I laughed as we headed for the stairs. “As long as the cheddar’s still in there.”

“Oh, it’s there,” he told me. “No guarantees on its condition though. It’ll be underneath the Real Cheese.”

I noted changes in the house as we walked through. A game system by the TV in the living room. About twice as many DVDs on the shelf as before. A new cushy-looking recliner. Uncluttered kitchen counters, and the sink completely devoid of dishes. Could this even be my kitchen? Okay. So, Zack and Ryan were kitchen elves. No way was I going to complain about that.

And the fridge. I stopped in my tracks. An enormous gleaming stainless steel French door fridge stood where my dinky, noisy white one used to be.

My shock must have been obvious. Ryan nudged me with his arm as he headed to the gorgeous monstrosity. “The old one gave out about a month ago, so Zack replaced it.” He pulled the right door open to display a colorful variety of fresh fruit and vegetables, containers with food, and a noticeable lack of mold—all a rare sight in my fridge.

I closed my mouth. “Ryan, I can’t possibly afford this.” Not only was I without a job, but my meager savings were, well, meager.

He pulled meatloaf and sandwich fixings from the fridge and set them on the counter. “No worries, really. We’re living in the house, so we took care of this.” He glanced back. “And anyway, you have a job.”

I stared at him stupidly.

“You’re a special consultant assigned to our task force.” He grinned, obviously enjoying my bewilderment. “I have no idea how Zack got that approved without you being here, but it’s official. Oh, and Zack also got you set up with a concealed carry permit so you can continue to pack heat.” He chuckled. “Again, no idea how he managed it, but I’ve stopped asking questions.”

“Hot damn!” I had a strong suspicion he’d accomplished all this by using his demonhood somehow. “And does the job come with a paycheck?”

“Absolutely,” Ryan said as he threw sandwiches together. “Gotta love government spending.”

I exhaled in deep relief. “Very cool. I was worried about how I’d pay for silly things like property taxes and utilities and food and stuff.”

“We’ve been keeping up the utilities,” he told me, “and we’ll pitch in for other stuff for as long as we’re here.” He set plates with sandwiches on the table. “If you’re back for a while, you’ll probably boot us out. And I wouldn’t blame you.” He grinned. “I’m easy to get along with, but Zack’s another matter.”

“Right, he’s so difficult and moody, unlike you.” I rolled my eyes as I sat at the table and pulled one of the plates to me. I was definitely getting used to the idea of housemates. Hell, after seeing that fridge, I’d be okay if the two suddenly decided they wanted to learn the bagpipes.

Suddenly starving, I tucked into my sandwich, then stopped chewing as I tried to figure out why there was a control panel with a little video screen on the wall. I finished the bite, stood and moved over to the panel.

“It’s the gate system,” Ryan volunteered with a hint of hesitancy. “New fence on the whole perimeter and a keyed gate.”

I peered at the screen that showed the end of my drive and the highway beyond, and forced my mind past the sheer magnitude and expense of fencing the full ten acres. I’d entertained a “fence fantasy” for ages, but hadn’t ever thought of it as a real possibility. I had good protective wards around the property, but so much more could now be done with the additional vertical surface, not to mention the benefits of the mundane physical barrier. “That is so cool!”

Ryan grinned, obviously relieved at my reaction. “Yeah. That was all Zack’s idea. Speaking of which,” he said as he pulled out his phone, “I’m calling him to let him know the good news. Anyone else you want me to call?”

“Jill,” I said. “I’ll call Tessa when I finish eating.”

“Will do.” After a brief conversation with Zack, he shook his head and hung up. “Did he say to give you a hug or anything? Hell no. He said to tell you he has a stash of chocolate in the utility room, upper shelf, right cabinet.”

I let out delighted laughter. “He knows me!”

After I finished the sandwich, I called my aunt to let her know I was okay and would see her soon. The conversation was unexpectedly a little teary on both sides. Damn, it felt good to be home.

Ryan hung up with Jill at about the same time I said goodbye to Tessa. “She’s coming over tomorrow as soon as she can get a break at work,” he told me, mouth curving in a smile. “Her exact words were, ‘Don’t you let that crazy woman disappear again before I get there!’”

I grinned. “That sounds like the Jill I know and love!” Jill was, hands down, my best friend. Ryan was a damn good friend as well, but that relationship had certain significant quirks, to say the least.

I picked up my plate from the table and put it in the sink. That was almost like doing dishes, right? “I’m going to head downstairs and get started on the prep to summon Eilahn,” I said to Ryan.

“I have to run some errands. Need anything while I’m out?”

“As long as we have coffee, I’m good until tomorrow.”

“Okay. I’m going to clean up here, then head out.”

I have a kitchen elf! Chuckling to myself, I headed down to get to work.

Down in the basement, I crouched beside the storage diagram, assessed it, frowned. It was nearly fully charged though I’d drained it when I last used it to summon Mzatal four months earlier. Had Tessa stopped by and done it? Not that I was going to complain. It meant I could summon Eilahn an hour from now rather than waiting the six it would take me to charge an empty storage diagram.

I spent the next ten minutes doing arcane hygiene to clear residual energies from the summoning area. It wasn’t absolutely necessary, but I’d learned from experience that the tedious task saved hassle later. During the actual summoning stray energy could cause unforeseen problems, the arcane equivalent of a rock hitting a fan blade or sand in a car engine.

Once I was satisfied the space was clear, I rummaged through my box of chalk and found what I needed, then moved to a spot on the concrete floor not far from the storage diagram. Kneeling, I sighed. In the demon realm, floating sigils traced in the air replaced the crude and boring scrawls of chalk. But until I mastered the full shikvihr, the speed and ease of floaters wasn’t possible for me on Earth.

“Use what you have, Kara,” I muttered to myself as I began to create the perimeter for a syraza summoning diagram. I continued to sketch on the concrete, delighted to find ways to incorporate new principles I’d learned from Mzatal. Chalk’s not so bad when you know what you’re doing, I decided.

I’d nearly completed the diagram when the basement door creaked opened. “Hey, gorgeous,” Zack called out. “Okay if I come down.”

I smiled, set the chalk on the floor, and stood. “Hey, sexy. You may enter my lair.”

Zack quick-timed down the stairs, his movement smooth and athletic. Trim, with short blond hair, perpetual tan, and a ready smile, he looked more like a surfer dude than an FBI agent, despite the suit and haircut. Grinning, he swept me into a hug, lifted me off my feet and spun me around.

I let out a piercing half laugh, half shriek. “Put me down, you weirdo,” I demanded as I hugged him fiercely.

After one more revolution, he set me on my feet. “Welcome home!”

I couldn’t have suppressed my grin if I’d wanted to. “Good to be home.”

“Ryan and I, we’ve sort of moved in. A little,” he offered with a sidelong glance.

“Right,” I said with a laugh. “Like Russia invaded Poland a little.”

“Yeah. Something like that.” His eyes sparkled with humor. “What do you have going on?” he asked.

“Eilahn told me she’d flay me alive if I left the property without her. You know how she is. I’m summoning her so that I’m not stuck here.”