“Yuck.”
“Jean would know if something dangerous was headed toward her.”
“The family gift,” I said.
“The family gift. And Myra has Bathin. That demon would know if his father was launching an attack or trying to harm her.”
“So that leaves me.”
“That leaves you and every single god in this town. We’ll keep you safe, Delaney. You don’t have to worry.”
“I can handle myself. You know that, right?”
“Yes.”
She said it so simply, so easily, the annoyance drained out of me.
“Do you want company?” she asked. “Until Ryder comes home?”
“No, I’m good. Really. No need to babysit. Do you want me to call you a ride?”
“I think I’ll walk. It’s a nice evening. And I need to stretch my legs.”
“Thanks, Frigg.”
“Anytime. And by the way, that dress? You made the right choice. You are going to knock Ryder off his feet.”
I chuckled, pleased. “We’ll see.”
She handed over my keys and got out. I gathered my jacket and gun belt, then locked the vehicle.
Frigg meandered toward the shore of the lake. That wasn’t the fastest way back to town—around the lake and through the neighborhoods—but she was a god. She had all the time in the world on her hands.
I jogged up to the front door. Before I opened it, I noticed a shadow retreating down the side of the house in the narrow space between the rose bushes and siding.
Someone was in my yard. We weren’t close enough to the lake for someone to mistake this as public property.
Someone was in my yard.
And the demon king might be targeting me.
Someone was in my yard.
My head cleared as training kicked in. My heart thumped steadily and hard, the adrenalin pumping. I filled my lungs and exhaled.
I dropped my jacket, strapped on my gun belt, and checked it was securely holstered. For all I knew it was just a couple kids messing around out there. But I didn’t want to leave my weapon unattended on my porch either.
I moved down the stairs, out onto the yard, then back along the edge of the house into the space between the side of the house and the rose bush hedge, moving as quietly as I could. Even in the falling light, I could make out footprints pressed into the sandy dirt. At least three different shoe sizes. None of them child size.
Branches rustled in the rhodie bushes along the back. A blue jay squawked and darted into the churning sky.
Whoever was back there was around the corner, out of my line of sight.
“I know you’re there,” I called. “You are trespassing on private property. Come on out. We don’t need any trouble.”
The rustling got a little louder, and the sweet scent of something like pastries drifted by. I wondered if Xtelle was back there, hiding out and eating her way through a sheet cake again.
“Xtelle? Is that you?”
