Medium Rare: (Intermix)

by Meg Benjamin

  “Don’t what?” A small furrow appeared between Skag’s brows.

  “What if I don’t want to go on doing things I don’t understand for someone I hardly know?” She looked positively regal. Evan decided that if he ever saw that particular expression directed his way, he’d either give her everything she wanted or duck.

  Skag sighed. “I knew we’d have this conversation eventually, but it’s somewhat inconvenient at the moment. I have some potential clients we need to contact.”

  “I don’t care whether it’s convenient or not, Skag. I want information. Now.”

  “Oh, very well.” Obi-Wan shimmered for a moment then resolved into Addison again, the lightsaber transforming into his cigarette holder. “What do you want to know?”

  She narrowed her eyes. If she was impressed, it didn’t show. “How long have you been doing this? I always thought your connection with the family started around Great-grandmother Siobhan’s time, but now I hear you’re one of the Old Ones. So how old is old? How long have you been the family’s guide?”

  His expression soured slightly. “In terms of your time . . .” He shrugged. “Perhaps a thousand years, give or take.”

  She swallowed hard. “A thousand?”

  “Give or take, as I say.” He blew a cloud of smoke toward the ceiling. “Perhaps more like fifteen hundred. I’ve skipped a few generations. Some of your ancestors were like your mother, reluctant to sign on.”

  “And the demons?”

  Skag studied the end of his cigarette. “What about them?”

  “Are we their natural enemies? Is that what we Riordans do—take out demons?”

  “Occasionally. The family has a great deal of natural talent in that direction. Most demons avoid Riordans unless they have a convenient human vessel like Bradford. Or unless they’re exceptionally powerful themselves.”

  Evan cleared his throat. “When did you realize Bradford was a threat?”

  “When he moved here. There was something very unsettling about his presence, but it took me a while to define his true nature.”

  Rose frowned. “Which was why you sent me to check him out in the first place.”

  Skag shrugged. “That was one of the reasons. The demon seemed to be taking over a number of our contacts, like Mr. Garcia. It was no coincidence that the hellhounds appeared after you visited the Nightmare. Or that the mediums who died both worked for Garcia. I deduced that Augie was no longer precisely what he’d been previously. The demon found his way into this world by attaching himself to some convenient humans. Just as I did, in a way.”

  Evan leaned forward. It wasn’t his conversation, but he was curious. “Why did he choose Bradford in the first place?”

  Skag shrugged again. “The usual reasons. A human who was already somewhat corrupt. Wealth. Power.” The corners of his mouth edged up. “Snacks.”

  “Snacks?”

  “I’ll wager that you’ll find some of those who came for private consultations were never heard from again, particularly if they lacked family or friends to inquire about their whereabouts. The demon probably sucked power from them, then disposed of what was left.”

  The room seemed very quiet. Rose rubbed her arms again. “Will the police ask us about Bradford at some point?”

  “Oddly enough, Mr. Bradford seems to have disappeared, as has Mr. Garcia. I imagine Bradford’s disappearance will show up in the news soon.” Skag turned toward Evan. “You should write something about it, Delwin. Your point of view would be quite valuable.”

  “What happened to the body?”

  “Once a human vessel has been used up, there’s not much left. What little remained of Bradford’s human form is undoubtedly dust at this point.”

  Rose pulled the afghan tighter. “Why did the demon go after us? Was it just that he wanted more power?”

  Skag shrugged. “Power is always a great lure. And families like the Riordans attract demons. As you and your brother Danielo have both discovered. Had he been able to consume you, his power would have grown immeasurably.”

  Rose shivered. Evan felt like shivering himself.

  “One more thing I have to know,” she said slowly. “When I spoke to Grandma Caroline in that last séance, she implied you were a demon. Is that true?”

  “No, of course not,” he snapped. “It’s daemon. The extra vowel makes all the difference.”

  “And a daemon is . . .”

  “A benevolent helper spirit.” Skag blew out an angry cloud of smoke. “Although I must say I’m not feeling particularly benevolent at the moment. Do you think if I were a demon, the Riordans would still be walking the earth? You’d have been wiped out in a generation. Demonic spirits have one purpose in this world—to consume and destroy and thereby become more powerful. Now have we covered everything? Can we move on? We need to make plans. Clients await.”

  “What kind of plans?” Evan rubbed the back of his neck. “Hell, what kind of clients, for that matter? What do you have in mind, Skag?”

  “Locators, Ltd., of course. You could be a vital contributor—your police contacts would be invaluable, to say nothing of your investigative experience.”

  “My investigative experience?” Evan grimaced. “I’m a well-known skeptic. I’ve unmasked phony psychics and mediums, along with other paranormal fraud, from one end of this country to the other. How exactly am I supposed to go to work with a medium and a daemon? Why would anyone take me seriously in either role if I did that?”

