“I like my soda, even though I don’t drink it very often. I had a Sprite addiction a few years ago that led to several cavities so I had to give it up. Wait, you lived in Chicago before coming here, but you also traveled all over. But saying pop instead of soda is a Midwest thing, isn’t it?”
“I was born in Chicago and it’ll always be home, in a sense. My dad was able to work local cases until I was about six or seven and then I started going on hunts with him.”
“And your mom?”
“Didn’t want anything to do with me. She actually wanted to terminate the pregnancy until my dad said he’d take the baby once she had it. So, she had me, signed her rights away, and left the hospital less than twenty-four hours after giving birth.”
“Fuck, I’m so sorry.”
“Why?” Ethan shrugs again. “Things worked out. I know how my dad can come across, but I think more than anything he just wanted a family. It’s not something most hunters are lucky to have.”
“It’s not a very family-oriented lifestyle,” I say and of course have to get way ahead of myself and wonder what would happen if Ethan and I had a kid. I wouldn’t want my children to grow up the same way Ethan did, and from what little I know about the Order, I wouldn’t want my children to touch that organization with a ten-foot pole.
Though it’s not like I could expect Ethan to hang up his demon-hunter hat given all that he knows and has been through. And even more so, I don’t know why I’m getting all anxious thinking about this.
“What do you want?” I hold up the phone so Ethan can look through the menu. We order enough to have leftovers tomorrow, and then take Hunter for a walk. I bring my dagger and Ethan is armed to the teeth, but for some reason, I just have a feeling Hunter will tear anything that attacks us to shreds—again. I’d rather not put my pup at risk, of course, and I know Hunter’s loyalty and protectiveness could be the literal death of him.
The familiar being watched feeling starts to creep over me when we go down the alley behind my house, and I whirl around, narrowing my eyes as I look into the dark.
“Is the ghost back?” Ethan asks, taking my hand in his.
“Not that I can see, but something feels…just odd,” I say with a shake of my head. “I can’t place it, though getting this creeped-out feeling happens a lot.”
“Burn some sage when we get back inside, just to be safe.”
“Okay,” I say, and guilt starts to rise in me along with feeling creeped out. I haven’t seen Ryan’s ghost in a full day now, and it shouldn’t worry me, right? I mean, he’s dead. What’s going to happen? But his unspoken warning, the pleading in his eyes…I have to help him.
After I kill the demons before they kill me, that is.
“I don’t have any sage,” I tell Ethan when we get inside. I unclip Hunter’s leash, hanging it on a hook by the back door.
“I brought some.”
“There’s a new-age store downtown. Should I go tomorrow?”
“Yeah, that would be a good idea. You need stuff to cast protection spells, too, don’t you?”
I nod, and Hunter races forward, prancing excitedly at the front door a moment before the doorbell rings. It’s Laney, and I look around the front yard nervously as she comes in.
“I brought wine,” she says, holding up a bottle of red wine. “I figured we might need it if we start talking about…about demons,” she says quietly.
“You don’t have to whisper,” I tell her and lead the way into the kitchen to get wine glasses. Ethan is still in there, looking out at the backyard. “No one here is normal. Well, besides you.”
“Hey, I’m friends with you,” she teases.
“True. Just remember it’s your choice.” We both laugh and Ethan turns away from the door. “Laney, this is Ethan. Ethan, this is my best friend in the whole wide world, Laney.”
“Nice to meet you,” Ethan says. “Anora has spoken highly of you.”
“She better,” Laney jokes.
“Our food should be here soon.” I open the dishwasher only to realize I loaded it but didn’t turn it on, and now the dishes inside stink. Dammit. “And Harrison will probably be here some time after, but we’re eating without him.” I quickly get the dishwasher