Page 13 of Demon's Bluff
“It’s just Rachel,” I said, glad the girls had moved to stand behind Glenn of their own accord. Quen had taught them well. “Or Ms. Morgan. We keep the demon subrosa thing low-key when I’m escorting Mr. Kalamack’s children to his, ah…” My words faltered. I wasn’t sure what Ellasbeth was. She wasn’t his ex, but she did have visiting rights with Lucy, and where one girl went, the other followed.
“How about you start by telling me what you want?” I said, my grip tightening on the ley line when Laker took his hands from his pocket.
“Just getting my documentation,” Laker said when he saw my hair beginning to float. “What’s with all the suspicion?”
“Kalamack’s girls have been made into bargaining chips before,” Glenn said, and I sighed when Laker handed me an official notice.
“I don’t work like that,” the nondescript man said, actually waving at them. “I don’t need to. Rachel, would I be correct that Trenton Aloysius Kalamack is on the other side of the ley line in the ever-after?”
Glenn stiffened. “You don’t have to answer that.”
“He was,” I admitted, fully aware that the girls were clustered behind me. “But he didn’t stick around.”
“Thank you.” Laker seemed surprised I’d answered him. “How much to escort me over there?”
A laugh escaped me. “What, so you can bring him in?” I said as I gatheredthe girls’ hands. “Not happening, Mr. Laker. If you will excuse me, I need to get the girls to their mom.”
“One of them doesn’t have a mom, if I understand it correctly.” He simpered at me when I froze, aghast. “At least that’s what my research says.”
“Your research is wrong,” I said, angry now as I walked away. Ray had a mother. Yes, Ceri was gone, but that didn’t mean Ray didn’t have a mother.
“Can I talk to you for a moment?” Glenn practically growled as he pushed Laker toward a light pole with his mere presence. “That woman does more in one week to keep Cincinnati’s crime numbers down than the I.S. does in a month. You need to give her more respect or she is going to correct you.”
“That sounds like a threat, Detective,” Laker said, and I skidded to a halt, the girls’ feet pattering as I spun. “Are you interfering with my attempts to bring Trent in on bail?”
Glenn’s shoulders were hunched. “Not at all,” he said, wincing when he realized I had stopped. “It’s a public service announcement from me to you. You can sit at the curb. You can watch the church. But if you approach her door, or follow her, or show up at her favorite coffee spot, I’m going to drag you in for harassment, and your license to collect bail jumpers in Ohio and Kentucky goes away.” He hesitated, lips pressed. “Say something so I know we have an understanding.”
Laker frowned, peeved as he played with his amulets’ lanyards. “Leave the witch alone.”
The girls’ hands felt small in mine, and I forced the energy from the line down before it could flow into them. “I’m a demon, Mr. Laker,” I said. “Witches can’t cross the ley lines anymore.”
Laker shifted his weight to one foot, eyeing me in evaluation. “That’s what I heard.”
“And beyond what Glenn has said, if you touch either of these two girls, or talk to them, or try to ask them questions, I will give you exactly what you want.”
“Yeah?” he said. “And what is it that I want?”
I felt tall with the girls beside me. “I will take you into the ever-after,” I said. “And leave you there with the demons.” I cocked my head while that soaked in. “Have yourself a great day, Mr. Laker,” I added, then walked away, the girls’ heels pattering along beside mine. He seemed a little cowed but not nearly enough.
“Sit tight,” I heard Glenn say over the traffic. “I want to talk to you.”
I sighed as Glenn’s dress shoes quickly rasped behind me. “Rachel?”
Glenn came even with us, and I slowed. The girls were silent, and I smiled down at them as I gave their hands a little squeeze. Ray blinked up at me, clearly relieved.
“Rachel, I’m sorry about Laker,” Glenn said. “I knew he was looking for Trent. How come he’s not using the ley line at the church?”
I took a slow breath. Held it. Let it out. “Al is camped out in it, and Quen had their car seats here.”
“I would have let you handle it, but you’ve got the girls…” he started in explanation.
We had reached the car, and I let go of Lucy to unlock the SUV with the fob. “No, your intervention is appreciated. Thanks.” I glanced down the street to see that Laker was gone. “Is he going to be a problem?”
Glenn shrugged, embarrassed. “I don’t know. He’s new. From Chicago.”
“Mmmm. They have a big wizard population there, don’t they.”
He nodded. Wizards were humans who used premade witch charms. The man who had raised me had been a wizard, using the spells my mom made to fool everyone into thinking he was a witch. Nick, one of my ex-boyfriends, had been a wizard, too, and it had ultimately killed him. Actually, pretending to be a witch had killed both of them.