Nightfall (Grim Gate 1)

“You do clean up nice,” Ethan says, running his eyes over me. “And the first night we met, you weren’t ragged.”

“Emotionally, I was.” I twist my hair around my fingers. “I take it nothing attacked while I was getting dressed. Just the killer ferret.” I cringe at my words again. Why did I bring that up? “We don’t have to talk about that.”

“So, you don’t want me to tell you I liked what I saw?”

“Usually someone has to buy me at least one drink until they see me with my clothes off, but you already have twice today.”

“That first time I was saving you from freezing, you know.”

“What a tough day at the office when stripping my clothes off constitutes saving my life.”

“Right?” His lips curve into a grin. “I know it’s not time for dinner, but do you want to get something to eat now? I’m starving.”

“Yeah,” I say quickly. “Let me feed the animals and then we can head out.”

“Want any help?” Ethan asks, getting to his feet.

“Uh, sure.” He follows me into the kitchen. I grab another can of rabbit meat from my tiny pantry and plop a spoonful down for Romeo.

“Is this for your ferret?” He takes the bowl from the counter while I fill a bigger dish with kibble for Hunter.

“Yeah. I’ll put a handful of hard food in there for him too.”

“I had two ferrets when I was a kid,” he says, following me to my room. I crack the door a few inches waiting a second to make sure I don’t hit Romeo. “I found them after their owners were killed by demons.”

“They’re lucky you found them.”

He nods. “I was able to keep them for a few years. They got into everything.”

“They’re troublemakers, that’s for sure.” I close my closet door and put Romeo’s food down, trapping him in my room while Ethan and I get something to eat

“Where do you want to go?” he asks as I pull a leather jacket from the hall closet. “The sushi place?”

“We can eat somewhere closer. Traffic will be bad soon downtown. There’s an Italian place about ten minutes from here.”

“That’s good with me.”

I give Hunter a hug goodbye and follow Ethan out, locking the front door behind me. The rain has let up, but the sky is still covered in thick gray clouds, darkening the day. I look up and down the sidewalk, heart skipping a beat.

“It’s hard to let your guard down, I know,” Ethan says.

“I feel like I should go back inside and stash the dagger in my purse.”

“That wouldn’t be a bad idea.”

I wait a beat for him to laugh. “You’re serious?”

“I’m armed, but an extra weapon never hurts. And I’ve heard rumors that certain daggers like that are enchanted.”

“It felt hot,” I tell him. “Before I said that spell to blow up the demon.”

“Then I’d bet it is enchanted.” Ethan opens the door to his Jeep for me. “Tell me where to go,” he says, firing up the engine. “I haven’t been around the city much.”

“You said your dad got a new job here.” I pull the seatbelt over myself. “But he’s a demon hunter.”

“He got reassigned by the Order. We’ve only been here three weeks.”

“Why here?”

“There are a few members of the Order who have learned how to scry for demonic activity or magical energy. I’m going to assume whatever your aunt did to you wore off when she died and was weakening before then. The demon set up shop while it waited so it could narrow down exactly who you were.”

“Wait, you’re saying you were sent here because of me?”

“Indirectly, yes.”

“This day keeps getting weirder and weirder.” I get my phone from my purse and see a few texts from Laney, saying she had a bad day at work and wants to hang out. I have to work in the morning, so I won’t be going to the bar with her tonight, but when she has bad days like this—which happens frequently since her boss is a grade-A asshole—she usually comes over for an hour or so and leaves feeling better. That’s what friends do, right? Cheer you up, be there for you when you’re down…that sort of thing.

I tell Laney everything, and I want to tell her about the demons and the magic. She gets freaked out when I tell her about a ghost, though, and I know how crazy it will all sound.

“Turn left at the stoplight,” I tell Ethan and look back at my phone. Might as well invite Laney over, bust out the junk food, and spit out the truth, right?

Me: When do you get off?

She doesn’t respond right away since she’s working, and I drop my phone in my purse.

“Can we listen to music?” I blurt, afraid the silence is going to get awkward.

“Sure, what do you like?”