At the Behest of the Dead (26 page)

“Best not to ask,” I replied.

“I
thought you were a sofa repairman. What happened to this?” She patted the back cushion.

“It is pretty pathetic
, I guess. I’ve had this thing for years, just like most of the crap here. I don’t exactly make a fortune at my profession, so if you’re after me for my money you are going to be sorely disappointed.”

“Slow down there
, mister. Who said I was into you?”

“We
warlocks can know things.” I tried to sound mysterious.

“I see. So it take
s a properly trained warlock to understand why a girl comes to his house, at night, to thank him for saving her life?”

“That’s what I like about you, Ashley. You’re pragmatic.”

We talked, and as we talked we moved closer together. As we moved closer together, we touched. Hands at first, and then I ran my long fingers around her neck, which turned into a short impromptu massage. She turned and leaned back into me. I moved onto her shoulders after a few minutes.

Her sighs told me enough to continue. I leaned in, having pulled her shirt down to expose a bit of pale shoulder
, and kissed her neck gently.

She moved into me and that was all the encouragement I needed. We kissed and moved together before I took her hand, tugged her up from the couch
, and to the stairs.

We fell on my mess of a bed then spent many hours getting thoroughly acquainted.

**

“Do you ever wonder about your parents?”
Ashley asked.

We lay together in a pile of sheets. One rode her hips
, but it was the only scrap she had on. I marveled at her smooth skin and ran my fingers over her legs while we chatted.

“Not really. It’s been so long and there’s really no way to track them down.”

“It’s the internet age. You can find anyone. What were their last names?”

“It’s not important
, Ashley, truly. They’re long dead.” I hoped she would just drop it. I knew our age difference was going to come out at some point, and I already felt guilty about keeping this secret.

“Sorry to hear that.”

“What about your parents?”

“Oh. Dad is in technology and mom stays at home and keeps everything in order.”

“What kind of technology?”

“You know. Computers and stuff like that. What happened to your dog? Did she stay downstairs?”

“I hope so. Miserable mutt.”

“She’s so cute and fierce. Those little teddy bear eyes …”

She trailed off because I put my fingers to good use. A few moments later the rest of my body got into it. Afterwards I fell into what should have been a peaceful sleep, though it was anything but.

**

I stood upon a shelf of fire, and fought demons by the dozen. They came at me from above and below. I hurled ice, lightening, and even a form of witch’s fire I’d seen Glenda wield. I dodged, ducked, and jumped, but there were just too many of them. My fork was nowhere to be found and all the power that had been stored in my shield had been long expended.

The room had a dome far above
, but it was so high I barely got a sense of it as the haze of the cusp tried to obscure it.

Then two came at me
, but I was unprepared. They had long hooked beaks and dirty feathers. Their body was a patchwork of leather and skin. I tried to get a spell off but they snatched me by my robe and sped into the air. Wings stretched meters in each direction and beat at the hot air relentlessly, leaving me gasping for breath. I was tossed between the two while I fought for words, but the horror of being taken by these foul smelling beasts, like a pair of cats with a play toy, ate at my willpower.

Then a third came straight at me and there was nothing I could do. I screamed as its beak pierced my robe, armor, skin
, and then my heart.

I woke to the sound of my own howling, sat up
, and found Ashley staring at me with huge eyes. I folded her into an embrace and assured her it had been a bad dream. That was all. She settled against me and, like that, we spent the night together.

Chapter
Thirteen

T
he next morning was anything but doom and gloom. Ashley woke in a pile of auburn curls that were just as cute as they sound. She stared at me then at the clock, uttered a few choice words, and flew out of bed and into her clothes so fast it nearly made my head spin.

“Class. This was great. Talk later.” She kissed me and was down the stairs
like her pants were on fire.

I tossed on an old robe. One
that was hidden so far back in my closet I’d forgotten the thread bare thing even existed. It was covered in old runes that would glow if I’d spent a few seconds channeling into them.

When I went downstairs,
I caught her sliding into knee high black boots. “Was it something I said?”

“No way
. I liked the things you said, and especially the things you did.”

“That makes two of us.” I kissed her when she popped to her feet.

“Call you later. I have class, and then work, and I’m late. Oh god, why didn’t I set an alarm?”

I walked her to the door,
thinking of her scent and touch. I wished she could stay but understood, of course. When I opened the door for Ashley, I gulped back a curse.

Detective Andrews had her hand once again raised to knock. She had a cardboard container with a pair of coffee
s and a brown bag. There was a large brown envelope between her teeth. She took that out and stared between Ashley and I.

“Detective!” I said and suddenly felt my face flush. Not two nights ago we’d flirted
, and here I was with Ashley.

“Oh,” s
he said.

“Hi
, Detective,” Ashley said. Her eyes were dark under her bangs. She turned to regard me, nodded cordially, and when I made to lean over for a kiss she shook her head and stormed off the porch.

“Ash, wait.”

“I brought copies of your signed reports, Phineas.”

I moved past the detective and followed Ashley as she went to her car.

“Wait, please.”

“Is this how it is,
Phin? Got ’em lined up at the door? This was so stupid. I mean, what was I thinking?”

