Unease trickled through me, but Minias didnt seem to be troubled. Jenks pinched my ear when Tom moved to stand before me, and I jerked out of my reverie.
You shouldnt have turned us down, Morgan, the witch said, so close I could smell a witchs characteristic redwood smell rolling off of him. The more magic you practiced, the stronger you smelled, and Tom reeked. I thought of Minias and felt a moment of worry. He might look like a witch, but he would smell like a demon, and theyd seen me let him out. Crap. Think, Rachel. Dont react, think!
Somehow, Tom said softly, threateningly, I dont think your friend Minias is going to have a record. Any record at all. Sort of like a demon?
My thoughts scrambled, and I felt more than saw Minias ease up behind me.
Im sure Mr. Bansen will find my papers are in order, he said, and I shivered when a chill ran through me, pulled into existence from the draft of Jenkss wings.
Holy crap! Minias smells like a witch! the pixy whispered.
I took a deep breath, my shoulders relaxing when I found Minias did indeed lack the characteristic burnt-amber scent that clung to all demons. I turned to him in surprise, and the demon shrugged, twisting his hand. It was still in a fist, and my lips parted when I realized he hadnt opened his fingers since my mother had taken his hand.
Eyes widening, I spun to my mother to find her beaming. Shed given him an amulet? My mother was crazy, but she was crazy like a fox.
Can we go? I said, knowing Tom was trying to get a good sniff of him as well.
Toms eyes narrowed. Taking my elbow, he pulled me from Minias. That is a demon.
Prove it. And as you once told me, its not against the law to summon demons.
His face went ugly. Maybe not, but youre responsible for the damage they do.
A groan slipped from Jenks, and I felt my face go stiff.
She destroyed my store! the woman wailed. Whos going to pay for this! Who?
An I.S. officer approached with Miniass ID, and while Tom held up a finger for me to wait, he talked to him. My mother joined me, and the people outside complained as an officer started to make them move on. Tom was frowning when the man left, and bolstered by his show of bad temper, I smiled cattily. I was going to walk out of here. I knew it.
Ms. Morgan, he said as he slid his wand away. I have to let you go
What about the store? the woman wailed.
Can it, Patricia! my mother said, and Tom grimaced as if hed eaten a spider.
As long as you agree that demons were here because of you, he added, and you agree to pay for damages, he finished, handing Minias his ID back.
But it wasnt my fault. My gaze scanned the broken shelves and scattered amulets as I tried to add up the potential cost. Why should I have to pay for it because someone sicced them on me? I didnt summon them!
Tom smiled, and my mother squeezed my elbow. Youre welcome to come down to the I.S. and file a counter-complaint.
Nice. Ill accept the damages. So much for the air conditioner fund. Come on, I said, reaching for Minias. Lets get out of here.
My hand passed right through him. I froze, but I didnt think anyone had noticed. Glancing at his irate face, I gestured sourly for him to go before me. After you, I said, then hesitated. I wasnt going to do this at the coffeehouse two blocks away. Not with the I.S. buzzing like fairies around a sparrow nest. My car is about five spots down. Its the red convertible, and youre riding in back.
Miniass eyebrows rose. As you say , he murmured, rocking into motion.
Looking proud and satisfied, my mother snatched my purchases up, linked her arm in mine, and like magic the crowd parted to show us the door.
You okay, Jenks? I questioned when the cool of the night hit us.
Just get me in the car, he said, and I carefully wrapped my scarf about my neck once more to snuggle him in.
Coffee with my mom and a demon. Yeah, that was a good idea.
Two
The coffeehouse was warm, smelling of biscotti and brewing beans. Jenks went to my moms shoulder when I loosened my scarf, but I didnt take it off, not knowing if my neck showed Als fingerprints or not. It sure hurt enough to. Al is out? How am I going to shut this down?
Gently rubbing my neck, I lingered at the door to watch Minias, Jenks, and my mother find their place in line. The heavy-charm detection alarm was glaring a harsh redresponding to Minias most likelybut no one in the crowded place was paying it any mind. It was three days before Halloween, and everyone was trying out their spells.
