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  She pushed the door to the lab open, and she paused, “Arms in, gentlemen. Don’t touch anything. There are things in here I would not advise even the lightest of contacts with.”

  They all nodded, and she led the way to the active workspace. Her father was focussing on what appeared to be a PH strip with black boxes. He was measuring the tip of a glass rod covered with an inky substance.

  His crest rose as he found his answer. “Son-of-a-two-headed-scum-sucking-bitch!”

  Benny blinked. “Hiya, Dad. So, you found out what is doing this?”

  He looked at her, and his pupils were completely black with fury. “I have to make a call.”

  He pushed past the agents, and Benny scrambled after him. “Dad? What is it?”

  They converged in the library where her father was, indeed, making a call. The huge copper bowl filled with mercury swirled, and her grandfather’s face was hovering above it.

  “Where is she, father?”

  Her grandfather, Zephyr Luciver Ganger, scowled. “What is it, son?”

  “Kyria’s father. He is after Benny.”

  Her grandfather had the urbane look of a studying magus. At four hundred eighty, he didn’t look a day over fifty. His features were completely human if you didn’t look at his slightly pointed ears and teeth, as well as the flickering shape of his pupils behind the reading glasses.

  The mercury began to swirl. “After Benny? He cannot have her. She is not bound to him.”

  If Zephyr was getting agitated enough to effect the communication, his local weather must have been going haywire.

  “Have you talked to your grandmother?” Zephyr’s demon features were becoming more apparent as he got angry.

  “No, if she is in the zone, they could track the call. I wanted to know if you have had recent communication with her. You are her son; you can speak without all the extra magework.”

  Her grandfather nodded. Benny waved from behind her dad. His expression softened for a moment before it hardened with determination. “I will get in touch with her and find out why Yomra is trying to come after Benny.”

  “It is worse than that, Dad. They are trying to strip her soul. There is a human agent who has been doing the work for him, but Yomra’s signature is there for anyone to see.”

  “I trust your work, son. I will return your call within the hour or Kyria will. No one is touching Benny.” Her grandfather disappeared.

  The XIA agents looked at each other before Argyle asked, “Who is Yomra?”

  Benny rubbed her forehead. “A whole new batch of trouble.”

  Chapter Twelve

  They sat in the library. The agents called in, and Jennifer was stable, but there were no further leads on the case. What they learned here would show them their new direction.

  Harcourt pulled up a chair, and they gathered around a book of demons. Benny flipped to her ancestor’s page and she turned it around.

  “Yomra. Demon high king, one of a dozen or so. He had dozens of children, but my great grandmother was supposedly his favourite.”

  The agents took in the etching of the demon king. Rich blue leathery skin, yellow eyes and spikes running down his spine made the biggest impression. The raging erection was also hard to miss.

  “His deal was that he fathered children on human women for favours, and when they had born his heirs, he granted them their wishes until they passed on. Few, if any, survived childbirth. My great grandmother was one of those babies.”

  Benny picked up a book of succubi and flipped to her great grandmother’s page. “Kyria worked for her father in demon tradition, carrying out the deals and seducing the weak-willed. My great grandfather traded some dark spell work for an heir by Kyria. Yomra agreed and was amused as hell. Succubi cannot breed with humans. Yomra had no clue as to how much Milton wanted to be with Kyria. He put all of his magic into their joining, and it produced my grandfather. Zephyr. The moment she was a mother, demon law broke her ties with Yomra. Kyria was free, and Yomra was down one seducer. That was nearly five hundred years ago.”

  Her father nodded. “Benny is the first daughter born since then to our family line.”

  She turned Kyria’s page to them, and she watched their gazes flick from her to the picture and back again. “I know. There is a resemblance.”

  Argyle nodded. “More than a resemblance. The eyes are the only difference.”

  Benny snorted. “I am four inches taller.”

  The house shook and the temperature spiked. “Only when you are wearing heels, kitten.”

  Benny grinned and ran to the other woman. “Gamma!”

