Page 6 of Cooking Up a Demon
Chapter Five
Five
I’m going to puke.
There’s no way around it. The butterflies in my stomach are intent on churning everything up. I pace the store again, checking and double checking that everything is where it should be.
It is. I’ve been over the store a hundred times, tweaking and adjusting with every pass. My heart is racing, and my palms are sweaty.
Delia was here earlier, helping me set up the last of the sideline items and generally trying to talk me down. But she left for her job at the baseball stadium, and I am trying not to freak the fuck out.
Trying and failing.
“It’s fine. It’ll be fine.” It doesn’t feel fine.
The grand re-opening of the bookstore is in fourteen hours, and every cell in my body is screaming at me to run. That I am absolutely insane for trying this. That nobody is going to come in, and I’ll spend the day sitting alone in the bookstore.
It doesn’t matter that dozens of people have stopped me around town to interrogate me on when the bookstore was opening again. To comment on the name change from Ghostlight Falls Books to For the Plot, which I thought was cute. Now I can’t help thinking it’s incredibly stupid.
I probably shouldn’t have reached out to local news networks to see if anyone would be interested in doing a story about the store to get some buzz going. No one confirmed they’d show up to the reopening and even if they did, the store would probably be empty.
Oh god, what was I doing?
I snag the bottle of tequila Delia gave me to celebrate the reopening off the counter and head into the backroom. There’s a single-serve container of orange juice in the mini-fridge. I gulp down enough to give me space to add the tequila straight to the bottle.
The second I do, smoke starts forming.
“No. Not tonight. Not now. Not my tequila!” I wave my hands at the smoke, trying to dissipate it before the demon can arrive. And then cry out when my hand hits something hard.
“Witch.” The demon says, grabbing my hand in his large clawed one. It doesn’t hurt, but it’s firm enough I know I’m not getting away either.
“Come on! You cannot tell me I summoned you with tequila and orange juice. That’s ridiculous.”
I yank on my hand, trying to free it from his grasp. He doesn’t let go. He brushes his large thumb over my wrist, the claw scraping gently against the skin and giving me shivers. Which I ignore. And was totally from fear of him cutting me open and not because the heat and abrasiveness of his skin feels good. Absolutely not.
“You call, I come. That is the bargain, witch.” He finally releases me, but the heat from his touch sears into my skin.
“Oh, for fuck’s sake. My name is Bea. It’s not human, it’s not witch, it’s Bea.”
“That is an insect.” He scoffs and I grind my teeth.
“It also happens to be my name. Deal with it.” I flail my hands at him. “And I so did not summon you.”
“I don’t like it. What does it stand for?” His brow furls and I want to growl at him. Knowing it would sound like a kitten compared to his growling abilities, I keep the sound inside.
“Beatrix.” I bite out.
“Acceptable.” He props his fists on his hips like he’s won some battle instead of finding out my name.
“Oh, I’m so glad my name pleases you.” My tone is sugary sweet, but I’m pretty sure my glare would scare a lesser being. Unfortunately, I’m dealing with a giant demon and not some spineless human who would know enough to run from me.
“My name is Kallax.” He states the name proudly, as though it should mean something to me. When I don’t respond, his shoulders droop a little.
“I’d say nice to meet you, Kallax. But we both know it’s not. Now why are you here and how can I make you go away?” I shove my hands into the pocket of my hoodie and try not to feel bad about the way his shoulders sag.
Be so fucking serious, he’s a demon who keeps showing up, stealing my food and beverages, and stealing days off my life completely unrequested. Like, I have a reason to be upset by this.
“You needed me, so I am here. I’ll go away when you don’t need me any longer. That is my bargain. So tell me, Beatrix, how may I serve you?”
