Eilahn was waiting for me on the porch with the cat on her lap when I pulled up. I had absolutely no idea how the demon managed to be everywhere I was, but I wasn’t going to complain.
Fuzzykins eyed me balefully as I climbed the steps. I reached to give her ears a scratch, and she gave me a dubious sniff. Well, at least it was an improvement over the usual hiss/snarl/claw reaction.
“I’m on administrative leave,” I told Eilahn.
“I know,” she said. “I listened in on your meeting.”
Again—no idea how she managed that. Did she hide in the air ducts or something?
“Any suggestions for demons to summon who can do a discreet assessment of Roman?” I glanced at the sky and scowled. “In broad daylight?”
She thought for a moment. “A nyssor would be the most prudent choice.”
I bit back a groan. She was likely right. But a nyssor…ugh. “They can assess for summoning ability?” I asked, hoping she’d respond with something like, Oh, wait, my mistake, you don’t need a nyssor after all.
“Yes,” she said, dashing my brief hopes. “And it would only need a heartbeat or two of contact.” Her lips twitched. “You do not care for the fifth-level demons?”
“They creep me the fuck out,” I confessed, adding a shudder for emphasis.
She laughed, a crystalline sound. “You are not the first summoner to say so.”
“There’s a reason for that,” I said sourly. “Do we have any bacon in the house?”
“Second drawer in the fridge,” she replied as she stroked her fingers through the cat’s fur.
I stood and headed inside, shedding the cuff and pulling my cell phone out as soon as I was through the door. While I walked to the kitchen I typed a text to Jill, then retrieved the bacon from the fridge, kicked the door closed, and walked back down the hallway to the basement door.
Yes, you really do need to summon this demon, I told myself firmly as I hesitated. I didn’t really like summoning during the day, but the use of the storage diagram made it easier. Muttering something nasty, I set the package of bacon down, stripped off my clothes, retrieved the bacon, then headed down the stairs to get garbed up for the summoning. The sooner I got this over with, the sooner I could dismiss it.
Chapter 16
I’d just finished changing back into jeans and a long-sleeved shirt when Jill entered the front door. She flashed a smile at me, then stopped dead at the sight of the demon waiting patiently in the living room.
“Good, you brought the stuff,” I said, moving forward to take the bag from her hand. “I appreciate it.”
“Sure thing,” she replied unsteadily. She swallowed, frowned. “Is, um, this the demon…??” She wrenched her gaze over to me, and I couldn’t tell if the pleading in her eyes wanted me to say yes or no.
Exhaling, I nodded. I totally understood her reaction. Nyssor looked almost exactly like human children. This particular one looked like a little boy, perhaps four years old, and utterly beautiful, with flaxen curls and an angelic face. The “almost” part came in when you looked at their eyes, which were a little too large and had sideways-slit pupils. And the features were a little too perfect. They definitely fell into that “uncanny valley” territory. Creepy.
I crouched by the demon and pulled clothing out of the bag. “Jill, this is Votevha. He’s a nyssor—a fifth-level demon. Votevha, this is Jill. She is my friend.”
The demon’s eyes shifted to Jill. “Friend,” he repeated in a high treble. It bared its teeth in a vulpine smile full of hundreds of sharp teeth.
Jill paled. “Jesus,” she muttered, but she managed to pull together a smile of her own. “So nice to meet you.”
“I have clothing for you,” I told the demon. “Do you require assistance?”
He shook his head and took the pants and shirt from me, examined them briefly, then slipped them on easily. He gave me a questioning look. “Good?” he said.
“Good,” I said with a nod. “There are shoes, too.”
He pulled them on while I straightened and turned to Jill. “Did you bring the booster seat?”
“Yeah, borrowed it from my next door neighbor. Told her I was babysitting for a friend.” She gave a mock shudder. “I hope she doesn’t think I’m available to babysit her little darlings.” She paused, looked at the demon with a slight frown pulling at her lips. “Does, um, he really need one?”