“She was accosted by a demon…this morning on MacLeod grounds. A Red Demon,” Jeremy said.
“Bloody hell…Jeremy…what has a demon to do with us? Why would a demon appear here?”
“Look, if it wasn’t Allora, and I don’t think it was, I can only guess that the vampires at Brently Manor know she is a witch. It is possible they are playing dark games…made a deal with the demon who came here…to bring her to them in exchange for something.”
“Why would they want me if they aren’t presently working for Allora?” I asked.
“Yer blood. Yer ‘almost’ encounter with the vampire yesterday allowed him to get yer scent. Witch’s blood is like Ambrosia. Very rare, very desirable,” Devin said.
I didn’t answer as I digested this.
“So, what is the plan?” Jeremy asked suddenly.
“You don’t have one?” I threw up my arms. “Of course, why would you have something as basic as a plan? We had a vampire in the bush, and now a demon in the grass, but no plan. Great, just great.”
Jeremy laughed and under Devin’s sharp eye, found himself coughing away the laugh.
I eyed them both, hands on my hips.
“Och aye, basic is it? Well, as a matter of fact, I have a plan,” Devin said. “First, ye cannae stay here at night.”
“Demons come at all hours,” I answered. “So we need a better plan.”
“Going to stay with her here at MacLeod,” Jeremy stuck in. “I have already decided that is the only way to keep her safe. I’ll have all my calls and as many of my appointments as possible routed here, and that way…”
Devin’s eyes narrowed. “That will look odd.”
“Doesn’t matter what it looks like. It is the answer. She needs to be here and she needs protection.”
“Uhm, let me remind you that she is standing right here and she managed quite well on her own handling said demon. She sent him back from whence he came,” I told the macho men looking consideringly at me.
“Could have been a fluke,” Jeremy said.
“Hey! It wasn’t,” I snapped.
“How did ye do it, lass?” Devin asked gently. “How did ye send him back from whence he came…and where did he come from?”
“His portal was rudimentary. Not the kind that can take one long distances. I saw that at once from the manner in which it was behaving. Look, I am an immortal witch. I use the elements, and in this case, since he was a demon of fire…easily recognizable by the fact that his skin was scorched and leathery…soooo, I called on the water in the earth and used it. Fire demons don’t like water. It melts them. Anyway…sent him back into the portal and I locked it after him. He won’t be able to use it to return here again. He’ll have to conjure up another and demon magic isn’t exceptional with regards to portals. So he won’t be back for a bit, and next time, I shall simply have to kill him and be done,” I answered, and added, “as a rule…I don’t like killing things, but now and then, I guess I’ll have to make an exception.”
I couldn’t help but notice the silence that followed my little diatribe. Both men looked at me as though seeing me for the first time.
I snapped my fingers, and gave them the ey
e. “What?”
Jeremy said, “You are more capable than I had thought.”
“Which brings me to you,” I told him. “I need you to train me. My Shama says I need training.”
“Your what? What is your Shama?” Jeremy asked.
“It is the magic I can feel under the surface that my Aunt Elle wasn’t able to totally…access,” I told him. “You, being an immortal warlock, can access it and teach me the best way to use and handle it.”
“Well, let’s hope I can,” Jeremy said. “I am going to go and collect my things and arrange matters with my office and get back here as soon as I may.”
“No, wait…I have some knowledge of Druid wards. My mother taught me two wards when I was ten…when she thought we needed to protect our home. They are, she said, unbreakable. We need to ward the castle and the grounds if we want to walk freely,” I said.
“Ye know, lass…ye can return home, be free of all this ugliness. ‘Tis nae yer problem,” Devin said.