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the news clip of me being dragged on my ass down the street by a demon. The local news had incorporated it into their front credits. Sort of like that guy on skis pinwheeling over the finish line in the agony of defeat.
    â€œNo,” I said, unable to look at him as I pulled the lid off my cup of coffee. Ah, coffee.
    â€œYes,” he insisted, weight on one foot. “You’ve got that escort service. In the Hollows?”
    I didn’t know if that was better or not, and I looked tiredly up at him. I’d done escort service before, not that kind of escort service, but real stuff, dangerous stuff. I had a boat blow up around me once. “Yeah, that’s me.”
    Minias looked up from shaking cinnamon on his coffee. Jenks snickered, and I bumped my knee on the underside of the table to make his espresso slop over. “Hey!” he shouted, rising up a few inches, then settled back down, still laughing.
    The front door jingled, and the kid shot off his glad-to-have-you-here spiel and left. Minias was the only one listening.
    My coffee was steaming, and I hunched over it while I watched the demon. His long fingers were interlaced about the white soup-bowl mug as if relishing its warmth, and though I couldn’t tell for sure because of the sunglasses, I think his eyes closed as he took the first sip. A look of bliss so deep it couldn’t have been faked slipped over him, easing his features and turning him into a vision of relaxed pleasure.
    â€œI’m listening,” I said, and a mask of nothing fell between us.
    My mother quietly ate her cheesecake, her eyes flicking uneasily between us. I had the distinct impression she thought I was being rude.
    â€œAnd I’m not happy,” I added, making her lips press tightly. “You told me Al was contained.” I lifted my coffee and blew across the top. “What are you going to do about him breaking his word and coming after me? What do you think will happen when this gets out?” I took a sip, forgetting for a moment where I was when it slipped down, easing my slight headache and relaxing my muscles. Jenks cleared his throat, bringing me back.
    â€œYou won’t have a chance of luring anyone into any agreements again,” I said as my focus cleared. “No more familiars. Won’t that be nice?” I finished with a simpering smile.
    His eyes on the delights of that fruit-baby picture, Minias sipped his drink with his elbows on the table and his mug propped up at mouth height. “This is much better this side of the lines,” he said softly.
    â€œYeah,” Jenks said. His espresso cup came up to his waist. “That burnt amber really sticks in your throat, doesn’t it?”
    A flicker of annoyance flashed across Minias, and a thread of tension entered his stance of relaxed idleness. I took a deep breath, smelling only coffee, cheesecake, and the characteristic redwood scent of a witch. I was sure my mom had slipped him a charm, and I wasn’t looking forward to finding the cost of such an expensive amulet tacked on to the losses from the store. But if it kept him from smelling like a demon and causing a panic, I couldn’t complain.
    â€œWell, what do you want?” I said, setting my cup down. “I don’t have all night.”
    My mom frowned, but Minias took it in stride, easing back in his stiffchair and setting his giant mug aside. “Al is being summoned out of confinement—”
    â€œWe figured that part out,” Jenks said snottily.
    â€œJenks…,” I murmured, and the pixy walked across the table with his makeshift sword to the cheesecake.
    â€œWe’ve never run into this before,” Minias said, hesitating as he took in Jenks’s “whatever” attitude. “Because of his extraordinary amount of contact with this side of the lines, Al has arranged for someone to summon him every sundown. They get what they want, then release him without the