I took her by the arms and spun her around to face me.

“Ashley, it’s not like that at all, I swear. I had no idea she was stopping by and there is nothing between us. It’s work, I assure you. Only work.”

“You better not break my heart
, you idiot warlock.” She my hand shook loose and got in her little Toyota.

She was gone a few seconds later and I was left to deal with the detective. I wished I had a handy portal to the abyss to hop in.

Detective Andrews had put the coffee and bag on the porch and was also moving down the stairs.

“Detective, wait.”

“I just stopped by to drop off this crap, Phineas. Have a nice day.” She brushed past me.

A few s
econds later, all I saw were her departing taillights. “Two women in one morning. How much worse could my day get?”

Turned out – a lot worse.

**

I nursed
a headache with the coffee the detective had left. In the bag were a half dozen bagels and a couple of cream cheese smears. I ate a bagel and sipped lukewarm caffeine while staring into space. I should call Ashley, except for one small problem. I hadn’t managed to get her phone number.

Someone banged against the back door.

“Jesus, Frank,” I muttered after peering through the blinds.

I opened
up and threw a towel his way. He stared at it for a few seconds, gave me that flat look, and wrapped the towel around his waist.

“You
should invest in clothing,” I said.

“
You white men and your fear of--”

“Stow it, Frank. I have a favor to ask
, so why don’t you wrap that towel around your waist and come in?”

“Do you have beer?”

“Only the best.” I led him to the kitchen.

Ashley. She had been here not so very long ago and I thought I could still smell her scent. Clean, with hints of cloves or vanilla. Now I had a demonic dog and
a naked Native American.

“That girl was pretty hot. What was she doing with you?”

“She likes me and stayed the night.”

“I meant the other one. You need better curtains upstairs.”

I shook my head and took a local microbrew out and tossed it at Frank. He caught it in front of his face then used his hand to twist the pop-off cap. Show off.

“It’s always nice to see you in the middle of the day, Frank. What brings you around?”

“Bored. I like the other girl too. She’s the one from the coffee shop, right?”

“Yeah. I saved her and she stopped by to thank me.”

“Some thank you. I was there too, you know.”

“You were,
and thank you. I mean that.” I slapped his bare shoulder.

“Girl must be hard up, dating a pasty skinned
warlock like you. Does she know what you do for a living?”

“A gentleman doesn’t talk.”

“I don’t see any gentlemen in the room,” he deadpanned.

“I have a favor to ask, Frank.”

“I suppose.” He leaned forward as I spoke.

Peaches wandered into the room and looked at a bowl of water I had left on the floor. She looked at me, then at Frank. What did she want? A glass? The dog/demon didn’t even have digits
, and I was not about to hold a glass to its lips.

“Didn’t know you had a dog.”

“She’s possessed by a demon.”

“You picked a Pomeranian. W
hat do you expect?” Frank belched and drained the beer.

Peaches stared at the bowl of water then leaned over and stuck her whole face in.

“Did you pick up one of those special needs dogs? No three legged beasts available?”

“Very funny.”

“Want anything to eat, you mongrel pooch?”

“The body requires sustenance
, but I do not. I suppose meat, lightly cooked. Keep it bloody.”

Frank jumped off the chair, nearly knocking over his beer bottle.

“Your dog is talking.”

“Okay
, birdman. Is that really the strangest thing you’ve ever seen? I told you she was possessed.”

“What’s her name?”

She made a series of noises that made me want to take up the cooling teapot and bash in my teeth to stop them from buzzing.

“Don’t do that.” I clenched m
y teeth. “Peaches, her name is Peaches, and if she doesn’t behave I’ll rip her spirit out, pack it in this teapot, and drop it over the Marianas Trench.

“Nothing can we call our own but death

And that small model of the barren earth

Which serves as paste and cover to our bones”

“Oh yeah. She likes Shakespeare.”

“Sounds more like a he
, but that’s a good trick.” Frank moved away from his chair and steered clear of the demon. “You should get on one of those talent shows and make a million dollars.”

I moved aside packages of frozen goods in the freezer until I came across a small box buried in the back. Pulling a pack out, I ripped the plastic open and extracted a frozen hamburger. I followed the directions and microwaved it to perfection. It wasn’t fillet mignon but it would have to do.

“We have a deal. The demon stays put and I don’t send it back to the wards. I’m pretty sure she just wants to wait until my guard is down and then try to kill me again. Is that right, Peaches?”

“We have a deal.
” Peaches sniffed.

“Oh, so I offend your sensibilities?”

“Mortal, you would call our deal a sham? Unlike the race of little men, demon’s keep their words.”

“Right. I saw The E
xorcist. Never bargain and you don’t get a face full of split pea soup,” Frank said.

I tossed the half cooked burger into a bowl and deposited it in front of the little
Pomeranian. She sniffed at it then looked at me with beady black-eyed intelligence. A chill race down my back.

“Yummy,” Peaches said.

The meat was in the bowl one moment and gone the next, along with part of the ceramic. The demon belched a puff of steam and went to find a place to lie down. She paused at the entrance to the kitchen and lifted a leg and shot a stream of pee all over the doorframe.

“Hey!” I cried.