle, stiff as ever. John stepped forward and pushed Bruno slightly to the side. “Here. Let me. You get the circle ready.” John’s hands made complex motions in the air with the grace of a pianist or maybe a painter. As he muttered words, a small glow finally came back into his eyes.

Bruno was likewise moving his hands and talking, but he was saying different words and the motions of his hands were tightly controlled and had military precision. Elegant in their own way. The moment the cop’s body relaxed, she stood and started to scream. Bruno’s circle sprang up around her and she was trapped. Matty started speaking in Latin and the woman went silent.

John took a deep breath and clapped a hand on Bruno’s arm. My former fiance responded by glaring, but Creede didn’t seem to notice. “Guess we’d better finish up the other three so we can go home and get some rest. I’m sure we’ll be needed here again tomorrow to recharge the barrier.” He looked at me in an offhand way, but what he said next was clearly calculated for maximum effect on everyone in earshot. It sort of pissed me off. Yet Bruno sort of deserved it, too. “Ceil, go ahead and take the car back to Napa. I’ll find a motel down here for a couple of days. You’ve still got the keys, right?”

I nodded, but I wasn’t happy. There wasn’t a win to this situation, and the best solution was probably to do just what he suggested. But I didn’t want to leave Bruno with the wrong impression. “Okay. I’ll take the car back to the spa, since that’s where my clothes and my friends are. You can pick it up there. I’m sure the girls are wondering what’s happened to me.”

My response lightened Bruno’s mood a little and darkened Creede’s.

The perfect compromise leaves everyone unhappy.

Including me.

16

“You have got to be kidding!” My story had left both Emma and Dawna with open mouths; Dawna was the first to recover enough to speak.

My finger made a little x over my heart. “Hand to God.”

It was three in the morning and my adrenaline rush was finally wearing off. Crises always made me sick to my stomach, and about the only thing that had ever fixed it was orange sherbet. Luckily, the spa had some and didn’t mind providing it at such an early hour. Even better, it tasted just like I remembered from childhood, and since I’d always let it melt in my mouth before swallowing, it was one more treat I could still enjoy. Yay.

I took another spoonful and let out a sigh as the bright orange flavor exploded in my mouth.

“So,” Emma finally asked, “was it good? I mean … better than Bruno?”

I shook my head. When the last bit of liquid had vanished down my throat, I responded: “Apples and oranges. It was pure magic, not just regular sex.”

They accepted the answer grudgingly. “What about the kiss?” Dawna asked. “C’mon, dish.”

Ooh. That was a tough one. “I’ll have to make it a tie. Bruno for intensity, Creede for technique. The man is a really good kisser. And he has a nice car.” There were knowing grins all around at that.

I finally returned to the topic I’d started with when I’d woken them both up from a sound sleep two hours before. “So now I’ve got to find someone who knows about dimensional rifts. That’s your area, Emma. Whatcha got?”

She waved her hands in front of her. “Nope. Not me. Ask about ordinary multiple dimensions and I’m your girl. But this is metaphysical stuff. You’ll find the best records in religious texts. But for history…” She leaned back into the stack of pillows she’d piled on the couch. “Your best bet would be Aaron Sloan. He’s one of the top experts in demonology.”

That perked me right up. “Is he the same Dr. Sloan your father knows?” When she nodded, I let out a sigh of relief. “I’ve met him. He does know his stuff and he’s been looking into the death curse Stefania put on me.”

One of the best things about voice mail was it didn’t care what time it was. I left a long message and gave my cell phone number for him to call on Monday.

The girls left as I was checking my own voice mail. Dawna had been right. There were a lot of calls from people trying to hire me. It should have made me happy, but I was too tired to care. The morning was going to come far too soon, and I still had to make a list of things I had to do. I was yawning as I powered up my laptop.

It was the last thing I remembered doing.

*   *   *

I woke to a knock on my door and lifted my face from where it was resting on the laptop keys. Yuck! I’d drooled into the keyboard. God, I hoped it wasn’t ruined. “Who is it?”

“Dawna. Are you packed yet? Weren’t you supposed to be back in time to take your gran to church?”

My head was pounding like I was just coming off a three-day drunk, and there was a weird metallic taste in my mouth. I stumbled to my feet and caught sight of myself in the mirror above the dresser: pasty green-white skin, bloodshot eyes with dark bruising underneath, and a lovely checkerboard pattern of dents across my cheek. Terrific. I picked up my cell phone to see how many messages Gran had left, but the battery was completely dead.

I could already see this was going to be a very special morning. I decided I didn’t want anyone to see me until I looked more … human. I went to the door and looked through the peephole at Dawna’s annoyingly smiling face. I raised my voice enough to be heard through the door: “Could you call her? Please? Ask if she can take the bus. Otherwise, I can take her to evening services. I literally woke up when you knocked. I really need a shower before I can be semicoherent.”

“Sure. Happy to.” There was an edge to her voice that said she wasn’t happy at all, but she’d do it because she was my friend.

The shower was heating and I was dumping out my whole makeup kit in a search for the concealer when I heard another knock. Yea dogs, what now?

I wrapped a fluffy white robe around me and went to the door. “Yes?”

“Aren’t you moving yet, girlfriend? Am I just now hearing your shower running?” My brow furrowed, because it was Dawna. Again.

“Did you call Gran yet?”

“Why would I call your gran? Is something wrong?”

A buzzing started in my ears and my heart started pumping fast. “Did you knock on my door a few minutes ago and tell me to hurry up?”

“Hell, no. I’ve been downstairs with Emma, getting you something for breakfast.” I looked out the peephole and saw her holding up a bottle of milk and a nutrition shake. “All they had was banana, but drink it anyway. You had a long night.”

“Hang on just a second.” I raced across the room and rummaged through my bags. When I walked back to the door, I used one hand to unlatch the security hook, flip the lock, and turn the knob. The other hand held a One