For another minute or so he just held her, his slowing breath hot on her neck. Then he pulled away, kissed her hard on the mouth, and helped her sit back up.
"So.” He took another swig from the bottle. Megan recognized the action. That speech, made into the hidden shadows at her throat, was all she would get from him. Whatever fear or panic for her safety he'd experienced, whatever his feelings were towards her, she'd have to take the clues she'd just been given.
But then, reading clues to people's emotions in their behavior was her business.
"What do you plan to do with them?"
"Who? Oh. The personal demons.” She shook her head. “I have no idea, to be honest. I can't very well tell them not to do what they do. They'll die, and I promised to take care of them. But I can't just give them free rein, either."
"Business could boom. They reel them in, you cure them and send them on their way."
Megan took the bottle from his hand and tried not to laugh. “That's one way to look at it. But I'd rather see if we can't help society and not just line my pockets."
"The Gretneg of a Meegra has to do what's best for her family first."
She hadn't thought of that. “You mean ... I'm a Gretneg?"
He nodded. “Gretneg of Meegra Io Adflicta. They haven't officially been a Meegra for some time, but I'm sure you can build them back up."
Gretneg of a Meegra. A week ago, she was a lonely counselor with the ability to win every hand at cards if she wanted. Now she had friends. A lover. A ... family. Granted, her family consisted of small scaly creatures who lived on the unhappiness of humans, but it was better than being alone, wasn't it?
Yes. It was.
"What about you?” she asked. “What happens to your Meegra? Tera said—"
"Ignore Tera. You don't think I would have gone into all this without some contingency plans, do you? Half the Meegra was ready to kill Templeton themselves—he doesn't have any sons to take over anyway—and put me in his place already. I think Malleus, Maleficarum, and Spud can help me with the other half. They certainly proved their loyalty to you, breaking out of the dungeons to save you. Maybe we'll take them with us."
"Hmm? Where?"
He stood up and grabbed her hand, lifting her to her feet. His eyes met hers, searching her depths, his lips quirked in a dangerous half-smile.
His arm stole around her waist to press her to him. “I was thinking of someplace sunny. Italy? What do you think, bryaela? You want to go to Florence for a week or two with me?"
"Maybe. What does that mean? You wouldn't tell me before."
"Come with me and find out."
"What happens after we get back? Aren't our families in competition or something?"
He kissed her forehead. “Let's take it one step at a time, shall we?"
Megan nodded and followed him up the stairs. One step at a time, all the way to his bedroom.
* * * *
Megan leaned forward in the shadowy studio, smiling as Bill patched the first call of the night through. It was Regina, her caller from last week, the girl being tormented by demons.
Across the room, Rocturnus smiled at her from where he sat on the floor. He held up his hand. Regina was now off-limits. He'd called off her demons that morning, after Megan had finally woken up and gotten herself ready for work.
Bill pointed at her. Megan opened her mouth.
"Hi, Regina,” she said. “How can I slay your demons tonight?"
THE END
Megan's Meat Pies
2-3 lbs stew beef or sirloin, cut in chunks
12 oz dark beer (Guinness or Murphy's)
2-3 tbsp olive oil
2-3 tbsp flour
1 tbsp or so onion powder or? onion chopped salt & pepper to taste
2 tsp or so each of parsley, thyme (or whatever herbs you like)
1 tsp or so of rosemary or to taste
1/8 tsp or so nutmeg or to taste
2-3 tbsp Worcestershire
? beef bouillon cube or 1 tsp bouillon paste (like “Better Than Bouillon")
2 tsp or so gravy powder (optional)
1-2 pkgs frozen puff pastry (Check to see how much pastry is in a package. A block of pastry will usually give you enough for a top and bottom crust, whereas a roll-out sheet may only be enough for one.)
Heat olive oil in a large frying pan or saucepan with a lid. Cook chopped onions (if using) until they start to brown. (If you're not using onions, add the onion powder just before the beef or at the same time). Add beef, in batches if necessary, and brown. (Pan should be very hot, so the beef sears well). Sprinkle with herbs while cooking. Salt lightly, but do not pepper. (This tends to be a little salty, so go easy on the salt until you've tasted later). The beef will be hard at this point, like tough little nuggets.
When beef is all browned, add it all back to the pan and sprinkle with flour. Stir well. Add Worcestershire and bouillon, stir well. Add pepper and beer and stir well, scraping at the bottom of the pan, until it comes back to a low boil and the foam from the beer is mostly gone. Let it boil a couple of minutes, then cover and simmer 2? hours or so, until tender, stirring very occasionally and checking liquid level.
When done—the meat should be very tender—taste and adjust seasonings. Check the liquid amount. It shouldn't be soupy (if it is, dump some of the excess, but save it in case you need to add it back in.) Make a Beurre blanc with some of the cooking liquid and some flour, then stir that back in to thicken it (or just add a little flour at a time and stir it in well). Set aside to cool once it's reached the consistency you like. It should resemble a slightly thin gravy. (It will thicken a bit as it bakes, so don't worry if it still seems too liquidy.)
While the filling cools, roll out the pastry and shape it for the pan. Line a pie pan (Megan uses a 9-inch deep dish pie pan, but you can even make square pies) with pastry, bake at 400 degrees (or according to package directions) for 15-20 minutes or until puffy and starting to brown. Add filling, cover with second pastry sheet, crimp edges. Be sure to cut a vent in the “lid” so steam can escape.
Bake a further 30-40 minutes until top crust is puffy and brown. Serve with gravy and whatever side dishes you like. This reheats beautifully, too, in the microwave or the oven (350 degrees for 20 minutes or so, and cover the pastry with foil so it doesn't get too brown).
Acknowledgements
Writing a book is hard. Writing a list of people for whose support I'm thankful is ... well, okay, still hard, but not as bad. We have the usual suspects first: My husband Stephen and our two little girls, who have always been more understanding than I could hope for when I spend hours crouched over the computer ruining my vision. My parents and my brother Ray should, of course be thanked, for putting up with me my whole life. My best friends, Corinne Knell and Anna J. Evans, without whose comments and suggestions this book wouldn't be what it is now. My good friend George Beliard. My favorite girl Ariana Chang. All of my fellow Reluctant Adults: Mark Henry, Anton Strout, Jill Myles, and Ilona Andrews. The wonderful Caitlin Kittredge. Carol Nelson Douglas, and my editor Paula Guran. Briana St. James, Miss Snark and the Snarklings, and her secret boyfriend Evil Editor and the Evil Minions. All of my blog friends and readers, you know who you are, and I continue to be amazed that you actually care what I say or think about anything.
Special thanks go to Heather Massey, for her invaluable information about therapy, psychology, qualifications, practice, and licensing. Any errors are of course mine and not hers.
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Stacia Kane, Personal Demons
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