Revealed in Fire (Demon Days & Vampire Nights)

“Look around?” I asked.

Emery stared at Penny. Cahal shifted where he stood off to the side.

“Ah,” I said, really good at reading these people at this point. “Daddy is making house calls, only he doesn’t know which house to visit, so he’s sending his minions to search for clues.”

“We don’t know for sure,” Emery admitted. “We’ve had some powerful demons pop up from rudimentary circles. It’s as if they’ve pushed the intended demon out of the way and hitched a ride to the surface. Not even the ancient circles could call demons of this magnitude. Not on purpose. We have no proof, but while the powerful ones have popped up everywhere, there are higher concentrations in Seattle, New Orleans…your old neighborhood…”

I accepted my refilled cup from Darius. “You mean my current neighborhood, with the house that I very much still own and live in? I will go back there.”

“You will have no need of such a—”

I held up a finger for Darius. “Don’t start.”

“If you emerge—”

I swung my hand to stop Cahal. “You either. It is my home, I love it, and I will go back there. End of story.”

Silence fell over us.

Until Penny got out of the pool. “What’d I miss?”

“Nothing.” I waved her away. “Vlad being a pest, demons hitching rides—the usual.”

“Oh yeah.” Penny grabbed a towel and wrapped it around herself. Emery jumped up and offered her his chair, circling around the pool to pull another one over. She gave him a dopey smile usually reserved for lovesick lambs before sinking into it, her hair in a wet and twisted ponytail. “The latest ones coming up are hard to kill. Emery and I helped take out some of the ones in Seattle. It’s pretty strange. If the shifters don’t have some of their more powerful pack members on the case, or help from another powerful magical creature, like mages or fae, then those suckers just have a look around, mind their business, and bugger off. They act differently than the ones summoned by Vlad’s people and whoever’s responsible for the ancient circles—which is probably Ja, because that vampire seems to have a thing for me. I cannot shake her.”

Darius stiffened. Clearly that was information he hadn’t been given. Emery’s grimace said he would’ve liked to keep it under wraps, probably to use as currency with Darius, but Penny had a habit of messing up everyone’s plans. I liked her more for it.

“They aren’t in the area to fight,” Penny said. “Seems like they’re playing detective or something.”

“Again, we have no proof,” Emery said.

I laughed. “Give it up, Emery. She’s giving away all your secrets. Penny picks up on magical intent, and she can tell those demons are not after violence, like the others. They’re looking for me.”

“But not finding you,” Darius said.

“They won’t find you here unless they capture Emery and me and torture the information out of us.” Penny looked around.

Darius instantly rose. “Forgive me. What would you like to drink?”

“Oh. Just a—”

“Shot of tequila,” I said quickly.

Her dark look made me grin. I hated that she couldn’t stay all the time. She really was a great distraction.

“Sparkling water,” she said to Darius.

“She means Mexican sparkling water. In other words, a shot of tequila. With a worm,” I added.

She leveled a finger at me, but it wasn’t her middle one, sadly. She probably wanted it to be, though. “Number one, that’s not even accurate, and number two, I am not going to get drunk this time, so don’t even try.”

She most definitely was going to get drunk. I loved drunk Penny, mostly because of how worried Emery got that she’d tango with me and do something crazy. The unpredictability was a hoot.

But seriously, what I wouldn’t give for a shifter bar. Drunk Penny and a bunch of meathead shifters trying to throw their weight around, only to end up running for their lives from yours truly. That could cure anyone’s boredom.

“I doubt a demon could capture either of you,” Darius said, and delivered a sparkling water, the traitor, before sitting down again.

“Even if they did, they couldn’t crack me.” Ferocity rang in Emery’s voice.

“Sorry, Reagan, but they might crack me.” Penny’s large blue eyes looked at me sorrowfully. “I’m not as tough as Emery.”

I waved her away. “I wouldn’t expect you to try. If someone grabbed you, including Lucifer, I’d show up myself and rip you free. Don’t worry about it.”

“The time will come when you will tire of hiding—”

“Nope.” I held up a finger to Cahal. “Still on a timeout with all of that. Not now, bub. We’re having a nice time, just now, trying to talk Penny into drinking too much and doing something crazy.”

She shook her head adamantly and clutched her water with both hands.

“If you will excuse me.” Darius rose gracefully, and I watched the play of muscle under his black button-down shirt, his pecs popping and his shoulders straining the fabric. “I will put something on for dinner.”