Page 63 of My Blind Date is a Demon

“She’s fine,” I say. “The vet said she can come home tomorrow.”

“That’s wonderful. And where is my little pupil?”

“With her paternal grandparents,” I say. “She spends one weekend a month with them.”

“That’s kind of you.”

“It was the least I could do, considering…”

Beverly sighs and rolls her eyes. “You did not kill their son.”

“I know,” I say. “I know that now. But I don’t know their feelings on the matter. I haven’t actually spoken to them outside of arrangements for them to see Bella in literally years.”

“Well, hopefully their tune has changed,” Beverly says.

“I hope so, but I’m not going to ask. Anyway, can you summon a demon?”

“Oh, no,” Beverly says, waving me off. “I’m not opening that door.”

“Come on,” I say. “Please! We need to get Damon back. You are the only person powerful enough to do that type of thing.”

“For starters, anyone can summon a demon with the right mixture of ingredients—incantations, sacrifices, whatever. However, doing so is at your peril! Demons can’t be trusted. They are very powerful beings with their own motivations and desires. You know that better than anyone.”

“Exactly,” I say. “And you know Damon. You sent me on a date with him.”

“I won’t mind my only failure at matchmaking being because I set a sweet young woman up with a friggin’ demon.”

“Oh, yes, you will,” I say. “Wouldn’t you rather be able to tell people that you were even successful in setting up a blind date for a demon?”

Beverly purses her lips and crosses her arms, but I can see her mind working. Nothing works better on witches than appealing to their pride.

“Come on. Do it for me. Do it for Bella. She misses him. She’s mad at me for making him disappear from our lives.”

“I don’t even know if it will work. I mean, you could have killed him for all I know.”

Her words feel like a slap in the face, and I can see she regrets saying it.

“I’m sorry,” she says. “I didn’t mean it like that.”

“No,” I say, holding up my hand. “What I did was impulsive and wrong. And you are right. I don’t think I killed him, but maybe I did banish him from me, from the world. I don’t know. But that is why I need you to try. I need you to save him. I need you to save me. I can’t be responsible for killing another man I love.”

“Did you say…love?”

I nod my head. I mean, I don’t know if I’m really in love with him yet, but I’m well on my way. It’s the only word that explains the depth of my feelings at this moment.

“Oh, Tamzin,” Beverly says, her eyes tearing up. “I never thought I’d hear those words from you again.”

“So…will you do it?”

“I don’t know—”

The door swings open suddenly, and a swarm of flies, thick and black as smoke, fills the room. Beverly and I scream and try to bat them away, but it’s like swimming through sludge. The buzzing fills my ears and when I open my mouth to scream, I can feel the flies on my tongue. I cough and spit to get them out. The flies part like the Red Sea as a large, monstrous beast lumbers into the bookstore.

“Tamzin Jones,” the beast roars, more flies spewing from his mouth. Is this the Dark Lord? Has he come for me?

“On the other hand—” Beverly says. She then says something in a language I don’t understand.

The beast steps forward, his arm sweeping toward me. I’m able to duck and run down one of the aisles of books, but I can’t leave Beverly. I gag as the stench of the creature catches up with me.

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