John darted out of the room.

  “I need my magical tools.” I wanted a shot at that demon.

  “Have you ever exorcised anything?” Millie asked.

  “More or less, yes.”

  “Then stop at your house to grab your tools. Hank, Caitlin, do you want to come with us?” Millie headed toward the door.

  “Yes. We’ll bring the van,” Hank said. “We have equipment in there that might be useful.”

  “I’ll meet you at the tea shop. Call me if you switch directions.” I was on the run, already out the door. Grateful I’d been hitting the gym, I made it to my car without even working up a sweat. I hopped in, turned the key in the ignition, and headed toward home.

  I dashed through the door and toward the library, then down the stairs into my ritual room. Killian was already gone for work; his SUV was nowhere to be seen in the driveway. I grabbed my bag of magical tools that I kept ready for use on the go, and was on my way back up to the main floor when Esmara appeared.

  January, where are you going?

  “To take on a demon. That’s no proximity spell that Janet’s under. She was killed by a demon—well, a demon who was possessing her father. The energy bound her to the dress. The demon transferred to her fiancé, and someone else is dead because of it. Now, his current wife’s in danger.”

  You can’t take on a demon, Esmara said.

  “I have to. Violet’s life is in danger and I can’t let her die.” I had already locked the door behind me and now I was standing on the porch. “I don’t have time to argue, Esmara.”

  Then I’m going with you.

  Before I could say a word, she had floated down the porch steps and into my car. Deciding it wasn’t worth the argument, I fastened my seat belt and pulled out of the driveway.

  On the way to the tea shop, I told Esmara what we had figured out.

  Oh, January, I know what kind of demon that is. Pain-eaters are common enough, actually. Most people have run into one here or there, attached to some person. They’re parasites who feed on guilt, remorse, loss, and other such emotions.

  “What do I need to know about it?” I counted myself lucky that I had Esmara’s expertise. It would help a great deal.

  You must keep positive thoughts. It thrives and grows on negativity, pain, remorse, and loss. A pain-eater can worm its way into your mind if there’s any opening. To fight it, you have to armor up. Hank can show you how.

  “I take it that means raising the drawbridge, so to speak.”

  Yes. The one way to avoid allowing a pain-eater to possess you is to eliminate any chinks in the armor. You have to be ruthless and you have to turn off your feelings.

  I nodded, my eyes on the road. We arrived at the tea shop after Caitlin and Hank. I jumped out of my car and, carrying my bag, hurried to the door. Esmara was right behind me. Bursting through the door, I saw that Hank and Caitlin were standing between Sirus and a woman on a staircase leading upstairs.

  I hurried over to her. “Violet?”

  Her eyes wide, she asked, “What’s going on?”

  “Go outside. Stay there. Please trust me, your life’s in danger. Sirus will be all right, I promise you that.”

  I didn’t know if I could keep that promise, but I wanted her out of the way. Now that I knew about the demon, I could sense him through the muffled energy. I realized that it hadn’t been Sirus and Violet who had created that welcoming cloak, but the demon. It threw people off guard and made it more likely that someone seeking a quiet place for solace would drop in.

  I hustled her out to the porch. “Sit on the steps, please. Trust me. I’m January Jaxson, by the way.”

  Violet hesitated, then said, “There’s something wrong, isn’t there? The tea shop, it’s like a mask. It’s covering up something evil.” She sounded afraid.

  I worried my lip, then said, “It’s not the shop per se. But if you want Sirus to be okay, and if you want to be safe, you need to let us clean it out.”

  She settled on the bottom porch stair. “I’ll wait.”

  Grateful that she wasn’t trying to push for answers, I headed back inside and hurried over to the others. Hank glanced up at me. “You ready for this?”

  “Esmara said we have to ward up to fight it—that we have to armor against emotion. I need your help.” I paused. “It can hear me, can’t it?” I had no idea whether talking in front of it was a problem, or whether it would realize what we were doing. But it had to sense our energy, given that—together—Hank and I were a formidable pair.