The demon looked tall beside my mother as she fidgeted. Her cream-colored leather clutch purse matched her shoes to perfection; I must have gotten my fashion sense from my dad. I knew I had gotten my height from him, putting me several inches taller than my mom and a shade shorter than Minias, even in my boots. And my athletic build had certainly come from my dad. Not that my mom was a slouch, but memories of afternoons at Eden Park and pictures from before he had died reassured me that I was as much my fathers daughter as my mothers. It made me feel good, thinking that a part of him lived on though hed been gone twelve years. Hed been a great dad, and I still missed him when my life got out of control. Which was more often than I liked to admit. Behind me, the irritating heavy-charm detector gave a final pulse and went dark.
Relieved, I eased up behind Minias, making his shoulders stiffen. Hed been markedly quiet in the car, giving me the creeps as he sat rigidly behind me while my mother sat sideways in her seat to watch him. She had disguised the scrutiny by trying to engage him in conversation while I called Ivy and left a message for her to run across the street and warn Ceri that Al was on the loose again. The demons ex-familiar didnt have a phone, which was getting tiresome.
I was hoping my mothers light banter had been a ploy to ease the tension and not her usual out-of-touch-with-reality mentality. She and Minias were on a first-name basis now, which I thought was swell. Still, if he had wanted to cause problems, he could have done it half a dozen times between the charm shop and here. He was biding his time, and I felt like a bug on a pin.
My mother and Jenks edged out of line to ogle the pastries, and when the Were trio ahead of us finished ordering and moved off, Minias stepped forward, glancing indolently at the hanging menu. A man in a business suit behind us huffed impatiently, then went pale and backed up when the demon eyed him through his dark glasses.
Minias turned back to the counter attendant and smiled. Latte grande, double espresso, Italian blend. Light on the froth, extra cinnamon. Use whole milk. Not two percent or half-and-half. Whole milk. Put it in porcelain.
We can do that! the kid behind the counter said enthusiastically, and I looked up. His voice sounded familiar. And for you, maam?
Uh, I stumbled, coffee. Black. Thats it.
Minias looked askance at me, his surprise clear even through his dark glasses, and the kid behind the counter blinked. What kind? he asked.
Doesnt matter. I shifted from foot to foot. Mom, what do you want?
My mother cheerfully hustled back to the counter with Jenks on her shoulder. Ill have a Turkish espresso and a slice of that cheesecake if someone will share it with me.
I will, Jenks sang out, startling the guy behind the register. He still had that paper clip sword with him, and it made me feel better.
My mom glanced at me, and when I nodded that Id have some, too, she beamed. Ill have that, then. With forks for all of us. She shyly looked to Minias, and the demon stepped back almost out of my peripheral vision.
The kid snuck glances at Jenks as he punched that in, announcing, Fourteen eighty-five.
We have one more person here, I said, trying not to frown, and Jenks landed on the counter with his hands on his hips. I hated it when people ignored him. And asking him to share simply because he wasnt going to eat much was patronizing.
I want an espresso, he said proudly. Black. But give me the domestic blend. That Turkish crap gives me the runs for a week.
TMI, Jenks, I muttered while I yanked my shoulder bag forward. Why dont you find a table? Maybe a corner without a lot of people?
With your back to the wall. You got it, he said, clearly doing better in the shops moist, balmy climate. A sustained temp below forty would send him into hibernation, and though Cincinnati was regularly hitting that after dark, the stump he and his huge family lived in would retain enough heat to keep them warm until almost mid-November. I was already dreading his brood moving into the church Ivy and I lived in, but they would not hibernate and risk Matalina, his ailing wife, dying of the cold. Jenks was why I wore the scarf; it wasnt for my comfort.
Glad for the warmth of the shop myself, I unzipped my coat. I handed the kid a twenty, then dropped the change into the tip jar, making the businessman wait while I scribbled client meeting on the receipt and tucked it away.
