Page 124 of Baking and Angels

The older agent patted her partner’s shoulder. “Good girl, but we’re not done yet. Neverdone yet.”

“But we can count this one a win today?” Sophia asked as she followed out.

Agent Archon didn’t get the chance to answer that when she spotted their informant talking to a pair of other agents on the other side of the loading dock.

“Ms. Kovacs,” Agent Archon said as she approached.

The other two agents straightened up as their leader approached.

“Five with serious injuries, ma’am, they are already on their way to the hospital,” one of agents reported without her asking. “A dozen minor.”

“And no deaths? We got lucky,” she noted, then nodded a dismissal to them so she could speak to Ms. Kovacs. “Ms.Kovacs…”

“How are you doing?” Agent Sophia interrupted on cue.

Agent Archon paused, but she just didn’t have the energy to be annoyed. Her partner shot her the usual apologetic puppy eyes, but she simply chuckled a sigh and smiled. “Yes, howare you?”

“I’m fine,” the young-again socialite said, pulling her shoulder wrap tighter around herself. “Though I doubt there will be any way to keep this out of the presses. It won’t take anyone long to blame all this on me.”

Agent Archon blinked at that statement, then furrowed her brows. “Why would anyone think that? If it wasn’t for you, we would never have caught this demon.”

Ms. Kovacs opened her mouth to respond, but then a pinch appeared between her perfect eyebrows as well. She blinked many times, stopping and starting. “I… I can’t remember,” she said, hugging her wrap closer.

Sighing, Agent Archon reached into the inner pocket of her coat and pulled out a tin of mints. She opened it and offered one to the socialite. “It’s not an uncommon effect from an encounter with a demon. Confusion and even guilt happens, but trust me, you have to realize that it is coming from outside of you.”

Ms. Kovacs’s face didn’t change as she stared at the mints. She obviously didn’t believe her.

Agent Archon sighed. “Look, if you need to talk to someone, I can recommend some people, but honestly, you probably have access to some better people than I can suggest. But please, get checked out. I can assure you that the BDI stance on the events of tonight is that you are a hero who protected all the people during your event fromtrouble.”

She nodded at that. “Thank you. That is… good to hear. I’m glad I could help. Now if you excuse me, I need to talk to my…” Her eyebrows pinched again.

“I imagine you need to speak to Ms. Rhodes,” Agent Archon said, supplying her the name of her protégé. It was amazing how people forgot things very quickly. Demon attacks, while sensational in the moment, were forgotten just as quickly.

Ms. Kovacs nodded. “Yes. Yes, I need to talk to Helena. She put so much work into this event, she must be devastated.”

“Then I’ll leave you to it,” Agent Archon said, and she walked away with Agent Sophia coming up beside her. “These wealthy socialites, thinking everything revolves around them.”

“She’s so young to be so successful,” Agent Sophia noted.

Agent Archon pinched her eyebrows together. That didn’t sound quite right. “She’s older than she looks.”

Agent Sophia blinked. “Well, how old is she?”

“Thirty? Thirty-five. Something like that. Do we have a suspect for who summoned this demon?”

Her partner looked at her questioningly. “Well… Yosef… What was his last name?”

“But…” Then Sophia stopped, and that strange pause that Ms. Kovacs had done passed over her. “Right. Right, I’m sorry. I remember now. He was eaten and…” Then she brightened and sighed. “Right, case solved.”

“Right. Case solved. No need for further investigation,” Agent Archon agreed, then rubbed her ear. It felt like someone’s breath had been blowing on it, but when she looked to the side, nothingwas there.

“I’m going to take a long bubble bath when I get home tonight,” Agent Sophia said, stretching her back. “And maybe spend the day at my chiropractor.”

“Works for me,” Agent Archon agreed, and buttoned her coat to go back out into the cold. “There will be more to dotomorrow.”

Neither of them saw the small, winged creature fly away and out the wide-open doors of the loading dock.

“Oh wow, that’s the Wrightwood Ballroom, isn’t it?” Cindy asked as she set down her cup of tea to lean forward as Charlie turned up the volume on the news program.

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