  Kyria held her and twirled her in her arms. “I hear that bad things are happening here.”

  It was like looking into a skewed mirror. Benny heard her mother sigh. “Hello, Kyria.”

  Her gamma looked over at Benny’s mom. “Lenora. I see you have managed to hang onto my grandson.”

  Benny stepped away. “Mom and Dad are soul bonded, and it was his soul that did the bonding. Be nice, Gamma.”

  Kyria sighed and stroked Benny’s cheek. “I like the eye. It looks good on you. You should be proud of what you are. Folks need to see it.”

  Benny sighed. “Gamma, these are XIA agents. Agent Smith, Agent Tremble and Agent Argyle. Agents, this is my great grandmother, Kyria Luciver.”

  The agents moved forward and shook her hand, one by one. Kyria’s expression turned from amused to delight.

  “Kitten, who knew you had so many men mooning after you. I confess that I am practically dizzy with admiration.” Kyria stroked their hands and forearms with focus.

  Benny pinched the bridge of her nose. “They are not admirers. I am writing a piece for work. They volunteered to haul me around for a week. That is all.”

  Kyria shook her head, “Oh, kitten. You can be so blind when you want to be.”

  “I haven’t been a kitten for ten years.” Benny scowled.

  “You will always be a kitten to me. Now, what do we think is going on here?”

  Harcourt came over and greeted his grandmother with a kiss on the cheek. “I think someone is trying to hand Benny over to Yomra.”

  Kyria leaned back and hissed. “He has no claim over her. She is of his bloodline, but she has a soul.”

  It all snapped together in that moment. Benny looked to her mother, and Lenora nodded grimly. “The soul stripping spell.”

  “That one hasn’t been used in eons.” Kyria frowned.

  Argyle nodded. “Until the last few months. Eight women across the country have had their souls and blood pulled out. They were all born the same week as Benny and in the same hospital.”

  Kyria nodded. “Right. The ninth?”

  The agents homed in on that. Tremble asked, “How did you know there were nine?”

  Kyria smiled. “Demons love numbers. If they didn’t find what they needed in the first eight, they will need the ninth.”

  Benny nodded. “That is me now. Jennifer is out of the game. She is safe now.”

  Smith gave her a look. “That power surge...”

  “Her soul is locked in her body now. There is no way that a separation can occur while she lives.” She smirked. “Anyone who tries is going to blast their own consciousness twenty feet straight back.”

  “Way to go, kitten.” Kyria chuckled and then sobered. “Now, Harcourt. Show me what you have found.”

  Benny stepped back and let the two demons in the room work on finding the third.

  Argyle looked at her. “Should we be arresting someone?”

  She chuckled. “Letter of the law is that a demon can only be arrested or detained while off their own territory or out of the demon zone and only then if they are found to be tampering with a human in an unseemly way. It does leave a lot of room for flexibility of the arresting officers.”

  Smith snorted. “You seem to be very aware of the laws.”

  She gave him a wry look. “What is the damage t
hreshold before a shifter can be charged?”

  “Four hundred thirty-four dollars.”

  Benny grinned. “It looks like you are very aware of the laws.”

  Colour tinted his cheeks. “Okay. Fair enough.”

  Argyle murmured. “What are they looking for?”

  Lenora came over and whispered, “Kyria can locate her father, but I doubt he will actually be dumb enough to leave the zone. Kyria will be able to sense Yomra’s energy and provide you with a tracking device.”

  Smith chuckled. “She doesn’t appear to like you much, Mrs. Ganger.”

  Lenora laughed, “It has been fifty years since I stole her grandson into a life of academia and lust. The lust she could forgive, the life of study went beyond the pale. She dreamed of a life of success in the public eye for her grandson. With me, he glowed in the shadows.”

  Benny turned to her mother and beckoned for a moment. They crossed the room and bent their heads together in the hallway.

  “What did Gamma mean about the agents and me?”

