Chapter 18 #2
I came inside to find friends already here, some with plates in hand, others clearly queuing up for Grandma’s cooking.
The air smelled delicious, and I was torn between greeting people and scarfing down a plate.
My eyes roved over everyone, taking them in.
Bailey seemed chipper as ever, her red hair caught up in the messiest bun and in danger of escaping the pencil trying to cage it.
She had on her typical oversized shirt and yoga pants, which were practically grafted into her personality at this point.
Kelly sat behind her, plate in hand, also in typical attire of a shirt with the sleeves cut off and bootcut jeans.
At six feet, Kelly was very tall for a woman.
She was also a bodybuilder, and you could see the muscle definition even when she stood still, like now.
This woman had caught me before I took a header off a mountain, so I knew her strength wasn’t for show.
The twins were already seated at the couch, stuffing their mouths with happy grins. Really, with their love of Chinese food, you’d think the other half of their DNA was Chinese instead of Russian.
“Friends!” I beamed at them all, once again throwing my hands wide. “You’ve come to play with me, I’m so happy!”
Kelly abandoned her plate to swoop in on me, hugging me hard enough to lift me off my feet entirely. “You bet your ass we did. You can’t have this much fun without us!”
See? This was why Kelly and I were friends.
“Gramps, Tiffy, I’m so happy you’re here too.” Kelly swooped in on them next.
Now, where was my wife? Ah, there she was, bringing something hot out of the kitchen. I made my way toward her, getting hugs in with people as I passed them.
“Lao po, you need help?”
“This was the last dish,” she said with a quick smile, a lock of blonde hair escaping her bun. “Your friends are so funny. Is it a hunter’s trait that you all have wacky senses of humor?”
“I guess? Coping mechanism.”
She nodded. “Makes perfect sense.”
“Listen, lao po, Gramps and Tiffy said they want to help make content. They like what we’re doing with the whole social media thing.”
Kris bounced in place, still holding the hot dish, her excitement immediate and obvious. “That would be amazing. I know those two are experts in different fields, and the more variety, the better.”
“Right? They’re excited, too. Oh, and we want to stream the battle with Annabelle.”
“I can see how streaming’s a great idea. Sure. Oh, uh…” Her brows drew down into a thoughtful frown. “I’m not sure if all the GoPros are charged enough. I’ll check when we get to the house.”
“Please and thank you. Gramps wants to walk us through a battle plan after dinner. River should arrive in the next hour or so, but we’re not sure if we’ll be able to wait for Reed and Morgan. Annabelle’s proving hard to even harry right now.”
“The demon is crafty, and the huodou are getting tired. It’s wise for everyone to know the plan. Waiting on those two to arrive would be playing with fire.”
“So let’s eat and then discuss.”
“You eat. I snagged a plate when I got here.”
“Oh. Well, yeah, hard to resist such good cooking.”
I got a plate full of yummies and chose to sit with the twins on the couch, nudging them over to make space. Three grown men on a couch made for tight quarters to be sure. Charlotte and Jo Jo sat in two chairs near us, quietly conversing.
When Charlotte got up to take her dish to the kitchen, I used the opportunity to talk shop for a minute. “Gramps is going to use at least one of Meemaw’s bags to temporarily contain Annabelle so we can shove the beastie back in its box.”
Jo Jo swallowed a mouthful of food before speaking. “I’ve got about six of these things. Want to spread the love to multiple people, just in case one of us goes down?”
“Brilliant. Tell that to Gramps.”
He saluted me with his fork.
“We’re going to stream the battle, too, so could you cue up someone at home so Meemaw can watch? You know she’ll want to.”
“This is the woman who complains WWE wrestling is too boring ’cause there’s not enough violence, so hell yeah she’s going to watch. Likely with 3D shades and popcorn. After we get the plan set up, I’ll call home. You know she’ll want to know the details.”
“Fair, I have the same question.”
Muchen popped out of a shadow near the potted plant beside the fireplace, putting every hunter in the room immediately on edge. Evan’s hand actually went for the dagger strapped to his thigh and the tension in the room flared, people ready to throw down.
Kris quickly moved to stand in front of the hellhound. “No worries, everyone! This is my friend, Muchen. How are things going with the Pack?”
Poor Muchen looked dog-tired. He flopped right there on the carpet, pitiful. “Human That Feeds Us, the chase grows tiresome. How much longer can we only harry and not engage?”
“We don’t know what will happen if you engage,” I told him bluntly. “You’re not equipped to take that demon down. We barely are. We’re almost ready.”
Kris translated for the rest of the room. “We’re running out of time. The huodou are getting too tired to keep up the chase.” She switched back to Mandarin. “Muchen, where is Annabelle now?”
“The demon heads south once more. It hit space of luscious gardens”—likely Garden Walk—“before we could turn it, but we were only able to lure it northeast. I fear the demon senses the ley lines and knows they will give it power enough to engage us.”
Well, shit. That ain’t good.
I turned to the rest of the room. “Eat quick. We need a battle plan, STAT.”