Page 72 of Demon and the Raven

“That’s a proper amalgam there,” I assured him. “And I don’t need to hose down the entire cemetery with this.”

His grunt did not sound in any way happy. “I’m starving. Let’s go eat.”

“Why don’t you call Father Dennis and see if he wants to join us,” I offered.

“Because I don’t want to get invited to eat at the rectory ever again,” he grumbled. “Once was enough, thank you.”

“When did you eat there?”

“The first week I was here, Father Dennis kindly offered to have me over. I think he wanted to get to know me, which was nice.”

“But?” I prodded him.

“But Sister Andrea cannot cook at all. I wondered why there was a huge bottle of ketchup in the refrigerator, and I figured it out that night.”

“Maybe Father Dennis should learn to cook for himself.”

“Apparently, he makes a mean grilled cheese, but he used to be at a much bigger church, and there were several younger priests who worked under him, and the nuns there took really good care of all of them.”

“And here everyone feeds him and Sister Andrea, Sister Catherine, and Sister Maria.”

“Yeah.”

“Well, maybe all the sisters are busy. Just call him.”

Lorne begrudgingly made the call and was pleased to find out that everyone was gone except Father Dennis, who could, in fact, break bread with us. Before we left to pick him up, we told Argos where we were going and to please stay home. He regarded me blearily and went back to sleep.

Halfway there, Lorne pulled over on the side of the road.

“What’s happening?” I asked, turning in my seat to face him.

“I only wanted that potion mixed up because I want you to be ready if something attacks you and I can’t help.”

Seeing how miserable he looked, I rushed to reassure him. “I’ll be fine. Truly.”

He took hold of my hand. “You’ve told me before that you’re not powerful off Corvus, and that’s stuck in my head.”

“Yes, but I’m not completely helpless either,” I reminded him. “I’m a branded witch, after all. I can always fly home.”

“Okay,” he rasped, glancing away.

“Love.” When he didn’t react, I tried again. “Hey,” I said softly, and finally, those beautiful eyes of his were back on me. “I appreciate the worry, and it was smart to have the amalgam ready. Now let’s go get the priest so we can have a chat about demons.”

His brows furrowed as he continued to stare at me.

“I was going for upbeat.”

“Stop. Please.”

I tugged on his hand until he leaned over and kissed me. “Everything’s going to be all right,” I promised him.

“I appreciate the thought,” he said before kissing me again.

Lorne had put his uniform back on because he wanted to be at the cemetery in his official capacity in case anything strange happened. The “in case” was hysterical. It was a cemetery at night with a priest and paranormal investigators. Strange was a foregone conclusion. Regardless, he wanted to be both prepared and armed. This included his main weapon, his Glock 17, but also his backup, a SIG Sauer P320 Compact he carried in his ankle holster. Since we were riding in the police utility vehicle, there was also a rifle mounted in there. I didn’t think any of that was necessary, but on the other hand, I knew nothing about demons, so it might all prove useful. I knew more about defending Corvus than anything else, so I was already out of my depth.

Once we picked up Father Dennis and drove to the Bread & Butter diner—Father Dennis liked the Reuben there better than at Waxing the Moon—I realized this was not a place conducive to talking. People kept popping by the table to say hello to either the chief of police or the priest. Both were equally popular. I noted that while the priest had lots of families approaching him, Lorne had lots of single men and women wanting to have a quick word. None missed the opportunity to shake his hand or squeeze his bicep or shoulder.

“Are you growling?” Father Dennis asked me as our food was delivered by an overly chatty waitress, who found everything Lorne said either utterly riveting or hysterical.