Page 6 of Bent Out of Shade
“Whoever killed my parents snapped their necks and set a very controlled fire to burn any trace of evidence. Same with the murder of the Lonestar who covered their deaths up. I thought it was the same person, but the assassinations happened almost thirty years apart.”
“A demon bound to different humans?” He shook his head, resting his boots on the coffee table. “The binding would dissolve after they completed the task, or when the person who bound them died. Though it is possible that an Ohrist bound a fire demon the first time, then a family member or someone with a vested interest did the same thing years later.”
I smiled widely. “You’re so smart.”
“Thank—” He cut himself off, narrowed his eyes, and then chucked a pillow at me. “No to whatever you’re thinking of asking me to do. Your requests are annoying.”
“This one is simple. Find a fire demon who would have been active in Northern British Columbia back when my parents were killed and a few months ago with the Lonestar.”
“I’ll just check the sign-in sheet, shall I?”
I winged the pillow back at him. “No need to get snotty.”
His expression softened. “You’re right. It’s an important factor to rule out, but that request is impossible. I might—might, mind you—be able to ascertain which demons were around at the time of McMurtry’s death, but not if they’d been bound. And your parents were killed too far back to cross-reference it. I’m sorry.”
“Thanks anyway.” I paused. “You know Eli’ll kill you for putting your boots on his coffee table.”
Nav winked at me. “He’s fun to rile.”
“And with that, I’m out.” I waved and headed into Eli’s backyard. “Sadie, I’m going home.”
She sat on the bottom stair of the balcony, texting, and totally ignoring her father, who was hosing down the flagstones by her feet.
“Yo. Princess,” I said.
“I heard you.” She didn’t lift her eyes from the screen.
Her father mimed strangling her, but I frowned.
Sadie was still in the very new stages of dealing with the existence of magic, which had been compounded by our shocking discovery about two weeks ago that she had powers of her own. She found it isolating not to be able to discuss her powers with her Sapien friends and boyfriend. Much as she loved having magic, this was a million times harder to go through on her own, so I was trying to remain sympathetic.
I took a deep, steadying breath.
She looked up. “Can I go out with my friends?”
“You have until tomorrow,” I said. “Besides, I thought Nessa and the gang were busy.”
“They are. These are some Ohrist kids.”
Eli twisted off the tap, water dribbling from the hose. “What Ohrist kids?”
Sadie shrugged. “Some people Tovah knows.”
My friends’ niece, Tovah, seemed like a nice young woman the one time I met her, but this was the first I was hearing of these other Ohrists. As happy as I was that Sadie was connecting with other kids like her, I was still her parent.
“I’d like more information than that,” I said.
Sadie stood, sliding her phone into her pocket. “First you say you want me to meet Ohrists my age, now I get the third degree when I try?”
“This is hardly the third degree.” Eli smiled evilly. “You want me to really bust that out, I will.”
She threw up her hands. “I don’t know more than that. They’re meeting at a coffee shop nearby. Can I go or not?”
A large part of me wanted to say “not” because she was being a little cow. However, that meant I’d get to hang out with Miss Moody all night. I twisted my cardigan into a ball. She had no idea how lucky she was to have two parents to guide her through her teen years, never mind have the privilege of acting out, instead of feeling the pressure to be perfect. It took me years to believe that Goldie would keep me if I got angry or snippy.
I can’t remember what I was so mad about the first time I actually talked back to my cousin, but I didn’t just blurt out my feelings. I spent several nights practicing mouthing the words silently to myself, building up to voicing them in the safety of my room. That part was still far too clear, as was Goldie’s confusion when, instead of my prepared rational speech, my emotions got the better of me and I blew up at her well after the initial conflict.
I leaned against the stair rail. None of that was Sadie’s fault, and considering how much anxiety she’d had over the years from self-imposed perfectionist tendencies, it was a relief and a gift that she felt confident enough to test her limits.
