at the end of his fingertips.
“Agents Tremble, Argyle and Smith, this is my father, Dr. Harcourt Emile Ganger.”
Tremble looked at her. “Your father was human.”
She rocked her hand. “He was. Sort of. It is a long story. I will go and make the tea.”
Benny escaped the library with a whoosh of relief.
Her mom was nearby. “You did well. Very professional. They had no idea?”
“They might have. Two out of three have tasted my blood.” She blinked, shook her head and made her way to the kitchen.
The water boiled in two minutes, and she carried the tray of steeping tea into the library. Her mom brought another tray of sandwiches.
The agents were still standing at a distance from her father. She set the tray down on the table and went to hug her dad. He held her carefully as he always did. “Do you need anything, Benny?”
“Just a hug. I was so busy before I didn’t hug you hello.”
“Missed you, too, Benny.”
When Benny turned, the agents had relaxed, and she gestured to the tray. “We found out why he did what he did. The ritual requires some explanation. Have a seat.”
Confronted by her family, they sat.
The agents were silent. All three stared at her father as if he was a spectre.
Benny rubbed her forehead. She looked at her dad and he nodded. “Gentlemen, do you want me to explain?”
Argyle nodded. “Please.”
Her dad picked up one of the tomes and kept flipping through the pages so they could stare at him without feeling awkward.
“Fine. My great grandmother was a succubus summoned to bear the heir of a wizard. That would be my grandfather. Once she had completed her contracted obligation to bear a human-looking heir, she returned to the demon zone. My grandfather grew up, married a werewolf and had a son. He became a professor of arcane studies, and at the turn of the last century, he met my mom.”
Her mother went over and wrapped her arms around her emerald mate. “It was love at first sight on my part, but his nose was so stuck in his books, I had to peel down to my corset and chemise before he would look my way.”
Her father laughed. “And at that point, I could not look away.”
Benny rolled her eyes and continued. “They got married and lived happily with my father and mother sharing their lives and their interest in magic. Mom aged slowly and her pregnancy with me took six years. She says it was worth it for the stares alone. Anyway, when I was ten, my mother got cancer. She was dying and she was doing it quickly.”
Benny watched her dad put his arm around his wife protectively. She cleared her throat to get rid of the emotional wobble and sighed. “He waited until the moment she died, and he healed her body then transferred his human soul into her before she could completely pass on. They now share the one soul, but it was all that was keeping my father’s parentage from being really obvious.”
Smith cocked his head. “So that makes you part demon?”
Benny wrinkled her nose. “Well, not that it matters, but given my parentage and ancestors, I am really only one part human. The rest is a much longer story, and we have a killer to catch.”
Her father slammed the tome shut and nodded. “Now that introductions and explanations have been made, let’s get to work. This is time sensitive.”
Chapter Nine
Tremble was staring at her with intense focus. “You are not human?”
She lifted the book with the initial explanation of the ritual and opened it to the ritual. “No. I look human, but that is a trick of my genes. If you look at my mom’s ears, you can see the point and a slight ridge from a siren ancestor; there are signs of troll and fey around her. I think there is even some shifter in there.”
Argyle wandered over and looked at the books. “I can’t read that.”
She pinched the bridge of her nose. “You can’t. There are reasons that few people are capable of being demonology experts. Demon blood is a requisite for being able to
“Agents Tremble, Argyle and Smith, this is my father, Dr. Harcourt Emile Ganger.”
Tremble looked at her. “Your father was human.”
She rocked her hand. “He was. Sort of. It is a long story. I will go and make the tea.”
Benny escaped the library with a whoosh of relief.
Her mom was nearby. “You did well. Very professional. They had no idea?”
“They might have. Two out of three have tasted my blood.” She blinked, shook her head and made her way to the kitchen.
The water boiled in two minutes, and she carried the tray of steeping tea into the library. Her mom brought another tray of sandwiches.
The agents were still standing at a distance from her father. She set the tray down on the table and went to hug her dad. He held her carefully as he always did. “Do you need anything, Benny?”
“Just a hug. I was so busy before I didn’t hug you hello.”
“Missed you, too, Benny.”
When Benny turned, the agents had relaxed, and she gestured to the tray. “We found out why he did what he did. The ritual requires some explanation. Have a seat.”
Confronted by her family, they sat.
The agents were silent. All three stared at her father as if he was a spectre.
Benny rubbed her forehead. She looked at her dad and he nodded. “Gentlemen, do you want me to explain?”
Argyle nodded. “Please.”
Her dad picked up one of the tomes and kept flipping through the pages so they could stare at him without feeling awkward.
“Fine. My great grandmother was a succubus summoned to bear the heir of a wizard. That would be my grandfather. Once she had completed her contracted obligation to bear a human-looking heir, she returned to the demon zone. My grandfather grew up, married a werewolf and had a son. He became a professor of arcane studies, and at the turn of the last century, he met my mom.”
Her mother went over and wrapped her arms around her emerald mate. “It was love at first sight on my part, but his nose was so stuck in his books, I had to peel down to my corset and chemise before he would look my way.”
Her father laughed. “And at that point, I could not look away.”
Benny rolled her eyes and continued. “They got married and lived happily with my father and mother sharing their lives and their interest in magic. Mom aged slowly and her pregnancy with me took six years. She says it was worth it for the stares alone. Anyway, when I was ten, my mother got cancer. She was dying and she was doing it quickly.”
Benny watched her dad put his arm around his wife protectively. She cleared her throat to get rid of the emotional wobble and sighed. “He waited until the moment she died, and he healed her body then transferred his human soul into her before she could completely pass on. They now share the one soul, but it was all that was keeping my father’s parentage from being really obvious.”
Smith cocked his head. “So that makes you part demon?”
Benny wrinkled her nose. “Well, not that it matters, but given my parentage and ancestors, I am really only one part human. The rest is a much longer story, and we have a killer to catch.”
Her father slammed the tome shut and nodded. “Now that introductions and explanations have been made, let’s get to work. This is time sensitive.”
Chapter Nine
Tremble was staring at her with intense focus. “You are not human?”
She lifted the book with the initial explanation of the ritual and opened it to the ritual. “No. I look human, but that is a trick of my genes. If you look at my mom’s ears, you can see the point and a slight ridge from a siren ancestor; there are signs of troll and fey around her. I think there is even some shifter in there.”
Argyle wandered over and looked at the books. “I can’t read that.”
She pinched the bridge of her nose. “You can’t. There are reasons that few people are capable of being demonology experts. Demon blood is a requisite for being able to
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