  Lenora chuckled and hugged her. “Don’t worry about it. These things reveal themselves in time. Demons live in the moment and pursue them, but you are more than that. Let your moments come to you.”

  Benny read the truth in her mother’s eyes. There was something on the side of the agents, but she didn’t know which ones. “Do I have to pick one?”

  Lenora laughed. “Baby, in this family, you have the right to choose whatever blend of love makes you happy. Don’t force it to be one-size-fits-all.”

  Benny hugged her mom and felt better about the diagnosis. She liked the agents and having seen one of them completely naked and a pretty good idea about the other two, the idea of trying them on for size held a certain appeal.

  She returned to the library to find Kyria between Smith and Argyle, rubbing their arms.

  “Gamma! Hands off.”

  Kyria sighed and released the men. They turned to Benny with dazed expressions.

  She sighed and pulled them away from her seductive grandmother. A light tap on the cheek was enough to bring each one around. Tremble was wisely giving Kyria a wide berth.

  Benny’s father finally announced. “Grandmother, please put the tracking charm into place. They need to find this man.”

  “It is already dawn. They cannot use the charm until the evening.” She cast the enchantment anyway.

  Benny perked up. “Oh, they are off duty now.”

  Harcourt put the charm in a box and handed it to Tremble. “Here you go. This will take you directly to the man with Yomra’s energy. It has been dulled to our family, so that should not cause interference.”

  Tremble took it.

  Benny noted that even the ageless fey looked exhausted. “Why don’t you guys go to bed? You can drop me at my house, and Jessamine is more than enough to warn me of any incoming weirdness.”

  Smith raised his hand. “I will stay at your home. You are the last option for a victim, and Argyle sleeps too heavily to be a good guardian.”

  Benny nodded. “Right. Well, it was great seeing you, Gamma.”

  She hugged her grandmother, gave her dad a hug and kissed and hugged her mother before heading out the door with the XIA.

  Quiet exhaustion reigned in the vehicle as Argyle drove back to her place. Smith and Benny got out with Smith pausing for a moment to get some kind of order from the other two.

  Benny headed inside. “Jess, we have company.”

  Jessamine floated in, and she wrinkled her spectral forehead. “Really?”

  “Yes. One of the Agents is staying with me over the course of the day. I am being hunted.”

  Jess nodded. “I will make something for when you wake. Water is already in your room, and the moment you lie down, I will dim the lights.”

  “Thanks, Jess.”

  Smith came in with a small bag. “So, where are we sleeping?”

  Jess floated toward him. “Benny’s is the only room with a bed, so you will have to share.”

  Benny gave her a dark look. It would only take seconds to make up one of the guestrooms.

  Smith nodded. “Right. Meet you there.”

  He headed past her and up the stairs.

  Benny glared at her intangible roommate and swatted her furiously. “Really? Really?”

  “He’s cute. Besides, he is still on duty. Nothing is going to happen. You need to relax and let folks enjoy you for the multifaceted being that you are, Benny.”

  Benny suddenly felt her exhaustion, every moment of being awake, the running, the accidents, every instance of the last two days. “Can you have my owl jammies meet me in the bathroom?”

  “Will do. Go on. I will watch over you.”

  She headed upstairs with her limbs collecting lead with every step. Smith had removed his shirt, and the sight perked her up enough to head directly into the bathroom. She got ready for bed and put on her owl jammies before she stumbled out into the bedroom.

  He was wearing boxer briefs and nothing else. “What side do you sleep on?”

  She yawned. “Right side. Closest to the bathroom.”

  He nodded and grinned. “Nice pajamas.”

  She blushed a little and climbed into bed. Smith did the same on the left side, and she felt a moment of concern. That moment faded as the room darkened and her body felt its fatigue. Using magic to avoid sleep resulted in a coma-like event. With Smith and Jessamine on duty, she was as safe as she could be.

  Benny snuggled under her sheets and muttered, “Jess, get us up one hour before sundown.”

