Killian looked around. “No, did Tally come in early? She’s not supposed to be here until tomorrow night.”
“No, she didn’t. Listen, I need to tell you something so you don’t freak out and go off half-cocked. I also need you to remain as calm as you can. Promise?” I had my shirt off and by the way he was staring at my breasts, I had the feeling I could get him to agree to anything. Sometimes men—even the wonderful ones—thought with their dick rather than their head.
“Of course. What happened?” he asked, his voice low as I slid into his arms and pressed against his chest. “Mmm, you feel good in my arms.”
“Here’s the thing…I have a demon for a house guest.”
Killian froze, I could feel every muscle tense. “What?”
“I don’t have time to explain, but Rowan and Teran can. Will you stay here while I go to my meeting at the Witches Guild?” I grabbed my boots and sat on the bed to zip them up.
“Let me get this straight. You have a demon in the house. Staying here?”
“He can’t leave the house. We tried. He’s very polite and mostly he hates orcs. He’s…” I felt my cheeks redden because it sounded so ridiculous. “He’s a Funtime demon.”
Killian walked over to the bed and sat down beside me. “What the hell is a Funtime demon?”
I paused, meeting his gaze with my own. “Apparently, it’s a demon who likes kittens, crossword puzzles, cookies, cocoa with marshmallows, and a few other things. He also likes tearing orcs apart. He was created by a witch who plays Dungeons & Dragons. He’s a thought-form, but he doesn’t know that. All he knows is that he was running around a dungeon with a crew of characters and then he was here.”
“How did this happen?” Killian asked when he found his voice.
“Let Rowan tell you. I have to run right now.” I leaped up and grabbed a jacket. “Love you,” I said, pecking him on the cheek. “I might be late. Just leave me a note if you go home.”
As I clambered down the steps, Killian hurried after me. I slung my purse over my shoulder and turned to the others. “Tell him all about it, won’t you?” And before they could answer, I was out the door and down the steps toward my car.
The Witches Guild met in one of the community council rooms once a month for general meetings, though during November and December, the committee responsible for the Sabbat festivals met once a week. Ari and I had joined in October, and I hadn’t been expecting to be thrown into the thick of things right away. Ari had been pressed into service on the food committee, which I would have rather been on.
We settled around the conference table—one of those long rectangular ones that folded in the middle—and I dreaded having to admit that I had come up empty-handed. I had a few ideas, but the mess with Tarvish had thrown everything out the window. And with my laptop in the shop, I was planning on bowing out. If they didn’t understand, too bad. I had enough going on in my life without having whiny people expecting more of me than I could give.
The leader of the Witches Guild was a woman named Marnie Brolen. Gifted in astral work—a lot like Hank—she was around a hundred and twenty years old, though she didn’t look a day over sixty-five. She was also the epitome of the elementary school teacher you remembered dreading: stern, snippy, and overly eager to enforce the rules.
“Order, order!” she called, tapping the gavel on the table. The gavel was made of yew wood, and inscribed with ornate runes. It was solely symbolic, but Marnie wielded it with abandon. She glanced around the room and, finally satisfied that people had quieted, set down the gavel and crossed her arms over her chest.
“All right, let’s get started. My sister is coming to visit me tomorrow and I don’t have time to mess about.”
Grateful that she was feeling rushed, I steeled myself.
“First, to old business. The Winter Solstice ritual and ceremony for the public square. We’ll be holding it down by the marina in the community center. Then, those who choose to join in will hold the midnight vigil in the park. I will not be there overnight, I’ve reached the age where a night out in the cold doesn’t set well in my bones. All right, food committee, what do you have to report?”
Ari wasn’t in charge of the committee, but apparently she’d been appointed to speak for them. She nervously stood up, rattling the papers she was holding.
“Don’t dawdle, get a move on, girl. What do you have to report?” Marnie squinted at her.
Ari flinched and cleared her throat. “We’ve narrowed it down to three caterers. Shelby’s Sweet Tooth, Catherby’s Catering, and J-Lynn’s Bakery. We’ve decided to limit the buffet to finger foods and snacks, in order to encourage people to eat beforehand. We thought we’d get a sample menu from each of them for the next meeting, and vote then.”
But Marnie didn’t seem pleased. “The next meeting is on the fourth. That’s cutting it close. I suggest you ask them to provide you with a sample menu by Wednesday and we’ll hold a special meeting—”
A chorus of groans went up around the room.
“That’s the day before Thanksgiving!”
One of the senior members—I could tell by the color of the trim on her badge—stood up. “I will not attend a meeting before Thanksgiving. My daughter and son will be home with their families and I’m not missing out on what little time I get to see them.”
Marnie stared at her for a moment, then said, “Then we’ll have to hold the meeting next Saturday. Attendance is expected. If you’re due to go out of town, let me know before you leave here tonight.” She turned back to Ari, who was still standing. “Did you note that? Sample menus for next Saturday. We’ll all be voting, so thirty portions each.”
While there were far more than thirty witches in the Guild, this meeting was for the senior members and the committee members.
“Yes, I have it,” Ari said, sitting down as quickly as she could. The moment Marnie looked away, Ari rolled her eyes at me and I returned the gesture.
“Next, January Jaxson, you were in charge of researching rituals.” Marnie turned to me and I reluctantly stood. But I decided to be forthright and direct. The worst she could do was kick me out of the Guild and if it came to that, it was no skin off my back. “What have you found?”
I cleared my throat. “Nothing. I was downloading rituals from my search and accidentally downloaded a demon…or rather a thought-form who takes the shape of a demon. It melted my laptop cord and now my computer’s in the shop, and Tarvish the Funtime demon is staying in my guest room because, apparently, he can’t leave my house. Some force field won’t let him.”
That quieted things down. Marnie stared at me, her mouth open.
Ari spoke up. “Why didn’t you text me?”
“Because it’s been crazy ever since he showed up. Can you come over tomorrow so we can attend to…what Rowan asked us to do?”
“I’ll be over around eleven—” Ari was about to continue when Marnie cleared her throat and pounded her gavel on the table.
“Quiet down. Well, you have a pickle on your hands, don’t you?” She stared at me for another moment, then in a huff, said, “I gather that you need more time. Next week, during the sample menu tasting, you can present your findings to us. I presume that will give you enough time?”