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“Yes. Now, sit down, take another drink, and tell me everything.”
She chugged, not sipped, her next mouthful. “Okay. Mother found me almost immediately. Apparently, she put a tracking device in my school bag. So much for avoiding using the bank machine in my new city; she knew where I was the whole time. She didn’t come as herself, though. She came as her soul.” Terrified gray eyes met mine. “She tried to get in my brain.”
I reached over and placed my hands over hers, offering her support. “But you are here now and asking for help. So clearly not possessed.”
She nodded. “I managed to fight her off. After I ran, she jumped from our balcony in The Ivory Tower.”
“The Sorceress Amrita.” The words tumbled out of my mouth. “You’re talking about the Sorceress Amrita. It was big news. They arrested her adopted daughter.” Even as I said it, I realized who I was looking at. The very same adopted daughter they’d arrested. She wasn’t Danie. “Your real name is Tansy.”
She seemed to relax now that I’d proven I believed her.
“At your service.” She mimed a little curtsy, despite sitting. “I had to be careful. My ID says Danie, though. I got a fake one made.” She looked proud of herself. “They did arrest me, but video footage from the security camera clearly showed her launching herself off the roof. It was an open-and-shut case.
“When I kicked her out of my head, she tried to guilt trip me, telling me that I was an ungrateful daughter. When I still refused to give up my body, she told me I’d be sorry. It was so cliché. She wasn’t a very original villainess.”
“And you think you can do better?”
“Oh, I know I can do better. I have the best villain origin story of all time. Do you know any other villain who can boast about having their mother try to take over their body?”
That had me chuckling. I liked Tansy. Despite her situation, she hadn’t lost her sense of humor.
“I thought it would be the last I saw of her, but I was wrong. She hadn’t given up yet.” She chugged the rest of her drink. “A few months ago, I met a guy.”
I clenched my teeth. A guy? The idea of her with anyone other than myself had me seeing red.
“He was what you’d call too good to be true, and I should have known it then, but I was so desperate. Mother locked our bank account before she jumped, so I’d been barely feeding myself and was lucky I found a shelter that took me in. So, when someone came by offering to take care of me and put me through school, only asking for my company in return, I took the bait.”
“Let me guess; it was her.”
“You got it.”
“But you’re here, so you got away. Again.” I crossed my arms. “But why find you again if she failed the first time?”
She shrugged. “Maybe she wanted one more try. But I suspect she needs to recover after every takeover to get strong again.
“I started to get suspicious because the rules Dean had for me were really similar to Mother’s. Things like not eating junk food, exercising at least five times a week, and taking my multivitamins every day. I transferred and started classes again, and he’d drop me off and pick me up from school. A bunch of little things started cropping up. I should have listened to Nugget. She never liked him.”
“Who’s Nugget?” I asked. That was a strange name for a person.
As if summoned, a voice from her hoodie called out, “Peek-a-boo!”
“Nugget’s my pet bird. She’s hiding in my hoodie right now because we don’t have a cage. Easier to get into motels and shelters this way.”
I frowned. She should not be sleeping in a shelter or even a motel, not with everything she’d told me so far. Amrita would find her easily.
She unzipped the top of her hoodie, and a yellow and orange head poked out. The bird eyed me, then picked up the zipper pull with her beak and zipped herself back in.
That had me chuckling out loud. What an adorable pair!
Chapter 3
Tansy
Eamon’slaughwaswarmand rich, and it did funny things to my insides. I reminded myself I was here on a mission. One that didn’t include falling for a demon bodyguard. I’d known a demon in school, and he’d been a total womanizer. They were known to be that type, and it was a stereotype they embraced. Eamon had the looks for it, too.
Despite his buttoned-up shirt, I could tell he was muscular. His biceps strained against the sleeves almost indecently. He had broad shoulders and a trim waist: the perfect V. I’d heard that demons could make themselves any shape they wanted, so of course he would have chosen one of masculine perfection.
He had an undeniable charm, especially when he smiled. Almost boyish, though I was sure he was much older than me. Demons didn’t need to steal bodies to live a very long time. This certain look made him feel approachable and honest, despite the bad reputation demons usually had.
