Page 68 of Demon and the Raven

“You’re a witch, and Argos is your familiar.”

He was not. Not at all. But he was something the demon understood to be magical, and so last night, before going to see Lynette, it must have had Argos in its sights. My cat knew that, which was the whole reason he was looking for me. That was why Argos was changing his color and shape—to shake the demon. But what Argos didn’t realize was that the demon could sense what he was, and no amount of shifting his outer appearance would fool it.

“And now the demon knows about you because Argos led it right to you,” Amanda concluded. “He didn’t mean to, but he was scared and went to you for comfort and protection, and when he did, the demon saw you at Kathy’s house.”

“And followed us right home to Corvus,” Lorne said with a sigh.

“That’s a horrible thought.”

“It probably followed us to Aurora Moon’s, I mean, Lynette Fornell’s house too.”

“Why were you at Lynette’s house?” Amanda asked.

As Lorne filled her in, I thought about what the demon would have seen my fiancé and I do.

“Hello,” Amanda snapped, flicking me on the forehead.

“Ow,” I complained, scowling at her. “I hate it when you do that.”

“Well, pay attention.”

“Clearly, the demon knows you’re the real deal,” Lorne said. “And maybe it even followed us back afterward and tried to get onto Corvus.”

“But it realized it couldn’t,” Amanda stated, “so now it’s lying in wait. Once you step foot off the property, it’ll attack you.”

“That’s great,” I told her.

Amanda shuddered, and her face scrunched up.

“No,” I cautioned her. “Worrying won’t help. I need your brain.”

She quickly used the tips of her fingers to wipe under each eye. “Fine. My brain is ready.”

“What’s our next step?” Lorne asked.

“Consult an expert,” Amanda answered immediately and with conviction. “That’s what I do in business when I need answers.”

“And who would that be?”

“I think,” Amanda began, “since both you and I are thinking of a specific kind of demon, we start there.”

Lorne took a breath. “Okay, then Xan and I need to talk to Father Dennis, and you need to take your kids home.”

“What? No. I’ll call Eddie and tell him I have to come home and then⁠—”

“Stop,” I said softly. “You know you can’t come with us. You must take care of your people first, before anything else.”

She looked so sad. “I don’t want to lose either of you.”

“No one’s losing anybody. We’re gonna figure this out,” I promised her.

“You better.”

We had to pack up the muffins for JJ and the biscuits for Toby, and I put them on one of my grandmother’s platters and covered it with a cloth napkin. After they both hugged Argos, Lorne and I walked the three of them to Amanda’s car.

“I bet real demon hunters don’t pause for muffins,” Amanda pointed out, speaking to me under her breath.

“I just wanna stay home tomorrow, watch TV, and smell bread baking all day,” Lorne announced grouchily as he hugged the kids.