Demon Hunting in Dixie. Lexi George

I do not think—”

      “I know you don’t want people knowing your business, Brand, but Mama won’t tell anybody. Isn’t that right, Mama?”

      “Hmm.” Bitsy considered Brand. “So you’re working undercover trying to bust a bunch of cow pie drug dealers in the big city of Hannah. Glad to see my tax dollars at work. Tell me, Mr. Dalvahni, how does my daughter, the florist, fit into all of this?”

      Crap, busted. Time to try a diversionary tactic.

      “Mama, you look different. Have you changed salons?”

      “What? No, I—” Bitsy gave her hair a perfunctory pat. Her hand stilled. “What in the world?”

      Spinning on her heels, she trotted over to the gold and umber beveled mirror that hung by the door. She stiffened in horror.

      “Incoming. Duck,” Addy said.

      “What?”

      “Cover your ears, Brand.”

      “Merciful heavens, my hair,” Bitsy shrieked. “And look at my makeup! I look like somebody melted a clown. Car-lee saw me like this? Adara Jean Corwin, how could you?”

      The Mom-i-nator whirled about. Flames and lightning bolts and promises of retribution shot from her eyes.

      “Run,” Addy said. “Run like the wind.”

      She grabbed Brand by the hand and pulled him out the door.

      Chapter Nine

      The moment Adara slipped her hand in his the tightness in Brand’s chest eased. What was it about this one female that set his universe on end? She had him tied up in knots, crazy with lust and consumed with worry about her safety. Never again did he want to experience the sheer mind-numbing terror that coursed through him when he thought the djegrali stalked her and he was not there to protect her. He could have killed Ansgar for not telling him sooner. If something had happened to Adara, he would have killed him, the consequences be damned. He should not have let her out of his sight. He would not do so again, not until the djegrali was slain or banished from this realm. Adara was in danger, and she must be made to understand.

      “Adara, wait, I have something to tell you.”

      She tugged him down the hall. “Sure, sure, tell me anything you like, but let’s get out of here first.”

      “You are in danger.”

      “You’re telling me. Did you see the look on Mama’s face? One more second, and we’d have been nuked.”

      “Am I to glean from this untoward haste that you are afraid of your mother?”

      Adara stopped at the door, her hands on her hips. “Didn’t you see her? She was about to detonate. Five more seconds, and we’d have both been pillars of ash.”

      There it was again, that annoying feeling of lightness that rose in his chest when he was around her. His lips twitched. He clamped them together to keep from smiling. This excess of levity was becoming bothersome.

      “Your fear is illogical. Your mother is a mortal woman, and a diminutive one at that.”

      “Do you have a mother?”

      “No.”

      “Are you Southern?”

      “No.”

      “Then shut up. You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

      She pushed open the door and started outside. “Wait.” He put his hand on her shoulder. “I will go first.”

      She frowned but allowed him to step in front of her. “It’s broad open daylight and hot as a fox outside, and you’re worried about demons?”

      “The djegrali are unaffected by heat or cold, or time of day. They can strike you from a blizzard or the burning heart of the desert, at any hour.” A slight movement at the corner of the building caught his eye, a blur of motion that could have been the flutter of cloth or his imagination. He looked around. Nothing moved. His desire to protect the woman had him on edge. “You can come out, but stay close to me.”

      She brushed past him and hobbled down the sidewalk. “There you go again, trying to be the boss. Thing is, I don’t remember promoting you to that position. Seems like last time I looked, I was a free—”

      “Adara, you are limping. What happened to your shoe?”

      “—woman, and that means I don’t have to do what you—”

      He caught up to her in two strides and scooped her up in his arms.

      “Brand, put me down. People will talk.”

      “No.”

      “Brand, please, I’m too heavy. You’ll hurt yourself or have a stroke in this heat.”

      “Do not be ridiculous. You hardly weigh more than a child. In any event, it does not matter. I have carried injured brothers off the battlefield on more than one occasion. You are as a feather next to them. Besides, I am unaffected by the heat.”

      “You have a brother?”

      “A brother warrior, Adara. The Dalvahni do not know family as you do.”

      “Oh.” She sighed and rested her head against his shoulder. “Sometimes, that can be a good thing.”

      “Are you thinking about the mama again?”

      “No, I was thinking about the Farrises. Poor Shirley, her husband ran around on her all over town. Her oldest son, Dwight Junior, is almost as bad. Cats around on his wife something terrible. And then there’s Dinky. He always seems to be in one kind of trouble or another. His mama is always having to bail him out of jail.”

      “Ah, yes, Dinky Farris, the man whose garb so offended your mother. I am sorry for his deformity. Human males often define themselves in comparison to other men. It must be difficult to know you have been measured and found wanting. To be dubbed according to one’s inadequacy, and to have others remind you of your shortcomings each time they address you, must be unbearable.”

      Adara giggled. “He’s got a deformity, all right, but not the one you’re thinking.”

      “I do not understand.”

      “He’s called Dinky because his mister is so big.”

      “His mister?”

      “Brand, you’re the guy here. I can’t believe I have to spell it out for you.” She motioned with her hands. “He’s got a big hose, all right? A trunk like an elephant. He has to roll it up to put his pants on. People call him Dinky to be funny. His real name is Rod, which is just as bad when you think about it. Me, I’d have changed my name. But I guess after all these years, he’s gotten used to it.”

      Brand halted in the shade of one of the big live oaks that lined the sidewalk. A swinging sign on a black iron post proclaimed the avenue they strolled along to be Main Street. Adara’s shop was a block or so farther down, but Brand could hardly see for the red haze that obscured his vision. “I see.” He kept his tone even with an effort. “It is ironic, is it not, that he is called Dinky when he is, in fact, quite the opposite?”

      “Uh yep, you could say that.” Adara waved at a woman on the sidewalk. “Oh, hey, Miss Mamie, how you doing?”

      An elderly woman with white hair waved back. “Fine as frog hair, Addy. I like your new hairdo. You hurt your ankle?”

      “No, ma’am, I broke a heel, and this nice gentleman is giving me a lift to the shop.” To Brand, in an undertone, she said, “That’s Mamie Hall, the biggest gossip in three counties. By sundown, this will be all over town and she’ll have us canoodling right here on Main Street.”

      “Well, bye, Addy.” Eying Brand curiously, Miss Mamie moved