  Hank turned to Caitlin. “Out. Go sit with Violet.”

  Caitlin hustled out the door and I turned to Hank. “What do I need to do?”

  He glanced uneasily at Sirus, who was sitting at a table, calmly watching us. “Take my hands. I can help you shield.”

  As I took Hank’s hands, a cloud of energy instantly rose around me. Startled—I knew Hank was powerful but I hadn’t realized how powerful—I forced myself to focus on his hands again. The energy churned like an angry sea, frothing as it enveloped me.

  I opened up to it, closing my eyes as it molded around me into a second skin, clear and yet impenetrable. As it formed a chrysalis encasing me in, I felt my emotions begin to drain away.

  The serenity was soothing and yet, unnerving. I searched for the fear I had felt a few moments earlier, but it wasn’t there. In fact, when I thought of my life, I felt very little except acceptance. Acceptance for what had been, for what was, and for what was to come. I tried to muster my passion for Killian, but that seemed a million miles away, as was my anger at Ellison, and my love for Xi and Klaus.

  Instead of emotions, all I felt was the calm acceptance of what existed in my world.

  In a way, I was relieved that my emotion had evaporated. Wondering if I’d ever feel anything again, I exhaled slowly as Hank let go of my hands. I glanced up at the wall clock, surprised to see it had only been seconds. What had felt like a long process had passed in the blink of an eye.

  Hank and I turned toward Sirus. As he sat there, I detected a pale orange glow around him, the aura of the pain-eater.

  We began to move toward him, almost in perfect cadence. Along with the barricades, Hank had managed to link the two of us together. I knew which way he was going to move, and what he was planning on doing.

  I glanced at him, and Hank gave me a faint nod. We had to disengage the demon from Sirus before we could destroy it. Hank moved behind him, and Sirus gave him a suspicious look, then glanced back at me as I approached from the front. Hank took that moment to slam his hands on Sirus’s shoulders, holding him still. Hank was big and burly, far beyond the puma shifter’s strength. As he held him down, Sirus began to swear, cursing a blue streak as he struggled.

  I lunged forward, pinning his wrists to the arms of the chair with my hands.

  “You’re not going anywhere,” I whispered.

  Hank began a low, sonorous chant as I sought for the demon in Sirus’s eyes. And there—a pinpoint of orange light, gleaming from behind Sirus’s stare. I realized at that moment that Sirus was trapped inside his body, unable to speak or free himself.

  “Fight,” I whispered. “Fight it for all you’re worth.”

  Sirus began to struggle, the blue of his eyes flashing as he began to wage war for his soul.

  Hank intensified his chant. The low droning began to soar, pulling me in. After a moment, what sounded like babble turned into words, reverberating off the walls.

  I closed my eyes, picking up a contra-tone. I knew what to sing, and my voice obeyed. I opened my mouth and a stream of sounds came flooding out of my throat, and I was making music steeped in magic, steeped in history and centuries long past.

  It was as though we were in the desert, with hot sands blowing past us, and then I felt the energy shift and we were spiraling around mountaintops, creating images and dreams with our voices. Sirus stopped struggling, wrapped in the net we created. We wove it around him, a spider’s web of song, a swirling vortex that slowly engulfed the demon.

  “Leave us be,” Sirus managed to hiss, but we ignored him.

  He began to struggle then, his strength increasing. I had a hard time holding down his arms, but no fear shook me, no pity moved me, no emotion interfered even though I could feel him pressing, trying to dig into my vulnerabilities behind the barricades Hank had erected.

  I kept my focus, my voice continuing to spiral around the demon as Hank built a foundation of power, his bass so low it made the walls vibrate.

  But the demon fought harder, and before I could stop him, he broke free of my hold, sending me reeling and breaking my concentration. Hank struggled to keep Sirus in the chair but as the demon threw me back and I landed hard on my tailbone, I came up on my knees.

  Hank let out a cry. His hands were smoking and I realized that the demon had burned him.

