Page 53 of I Accidentally Hired a Shadow Walker
“Yes, Jackie.” I nodded. “She was here earlier.”
“Is she actually coming back, or are you just telling me that to get rid of me?”
“She said she would come back, but Jackie is the type of person to get to her hotel and never leave again. If she’s already in bed, she’s not getting back out. But I think if I let her know demons actually attacked me tonight, she'd be well on her way.”
“Good. Call her back over here. We're going to need all the help we can get.” He looked at the broken bourbon glass and shook his head. “While you do that, I will go see if I can recruit some help of my own.”
“We're really about to face off against some demons, aren't we?” I huffed. “This isn't just going away.”
“Hey, I thought you'd be excited about the action. Think about it, Jericha. Me with my shadows and you with your vines.” He waggled his eyebrows at me. “We could have a lot of fun.”
“I'm going to choose to believe you aren't spewing innuendo right now.” I waved him off. “Go do what you gotta do. I’ll call Jackie and get her back over here.”
“Believe what you want.” He winked at me. “But the images I have in my mind aren't going away.”
A shadowy wall materialized behind him, the air growing cold. With a wave, he faded into the darkness, leaving only a faint chill.
“That is not okay!” I rubbed my arms and waited for the chill to leave. I turned around to find my phone but saw Kaa. She’d returned and sat coiled on the hall floor.
“Kaa, I'm sorry, okay?” I immediately apologized to her. If she was back, it was for an apology. “I wasn't trying to be mean. I was just trying to stop you from killingour new friend.”
Instead of her usual hiss, Kaa reared back and made a ticking noise that reminded me of being scolded by my mother.
“Maybe calling him a friend is a bit generous, but that's where we are right now. If we’re going to survive whatever is coming next, we have to play nice.” I retrieved my phone from the counter where I left it and cursed at the small chip on the screen. I could have fussed at Kaa about all the things she broke, but that would only make things worse. “There’s no way I have time to get that fixed.” I glanced back at Kaa, who rolled her neck like she was telling me I deserved the cracked screen.
Instead of engaging in petty behavior with her, I dialed Jackie's number, grateful when she answered.
“Look, I know I said I was coming back over, but—” Jackie started, but I interrupted her excuse for ditching me.
“The shadow walker came over and then demons attacked us.” I took a deep breath; just saying the words had me ready to scream. “Get your ass back over here.”
“Coming!”
The call ended, and Kaa hissed again before slithering away.
“Oh, get over it!” I fussed and went to clean the mess she’d made.
14
Jackie’s Bag
“Is he back yet?” Jackie burst into my home carrying her signature duffel bag. This time, she wasn’t coming to browse on the internet. She was ready for war. “Bring the shadow walker to me!”
I couldn’t help but laugh at her. “Are you going to kill him?”
“If I have to. I’m not sure how to take out one of his kind.” She slapped the side of the bag. “But I’m sure there is something in this bag that can get the job done. If nothing else, I’ll have fun experimenting!”
“You’re insane.” I shook my head. “And no, he isn’t back yet. Actually, I’m glad he isn’t. It gives us some time to talk before he pops back in here.”
“True. You can fill me in on all the details.” She dropped the bag on the bench in the hall. “What do you have to eat? I was choosing to sleep instead of having dinner, but now that I’m up, I need grub!”
“They delivered sushi just before you got here,” I said and had to keep from laughing when her eyes widened like I’d just presented her with a bag of diamonds.
“Oh, you know me so well!” She headed for the kitchen then paused. “Wait, what did you lie about? Unrequested sushi is for apologies. You know that.”
“Nothing, but something tells me this is going to turn into a big thing, and, well, I want to butter you up ahead of time,” I joked. “Besides, I know you’re a lot nicer when you’re well fed. I don’t know what he’s coming back here with, so I need to make sure we’re good.”
“Smart. I pop off when monsters appear. If you want me to be nice, you better have some nigiri in there!” she called back to me over her shoulder.
