The demon stood quickly. “That would please me, summoner. I find this pahpcahn quite appealing.”
Too fucking weird. I turned and headed to the kitchen and stirred the beans, which were about to burn. I turned the heat down, then threw the Minute rice into the water. I’d never claimed to be a gourmet cook. If it wasn’t for the invention of the microwave, I’d have starved a long time ago.
Jill followed me in, slowly pulling herself onto one of the stools on the other side of the counter, her eyes staying on the demon as he stood by the kitchen door. I didn’t miss the fact that he had effectively blocked the one exit. I pulled another popcorn bag out of the pantry and stuffed it into the microwave. After I had it going, I turned back to Jill.
“Okay, long story short, I have the ability to summon creatures from another plane of existence. They’re called demons, but they’re not the ‘demons from hell’ that you were taught about in Sunday school.”
Jill gave me a withering look. “I’m Jewish.”
I blinked. “With a last name like Faciane?”
She gave a funny little shrug. “It was my late husband’s name. I didn’t feel like changing it back after he died.”
Jill was a widow? “Oh. I’m sorry, I—”
She waved her hand impatiently. “It was a very short marriage. Very. But it’s also a very long story. So please get back to the subject at hand? Hmmm?”
“Sure. Sorry. Anyway, the demons are arcane creatures from a different plane of existence. I can create a portal between our two spheres. And … um … I summon them.”
Jill’s eyes were narrowed. The microwave dinged, and I tore my attention from her long enough to pull the bag out and pour more popcorn into the bowl that the demon still clutched. I turned away and busied myself with pouring the rice into a bowl, then dumping the beans on top. I stirred it up quickly, then passed it over to the demon, who had already finished off the popcorn.
Jill groaned. “Blue Runners and Minute rice? Dear God, my mama would be having a stroke if she saw that.”
Jill was from New Orleans, with a mama who probably cooked red beans and rice every Monday, according to New Orleans tradition. With real red beans that had been soaked overnight and real rice.
“What, you thought my aunt was going to teach me how to cook?” I snorted, then looked at Kehlirik. He was carefully scraping the last dregs from the bowl with the side of the spoon. My mouth twitched. “That was acceptable, honored one?”
The demon rumbled. “Most acceptable. I have never had reason to sample the food of this realm. I find it quite interesting.”
“Great. Put him on the Food Channel,” Jill said sourly. “Can we please get back to this whole business of you summoning demons?”
“Look, they’re not evil. Demon is just the term that they’ve had for centuries, and it was sorta co-opted by various religions and turned into an evil-creature definition. They’re really more like aliens, except that they’re from a different plane of existence instead of from a different planet.”
Jill regarded me, a sour look still on her face, blue eyes fixed on me. I suddenly realized I was scared to death that she was going to walk out and never speak to me again. And I wasn’t sure if I could handle it if she bailed.
“Jill,” I said, doing my best to keep my voice steady, “I’m still me. I’m not a bad person.”
She blinked. “I know you’re not bad,” she replied, as if shocked at the idea. She fell silent for several heartbeats, then threw up her hands. “What the fuck. As dark secrets go, this is a doozy, but you’re still the coolest chick in Investigations.” She smiled at me, and I returned the smile in weak relief, literally gripping the counter behind my back to support myself.
Kehlirik daintily wiped the corner of his mouth with one claw as he handed the bowl to me. “My thanks, summoner. The wards laid by Zhergalet throughout the house have been removed.” He flared his nostrils. “You will need to restore these yourself or summon another to renew them for you.” He huffed softly. “You should attempt to do it yourself, even if you must summon guidance. You have the strength for it, if not the experience.”
I felt like I was being counseled by a professor. “Do you know anything more about why those wards were placed on the library?”