Revealed in Fire (Demon Days & Vampire Nights #9)(22)

“One guy took that bright orange clutch and another pushed her back against the wall and tried to get at her necklaces.” Mikey shook his head. “It happened fast, so I’m not sure of the details, but fuck. In a split second, she had one guy on the ground, unconscious. Another dude was whirled around in some sort of kung fu move and had his dumb brain busted on the wall. The third dude, with the clutch, had already opened it, and he was just staring down into it like his brain had broken. She watched him, like she’d planned for that. So I stopped, because I did not want to know what was in that clutch. The dude kinda shook himself out of it, dropped the clutch, and then tried to turn and run. That old dame was so fucking fast…” Mikey took a step back even though the Red Prophet, still hunched on my front lawn, hadn’t moved forward. “She ran so damn fast. Had that guy on the ground on his back in two shakes. Sat on his chest. Then held him there and started jabbering something at him, I don’t know what. I figured she could handle it and got scarce again.”

“We have zero crime,” Smokey said reverently.

“Zero fucking crime,” Mikey agreed. “That old dame has scared everyone off. We don’t even get the bad sort of fake witches ’n’ shit in the cemetery anymore. She has them scared off, too.”

“You know what they say about appearances,” the Red Prophet said, her voice musical. “It is a weapon like no other.”

“That’s not what they say.” I sighed and started forward.

“She is truly insightful,” Smokey said, keeping step. “I enjoy having her around. She even talked Mikey into borrowing money from me and putting it into the stock market.”

“What did I tell you about talking about my business?” Mikey growled.

“One good turn deserves another,” the Red Prophet said.

I pointed at her as I passed by. “Cut out the crazy. I’m not in the mood. What’s your plan? Are you going to force your way in, or do you plan on loitering?”

“Penny erected the spell, among other things—”

“She’s dirty, too,” Mikey cut in. He still stood on the street, and Smokey had taken up a position on the sidewalk. “I forgot to mention that. She is rough as hell with the sexual innuendos.”

“I know all about the ward. I can feel it. Are you coming in or not?” I stopped at the top of my completely redone porch steps. “Roger said I was supposed to meet you before coming home. I decided not to.”

“Correction—you decided to, and chose your preferred location,” the Red Prophet replied.

“No.” I put out my hand and wasn’t surprised when she clambered up the steps to take it. I pulled her through the ward. If she left, she’d need my help (or Penny’s or Emery’s) to get back in. If I took a blood offering from her, she’d be able to get in by herself. I did not want a blood offering.

“Talk to you later.” Mikey turned toward the end of the street as Smokey drifted back toward the cemetery. “And don’t worry if you don’t see Mince,” Mikey called over his shoulder. “He’s scared of that woman and admits it freely.”

“Well, congratulations,” I told her as I opened the front door. There was no need to lock it with the ward in place. “You’ve done what no one else has been able to do.”

“Scare your friend?”

“No. Make the neighborhood crime-free. Maybe I can go back to parking Darius’s cars out front again.” The living room was roomier, longer, and equipped with more furniture. The kitchen was a different shape, too, and they’d added a dining room down the hall. A quick look revealed a huge library had taken the place of the rooms at the back of the house, and a stairway led up to the second floor, where the bedrooms had presumably been moved.

I stopped at the back door and looked out the window. The house behind me was gone. Darius had clearly bought out the shotgun-toting neighbor and extended the backyard into his lot, equipped with a training area and a lovely little oasis with what looked like a koi pond.

Shaking my head, I backtracked to the stairs and looked up. Then aimed for the kitchen. I wasn’t in the mood to see the new addition. That sonuvabitch hadn’t mentioned any of this. He hadn’t even hinted. He certainly hadn’t asked.

“They made it bigger.” The Red Prophet put up a gnarled finger from her position by the front door.

“Yeah, no shit.”

“You’ll need the space.”

“Great.” I checked my supplies. A little light—the vampires who came every night and stocked my fridge and pantry, not to mention cleaned my house and did my laundry, clearly hadn’t expected me back. Still, they’d left me with enough staples to get by.

I grabbed the bottle of whiskey.

“Want a drink?” I asked the Red Prophet.

“Sure. Have any Fireball?”

I paused in taking down glasses, then couldn’t help but grin. “Of course.”

After serving us each a generous pour, I brought the glasses over to the same kitchen table I’d had before, some things clearly having survived the rebuild. I fell into one of the chairs, and the Red Prophet sat down opposite me and reached for her glass.

“So,” she said.

“So,” I repeated. “I was supposed to meet with you.”