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He opens the vender’s website. They supply Taproom with organic berries, and according to an update from just this morning, they received a large shipment from their farms on the West Coast. Their Instagram account is linked, and photos of the truck pulling into their Chicago-based warehouse were uploaded only hours ago.
“The bar is closed,” I muse, thinking out loud. “And they’re lying. Makes sense why they’d call the bar to avoid talking to you. But why? Making organic berry farmers not send you several crates of strawberries is annoying, but not really something I’d consider blackmail. Having someone stab you and hiring a hunter to go after me, I get. But this…this is stupid.”
“It is,” Lucas agrees. “Don’t worry about it, my love. I’ll handle it.”
“I know you will.” I get up to get a drink of water. “And speaking of handling things, I should tell Tabatha about the demon.” I grab a glass and take it to the sink. “But it’s so cold out and I don’t feel like walking to the door. Want to watch over my body while I astral project to the Covenstead?”
“Will you be naked? Because I will happily stare at your naked body.”
I roll my eyes. “No. I’d rather not appear naked in front of the entire coven.”
“Can’t you project clothes onto yourself?”
I tip my head, considering it. “I have no idea, actually. I always project the way I look physically. In theory, I suppose it could work.”
“I think it’s definitely something we should practice.”
“Maybe another time. For now, I need salt, candles, and my black tourmaline gemstone. And Binx.”
“I’ll light a fire in the living room. You get cold astral projecting.”
“Thanks, and I do.” I finish my water and meet Lucas in the living room, bringing in an armload of magical supplies. I make a pentagram on the floor with black salt and place white candles at the points of the stars and use magic to light them. I lie in the center and put the gemstone on my chest, which helps keeps me grounded. Binx settles on top of it, and I close my eyes, center myself, and whisper the incantation as I envision Tabatha’s office. The world swirls around me, and only a moment later, I’m there, standing right before her desk.
“Callie.” Tabatha looks up, eyes wide. “You startled me, my darling. Why are you projecting? Is something wrong?”
“Yes and no. I’m safe, don’t worry, but I did question—and then kill—a demon yesterday and wanted to let you know about it.”
“I thought you were taking a break from demon hunting.”
“Technically, I didn’t hunt this demon. Easton and Melinda did, and it started talking crap about me, which made them call me.”
“Talking crap?”
“The shortened version is basically I’d make a good gift, probably to sacrifice or something to the new demon boss who’s preparing to take over. The only details we got were that this new boss will let demons come to earth and stop hiding in the shadows so they can take souls as they please. I knew this was coming,” I start and feel a little shaky, which is an odd sensation since my body is miles from where I actually am. “I knew another demon would try and take over, yet it’s unnerving me more than I thought.”
“As it should.” Tabatha puts her pen down and gets up, going around to the front of her desk. “There’s a good chance this new boss is nothing to worry about, merely a lower-level demon trying to prove his worth and get more power. But there’s also a chance this demon could be a real threat, even to you. Bael already found a way to possess you, and we don’t know if any other demons were privy to his methods.” She looks me over, fear in her brown eyes. “The possibilities for what the demons could do to you are endless. Possess you…force you into accepting some sort of dark marriage proposal, use you as a bargaining chip amongst other demons. Your father was right to tell you to be extra vigilant, Callie. We all are, and the Academy has a promising group of senior students wanting to pursue demonology. Frequent readings checking for changes in any sort of demonic energy would be good practice for them and extra sets of eyes for us.”
“That would give me a little more reassurance.”
“Be careful, but don’t fret. It’s not good for the baby.” Her face relaxes. “How are you feeling?”
“More annoyed than anything, but still a little nervous.”
“I meant physically.”
“Oh, right.” I look down at myself, wondering if my baby-bump projected with me. It did. “I’m still tired all the time, and those baby books that said your energy would return in the second trimester were full of lies.”
She laughs. “I don’t recall getting that energy burst, either.”
