Page 26 of Cookbooks and Demons

Rafferty flinched at her question. “What?”

“Your payment. I mean, I simply can’t eat all of this food in one sitting and then have you eat all my memories like we normally do. I don’t even know how many memories you need. I mean how is this even quantifiable? How much do I need to pay back energy-wise?”

Rafferty chewed his lips a little more aggressively, and it was only then that she realized he was getting angry. Looking at him, she noticed that his wings were appearing and disappearing behind his back, along with his crest of horns. The tail just remained, flicking back and forth. A low-level growl rumbled fromhis chest.

Helena felt the instinctual tug to back up from a dangerous animal, but her higher functions told her doing so would be a mistake. Like prey triggering apredator.

“Look, um. I’m sorry I don’t know, but please don’t get upset at me for asking questions,” she started to say, but he dropped the casserole dish onto an empty chair, the only remaining available surface, with a loud thunk. Thankfully, the casserole dish was quality and resisted breaking. Then he spun on his heels and marched himself into the kitchen. Beyond the swinging of her kitchen door, she heard the thumping and clanking of dishes being moved vigorously around.

“Great,” she sighed, popping the last bite of that gloriously delicious sandwich into her mouth. “I invited a demon into my home, and now he’s pissed off, and I don’t really understand why.” But it wasn’t like googling this issue wouldn’t get her some red flags with certain government agencies. “Maybe I should send him back?” she asked herself softly.

The swinging door banged open again. “Yes! That is exactly what you should do!” Rafferty shouted as he re-entered, moving around like an aggressive leopard with nowhere to go. “You need to sendme back!”

Chapter 15

Almost GotSucked In

Helena blinked at him, completely surprised. “How… you could hear me from all the way in thekitchen?”

He threw a hand at her. “This is why you should never have summoned me to begin with, for hell’s sake! You have no idea what you’re freaking doing. Of course I can hear you. I can hear your voice anywhere in the universe; that’s how you can summon me. You call for me, and I have to come trotting like a good little show pony and make you tea and crumpets while you bleed your damn soul out for something as stupid as a good meal!”

“I… I don’t even know what a crumpet is,” Helena said in a small voice.

“That’s not my freaking point!”

Helena held up a hand. “Okay, what I’m hearing is you want to go back?” she saidcarefully.

“What?! No!”

“Then why are you screaming at me?”

“I don’t want to go back!” he said, pacing back and forth in front of the door to the kitchen.

“Okay, then… what are you saying?” she said, struggling tostay calm.

“You’re not stupid. I can see that you aren’t stupid, so why are you acting so damned stupid?” he growled, pressing his fists into histemples.

“Rafferty, stop pacing,” Helena ordered, realizing something.

He stopped mid-pace, his body calming as he obeyed her command. He wasn’t happy, but there seemed to be a “rightness” to his expression, like he was a little bit relieved that she had finally figured out something.

“Okay, please don’t get mad while I work this out,” Helena said.“Alright?”

His eyes slid over to her so he was looking at her askance. Then he crossed his arms andgrunted.

“Am I correct in saying that when a person summons a demon, that demon must obey whatever commands they are given by the summoner, including rules about what they can or cannot do?”

“Yes. Or they incur more cosmic debt.”

The implications of that rang out for Helena and why so many people would be tempted into doing what she initially had done accidentally.

“So… are there people who just summon demons for the power trip of having someone else under theircontrol?”

He dropped his gaze, basically confirming it.

“Wow, demon magic is messed up.”

“Exactly what I have been trying to establish with you since the moment we met,” he said, now lifting his eyes as if invoking the higher powers to give him strength. Though since such a thing was probably not possible, Helena assumed it was an old habit of his from when he had been human.

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