Queen of Night (Thorne Hill 6)

“Once the sun sets, let’s go see the house,” Lucas says. “I’m sure we’ll both be surprised with the progress.”

“And we can start moving in soon.” I make a face. “I have so much to pack.”

“And get rid of,” Lucas adds.

“It’ll look like I got rid of stuff in the new basement. It’s like three times the size of the basement I have now.” I scoot closet to Lucas, trying to make room for Scarlet. “Oof,” I huff when she puts her big paws in my lap. Lucas and I lounge around on the couch together for a bit, and then Lucas gets up to unpack his suitcase already. Mine is going to stay zipped up in the hallway right outside my bedroom door for at least a full forty-eight hours before I can even think about putting my clothes away.

Having purposely gotten rid of most of the food in the fridge before leaving for Florida for three weeks, I need to go grocery shopping and buy fifty pounds of dog food that may or may not last Scarlet a week. Lucas is in the office answering emails when I leave, and Binx comes with me to the store.

“I’m sorry,” I tell my Jeep, seeing the cracked headlight. “I’ll get you fixed soon enough.” I decide to stop at Novel Grounds before going to the grocery store, wanting to pop in and check on everything. Months ago, Lucas suggested I give up the notion I’ll return to work with the ability to keep a normal schedule.

Turns out he was right.

I’m still a co-owner of the bookstore, but now that I’m married to an undead billionaire, I don’t have to work. I could give Kristy full ownership and still come in when I can to help out, because I really do love this place. Or I could keep doing what I’ve been doing for months, having taken myself off the schedule but haven’t done anything more official than that, which is classic Callie-style of avoidance for you.

“Hey!” I call to Danielle and Vanessa. Binx prances in ahead of me, ready for everyone to gush all over him like they always do. The store is busy, which is always a good sight to see.

“Hey, Callie,” Vanessa says, looking up from the register. “How was your trip? We all kind of lived vicariously through your Instagram stories.”

“It was really fun. I’m glad to be back, though. How are you?”

“Good. Busy as usual.” Binx jumps on the counter, patiently waiting for Vanessa to finish ringing up a customer so she can love on him.

“Have we been busy like this a lot lately?”

Vanessa picks up Binx, and he starts purring right away. “It’s picked up a lot in the last week. We’re all starting to feel comfortable going out again.”

Obviously, I’m missing something. “Why wouldn’t you feel comfortable?”

“Oh, right. You’ve been out of town and didn’t hear the news.”

“What news?”

“A body was found in the woods. Her heart was missing.”Chapter 26Fucking demons.

I turn on the seat warmers in my Jeep, impatiently waiting for the news article to load on my phone. Vanessa summed everything up already, but I need to see it for myself.

Gloria Thompson, a thirty-year-old mother of three, was found dead in a shallow grave in the woods near the state park, close to Lake Michigan and very close to where the Ley line meets the water. Markings on her wrists and ankles indicated she’d been tied up and was very much alive when her heart was carved right out of her chest. As of right now, the police have no leads.

“That’s because they’re looking for a human and this was obviously a demon,” I tell Binx. “Fuck.” I ball my fist and toss my head back. Before we left, my familiars discovered three deer in the woods with their hearts missing.

“Obviously, it’s connected,” I mutter and send Evander a text, telling him to get ahold of me when he can. It’s Friday, and he’s probably teaching a class. “What demons eat hearts?” I ask Binx, mind racing. “Several kinds, but tying up a victim makes me think they had to perform some sort of ritual, and lower-level demons don’t usually get that complex, right?” I scroll through the article. Gloria went missing two days before her body was found. She was from the unincorporated part of Thorne Hill, which is closer to our neighboring town of Paradise Valley on the other side of Thorne Hill from where her body was found. Her family believed she was kidnapped while walking the dog in the evening. The dog—an eighty-pound German Shepherd—never returned home either.

“If the demon is going after women around my age who are walking dogs, then Scarlet and I—” Binx lets out a low growl. I purse my lips and let out a sigh. “Scarlet and I will not be bait because I promised not to get involved with demons.” I close the Safari app on my phone and toss my head back against the headrest. “We both know if this was a ritualistic killing, the demons will probably kill again. What am I supposed to do?” I ask Binx. “Turn this over to the police?”