Page 12 of Grimoire Omens

“You met?” I curbed my jealousy, only barely. After all, my spell summoned him, making him mine.

“Briefly,” Flo stated. “He was like, ‘Where are the demons?’ I pointed, and off he ran.”

I glanced at the stranger and frowned. “Hold on a second. You know about demons.” Before he could reply, I eyed the sword, a very long one, with its tip resting on my floor. “And came armed to kill them. Exactly who the hell are you?”

“A hunter.”

“Of what?”

He arched a brow.

“Demons,” my flat reply. “Seems kind of odd you’d choose that as a career, seeing as how one, we usually don’t have demons in Ottawa, and two, that you happened to be around the day after I accidentally opened a doorway to that Infernal place.”

“Um, Charlie, I don’t think he’s from around here,” Flo whispered.

I glanced at my friend and didn’t lower my voice. “What are you talking about? The man is obviously human.”

Cedric snorted, leading me to take a closer look at my hero. Two arms. Two legs. A face with all the right parts. His skin, though, held a dusky hue, and I didn’t mean brown like mine but more of a grayish pallor. His silky ebony hair fell in waves to his shoulders, and as he tilted his head, the tip of a pointed ear poked.

Having seen Lord of the Rings, I knew what I beheld and gasped, “You’re a fucking elf!”

“Are all witches of this time so eloquent and ladylike?” his sarcastic riposte.

“I’m not a witch.” A statement that had me blushing, because hadn’t I just a moment ago asserted I was? “Or I should say I’m new to the magic thing and haven’t learned all the rules. Although if no swearing is one of them, there will be a fucking problem.”

“Seems doubtful cursing is an issue, given what you’ve told me about your Grams,” Flo reminded.

“Holy shit, yeah. Grams swore like a trucker.” I beamed. “Thank fuck because I am too old to be cleaning up my potty mouth.”

Mr. Dark Elf turned away and frowned at Cedric. “Why does a spirit of the tree wear such a base form?”

“Because of a curse. I don’t suppose you know of a way to remove it.”

A frown and pursed lips indicated no, but the elf said, “Alas, I have not the time to study how to unravel it, as it shan’t be long before more demons arrive.”

“More demons?” I groaned. “Does my magic stink that much?”

The elf shot me a dark glare before muttering, “Very, given it also carries an infernal taint because of the portal you opened.”

“A portal I didn’t get near,” I huffed.

“Doesn’t matter. The demons will be coming now that the scout is dead and its last location will act as a beacon.” He turned back to Cedric. “Is there a more secure building we can relocate to? Something more defensible than this hovel?”

“How many remain, hunter?”

The elf shrugged. “Unsure. I took care of as many as I could the previous eve, but more than a few escaped and have banded together to seek the witch.”

“Banded together?” For some reason, Cedric repeated this with a note of worry. “Does that mean what I think?”

Elf nodded his head.

“That’s bad, very bad,” Cedric muttered. “I know a place we can go that will give us a reprieve.”

“Excellent. We will leave at once.” Apparently, that we meant me and the bossy elf, seeing as how he gripped my arm and began tugging.

I dug in my heels. “Excuse me. I never agreed to go anywhere with you, not to mention I am not properly dressed and it’s late, and I plain don’t want to.”

“I don’t have time for arguing. We are leaving now, and if you do not come quietly, I will gag you.”