Page 67 of Speak of the Devil

Well, he was getting it now. Caleb didn’t think he could even bring himself to care about that, not when it was his father’s fault that they’d all ended up getting sent there in the first place. The original demons who had been Belial’s lieutenants had returned to the underworld once they thought they’d established a good beachhead on this plane, and with them gone, there really hadn’t been anything to keep Daniel Lockwood and the rest of the cambions — half demons — to settle into their ordinary lives and act as if they weren’t anything except normal, everyday humans.

But no, Daniel had to go after that goddamnProject Demon Huntersfootage…and everything went in the toilet soon afterward.

“Then I guess it’s a good thing we’re only dealing with the minions right now,” Delia said lightly.

“True. It could be worse.”

On the other hand, it could be a lot better, too.

Her phone pinged from inside her purse, and she pulled it out and glanced down at the screen. “Pru thinks I’ve lost mymarbles…but she also has two suggestions for me, along with their contact information. So I guess I should call and see if I can make an appointment?”

Thank God they hadn’t been forced to wait until noon or later. Delia’s P.I. friend must have decided to get up early today.

“That would be great,” Caleb said. “Unless you want me to do it?”

She sent him a slightly indulgent smile. “I call people all the time. If I had phone anxiety, I’d be out of business pretty fast.”

He supposed she had a point there, so he only inclined his head while she touched the screen again, presumably so she could call one of the numbers Pru had given her.

For a moment, Delia stood there, phone pressed to her ear, but then she lowered it, looking annoyed. “It just went to voicemail,” she explained. “I’ll try the next one.”

“Okay.”

She touched the screen again and then lifted the phone to her ear. This time, though, she spoke soon enough, telling him that someone had picked up on the other end.

“Hi,” she said brightly. “I know this is last minute, but I was wondering if you had any appointments available now, or maybe in the early afternoon today? A friend and I would like to come in.”

A pause, and Caleb felt himself tense. What if the psychic didn’t have any open appointments today?

Then maybe you’ll crash at Delia’s house again,he thought, a not entirely unwelcome prospect. No, it wasn’t as if anything had happened between them, but there had been something almost cozy about hanging out there together, even when they were just standing around in the kitchen and drinking coffee.

“Oh, perfect,” she said next, “we can be there in about fifteen minutes. Okay — good. See you then.”

She returned her phone to her purse and sent Caleb a brilliant smile.

“We’re in,” she told him. “Her place is over in Angel Park, so we need to hurry.”

While relief didn’t exactly sweep over him, he had to admit he felt a lot better. Maybe the psychic wouldn’t be able to help them, but at least now they had a plan of action.

“All right,” he replied. “Let’s go see this psychic.”

Chapter Twenty

Once more behind the wheel,mostly because they’d both decided that Caleb’s Range Rover, while much bigger and sturdier than her little Hyundai Kona, might also be known to the demons who’d been set on his trail. It just seemed smarter to take a vehicle that was a lot less conspicuous.

However, Delia could tell he wasn’t entirely thrilled to be relegated to the passenger seat once more, because he fidgeted with his seatbelt and tapped his fingers against the knees of his jeans every time they had to stop at a red light.

Or maybe he was just worried that they’d be late for their appointment with the psychic.

At least their route kept them far away from downtown and the Strip. It was an area she generally tried to avoid, just because it was almost always choked with traffic no matter what the time of day, but now she had an extra incentive to give that part of the city a wide berth.

According to Caleb, the demons had particularly focused on his movements whenever he was coming or going from one of the casinos there.

His attention seemed to be held by the cars around them and the strip malls and housing developments they drove past, so she was a little startled when he said, “Why Delia?”

“Excuse me?” she responded, not sure what he’d meant by the question.

“Your name,” he explained. “It’s not very common.”

---