Turning, I found my mother and Minias standing uneasily beside a table against the wall. Jenks was on the light fixture, the dust slipping from him rising in the bulbs heat. They were waiting for me to sit down before choosing their seats, so grabbing some napkins, I headed over.
This looks great, Jenks, I said as I edged behind my mom to reach the chair against the wall. Immediately my mother sat to my left, and Minias chose the chair to my right, shifting it a foot back before sitting down. He was almost in the aisle; apparently we both wanted our space. I took the opportunity to remove my jacket, and my expression froze when the bracelet Kisten had given me slipped to my wrist. Pain hit, almost panic, and I didnt look at anyone as I tucked it behind the sleeve of my sweater.
I wore the bracelet because I had loved Kisten and still wasnt ready to let him go. The one time Id taken it off, I found myself unable to tuck it away in my jewelry box next to the sharp vampire caps hed given me. Maybe if I knew who had murdered him I could have moved on.
Ivy hadnt had much luck tracking down the vampire Piscary had given Kisten to as a legal blood gift. I had been sure that Sam, one of Piscarys lackeys, had known who it was, but he hadnt. The human polygraph test at the FIB, or Federal Inderland Bureauthe human-run version of the I.S.was pretty good, but the witch charm I had around Sams neck when Ivy asked him about it was better. That was the last time I helped her question anyone, however. The living vampire scared me when she was pissed.
That Ivy wasnt getting results was unusual. Her investigative skills were as good as my ability to get into trouble. Since the Sam incident, we had agreed to let her handle our search, and I was getting impatient at her lack of progress, but my slamming vampires into a wall for information wasnt prudent. What made it worse was that the answer was buried somewhere in my unconsciousness. Maybe I should have talked to the FIBs psychologist to see if he could pull something to light? But Ford made me uneasy. He could sense emotions faster than Ivy could smell them.
Uncomfortable, I scanned the décor of the busy place. Behind my mother was one of those stupid pictures with babies dressed up as fruit or flowers or something. My lips parted and I looked at Jenks, then to the counter where the college-age kid managed the customers with a professional polish. This was it! I thought in a surge of recognition. This was the same coffeehouse where Ivy, Jenks, and I had agreed to quit the I.S. and work as independent runners! But Junior looked like he knew what he was doing now, sporting a manager tag on his red-and-white-striped apron and with several underlings to handle the nastier parts of running the place.
Hey, Rache, Jenks said as he dropped down to dust my sweater with gold. Isnt this the store we
Yup, I interrupted him, not wanting Minias to be privy to more of my life than necessary. The demon was unfolding a paper napkin and meticulously settling it across a jeans-clad knee as if it were silk. Unease flowed through me as I remembered the night I decided to leave the I.S. Going clueless into an independent bounty hunter/escort service/jack-of-all-magical-trades runner service with a vamp had been one of the most stupid and best decisions of my life. It went along with Ivy and Jenkss opinion that I lived my life to find the edge of disaster so I could feel the rush of adrenaline.
Maybe I had once, but not anymore. Believing I had killed Jenks and Ivy with one of my stunts had cured me one hundred percent, and Kistens death had slammed the lesson home, hard. And to prove it, I wasnt going to work with Minias no matter what he offered. I wouldnt repeat the past. I could change my patterns of behavior. I would. Starting here. Watch me.
Coffee up! the kid shouted, and Minias took his napkin from his lap as if he was going to rise.
Ill get it, I said, wanting to minimize his interactions with everyone.
Minias eased down without a fuss. I gathered myself to stand, then frowned. I didnt want to leave him with my mother either.
Oh, for Gods sake, my mother said, standing to drop her purse loudly on the table. Ill get it.
Minias touched her arm, and I bristled. If you would, Alice, bring the cinnamon with you? he asked, and my mother nodded, slowly pulling from his fingers. She was holding her arm when she walked away, and I leaned toward Minias.
Dont touch my mother, I threatened, feeling better when Jenks took an aggressive stance on the table, his wings clattering menacingly.
Someone needs to touch her, Minias said dryly. She hasnt been touched in twelve years.