“And you want my advice?” She tipped her head to one side.

“I . . . yes, if you have advice.” Truth was I wasn’t sure that was why I’d come. Maybe I’d just needed a friend I could trust. Gran had loved Hattie like a sister.

“The Hollows Group . . . they are dangerous. Not to the world, mind you, but to their own. They tend to have short life spans.” Her eyes locked on mine. “Dangerous, Breena, and you need to think twice about getting tangled up with them. My advice would be to go, maybe to Charleston if you want to stay in the South, but don’t stay here. Something is happening to this town that makes it more of a war zone than ever before.”

I put a hand on my bag, thinking of what I’d seen and done so far, and how I felt about it. Gerry’s words came back to me. “I heard rumblings from someone else that something is going down.”

Her eyes darted away and then back to me. “Demons, girl. Someone is bringing demons to Savannah.”

The urge to vomit rolled right up through my belly to the back of my mouth. Gran and I had covered demons in a very simple manner. Do not call on them for help, do not bring them to this side of the veil, and do not make deals with them. They were the harbingers of all that was wrong with the world, infecting people with their hatred and generally piss-poor mojo.

I swallowed hard. “Why would anyone do that?”

She shook her head slowly, and touched the top of her hair, pushing it down a little. “Power. Demons can act as a battery for some spells.” She almost seemed to be talking to herself and she shook her head. “Not that you need to know that.” Hattie waved a hand at me. “You should leave. It’s not safe, and your gran would want me to tell you the same.”

I snorted. “Gran trained me for the shadow world, Hattie. You of all people know that.”

Her eyes softened with something akin to pity. “Twenty years ago, I’d have agreed with you.”

Those words were like a slap in the face, a bathtub full of ice water, or a smack from Missy’s stick. My reaction was sharp. I stood up. “I’ve been getting that garbage from a heck of a lot of people, Hattie. I’d expect better from you.”

I turned and headed out around the side of the house. No need to go through it and get that fish oil up my nose again.

“Breena, wait.” Hattie followed me. “I want you to be safe. There comes a point where you have to understand that you aren’t twenty anymore. That you can’t do it all.”

I knew in my heart she meant well.