“So how are we going to handle this, boss?” I askedher.
“We’re going to prioritize,” she said. When she made up her mind, there was never any hint of doubt in her. I liked that abouther.
“First, we find out if Hogan has any power over the gnomes. Are you okay with that,Hogan?”
“Totally cool. What do you want me to try todo?”
And yeah, there was a flare of pride in my heart for my man. He had never talked about his father, had never tried to tap into his family heritage. But when it mattered, when a scourge of zombie gnomes could be filling our streets, the man stepped rightup.
“Can you break the…wish or curse or spell onthem?”
He glanced at the duct taped head sitting on the coffee table, then unwound his arm from behind me. “I’m not sure I can really see what makes them what you say theyare.”
“Zombies?” Delaneyasked.
“Animated. To me, right now, that just looks like a head carved out ofrock.”
“Do you think you’ll see it differently once it animates?” Myraasked.
“Maybe?”
“Okay,” Delaney said. “Then we’ll wait. I’ll go make us all some morecoffee.”
Timing was going to be a bit of a problem. Trick-or-treaters would be out in force before the sunset, and the Haunted Harbor would be open as soon as it gotdark.
Myra stood and stretched. She checked her phone, swiped her thumb across it, and walked to my front door. “Be right back.” She stepped outside to take the call, but not before I heard her say, “How did you get my number,Bathin?”
“That demon still bothering her?” Hoganasked.
“That demon still bothers us all.” Delaney dropped back onto the couch. “Myra’s looking for ways to get my soul back.” She shrugged like it was no big deal. But I knew she didn’t like it. Didn’t like that so far, we hadn’t found a way to get rid of theguy.
Sure, Bathin was good looking, but I didn’t trust him as far as I could throw him. And since he weighed approximately as much as the Cascade Mountain Range, I couldn’t throw him aninch.
“I think he’s interesting,” Hogansaid.
Delaney and I both gave him the samelook.
“Interesting how?” Iasked.
He rocked his head side-to-side. “I don’t know.Interesting.”
“What do you see when you look at him?” I suddenly wanted to know how Hogan saw the world. How he saw everyone, including thedemon.
“I see Bathin. How do you see him?” heasked.
“Nothelping.”
His smile spread like slow honey. The reddish-violet of the beanie he still wore set off a rosy tone in his dark skin. I liked him in a hat. Of course, I liked him in everything hewore.
Liked him even better when he wore nothing atall.
“I don’t really have a lot to compare to how I see people. To me, he’s Bathin. A demon, but…” he shrugged. “Not evil, Iguess.”
“Demons are kind of the embodiment of evil.” I was baiting him. Because I knew better than to pigeonhole people, whether they were mortal, monster, orgod.
“A lot of history says Jinn are evil spirits.” Hogan scratched at the stubble on the side of his jaw. “I try to keep an open mind. Let people show me who they are before I makejudgments.”
“He took my sister’ssoul.”