  A cool hand smoothed her hair, and she heard, “Rest, kitten. I will keep you safe.”

  Benny tried to fight the wave of sleep when she heard Kyria’s voice, but she was too tired. Darkness pulled in tight around her.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Harcourt watched as his grandmother reappeared. Kyria smiled. “She is safe.”

  He exhaled and took his wife’s hand, pressing a kiss to the back of it. “The wards are in place?”

  “He would have to be driving a tank to get through them.” Kyria smiled. “I used the vial Lenora gave me. The house is guarded by nature. No demon magic is visible.”

  Harcourt smiled. “Good. Yomra is arrogant. He will be expecting us to fight magic to magic. Benny has so much more to battle with, and if she lets herself, she is able to use all of it.”

  He looked to his wife and saw her worry. “She will come out of this alive, Lenora.”

  She stroked his head and neck in an absent way. “I know she will, Harcourt, but I believe that other things are going to rise.”

  “You mean...”

  “Yes.” She glanced at the Kyria and didn’t say anything else.

  Kyria poured tea for them and smiled. “You mean when the little bastard who tried to rape Benny mysteriously died from having his soul inverted? It was the last demon attack in this town and the only one for a hundred years before that. It got attention.”

  Harcourt smiled grimly. “He had assaulted four other girls, but Benny got away with a broken wrist and some scratches. She didn’t want to return to school with him there, so I managed the situation.”

  Kyria smirked. “And you did as any good father would do if he had the skills.”

  Lenora was quiet. Harcourt kissed the back of her hand again. The killing haunted her for reasons Kyria did not need to know.

  “I would do it again. He was a rabid parasite, living on the pain he inflicted.” Harcourt nodded. “Now, what do we do about finding your father?”

  Kyria shrugged. “I have carried out what I could. The rest is up to you. He is bound by demon laws to stay away from me. I will watch to see what happens, but I have offered all the help I can. The rest is up to you and those born free from the touch of the zone.”

  Harcourt was astonished when his grandmother disappeared.

  Lenora sighed. “I thought she would pull that move. Speak to Zephyr and bring
him up to date. Perhaps your mother would have an opinion of the matter.”

  He chuckled. “She is very opinionated for one in her situation.”

  “Gender equality began long after she died. She is looking forward to learning and seeing Benny do more with her life than Lettice ever dreamed of.”

  He wrinkled his nose. His mother had already passed on when Benny was born, but that had not stopped her from being involved in her granddaughter’s life.

  “Right. I’ll speak to my mother. She will have some insight into this matter.”

  Harcourt went to the desk, and he pulled out a glossy brown case. Inside the carefully crafted case was a velvet bag, and inside the bag was a medallion with two of his mother’s fangs and one of her claws from when she shifted. She had donated the implements when she had begun her decline, and Zephyr had woven them into the medallion as a gift for his son.

  Harcourt held the medallion in his hand and smiled. “Mother?”

  Lettice Ganger flowed out of the medallion and stood next to her son. “Harcourt. It is so good to see you again. You have grown.”

  He chuckled. “I have not.”

  Lenora smiled. “Good morning, Lettice.”

  Lettice beamed, “Lenora. You are looking well. Where is little Benny?”

  Lenora chuckled. “Little Benny is thirty years old, and she is in danger.”

  Harcourt watched his mother glide across the floor and sit in a chair, her Edwardian clothing as precise as it always had been.

  “Explain what is going on, and I will tell you what my opinion is on the matter.” Lettice drummed her spectral fingers on the table and waited.

  Harcourt and Lenora sat with her and explained the situation. After an hour, Lettice made her comment.

  “This isn’t good. Benny is going to have to run this out, but this isn’t good. Lenora, call your family and have them on standby. If anything goes sideways, we are going to need to hide her and do it quickly. An untethered demon is a danger to society, and they know it.” Lettice frowned. “Damn, I wish I could have a cup of tea.”

  Harcourt watched as Lenora focussed on her palm, and she wove a cup of tea out of ectoplasm.