Page 7 of Cookbooks and Demons

Her panicked train of thought was cut off by the doorbell ringing one final time. The laughter stopped as everyone noticed Helena’s terrified expression.

“My boss,” she whispered.

Everyone scrambled then, feeling the same urgency that she did, mostly out of an abundance of care for her, but while she left her coworkers to tell the rest the lowdown concerning Helena’s boss, Helena rushed tothe door.

Opening it, she about had an additional heart attack.

There stood her boss, an elderly woman with silver hair professionally coifed by an expensive salon to emphasize the “silver vixen” look that was so vogue right then. The lady was dressed down for her, which meant that everything she wore probably individually would cover Helena’s mortgage payment fora month.

“Scarlet,” Helena greeted, offering what she hoped was a welcoming smile. She opened the door and gestured an open hand of welcome. “And Yosef, welcome, both of you.”

Scarlet’s arm crutches chinked as she placed one then the other inside the door before crossing the threshold herself with so much painful dignity that always made Helena flinch and admire her at the same time. Behind her followed Scarlet’s gorgeous assistant Yosef, carrying her bag with one hand out in readiness should his boss fall.

Helena had forgotten to include Yosef in the count for dinner.

As she continued to step back to let the dignified socialite through her door, she glanced back over her shoulder at the table. The rest of her guests had all moved forward in a poor attempt of appearing like a nonchalant crowd in order to be ready to greet the unofficial matriarch of their city but not look like they were waiting to greet her. This had left the table more or less abandoned, and to her amazement, the demon was there, already adjusting the table settings for another person with smooth crisp motions. By the time Scarlet had finished her entrance, the table had been reset, and it looked like it had always beenthat way.

Then he was gone again into the kitchen.

Maybe tonight wouldn’t be so bad after all?

Chapter 5

The

ConversationTurnsto Demons

“Oh my gosh, I’m so full. I’m stuffed!” Cindy declared to everyone else’s cheers and agreements. Various empty plates were pushed back, and more than one belly was being rubbed with satisfaction.

“Okay, spill it. Did you sell your soul for your caterer tonight?” Chris laughed.

“Oh for God’s sake, Chris! That is not appropriate,” Charlie chided, slapping his husband with the end ofa napkin.

“Do people even do that anymore?” one of Helena’s office workers, whose name was completely escaping her at the moment, asked.

Helena felt like she would throw up at any minute.

“I knew a guy from high school who apparently summoned a demon so he could get a promotion at work,” Charlie said to which Chris laughed. “It’s not funny. He went to jail and everything just for attempting to summon one.”

“Yeah, but that’s like going to jail for marijuana use or something. I mean, sure it’s illegal, but everyone does it, right? I mean, in college?” another office worker asked.

“And now we all know more about Cheryl than we did before,” someone said, and the table laughed again.

“We sometimes get people in the ER for demon summoning,” Cindy said soberly. “It is very serious. All kinds of things can go wrong, not just with the summoning itself which usually involves blood, but if you don’t bind the demon correctly… people have died from being disemboweled. It’s horrendous.” She took a sip ofher wine.

Helena couldn’t help but glance over at her kitchen door. Binding? She hadn’t done anything of the sort, and she felt sweat at the lower part of her back tickling. An image flashed through her mind of the demon bursting forth through the door, picking Cindy up by the neck, and chopping her head off with an enormouscleaver.

It didn’t happen, and the conversation pulled her attention back.

“So you’ve really seen someone who’s been attacked by a demon?” someone was asking Cindy.

She nodded. “Yes. Some asshole summoned one to get revenge on his girlfriend who dumped him for another man. It killed both her and the new boyfriend, then turned on the guy. Tore his arm off before it could be sent back. Guy died on the table from shock and blood loss.”

A pall fell overthe table.

“Well, that was a scintillating conversation. Let’s never speak of it again!” Charlie intervened, and this time everybody listened to him.

“Sorry, Helena. I didn’t mean to imply that you would do such a thing. The caterer seems very nice and very human,” Chris amended, nodding toward Helena.

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