“No. Rental car is dented up from falling debris but the team is okay. Omega had the street under surveillance since we first found out about it. Nobody’s been to the witness’s house. What, O?” Declan asked, touching his earpiece. “She got a call? Shit, another burner phone. Did you get any of it?” He pulled out his phone and pulled the Bluetooth out of his ear. The speakers on the phone came alive and Mack could hear two voices in what must have been a call.

“Hello dear. I’m afraid I need you to clean things up for me. Like we discussed?” a female said.

“Oh yes! Of course I will. I’m at the stove now.” The second was a woman as well, older-sounding, eager to please. Then a hissing sound filled the speaker.

“Let it go for a while, dear. You must be very, very thorough,” the first voice said.

“Oh, yes. You can trust me! I’ll be so thorough!”

The hissing continued for a bit. “Okay, dear. That should do it. You don’t want to pass out before you get it done, do you?”

“Oh no. I won’t let that happen.” A scratching sounded, a sound like sandpaper. It started again, then came a flaring sound and then a heavy whump that cut off like a switch.

“She… she told her to blow herself up and she freaking did?” Mack asked.

“Yeah. Demons are pretty persuasive. I think this one is probably really, really persuasive. She messed up that dentist long before she tore him apart,” Declan said. “Omega…”

“Already provided the sound clip to the rest of the team and to Detective Schulz. I also called the fire department and gas company emergency response lines.”

“Thanks,” Declan said, watching Mack. “You okay?”

“No, dude. That’s what you go up against?”

“Yeah, you know that.”

“I didn’t… I didn’t know they could make you kill yourself?” Mack protested.

“They can’t do that to just anyone. If you have a strong will, a strong sense of self and self-esteem, you can fight it. Lower demons can only influence the disaffected, the disenfranchised—in other words, the kind of person who ends up shooting up a school or workplace. This one is stronger. She’s also a tricky bitch. Listen, I gotta get to class.”

“You’re just heading off to class after she almost blew up the team?”

“Yes. That’s my job in all this. Omega, Chris, Stacia, Nika, and the rest can handle everything there. Me, I gotta keep doing the same old, same old.”

“So you can be bait.”

“Yes.”

“But if they’re all covering the murder scene and bomb scene, who’s watching your back?”

“I got coverage. Don’t worry, bud. We worked it out.”

“I know Omega watches over you like everywhere, but can his drones even scratch an incarnate demon?” Mack asked, really worried about his friend.