Page 88 of Demon and the Raven

He nodded. “But if all this theorizing is correct, that means it was us all along. We were what those creatures were after, not the kids.”

“Yeah. I think the kids would have been fine if Pete or Victoria had shown up instead of us.”

“Pete probably would have called you anyway if he found Shelby floating.”

“Yes, he would have.”

“And Victoria would have called Pete, and then Pete would have called you, so really, any way you slice it, we would have ended up in the graveyard. God,” Lorne groaned. “I want to figure this all out, but I’m so tired and still freaked out that I could have lost you, and I just wanna go home!”

I did too.

After a moment, I turned to him. “What are we gonna say to these kids?”

“More importantly,” he said, looking pained, “what’re we gonna say to Father Dennis?”

I had absolutely no idea.

ELEVEN

I was pleased that as soon as we started back, Father Dennis sat up, looked around, and demanded to know what in the world had happened.

“We think we were attacked by that demon you don’t believe in,” Lorne told him.

“That was snide,” he informed the man I loved. “Terribly so.”

I kept quiet because two things were true at the same time: yes, that was snide, and yes, Father Dennis deserved that for earlier in the evening.

Lorne made a noise of disgust and sped toward the rectory.

As we were saying our goodbyes, Father Dennis braced his hands on my door, where the window was rolled down, and leaned in. “After services tomorrow morning, I expect you both to come talk to me. I would have you in right now, but for starters, I think those kids will need you shortly, and it’s almost eleven at night. Some of us have to be awake and alert enough to conduct Mass first thing in the morning.”

“You have to be made of stronger stuff,” Lorne teased him.

“It’s too bad we’re not allowed to smite people anymore,” he said with a scowl.

“You’re funny,” I assured him.

“Oh gee, thanks,” he replied drolly. “I haven’t been up this late in years. Not since my clubbing days.”

I shook my head. He smiled, then arched an eyebrow in question.

I realized I had not answered him. “We’ll call first, Father, to make sure you’re vertical, but hopefully one of your friends has some demon information that could help us.”

“I’ll make sure to call before I go to bed, and let them know it’s urgent. And to make sure they call back; I’ll add in a big heaping portion of guilt.”

“Now you sound like my mother,” Lorne told him.

He chuckled, and it was a warm sound. “Thank you for taking care of me and the others, Lorne. You too, Xander.”

I put my hand over his and squeezed.

Lorne said, “You, me, and Xan, we’re all protectors in this town, Father. We must stick together.”

“Thank you, Lorne.” He smiled, then turned toward the rectory door. He was moving a bit slower than usual, but it had been a long night for all of us.

By the time we got back to the cemetery, found the van the kids had come in, and parked behind it, they were all waking up. Amazingly, Liam was the only one who screamed. Shelby, Meijun, and Jeremy wanted to live with us for the rest of their lives. Once Liam stopped hyperventilating, he agreed that sounded good.

None of them wanted to drive their van—again, wanting to stay with us—so we left it where it was. We then drove to where we’d initially found them so they could collect their stuff. Since no one wanted to leave the safety of the car, it looked like the decision would involve a very serious game of rock-paper-scissors, until Lorne insisted they all go.