Page 35 (2/2)

"Good, yeah" I waved a hand "Do what you can Make it hard for whoever it is to push shit through"

The little demon warbled and turned to its work I knew that I should watch and see what I could learn about warding from the creature, but I was in serious need of comfort at the moment, and there was a pint of chocolate ice crea my name

Chapter 31

I finished the ice cream and felt a little better--and fatter--then distracted ra was intact and still had plenty of potency Su the little de for h to replace what I’d used, plus extra

By the ti the first layer of protections on the portal and the house and had been dishting to stay awake I had the unerring feeling that the de its work, and I was also more than a bit dismayed to discover just how much work it had been My aunt had suet ere considered adequate protections in place That had been near the end of last year However, Zhergalet revealed that she had suo--shortly after my first encounter with Rhyzkahl--and had asked it to beef up the protections considerably

I sighed I didn’t have the energy to get upset about any of that right now

I looked around the library The current wards weren’t h they were a daher quality However, I’d learned that these were the arcane version of a base coat and were vitally necessary for creating strong protections, or so Zhergalet had stated Repeatedly Toain and it could start building decent protections

I’d also received a ra and difficult-to-follow lecture in security, which was a sharp scolding at times, one that made me think hard about the security--or co the equivalent of going shopping while leaving s on the front seat and my car unlocked Tessa had spoken of the need for security, but I’d never really taken it seriously After all, I lived way out in the middle of nowhere and I was a cop

In other words, after Zhergalet finishes Tessa’s house, I have to get the de a few seconds after I curled up on the couch At least it felt that way But somehohen I was able to blearily focus on the screen, it insisted that the time was one pm

"Kara Gillian here"

"You’re not at the station You’re not at your house You’re not resting You’re pushing yourself too hard--"

"Shut up, Ryan," I growled "You just woke me up, so piss off"

He chuckled "Well, since you’re not at your house, you must be at your aunt’s"

"You really are too s to tell ot word that it had been approved I’ uess so My captain doesn’t seehed "Ah, I see you’re in a pleasant mood today Can I buy you lunch? Or, in your case, I suppose it would be breakfast?"

"I changed my mind If you have to ask that, you’re definitely not too smart to be a fed"

"Smart-ass Meet me at the Lake o’ Butter in half an hour?"

"Pick me up My car’s a piece of total shit"

"Your own darowled so

I jumped into the shower and allowed the hot water to blast me for a blissful two minutes before I reluctantly shut it off I toweled dry quickly and was just pulling on clean clothes when I heard Ryan’s car in the driveway Running h my wet hair, I headed to the door and opened it to see Ryan standing at the edge of the driveith a slight frown creasing his forehead "Is so different?"

"Yeah Come on in while I find my shoes I had the wards redone At least partially"

He nodded, frown disappearing as he climbed the stairs "Had them done? You summoned?"

"Yep" I shut the door behind him and headed to the bedrooh It’s gonna take a few go-rounds to get it done right, but it’s still better than the crap I’d put up" I fished my shoes out from beneath the bed "So please tell me that this task force is not really a white-collar-crimes task force, because I like you, but that financial shit bores lad that the na, because that’s the point Yes, we do our share of‘not quite right’ I will adround in White Collar did help with the approval on our end Anyway, it’s not a full-tih, it’ll be easier to bring you on board for soht, I can deal with that Being on a task force sounded cool, but I didn’t want to be pulled out of Violent Crilad we could accoet your shoes on Zack’s holding a table for us"

Zack was in fact holding a table for us, but at nearly one-thirty in the afternoon it didn’t much matter, since he was the only person in the place "I hear that Ryan’s convinced you to corin as I sat

"Only occasionally," I corrected "I’m not sure that y’all could handle s are best left to the unknown So, anything new going on?"

"Actually, yes" I leaned forward and lowered h there wasn’t anyone else nearby "I suet the wards at s in the process about that portal"

The two agents leaned forward in unison "Spill," Ryan commanded

"Well, first off, it looks like the reyza that I suood and well that the portal was there He would have realized it the second he rimaced "And he took that info back and either used it or sold it, right?"

"Most likely" I sighed "I want to be pissed, but he didn’t betray me I mean, that’s how their honor works He did precisely what I asked hi to do nore it "Anyway, that’s just the beginning Apparently it’s some sort of connection between the spheres, but not one that large or higher-sentience creatures can get through However, other creatures can be ‘pushed’ through frole" style="display:block" data-ad-client="ca-pub-7451196230453695" data-ad-slot="9930101810" data-ad-format="auto" data-full-width-responsive="true"></ins>