Page 40 of Obsession

“I’m not the clairvoyant, and yet I foresee you two together spells trouble,” Damion announces.

“Ha ha. What are you going to do with those?” I ask, pointing to the bag.

“Send them to a lab tech for testing.”

“A lab tech? That doesn’t sound very magical.”

“A demon lab tech. Does that make you feel better?”

“Much.”

“I’ve got to get to work. Try to stay out of the fountain,” he teases, giving me a tingly kiss that makes me squirm.

“I have no plans to ruffle any feathers,” I say, but he’s already gone.

The next evening, I’m flipping over the closed sign when Azrael appears outside the shop wearing a linen suit and straw hat.

“Good Goddess, you scared me,” I say, ushering him inside as I lock up behind him.

“To death?”

“Not quite. To what do I owe this nice surprise?” I ask.

“It’s your time,” he says solemnly, shifting into a black robe.

They say life flashes before your eyes when you face death. That doesn’t happen. What does happen is I take off in a dead sprint. “Over my dead body is it my time!” Making it to the break room, I lock the door and pour a salt circle around myself for good measure.

Azrael easily unlocks the door and enters the room, now back in his linen suit, holding takeout bags. “Darlin’, I was just pullin’ your leg,” he says, laughing.

“Not funny!”

“I brought Gus’s Fried Chicken,” he says in a sing-song voice. “Wings and legs, your choice. You should have seen the look on your face!” He laughs again.

“Hope you don’t need salt,” I say smartly.

“What was the salt circler supposed to do?” he asks.

“I don’t know. You have a morbid sense of humor, by the way,” I inform him crossly. Not so crossly that I’ll turn down fried chicken, but still.

I grab two paper plates from the cabinet and we take a seat at the table. “I’m bored,” he admits. “Without my scythe, I’m sidelined from my job. I’ve been keeping a low profile. The last thing I need is Metratron jumping my case,” he says, biting into a crunchy chicken wing. “What’s your heritage, by the way? No, wait.” He pauses for a moment, searching for the right words. “Who’s your people?”

“Yep, that’s the southern way to ask. Were you just practicing your southern or is there a reason you asked about my people?”

“Both. You have interesting energy. I’m just curious about your lineage.”

“Interesting how?”

He just smiles at me. “Tell me how you got involved with a such a smokin’ hot Cambion.”

“I accidentally summoned Damion. He unintentionally possessed me. You know, the classic boy meets girl story.”

Azrael laughs and floats our empty containers to the trash can. “Darlin’, I like you. You’re a little spitfire, that’s for sure,” he says trying to drawl out the vowels.

“Better. Hey, before you go, let’s work a spell to find your scythe. You game?”

“Game on,” he says dramatically.

We move to the library and I retrieve the spell items, grabbing a magnet in the shape of a witch’s broom Grandma bought when we took a trip to Salem back when I was a kid.

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