Starfire (Grim Gate 2)

“Huh.” I give the box a little shake. “I thought there’d be more.”

“Normally, there is.”

“Maybe it was a pet.”

“People cremate pets?”

“Oh, yeah. We did it at my clinic before. Anything from parakeets to Great Danes.” I close the lid and relatch it, wiping the little bit of my blood off the rusty metal.

“It’s cold,” Ethan starts. “We can tackle this another day.”

“I got another memory back,” I rush out. “I know it’s a long shot but there has to be something up here that will point me in the right direction.” I motion to the piles of stuff. “This was Aunt Estelle’s life. There has to be something.”

Ethan takes my hands in his. “We’ll figure it out, Anora.”

“Eventually,” I chide. Still, I am comforted knowing that I don’t have to go through this alone.

“What did you remember?” he asks, and I tell him about the two memories as we make our way downstairs. My hands are cold and a hot shower really does sound nice.

“Can witches perform exorcisms?” I ask as I pull my sweater over my head.

“Not that I’m aware of,” he tells me and turns on the shower. “I’m not aware of much about witches, to be fair. I haven’t come across too many.”

I nod, trusting that Ethan is telling the truth. His father, on the other hand, contradicted himself more than once. First, he told me that there aren’t many witches left and I could very well be the last witch in my coven. Then he later said something about not liking witches, making it sound as if he was indeed familiar with them.

“My dad called as I was leaving the gym.” Ethan checks the temperature of the water and stands back, letting me get in first.

“Is everything okay?” I rush out, knowing Sam was on a hunt last night.

“Yeah,” he replies and closes the glass shower door. “The Order knows I’m back in the Midwest. My dad led them to believe I was in Chicago and there’s a job nearby.”

“And you need to go.”

“Yeah,” he says ruefully. “They’re down a hunter, and they called upon me.”

Nodding, I wait for him to go on. The Order of the Mystic Realm is an old-school faction of demon hunters that’s been around for centuries. They sounded like the good guys at first—being protectors of humanity and all—but the more I learn, the more I think they’re a sketchy, paranormal multi-level marketing gig with questionable morals. The hunters get paid and can move up in the Order hierarchy which, again, sounds good on paper. Though, it’s really a tactic to make the hunters rely on the Order.

“What kind of demon are you dealing with?”

“Not sure. Something lower-level that’s been picking off the homeless one by one every five days.”

“Ritualistic killings?”

“It sounds more like a demon needing to feed every five days. The bodies were drained of all blood and missing digestive organs.”

“Gross. Drinking blood seems almost normal now since vampires are out of the coffin, but chowing down on an uncooked small intestine—nope.” I shudder and Ethan chuckles. “Since homeless is one of my three looks, I could come with you, play bait, and set the demon on fire before it has a chance to sample my gallbladder.”

“I would love nothing more than to watch you incinerate a demon,” he starts as he adjusts the temperature of the water and steps over to me, putting his hands on my waist. “But you know the Order doesn’t like outsiders.”

“I know,” I say with a sigh. “Which is stupid. I can help with not just killing the demon, but finding it. I think I finally got the hang of the locator spell, thanks to Hunter. He hid in the woods just so I could find him. Speaking of Hunter,” I start and grab the shampoo. “Take him with.”

“I don’t like the idea of taking him away from you, and it would raise a few questions if I showed up with a familiar.”

“In dog-form, no one will know. German Shepherds are known for being good guard dogs. Just say he’s your trusty canine friend. Plus, he’s bored,” I add as I wash my hair. “He pretended to be a normal dog for years, and now that I know what he really is, it’s, uh…been slow. Not that I’m complaining. I’ve rather enjoyed the quiet.”

“I have as well.” He playfully slaps my butt.

Laughing, I step back so I can rinse the shampoo from my hair and then press myself against Ethan. His hands land on my waist again and his lips go to my neck, moving one hand between my legs as he kisses my neck.

I widen my legs when his fingers sweep over my clit, and I let out a soft moan, so he knows I’m very much enjoying what he’s doing. With the hot water streaming down on me and Ethan working his fingers like magic, it doesn’t take me long to come. My body shudders against him, and I have to reach out and grab the bar in the shower to keep myself up.