Chapter 20

CHAPTER 20

DAMON

" C ome along, Bella," I call up the stairs as I find Bella's shoes and have them waiting for her. Tamzin is in the kitchen, feeding the pets. "Did you remember your violin?" I ask, even though I can see it in her hand as she comes down the stairs.

"Obviously," she says as she squats and puts her shoes on.

"Good habits and all that," I tell her.

Tamzin comes into the entry room, coffee in one hand and cookie jar in the other. "Everyone ready?" she asks.

"Yes," Bella says, opening the door. I give Dash and Mr. Darcy a finger wave as I close the door behind us. They are trapped behind a mesh screen I bought online that lets them see us come and go but keeps them from running out the door when we are trying to leave in a hurry.

I drive us to the school while Tamzin taps away at emails to clients.

"Bye, honey!" Tamzin calls to Bella as she gets out of the car. I wave to the little sprite as well, and we are out of the drop-off line long before anyone can honk at us.

"Workout day?" I ask Tamzin.

"Yes, please," she says, so I drive us to the gym. I have no desire—or need—to work out. Besides, I think it is really just an excuse for Tamzin and Cora to gossip and chat. While I do wish I had enough freedom to go and do what I want while waiting for them to finish, I'm still trapped by the blasted cookie jar, and there is nowhere within walking distance of the gym, so I just roll the windows down and tap around on my own phone while I wait. I look up recipes to cook for dinner. I also don't need to eat, but I do enjoy it. And me cooking takes one more thing off Tamzin's never-ending to-do list, which makes her less stressed and all of us happier. I lament for a moment how, if I wasn't trapped by the cookie jar, I could just pop over to Il Piatto del Demone and then pop back with some of the best Italian food the Old World has to offer. But, alas, there is not much I can do about that. So I guess Damon's spaghetti and meatballs will have to do.

I lay my head back and look out the window, wondering if Beverly has made any progress on undoing the spell that has me trapped. But of course she hasn't. If she had, she would have called. Plus, she's a witch. She can't have much experience with demonic magic. Not that I want to leave Tamzin and Bella—I just want my freedom back. My phone buzzes with a message.

Someone was here looking for you. I see that the message is from Bianca. I decide to give her a call.

"Hey, are you safe?" I ask her in Italian. Bianca speaks English, but her native tongue is Italian, so that is what we usually speak.

"I'm fine," she says. "But the shop has seen better days."

"They didn't—"

"They did," she says. "We lost some vases, a painting, that French chaise lounge you loved so much. And I'll have to replace the front door before I can leave tonight. We also lost a couple of customers who were in the shop at the time. They thought it was a terrorist attack or something and won't return my calls. It's a shame. The man was oozing money out of his pores."

"I am surprised they don't know where I am," I say. "The Dark Lord knows. Eisheth knows."

"I don't think the Dark Lord sent them," Bianca says, and I can hear glass crunching under her feet as she walks. She shouts something to someone, and I guess she has workers in the shop already, cleaning up the mess the goons left behind. "If he had sent them, he would have told them where you were."

"Right. It's probably some of the younger demons wanting to make a name for themselves with the Dark Lord. They must know he's angry with me. They think that if they can force me to finish this job or bring me back to him in chains, they will curry favor with him."

"That was the impression I got," she says. "That the Dark Lord would be pleased with them if they tortured your special friend themselves."

My ears burn at her words. "What do you mean, special friend?"

"Come now, I have my spies too."

I chuckle. "Bianca, you naughty minx. Just who at Il Piatto del Demone are you sleeping with now?"

"Does it have to be only one person?" she asks coyly. "You have your spies and I have mine. I thought you were supposed to be torturing the American, not seducing her."

"Things have…changed," I say.

"That's putting it mildly," she says. "I heard you were absolutely smitten with the girl."

"Tamzin is…special."

"Aww, how sweet. I didn't think it was possible for you to fall in love."

"I wouldn't say the L word just yet. But I certainly want to protect her from all this. I can't have her tortured."

"That's not up to you, is it?"

"That's what I'm trying to figure out. Where did you send the goons?"

"I said you were digging up dino bones in Mongolia, which is where you should be, mind you."

"I know, I know," I say with a sigh. Who would have thought that the hottest thing in antiques right now would be dinosaur bones? "I just need to get things figured out here. If the goons come back, call on Eisheth to help you."

"I don't know about that. She seems as annoyed as the rest of them that you are taking so long to finish this job."

"She's just a messenger," I say. "She's not a threat. At a time like this, she's the closest thing I have to a friend."

"You might need to branch out in the future," she says, and I see Tamzin coming out of the gym.

"Will do," I say. "Talk to you later."

" Ciao ."

"Hey," Tamzin says as she flops into her seat. "I hope you weren't too bored."

"No, just checking in with Bianca. There was a little mishap at the shop."

"Oh, dear. Anything I can help with?"

"No, don't worry about it. But ending this curse so I can get back to my day job would be great."

