“Have I survived so many murder attempts that you just don’t care anymore?” I asked.

“It is kind of getting old. But I much prefer live Maddy to dead Maddy,” he added hastily as Nathaniel glared at him. “So what’s up with the shifter? Is he still trying to get in?”

I shook my head. “No, I can’t feel him anymore. I think the attempt to get into the dream was a last-ditch effort.”

“The shifter has endless power at its disposal, and it obviously is out to get you,” Jude said. “So why would it leave?”

I shrugged. “Perhaps its master called it away.”

“We will have to design a better form of protection for your home,” Nathaniel said. “One that does not require so much effort and difficulty on your part.”

“Yes, and allows us to get in and out of the house when the creature is nearby,” Jude said. “It doesn’t sit well with me, cowering inside while it runs unfettered outside.”

“Where is Daharan?” I said. “It’s not like him to stay away so long.”

“There was no sign of him downstairs in the apartment,” Nathaniel said. “And I should emphasize no sign.”

“Meaning?”

“Meaning there is not one stick of furniture, article of clothing, or morsel of food downstairs. I do not know if Daharan simply conjures that which he needs when he needs it or if he leaves this dimension when he leaves your apartment, but there is nothing there.”

“And you think that’s suspicious,” I said.

“It is certainly odd.”

“What were you doing down there anyway?” I asked, feeling defensive about Daharan, as usual.

“I took care of the arrangements we discussed earlier while you slept.”

I gave him a blank look for a moment before I realized what he was talking about. Chloe. He’d burned Chloe’s body in the fireplace downstairs as I’d asked. Which reminded me . . .

“Shit, Jack Dabrowski is still downstairs in the storage area,” I said. “I totally forgot about him.”

“What should we do with him?” Nathaniel asked. “If you release him now, you will have the same problem as yesterday. He will run straight home to his computer and publish everything that occurred in this house.”

“All in the name of ‘warning’ the public,” I said. “I know. I wish there was somewhere we could stash him until the wedding was over.”

“Why until the wedding’s over?” Beezle said.

“I’m hoping by then to have solved the shifter problem and it won’t matter what he publishes.”

Since Samiel was at the table, I did not add that the burning of Chloe’s body would protect us from any murder charges that might come up if the authorities happened to read and believe Jack’s blog.

“Awfully confident, aren’t you?” Beezle said. “We haven’t found a way to track the shifter yet, and you think you’ll have the problem solved before tomorrow?”

“The wedding is on Saturday,” I said. “Today is Thursday. That gives me two days. I think. Unless I slept longer than I thought.”

“No, it’s still Thursday,” Beezle said. “But Lucifer lives in California, and you’ll be expected as an overnight guest. You don’t arrive for a wedding on the same morning as the festivities.”

“Why the hell not?” I said. “I don’t want to spend one second more than necessary in Lucifer’s house. And I certainly don’t want to sleep there.”

“This is one of those things you really don’t have a choice about,” Beezle said. “Lucifer expects you on Friday night, whether you want to be there or not.”

“What, you can read Lucifer’s mind now?” I asked.

“No, he sent me a message on Facebook,” Beezle said.

“I don’t even want to know what Lucifer is doing on Facebook,” I said.

“Reposting pictures, like everyone else,” he said. “Lucifer’s home has very strict private portal access, and he’s allowing you to transport directly there, along with the rest of the crew.”

“Gee, what a privilege,” I said. “So what am I supposed to do about Lock and Barrel? What am I supposed to do with Jack Dabrowski?”

Beezle shrugged. “The dogs can probably take care of themselves for a day or two, believe it or not. They are supernatural creatures that only act doglike because of you. As for Jack, let him go and deal with the consequences. Or keep him here and deal with the consequences.”

“Either way I don’t like the consequences,” I said.

“Which would you like least?” Beezle asked. “Jack telling a wild story about a monster that can kill people from afar, or Jack possibly finding out about Lucifer’s wedding and following you there?”

I shuddered at the thought of Dabrowski at Lucifer’s wedding. “Let him go, then.”

“Shall I simply throw him in the street?” Nathaniel asked, rising from the table.

“No, escort him nicely out the back door and encourage him to forget anything that happened here yesterday. Not that it will do any good. Anyway, he said he rode his bike here so he can probably get himself home without too much trouble.”

Nathaniel left the room to take care of the Jack problem. This was going to continue to be a problem until Jack figured out it was in his best interest to keep his mouth shut about me or until he was killed, whichever came first. In the meantime, he would probably be pretty irritated about being locked in my storage area all night long, and I wasn’t in the mood to deal with him.