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“Do you know which demon found Sunfire’s workshop?” I asked Zane.
“Sonja,” he said.
My favorite demon of all. I had to look into this. If Sonja was connected to the hunters and all those missing immortal artifacts, I had to know. She was very dangerous. If she collected enough immortal artifacts, her army would be powerful enough to plough through any god or demon. Or any angel, for that matter.
That would be the day she came for Sierra.
“How did you fight all those demons?” I asked Zane.
“Fight?”
“Yeah, if there were so many demons outside Sunfire’s workshop, you must have found a way to neutralize them so you could get inside.”
“Well, actually…” Zane gave me a sheepish look. “I didn’t exactly fight them. I just used my telepathic magic to hide myself from their perception and then snuck inside the workshop.”
“Clever,” I said, considering the possibilities of such a spell—and whether I was powerful enough to pull it off. Because if things got really bad, I’d need a way to grab Nero and Sierra, and make us all disappear. “Do you think you could teach me this spell?” I asked Zane.
“Ok, so I’m not sure how to explain it exactly.” He chewed thoughtfully on his lip. “So, if you want someone not to see you, you have to break into their mind and kind of…block their mind from processing your presence.” He frowned. “I’m not sure if that makes sense?”
“I think I get it, thanks,” I told him. “I just need someone to practice on.”
Totally in sync, Gin and Tessa each took a very big step back.
I sighed at them. “Oh, you guys are no fun.”
“Maybe we should save the magic practice for later,” Calli said. “Bella’s here.”
“And she’s not alone,” Gin added.
When I looked, I saw that Bella had brought her parents along to the party.
“What’s the deal with Thea and Khalon anyway?” I asked Zane. He’d gone with Bella to rescue Thea, so he had to know something.
“Thea seems ok,” he replied. “She was actually happy to see Bella. Said she’d been watching Bella all these years.
“That’s…actually really sweet. And also kind of creepy,” I said. “So what’s the scoop on Khalon?”
“He’s less sweet. And much creepier.” Zane shivered.
I followed his gaze straight to Khalon. The demon had long, stick-straight blond hair and menacing eyes. His posture was belligerent, like he was fighting on a battlefield, not sampling appetizers at a birthday party.
“Yeah, he looks pretty intense,” I agreed. “Though he did just smile at Bella.” I frowned.
“What’s wrong with smiling?” Gin asked me.
I bit my lip. “I don’t trust the smiles of gods and demons. There are usually schemes hidden behind them.”
“Don’t you think you’re being a tad paranoid, Leda?” said Tessa. “Bella has finally been reunited with her parents. We should be happy for her.”
“I am happy for Bella. Or at least I will be happy if this family reunion works out for her.” I hugged my arms to my chest. “I just want to stay realistic. I mean, just remember how splendidly my own family reunion worked out for me. And I don’t want Bella to get hurt when—if her parents turn out to be just as screwed up as mine.”
Gin nudged me with her elbow. “Shh, she’s coming over here.”
With one eye, I followed Bella’s approach. With the other, I tracked Thea and Khalon. They’d split off from Bella and joined Aerilyn and Grace by the mermaid fountain. They’d dropped their voices to a whisper, but I could still hear them. They were speaking at length about the weather. Obviously, that was some kind of demon code. If I listened long enough, maybe I could figure out what?—
“What a great party!” Bella said. “I just love those gourmet mini pizzas, Tessa!” Her smile was so big, you could probably see it from the moon.
“Yeah, they’re a big hit.” Tessa shot me a big, I-told-you-so victory grin.
