Page 68 of Shadows of the Soul

“She met a man.”

A low growl erupted from Dave, making the hairs on my arms stand up in warning. “Not like that,” I said.

“What was it like?” he snarled.

“I don’t know. Aunt Liz is a lot of things, but never a cheater.”

“We are assuming this man is responsible for your aunt’s possession?” Hudson asked.

“It will help once Sebastian acquires the footage of their meeting. Perhaps we will recognize him.”

Dave nodded and studied the floor like it had all the answers. “There’s one thing puzzling me.”

“What’s that?”

He glanced up and caught me in his gaze. I paused my pacing. “How the hell did she get past your wards? The boundary ones and the house. How did a demon waltz its way into Summer Grove House without you noticing?”

I blinked. Somewhere in the chaos, I hadn’t even considered the implications of Aunt Liz being in my inner sanctum. The wards still worked—at least to warn me of visitors. Somehow she’d snuck through. Somehowithad snuck through.

“Didn’t Dayna redo your wards?” Hudson asked.

“Yes. Shit,” I said, running out of the office and down the hallway to the training room. We’d left Aunt Dayna and Rebecca demon sitting Aunt Liz.

Footsteps thudded behind me. I burst through the door, fully expecting a scene out of the exorcist with Aunt Dayna at the helm.

Aunt Dayna and Rebecca’s eyes darted to me. “What’s wrong?” Rebecca asked.

“Aunt Dayna, could I borrow you for a moment, please?” I asked.

She clambered to her feet and dusted off the knees of her bright pink dungarees. “Sure.”

I darted a look at Rebecca. “What?” she mouthed behind Dayna’s back.

Aunt Dayna passed me and the curious-looking shifters. “In my office,” I instructed. I didn’t want to give the game away in front of the demon. I had one shot at this.

I hurried after Dayna and the boys followed me. Dave closed the door and leaned against it. I strolled to my desk and rummaged around in the drawers, pretending to be searching for a pen. I glanced up as Dayna came closer, then grabbed the potion and threw it at her. It burst in a splat of bright purple across her chest. She looked down, then back at me with a raised brow.

“What the hell, Cora? These are my favorite pair.”

“Not possessed then,” I muttered.

“Of course I’m not possessed. What gave you that idea?”

“You redid the wards around the house. Someone let in the demon.”

She frowned. “It wasn’t me, and I did not redo your wards.”

“You did. You offered, and I saw you.”

“It’s true,” Hudson said.

I drummed my fingers on the table. “You couldn’t have been possessed. You’d have never got in the house.”

Dayna smeared the bright purple around in a pattern on her chest with her fingertips. “What are you doing?” Dave asked.

She smiled. “Damn potion will never come out, so I’m making sure it stains in a pretty pattern.”

Definitely Aunt Dayna, no one was capable of imitating this craziness - it was Dayna’s unique brand which we loved her for.

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