  Skag sighed. “I was thinking of you more as a silent partner, although perhaps we could expand the business into identifying unscrupulous confidence tricksters. No one has ever known the details of Locators, and I see no reason why they should start now. The only way in which people would discover you were working with a medium would be if you decided to tell them.”

  “Maybe Evan doesn’t want to be part of all this.” Rose’s chin inched up again, mutinously. “Maybe he’s happy with the life he has.”

  She gazed up at him, emerald eyes dark. He felt that familiar, inevitable stirring in the general vicinity of his heart. And, of course, lower.

  Skag snorted.

  Evan watched Rose’s eyes narrow once again. Skag might be a terrific spirit guide, but his people skills struck Evan as underdeveloped.

  “He should be given a choice,” she snapped. “I won’t let you bully him into anything.”

  “Bully him?” Skag raised an eyebrow. “How does one bully a wizard, I wonder? Particularly a wizard with Delwin’s powers.”

  Rose stared at him, her lips curving up. “Evan’s a wizard? Cool!”

  Skag rolled his eyes.

  She turned to Evan again. “It’s not a done deal. You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do.”

  He smiled down into her lovely face, feeling his pulse accelerate. “I know, Rosie.”

  Skag studied the ceiling. He seemed elaborately uninterested.

  “All right, here’s how it is.” Evan buttoned his jeans before he pushed himself to his feet in front of the couch. Something bumped against the back of his knee and he looked down to see Helen’s head bobbing at his side. Lenore rose gracefully from her perch on the end table to land on his shoulder.

  His spirit animals. Well, all right then!

  “If we’re going to work together, we have some basic rules.” He folded his arms across his chest in what he trusted was a commanding fashion. “If something is a threat, you tell us what we’re up against immediately and in detail, so that we can be ready. No more Mr. Mystery.”

  “Reasonable.” Skag nodded. “Sharing information should be easy enough. Agreed.”

  “And you give us fair warning when you’re on the way here.” Rose pulled the afghan more tightly across her lap. “You give us a choice as to when we’ll get back to you. We might be busy.”

  Her cheeks w
ere faintly pink. Evan had an overwhelming urge to lick the edge of her ear.

  “And how precisely do you propose that I do this?” Skag grumbled. “Use a distinctive ringtone?”

  She shrugged. “I don’t care how you do it. You’ve had a thousand years or so to practice. You can figure something out.”

  He sighed. “Very well. What else?”

  Evan rubbed the back of his neck, thinking. “We reserve the right to renegotiate at a later date.”

  Helen gave him a look that seemed vaguely approving.

  “Oh, for the love of . . . I had no idea you were going to be so much trouble, Delwin.” Skag shimmered for a moment then morphed into Obi-Wan again. “I feel a grave disturbance in the force.”

  Evan grinned. “We aren’t the droids you’re looking for, Skag. Talk to us tomorrow.”

  “But the clients!” Addison’s voice issued from Obi-Wan again.

  “The clients will still be there. Particularly if they’re dead.”

  “This is not the way to run a successful business.” Skag faded into the shadows of the fireplace.

  “Probably not,” Evan agreed. “However, it’s a good way to stay sane.”

  The room filled with silence, the shadows lengthening as the afternoon sun shone through the windows across the front porch. Helen went back to chewing on her sofa cushion. Lenore resumed her perch on the mantle.

  Rose cleared her throat. “So you’re sticking around, then?”

  “I thought I might.” He tried to keep his voice casual—tough when she was standing less than six inches away, letting the afghan slide slowly down her shoulders. “If that’s okay with you, of course.”

  She grinned up at him. “I think I can live with it.”

  He took a quick breath. “Can you live with me?”

  She nodded slowly. “Yes. I was planning on it. Can you live with me? And all my . . . dependents?” She waved a vague hand toward Helen and Lenore and the place where Skag had floated a few moments before. “I mean, they pretty much come with the house, or at least Skag does. And I’m not interested in moving, given that I need someplace that accommodates daemons and spirit animals, unless you want to take Helen and Lenore home with you.”

  “I’d rather stay here—as long as you’re part of the deal.” He fought to keep back the idiot grin he felt forming. “You are part of the deal, right?”

  She leaned against him, reaching up to nibble on his earlobe. “Oh, yes.”

  “Well, then, that’s it. I can live with that.” He slid his arms around her shoulders and pulled her close. “Do we have a deal, Rosie?”

  “Works for me,” Rose whispered, settling into his arms. “Definitely works for me.”

  Don’t miss Meg Benjamin’s next book,

  HAPPY MEDIUM,

  available from InterMix January 2014

  Meg Benjamin writes contemporary romance for InterMix and Samhain Publishing. Medium Rare is the second book in her Medium trilogy after Medium Well.