"Well, I'm actually starting to agree." I took a deep breath and pushed forward. "I don't suppose it's occurred to either of you that Nanette could be the one behind this?"

Jerome's face grew even more incredulous. "Nanette? Georgie, this is out there, even for you."

"What, demons eyeing each other's territories? Come on, Jerome. That's not out there at all! It's what you and Cedric were-maybe still are-doing for each other. If something blows up, Nanette's in a far better position to benefit from it than Isabelle would. Nanette's running to both of you, claiming she's worried about the other when really, she's playing you both off each other."

Jerome rolled the brandy in his glass. "And let me guess: she's blond too, like this alleged golden-haired angel."

"Well…"

He sighed, took a last swig of the brandy, and set the glass down hard. "Not that I have any reason to explain our goings-on to you, but here it is. Nanette doesn't have the balls to try something like that. Oh, sure, some of your points are correct. This wouldn't be unreasonable demon behavior, particularly one feeling threatened. But not her. She might want to do something like this, but she won't. She's a lot of talk but not much on action."

I didn't usually get answers that detailed from Jerome and was a bit taken aback. "You're certain?"

"I am," he said firmly. A waiter delivered a new glass of brandy. "Leave her and Isabelle behind. Find some other reason for what this absurd group's doing. Barring that, disband them like you're supposed to. And barring that , do give me some credit that I can take care of my affairs without a succubus' help."

I left not long after that, leaving Jerome to drink alone. As I pushed the door open, I glanced back and studied him. His face was momentarily unguarded, troubled as he stared into the depths of his glass. He seemed very alone, literally and figuratively, despite his bold words. I felt a strange pang in my chest, a bit of sorrow over what was undoubtedly an eternity of torment made worse when complications like our current ones ensued. But then, maybe these bursts of demonic drama helped break up the monotony.

I considered errands after that but decided heading straight home sounded best. My phone rang just I stepped into my apartment. I kicked the door closed with my foot while my free hand dug through the depths of my purse. Doug's number showed on the caller ID.

"Is everything okay?" I asked as soon as I answered.

"You know what's sad here, Kincaid? You aren't asking if I'm okay. You saw my number, assumed there was some crisis at work, and want to know if the store's okay."

"Your point?"

"The store's fine. I wanted to know if you're in town. Maddie made it sound like you can cross time and space now and be everywhere all the time."

"I wish I could, but yeah, I'm at home. What's up?"

"You going to Casey's party?"

"Casey's what?" Even as I spoke the words, I remembered Casey pulling me aside in the store and asking if I'd attend her graduation party. "Ugh. That's today, isn't it?"

"Yup. You want me to pick you up?"

"Doug, I don't think I can go. In fact, I even told her I couldn't."

"Right. Tell me right now, immediately, what you have to do instead."

"Well, I, uh-"

"Too slow. You have nothing going on."

"I'm just not in a party mood."

"The beauty of that is that when people aren't in party moods, that's actually when they need a party the most."

"Doug-"

"Come on! How can you not acknowledge the achievements of some brainiac math major who's graduating early, for fuck's sake?"

"Latvian."

"What?"

"Math and Latvian. Dual majors."

"You're making my point for me. It would be sad and wrong if we didn't help her celebrate. She overcame a life of adversity, coming to this country in the hopes of making a better life for herself and her family."

"Doug, she's, like, fourth generation. Her dad's a neurosurgeon."

"Come on! Maddie's gotta stay and close, so I have no one to go with. That, and it's kind of creepy how I've been going to social events with my sister lately. I need you to make me look like a man again."

"Doug-"

"See you in five minutes, Kincaid."

I knew how Doug could be in these moods. He wasn't kidding about showing up in five minutes, and he was also right that I had nothing else to do. With so little time, I simply shape-shifted into a plain gray skirt and black blouse that seemed appropriate for a graduation party. While rustling around for a blank card that I could stick a check into, I dialed Dante to let him know I was in town and to see if he wanted to come with us. Like usual lately, I went to his voice mail. What was it with me and unreliable men? I'd had trouble getting a hold of Seth when we dated because he was always caught up writing. Now I had trouble getting a hold of Dante because…well, because he was unreliable. I left Casey's address with the message and hurried to get ready. I'd wanted to wear Dante's watch but couldn't find it before Doug showed up-honestly, it had been more like four minutes-so I ended up just running out the door without accessories.

Casey's family lived over in Clyde Hill, a beautiful lakeside suburb befitting a neurosurgeon's family. The party had been going on for about an hour when we arrived, and we found their expansive backyard filled with music, food, and people. Dusk was falling, and the soft glow of lanterns strung along trees and the fence line gave everything a sort of elfin mystique. We paused at the yard's entry, assessing our surroundings and looking for others we knew.

"This is kind of wholesome for me," Doug noted. "There are kids here."

"Of course there are. This is a graduation party, not one of your after-show keggers."

"Oh, hey," he said brightly. "There's a bartender. Looks like this'll be tolerably wholesome."

Casey found us getting drinks and threw her arms around both of us in a massive double hug. "Oh! You guys came! Thanks so much." She was aglow with excitement and energy and could barely stay still. She accepted my card with another hug, told us to let her know if we needed anything, and then dashed off when she saw her great aunt from Idaho arrive.

"Wow. All this kind of makes me wish I'd stayed in college," Doug mused. A few of our coworkers waved at us from the far side of the yard, and we began winding our way toward them.

"Yup. You could have had all this fun waiting for you after school."

He grimaced. "The problem is, I was having all this fun during school."

The other bookstore staff were happy to see us, and we all fell into comfortable conversation that varied from the party itself to shop talk from work. Casey's family had spared no expense, and waiters came around with various types of finger food. None of us had eaten dinner, so we practically devoured the trays and probably looked like savages in our corner.

I was contemplating a second drink when Beth suddenly said, "Oh, hey. Seth and Maddie are here."

I stiffened. One of the reasons I'd answered the door when Doug came to pick me up was that he'd said Maddie was closing. Knowing I'd get a reprieve from her and Seth had made this prospect bearable, but apparently, there'd been some sort of incorrect intel afoot.

I did an immediate 180, hoping I had misheard Beth. Nope. There they were: Seth and Maddie. Worse, Seth's little niece Kayla was with them. She was the youngest of his brother's girls, four years old with blue eyes and a mop of blond curls. I'd recently discovered that Kayla had the makings of a psychic and was able to sense the unseen world, much as Dante or my friend Erik could. She was a long way from having their skills or having any idea what they meant yet. For now, she was just a happy little girl-albeit a very quiet one-and seeing her with Seth and Maddie jerked painfully at my heartstrings.