  Without thought, without feeling, I stood. The demon had to be destroyed. We couldn’t let it escape. I gathered all the threads of song I had built and held out my hands, aiming toward Sirus. It might injure him but at this moment, I didn’t care. I pushed the energy through my palms, straight toward him like a magical Taser. And I set the spell to full force.

  The bolt hit Sirus square in the chest. It hit with a loud crash and sent him flying back a good five feet. He landed flat on his back, convulsing. I didn’t let up, but kept the flow of energy going, focused on destruction.

  Sirus shrieked—or rather, the demon did—and it flew out of his body, a cloud of black mist. Without missing a beat, I raised my hands, aiming the bolt toward the mist.

  Hank was back on his feet and he, too, focused on the demon. The mist formed into a silhouette, large and looming, as it began to bear down on Hank.

  “Oh no you don’t!” I reached within, drawing on every resource I could muster. Trembling like a livewire, I forced every drop of reserves I had into the light streaming out of my hands. With one last oomph, I called on even more.

  The demon shrieked as I targeted him. The cloud of black smoke solidified into a thousand grains of sand, then burst apart, raining to the floor. As I realized the demon was dead, before I could think another thought, I collapsed.

  “January, are you all right?” Hank’s voice echoed in my ears.

  I opened my eyes to see Hank and Esmara staring down at me. She looked even more translucent than usual. Groaning, I tried to sit up. “I feel like a truck just mowed me down.”

  “It did, in a way. You…” Hank paused, so pale I thought he might also faint. “You almost drained yourself dry with your attack. You almost died.”

  I gave up on sitting and lay back on the floor. “I feel like it. I’m dizzy and…so tired.” I closed my eyes as my vision began to blur. “I’m still not sure…”

  The next moment, I could feel Esmara beside me. She had her hands on my heart, and I could feel the love flowing in from her. Love, compassion, and strength.

  Take what you need. It won’t hurt me, she said.

  I forced my eyes open a crack. She looked luminous, clad in a sunflower yellow gown. And whatever she was doing to me was working. My headache was starting to fade and I didn’t feel like I was at the edge of death’s door.

  “Are you sure?” I asked, not wanting to hurt her.

  Take all you need. I may grow faint for a while, but I won’t fade away. The healing energy comes through me, my dear. Tell Hank to draw on the energy he needs. I can channel enough for both of you.

  “Is the demon gone?” I had to know before I could rest.

  Yes, you destroyed it. Sirus is free from the curse, and Janet should be free. Now replenish yourself, and remember, tell Hank.

  Sirus was kneeling by Hank, who had also collapsed.

  “Hank, Esmara’s offering you energy. Take it. She can handle it,” I managed to squeak out. As I began to accept the flow of energy again, I realized that I was awash in emotions. I burst into tears, overwhelmed, but they were happy tears and that was what mattered.

  Sirus was okay, except for a pounding headache. Caitlin had come running in when he shouted for her, and she and Violet helped me and Hank into chairs, bringing us tea and food to replenish our bodies. Esmara had fed us a tremendous amount of healing energy, which restored our equilibrium.

  We told Sirus what had happened, and that the demon had been responsible for Janet’s death as well as Candy’s death, and that it would have killed Violet and continued to feed on his misery and guilt till he died.

  I called Millie and asked her to check into the father’s whereabouts before Janet’s death. She said that he had supposedly gotten to the church right before discovering her body, but there was no one who could alibi him. Since he was dead, there would never be any way of verifying that he was the one who killed Janet under influence of the demon.

  “Then it jumped to you, Sirus. My guess is the father repressed the memory so well that the demon couldn’t find much to feed on. So the next logical victim was you. You were so deep in mourning.” I shivered. “I’ve never dealt with a pain-eater before and I never want to again.”

  He shuddered. “That thing’s been feeding on me for years? No wonder I couldn’t ever shake the deep sense of loss. They say time heals but it didn’t for me. Now, though, I feel lighter.”

  “That’s because it’s not forcing those memories into the forefront,” Hank said. “You should be okay now, though I highly recommend you hire a witch to come out and ward your tea shop and home so that you don’t attract anything else.”

