Starfire (Grim Gate 2)

“It’s not stupid.”

“Yeah.” I crumple up the paper. “It is.” I toss the paper into the fire. Grabbing a blanket off the back of the couch, we lay down. Ethan runs his fingers up and down my back, and I fall asleep rather quickly. I dreamed about trying to find a way to stop the demon—shocker, right? But in my dream when I summoned Xozon, reapers climbed out of the mirror. Ethan went to shoot them, and I ran in front, screaming at him not to hurt my reapers. He ended up shooting me instead, and I startle awake. It’s a disturbing dream, but it gives me an idea.

The reapers.

CHAPTER 30

“Look who I found!” Nikolai bustles into the house, waking both Ethan and I up. Hunter is on the floor, lounging next to the fire. He opens one eye, giving me a look. Yeah, I know. Nik can be overly energetic. “If you’re naked and need me to close my eyes, let me know. It’s been a while since you two had the house to yourself.”

“I’m not naked,” I grumble and sit up, yawning.

“Hey!” Rene says, stepping into the library.

“Hey!” I say back and get up. “What are you doing here? Not that I’m not happy to see you?”

“Nik came into my store and insisted I come hang out.” She leans in. “He thinks you’re sad and he’s just, uh, always happy, isn’t he?”

“I’m starting to think so.”

“Anyway, we brought lunch.”

Ethan, hearing there’s food, begrudgingly gets up, and we all gather in the dining room.

“I covered all the mirrors in my house,” Rene admits, dishing fried rice onto her plate. “And I temporary moved the mirrors in the store so they’re not facing the register.”

“We covered ours too. Which is why my hair looks the way it does.” I put an egg roll onto my plate. “Though to be fair, it’s messy like this most times.”

“How are things since yesterday?” Rene asks almost tentatively. “Did burning the box help?”

“I haven’t noticed a difference.” I turn toward Ethan. “We’re trying to come up with some way to safely kill this demon. So far, my plan is to put a mirror in a circle of salt and then cast a barrier spell. And then outline that in another circle of salt.”

“I don’t know how magic works, but that sounds like a solid plan.”

“The only issue is getting close enough to kill the demon,” Ethan says ruefully. “But it is a decent plan.”

“Can’t you like shoot him with a crossbow or something?” Rene asks. “So, you don’t have to be close?”

“Oh, you can,” Ethan answers. “We’re assuming this demon has some sort of defense that will make it hard to do so. It’s…it’s worth a try, though. If anything, it could be a distraction so Anora can burn him with magic. Then we’ll collect the ashes and put him back in the box.” His hand lands on my thigh. “Where will you be when you summon him?”

“That’s what I can’t figure out. I was thinking I’d start outside the circles and move in once he’s summoned. I’ll wait and make sure he can’t get past the first circle. He’ll be stuck in a small space. I’ll move in and burn him.”

Ethan nods. “Okay, that’s one idea.”

“And you and Hunter will be there in case things get out of hand. Bullets might not work on X, but it’ll slow him down.”

“Where are we going to do this? I’d suggest the basement but not if you’re using fire magic.”

“No, definitely not inside. It’ll have to be outside, behind the barn in the yard where the horses don’t go. The footing is decent there and not all mashed up from the horses.”

Ethan thinks about it for a moment and nods. “It’ll work. Let’s do it.”

CHAPTER 31

“Right now?” I ask, my heart skipping a beat.

“We can take some time to prepare, but there’s no point in waiting. The more time that passes, the more likely X is to find another human puppet.”

“I agree. He needs to die.”

“We should start setting up.”

I nod. “I need to clear out that area. There’s some old farm equipment in there and I don’t want anything to become a weapon.”

“Good thinking.”

I turn, finding Rene and Nik starting at us incredulously. “You guys don’t have to be a part of this. Can Nik hang out at the store with you?” I ask Rene.

“Of course,” she says without thinking, and then shakes her head. “No. I mean, he can, but I want to help you.”

“No way,” Ethan and I say at the same time.

“Rene,” I start. “I lost a friend not that long ago because demons crossed her path. I’m not risking you.”

“But you’re risking yourself!”

“It’s different,” I argue. “This is what I’m supposed to do. It’s like a destiny thing slash cleaning up my own mess thing.”