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TWENTY-SIX
Another car came to a halt soon after sunset, and a woman who might have been Carline returned to life climbed out. Stan appeared right behind her.
Harlow stepped back into the shadows on the veranda, so Carline or whoever she was wouldn't see him.
"Callie!" the woman shouted. "Callie, I know you're in there, because your car's here. I need to tell you something!"
The witch came running out of the house, with Grant on her heels. "Alethia? What's wrong? What are you doing here? Is it your stalker? Have you changed your mind, and now you want me to curse him?"
"No, it's nothing like that. It's about...who's he?" Alethia asked, pointing at Grant.
Grant beamed. "I am Calliope's husband. Are you another of her lovely friends?"
"Husband?" Alethia whispered, staring at Callie.
Callie held up her hands. "I can explain."
Harlow had to admit he was interested to hear how she'd persuaded Grant to get married.
Only another car pulled into the driveaway, with the redhead, her daughter and Wystan inside. The redhead's eyes darted from one person to the other, taking in the situation, before shouting, "You stay here with Wystan, where you'll be safe." Then she climbed out of her car, her arms folded across her chest. "Who are these men, and what are they doing here?" she demanded.
The daughter tumbled out of the car, followed by Wystan. "It's all right, Mummy, they're all gargoyle monster protectors, just like Wystan! They're here to protect us!"
The redhead rounded on her daughter. "I told you to stay in the car."
"And I told her they are all my cousins, gargoyle protectors like me, who pose no danger to you or your family, who we are bound to protect," rumbled Wystan as he laid a hand on the little girl's shoulder.
"I don't care what Wystan told you. I said..."
Octavia chose that moment to walk out onto the veranda. "Oh, wow, everyone's home," she said.
The breath hissed out of the redhead. "Oh, thank God. At least one of you has some sense. You know the lease conditions. We're not supposed to have men living here, or we get tossed out."
Octavia looked around, taking in the gargoyles standing around the yard. She met Harlow's eyes briefly, before she faced the redhead. "Technically, they don't live here, and they're not entirely men, either. Well, definitely male, but they're not human. Except maybe Grant..." Her eyes turned to Callie. "I'd really like a chance to talk to you about that. And...a couple of other things, too."
Callie raised both hands in surrender. "Now we're all here, I need to talk to all of you, too. And ask for your help, so I can get some answers. How would you feel about summoning a demon again?"
"What?"
"What?"
"WHAT?"
The little girl's eyes widened. "You're going to summon another monster? Oh no, no, you have to protect us, Mr Monster!" She threw her arms around Wystan's knees and wouldn't let go.
TWENTY-SEVEN
Several hours later, after Octavia had calmed Rory and Tacey had taken her to bed, all eight adults crowded into the lounge, where the TV took up most of one wall. The screen was dark now, for this discussion was too serious for that sort of entertainment.
"So let me get this straight," Tacey said. She pointed at Callie. "You want us to try to summon a demon again, here at Bell House, because you think you've worked out what went wrong last time and you think this time it will go right?"
Callie frowned. "Well, yes, but more than that. I want to summon a demon to answer some questions."
"So would I," Octavia chimed in, a look of determination on her face.
Alethea hesitated for a moment, then added, "Stan wants to know what happened to Carline."
Tacey waved her hands in frustration. "Does no one think this is a crazy, likely very bad idea?"