"Yeah. I'm sorry it's taking so long."

"It's not your fault," I say, driving us home. "I mean, you are the totally innocent party in all this. If we could just figure out who cursed you…"

"I know," she says, rubbing her forehead. "I think about it all the time. I mean, it's worked out for the best, right?" She puts her hand on top of mine and I kiss the back of it.

"Of course."

"But this can't be what the person who sent you after me had planned, right? There is no way someone sent a demon after me to make me happy. You were sent to make me miserable. So, who would have done such a thing."

"I don't know, but we need to find out soon. We both have lives we need to be living."

It has somehow become my job to put Bella to bed at night. She just loves my stories. I keep telling her they aren't really stories, but true events in my very long life, but she doesn't believe me. After she has fallen asleep, I quietly close her door and go to find Tamzin. She's curled up on the couch with a glass of wine, watching some trash show. Tonight is Love After Lockup .

"Ugh," I can't help but grimace out loud as a beautiful woman explains that she is in love with a scrawny man with meth teeth, tattoos, and a bad crew cut. I plop onto the couch next to Tamzin and put her feet in my lap, rubbing her calves.

"I know, right? If Bella came home with a dude like that, I'd probably have a heart attack."

"Well, to be honest, I'm much more terrifying than any of the guys on this show. I could easily scare away any potential partner of Bella that you don't approve of."

"Good to know," she says. She takes another sip and lets out a sigh. "You know, I don't know what it is, but I have been so less stressed this week. I've gotten work done. Bella's gotten to school on time. I feel so…light."

"Well, you did notice who has been making dinner all week, right?"

"Of course," she says. "I said thank you. It means a lot to me."

"And who made sure Bella got to school on time and with all her stuff?"

"Did you do that?" she asks teasingly, giving me a smile.

"I'm just saying, you didn't have to do everything by yourself this week."

"Hmm, yeah, I guess you're right. Life this week has been just…so…nice." She leans toward me.

"Nice? That's all you can say about it?" I lean toward her.

"Yeah," she says, breathlessly, almost whispering. "Nice."

We kiss, and I can feel the smile on her lips. I start to push her onto her back, hoping we will do more than kiss, when there is a banging on the front door.

"Whoa, what?" she asks.

I jump up and run to the door. Oh no. They can't have found me.

"Damon?" Tamzin calls, following me.

"Stay back," I tell her. I open the door, blocking the entrance with my body. But there are three of them, and they catch me off guard, sending me hurling back into the house. Tamzin screams, and I hear Dash barking.

"Hey there, old man," one of the demons says. The three of them look like they fell out of a cyberpunk video game with neon hair and piercings.

I utter demon-speak, calling for Eisheth to come to my aid, but she doesn't come fast enough. Two of the demons grab me while the third grabs Tamzin, knocking Dash out of her arms. Dash cries and limps off.

"Dash!" Tamzin cries, but the demon holds her fast.

"She is a pretty thing," the demon says, wagging her tongue in Tamzin's face. "I might just possess you for fun. Oh, the things I could do."

A spark flies across the room, hitting the demon in the face. There is a whirlwind of light, and Beverly appears.

"Begone, you foul beast!" Beverly says. The demons laugh, but they stop laughing when Beverly attacks the female demon again, making her disappear in a puff of smoke. The demons let go of me and lunge for Beverly. I grab one of them, holding him back. The other one fights with Beverly, but then, in a puff of black smoke, Eisheth appears. She grabs the demon that was fighting with Beverly, practically ripping him in half. The third demon, knowing he didn't stand a chance, disappears on his own.

There is a still moment of silence as we all look around, making sure there is no more immediate threat. Then, there is a blood-curdling scream. It's Tamzin. The shock seems to have worn off, and the horror she just witnessed washes over her. I run to her side.

"It's okay," I tell her.

"Are there any more?" Beverly asks.

"What was that?" Tamzin asks.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." I'm trying to hold her, calm her down, but she is inconsolable.

"Bella!" she runs across the room, but Bella is already there.

"I called Beverly when I heard the explosion," she says as her mother scoops her up in her arms.

"What was that?" Tamzin asks again.

"You should have told me you were being tracked," Eisheth says to me.

"I didn't think they'd find me so soon," I say.

"You knew about these things?" Beverly asks, her hands on her hips.

"Dash!" Tamzin ducks behind the couch and picks up her little dog, who is whining. "Oh, Dash! No!"

"Where is Mr. Darcy?" Bella asks, panicked.

I feel absolutely gutted over what has happened. I'm about to offer to drive Dash to the vet when Tamzin turns on me.

"You knew this could happen?" she asks.

"No!" I say too quickly, not realizing what she asked. "I mean, I knew it could happen. But I didn't think it would."

"You son of a—" She looks around, and her eyes fall on the cookie jar.

"Tamzin, don't!" But it's too late. Tamzin grabs the jar and smashes it to the ground. I'm surrounded by smoke, and then everything is dark.