It took me a couple of tries to get over the tall fence, but I managed it without damaging much more than my ego. I limped through the back garden, a wonderland of citrus, olive, and fig trees that bordered immaculately groomed lawns, a small swimming pool, and long terraced stretches that led down to the shore. The night air was heavy with the scent of lemon and orange blossoms mingling with the tangy breeze that lifted from the sea a few hundred yards away. It was a tiny bit of paradise, and I paused for a moment, breathing deeply and wishing to the depths of my soul that I could turn my back on everything and live quietly in this beautiful garden.

‘‘Fish pond!’’ Cyrene squealed, disturbing my thoughts as she hurried off to commune in the ways of the naiads, something that overtook her whenever she was near bodies of freshwater. I sighed for a moment at the fact that I’d never be able to live in such a beautiful spot as this, but cut short the pity party when my watch made an almost imperceptible peep.

‘‘No time for dallying, May,’’ I told myself as I flicked on a penlight and examined the brick fence that divided the property from that of Dr. Kostich. Midway down the fence, a small wooden gate was set into an archway, clearly put there so the neighbors could visit with ease.

‘‘No wards. Hmm. Interesting.’’ Dr. Kostich may have been concerned enough about his neighbors to see to the warding of the house, but he obviously didn’t fear intrusion via the gate. There was a small padlock on this side, but it didn’t require much finessing at all to open it. I let the padlock drop to the ground as I shook my head at the door. ‘‘Just a few arcane protection spells . . . ineffectual at best.’’

‘‘Totally lame,’’ a male voice agreed behind me.

I shadowed immediately, spinning around to see who had managed to creep up on me unawares.

A large furry black dog gazed at me with its mouth slightly opened, its tail wagging gently in the balmy evening breeze.

I looked around quickly for the dog’s owner, but my eyes slowly returned to it as I realized the truth.

‘‘Yup, that’s right, you’re not seeing things. I’m a demon. Sixth class, if that helps. Whatcha doing?’’ The demon dog took a step closer to me, snuffled my legs, then tipped its head to the side. ‘‘Wow. Doppelganger. I’ve only seen one other of you guys. I didn’t realize there were two of you in Europe.’’

‘‘There are three of us, actually. One is in France, and one is in Rome,’’ I answered, my gaze trying to pierce the shadows cast by the trees. I didn’t see anyone else out there, but if there was a demon here . . . ‘‘Who are you, demon?’’