“Before the parade starts in a few hours?”
I grinned. It wasn’t a challenge, but I was naturally competitive. “Time me.”
~~~
Step one: Call Death. “I need you to do something for me,” I said.
“Are these not the hours in which most humans require sleep?” He didn’t sound like I’d woken him up, which I probably hadn’t. He did sound faintly amused.
“I’m pulling an all-nighter, all-morninger.”
“How, then, am I involved in this endeavor?”
“I need you to help me with a demon.”
There was the slightest pause. “Shall I inquire as to which demon?”
“Do you care?”
“Not in the least.”
I grinned despite myself and finished pouring the strongest cup of coffee I could tolerate into one of Delaney’s giant mugs.
I found Spud, Ryder’s dog, who had gotten left out in Ryder’s truck for a half-hour in all the chaos. He’d taken up a post at my feet, following me like a hairy shadow as I moved around the kitchen and the very annoyed Xtelle.
He trotted beside me as I stepped into the living room where I could finish my plans in relative privacy.
“Meet me at Ryder and Delaney’s house as soon as you can.”
~~~
Than arrived promptly. He had on a dark plum T-shirt withOrdinarily Giftedwritten across the chest. He’d paired that with a smart silver-tipped walking cane and a gray fedora.
“I need a demon.”
He glanced toward the kitchen then back at me. “Perhaps you should explore the kitchen area?”
“Not her. She’s…I need her trapped and out of the way. I can’t use her.”
“And the demon known as Bathin?”
I was pacing now, which he watched for a minute before settling himself into the straight-backed chair I knew Ryder must have picked because Delaney was all about comfort and lounging when it came to furniture.
“He’s the worst.”
“I see.”
“He won’t let go of her soul, so now I have to trap Xtelle, then raise another demon, then bargain with it or blackmail it and make it use the scissors to cut Delaney’s soul away from Bathin. Why are you scowling?”
“What do you suggest would be the proper response? You are planning to trap the kitchen demon, then raise a minor demon to do surgery upon your sister’s soul. Shall I frown thoughtfully? Grimace?”
I blew out a hard breath and threw my hands up.
Spud was giving Than all his attention, but hadn’t left my side. Than snapped his fingers softly, and Spud hustled over to sit at his feet.
“What else can I do?” I asked. “He has her soul, and it has holes in it now. That means there’re holes in Ordinary, so now the vortexes to Hell…”
“The Underworld,” he corrected gently.
