Page 63 of Speak of the Devil
But the slightly sinister name “The Styx Group” caused a lot of alarm bells to go off in Delia’s head. Maybe the company’s founder was a big fan of ’70s rock bands, but she had a feeling there was something else going on here.
Thanks, Pru. It’s still helpful. And if you find anything else, just let me know.
I will…and drop me a note when you’re ready to buy me that pitcher of margaritas.
Delia responded with a tongue-out emoji, and they ended the conversation there.
After she shut down her computer, she got up from her chair and went out into the hall. The door to Caleb’s room was shut, and she couldn’t hear anything from inside, not even a snore.
She told herself he would be fine. None of his injuries had been life-threatening, and what he needed more than anything else was a decent night’s sleep.
The same could have been said for her, so she headed into her bedroom and also made sure the door was firmly closed. Normally, she left it open, but considering she had a part demon sleeping just down the hallway from her, discretion seemed the better part of valor.
As to what they’d do when morning rolled around…well, she supposed she’d figure that out after she woke up.
Although Delia normally rolled out of bed and headed into the kitchen to make coffee first thing, today she thought it was probably a better idea to shower and put on some makeup first, just in case Caleb was already up and about.
Good thing she’d taken that precaution, because when she emerged from her bedroom, he was already sitting on the couch and drinking a cup of coffee, watching the morning news with the sound turned down so low, she hadn’t even realized it was on.
“Morning,” he said, his tone casual in the extreme. “I hope you don’t mind that I made coffee. I needed some after that cognac last night.”
“It’s fine,” she replied automatically…then paused and took a closer look at him. He wore a knit pullover, jeans, and sneakers— none of which she’d provided for him. “Please tell me you didn’t go home to get all that,” she added as she inclined her head toward his ensemble.
“This?” He looked down at himself and grinned. “Vegas is the city that never sleeps, right? I found a twenty-four-hour clothing store online when I checked my phone and teleported myself over there so I could grab a few things. The sweats were great last night, but I figured I needed some real clothes for today.”
Delia blinked. While she knew some shops stayed open ’round the clock — usually the boutiques inside the casinos, and probably some along Fremont Street — she’d never had any need to visit them and hadn’t realized you could outfit yourself pretty respectably at those stores.
“Well, I’m glad you got it figured out,” she managed, then went into the kitchen so she could pour herself a much-needed coffee. Although part of her had been a little annoyed that Caleb had made himself at home and fetched some for himself without waiting for her to come out of her room, she had to admit that it was nice to have her morning brew ready to go.
Once she’d filled a mug and added her ritual teaspoon of sugar and dollop of milk, she headed back to the living room and sat down on one of the chairs. Now that she was facing him, she could see that he looked much better this morning — his color was good, and he didn’t have any noticeable dark circles under his eyes.
And those horrid gashes across his throat had healed to a couple of pale red welts.
He must have noticed her staring, because he said, “Demon blood, remember? I heal fast.”
“Apparently,” she replied. “But that’s good to hear. I suppose now we need to focus on getting you back into your house.”
The familiar glint returned to his eyes, almost the same color as the coffee they were drinking. “What, you don’t want a permanent house guest?”
She decided it would be better not to dignify that comment with a response, and instead swallowed some more coffee.
He grinned. “Well, I figure your holy water can help with that. We’ll splash it everywhere, utter a few blessings, and the demons shouldn’t be able to come back.”
Since he’d already told her that holy water didn’t affect him, she wasn’t too surprised by his plan. Luckily, she had a lot on hand and could always get more, thanks to the way she’d made friends with a Presbyterian minister and his wife, finding them a killer deal on a house in their parish, a place they otherwise would never have been able to afford. Because of that professional relationship, all she had to do was make a phone call, and Father Bryce would have a new case of the stuff waiting for her.
“But,” Caleb went on, “I thought I should take you out to breakfast first.”
Delia wanted to protest that he didn’t need to take her out to eat. However, considering all she had in the house was some yogurt that should have been tossed a few days ago and a box of Kind bars, she guessed she should probably take him up on the offer.
“Deal,” she said. “And after that, we’ll go take a look at your house.”
They ate at a place practically around the corner from her neighborhood, a fun little bistro that had amazing omelets and frittatas and all sorts of breakfast pastries. Delia decidedto skip the sweet stuff, just in case whatever they ended up facing at Caleb’s house might require a bit more effort than merely splashing holy water around. When fighting demons, she supposed, it was always a good idea to lay down a good base.
A second cup of coffee, too, although she generally only drank one in the morning so she wouldn’t get too jittery. Pru always laughed and called her a lightweight, but she’d never been able to down unending cups the way her friend could.
Delia drove, of course, because Caleb’s Range Rover presumably was still parked in the garage at his house. Neither of them said much, and she wondered if he was more wary about the upcoming confrontation than he wanted to admit.
After she parked in the driveway and he let them into the house, though, absolutely nothing happened. No onslaught of demons, no blood dripping from the wall, no pentacles chalked on the gleaming wood floors…absolutely nothing to show that he’d been attacked by unholy adversaries here the night before.
