Night Witch (Book 1) ✔️

4 - The Handoff

We roll up to our house a little after dinner time, courtesy of me having been called to act as mediator between a vampire and a demon late in my shift. The setting sun made it hard to distinguish the algae and grime that coated the side of our white wood siding and the shadows from the eaves and full gutters.

There was a small cement pad in the mostly dead grass next to the single story house for the car but nothing to protect it from the elements. Luckily, we didn't have any trees so there really wasn't anything it needed to be protected from except hail.

Groaning, I ease out of the car and stretch. "Let's get the stash into the house then we can have dinner and talk." I instruct as I walk to the backdoor of the car and start pulling out bags of Funyuns.

Kit chuckles but helps and we manage to carry all of the bags in one trip between us. I slam the car door shut with my foot and Kit unlocks the front door with the back of her hand to the recognition spell. Awkwardly, she manages to twist the handle and let us in without spilling or crushing a bag.

To obtain Mex's payment she'd had to empty the two vending machines in the precinct and then walk to the grocery store a few blocks over and clear them out too. It was close, but she'd managed to find twenty bags, as agreed. We'd decided five of the smaller precinct bags equaled the larger bags she'd found at the grocery store and if Mex had a problem he could take it up with me.

We drop our haul on the dining room table and walk into the kitchen, the only tiled part other than our one small bathroom, to start scrounging together a meal. Neither of us is a great cook on a good day and today is not one of those days. I finally just whip us up two ham and cheese sandwiches with an apple for our healthy component.

Not bothering with plates, we sit and eat in silence at the table full of Funyuns. When I finish, I sigh and rub my eyes. Kit slows her eating and looks sheepish. Probably wondering if she doesn't finish if I'll still interrogate her.

I will.

She's saved by a knock at the door and I give her a glare that clearly says 'finish your sandwich' before going to answer it.

A tall man with black hair styled so the front spikes up and the rest is rumpled like he's just gotten out of bed, smiles at me like I'm on the menu for dinner. Glaring at his black shirt rolled up to reveal strong forearms and pants that hug his thighs and leave no doubt that he keeps his body in shape, I raise my left eyebrow, not giving him the satisfaction of blushing at his attention.

"Cassie, dear, won't you let me in?" This time the smile is definitely predatory though I'm not sure if he wants me dead or naked.

I scrunch my forehead as if thinking then smile. "No." I slam the door in his shocked face.

"Cassie!" He pounds on the door for a bit.

"Turn off the charm, idiot," I snarl into the silence.

He huffs. "Fine. Will you let me in now?" I can practically see his eyebrow raise mockingly at me through the door.

I open the door to find him watching me, one eyebrow's raised like I expected. "Mex, I grant you temporary access to my home for the next twenty minutes."

I place my finger against the door frame and send a pulse of magic to the wards.

He nods then steps through the door, not waiting for me to move, brushing his body tight against mine as he pushes through. His chest rubs seductively against my arm given his height. "I can never get over your wards. What are you running from, sweetling? Or, should I say, who?" He bends to whisper in my ear.

I whirl as I close the door but he's already sauntering into the dining area with open arms. "Kit!" He engulfs her in a hug as she stands to greet him. "What's this about you getting in trouble?" The demon frowns down at her.

She blushes and looks at her feet. "Nothing," She mumbles.

"None of your concern, Mex. Your payment is on the table." I jerk my chin at it, catching the way his eyes light up with glee as he sees the pile of Funyuns, before walking into my bedroom to grab some supplies.

"My favorite!" His happiness at the junk food almost totally destroys the image that he's a thousand year old demon that used to like to snack on children for fun. Almost.

I reemerge with a piece of paper, wood pencil, and a pot of red ink. "Get your stuff off my table." I order as I carry the stuff to the dining table.

He happily snaps his fingers and the food is transported into his dimensional identity. Demons on the whole are much larger than humans, though many chose to retain a humanoid form both here and in the Hell realms. That meant that though we saw a human, his magical energy was actually much larger. He stored things in that energy, hidden from view suspended between the lower and middle realm, and could collect them when he returned to his home plane.

From what I'd heard it was extremely difficult for a demon to get their full form through to the middle realms even with the help of a summoner and ritual, so most demon species just used a human version when interacting with us. And forget about trying to visit the High realms, they'd been shut to any and all traffic for hundreds of years with the exception of Messengers that came to observe and report.

With the table empty I put down the paper and pour a good sized blob of red ink onto the page. "Hos min circumfus," I command, then draw the symbol I'd placed on the hatchling's neck earlier this morning with the pencil.

The ink shimmies and rolls before spreading out in a flash and organizing into roads and alleyways, clearly labelled in flowing script that resemble my handwriting. I pick up the map and shake it to make sure there isn't any excess ink before passing it over to Mex.

"We haven't gotten any more calls about the hatchling so I don't think he's in trouble, but the map should track him as he moves." In the center of the diagram the symbol I'd drawn in pencil resides.

As I speak, the symbol moves left along one of the red roads. As it nears the edge of the paper the map scrolls sideways to move the dot back to center, the ink streaming and rearranging itself seamlessly. Mex goggles at it.

"You'll have to make me one of these." He says when he composes himself.

I shrug. "It runs out after about an hour so I'd get cracking if I were you."

And the hatchling's tracker spell runs out after a day, but I don't mention that.

He nods and turns to leave. He makes it to the door before turning and gifting us both with a smile. "If you need anything else, just call. I'll be sure to make the price worth it," I know I catch pointed teeth this time but for some annoying reason it doesn't diminish the physical attraction.

Demons, to damn attractive for their own good.

***

Mex is pretty sure you'd like to make a deal. Press the vote button and he'll do one thing you desire... If you make it worth his while.

~M