  Sirus paused. “Is there a way I could say goodbye to Janet? I never got closure with her.”

  “I think so,” I said. “I’ll call you in a while, after I talk to her.”

  By the time we felt up to moving, it was well past noon. We said goodbye, though not for good, and headed out, feeling reasonably recharged and glad to be alive.

  Janet was nervous. She paced the living room. I hadn’t told her that her own father had strangled her—why burden her afterlife with that knowledge? But I did tell her she was free from the dress, and that she could move on. I also told her that Sirus wanted to say goodbye.

  What do I say to him? How will he hear me?

  “Esmara said she can put enough oomph behind you for him to have a couple of moments where he can hear you. So make it short and succinct.” I was grateful that this adventure was almost done. Buying a wedding dress was stressful enough without having a ghost and demon come as part of the package. But I was glad we had helped Sirus, Violet, and Janet. And if Candy had been trapped into anything, she should be free now, too.

  I wish you’d change your mind, Janet said. The wedding dress might have been meant for you. It fits you so well. She glanced down at her torso. We were very much the same size, it seems.

  “I was going to ask about that. The dress seems far bigger than you look,” I said.

  I was your size in life. I put on weight due to an illness. That was one thing I loved about Sirus. He never cared—he loved me. I admit, I have missed him all these years. She paused, then added, I went back to the size I was most comfortable with after death. It was one of the few things I could control while still attached to the dress.

  “Killian loves me for who I am, regardless of my weight. I guess I lucked out that way, too.” I looked at the dress. I’d brought it downstairs, ready to take it back to the bridal shop. “I don’t know that I can handle getting married in a dress you were murdered in.”

  It’s not the dress’s fault. It isn’t cursed. Please consider it. I know you love it.

  At that moment, the doorbell rang and I answered. Sirus was there, along with Violet. I had been hesitant about inviting her, but Janet had encouraged me to. I invited them to sit down in the living room, then waited for Esmara to show up, which she did almost immediately.

  Janet was standing beside her, staring at Sirus, her face radiating love. She looked grateful and yet, I knew she was mourning.

  Esmara looked at me. I nodded.

  She turned to Janet and I began to see a stream of energy flowing from my great-aunt. It surrounded Janet, strengthening her until Sirus and Violet both gasped.

  Sirus, it’s really you? Janet approached him.

  “Janet? I… I can’t believe I’m talking to you.”

  I don’t have long to speak, but I wanted to say thank you. Thank you for loving me. Thank you for being the man you were. The man you’ve become.

  Sirus ducked his head. “I’m not as good as you think I am—”

  I nudged him, giving him a shake of the head. Janet didn’t need to know all the details, including about Candy. He turned back to her.

  “I loved you. I hope you know that. I miss you still.”

  But you have someone. Janet turned to Violet. Take care of him for me…for us? Be good to him. And Sirus, I’m glad you found someone else. You deserve to be happy.

  Her voice was beginning to fade.

  I have to go, but I wanted to say that I loved you, and I’ve let you go. Be happy. Be free. Don’t waste your time. I wish I had more time, but one thing I learned—don’t waste it on regrets, and don’t waste it on what-ifs.

  “Janet—” He paused, then lowered his arm. “Thank you.”

  “Yes,” Violet said. “Thank you for giving us your blessing.”

  Of course. And… She looked confused. I don’t know what’s happening—

  Esmara turned to her. The Veil is calling for you. It’s time for you to cross over. It’s time for you to rest.

  Janet brightened, then after a soft “Oh!” she faded from sight.

  We stood there, staring at the spot where she’d been standing. Finally, Esmara turned to me.

  She’s gone. She’s gone to her rest.

  I told Sirus what Esmara had said. “Janet has gone on, through the Veil. But she’s happy and at peace now, ready to move into the next stage of her existence.”

  “Thank you,” he said. “It’s a rare gift to have closure for something like this. And Violet and I want you to know, any time you want tea or scones, bring your friends and the tea shop will always have room for you, and lunch or tea is always on the house.”