Page 23 of Coven of Corpses

A thread of worry stitched through Demetrius’s chest. Cody never liked it when they got involved in the monster cases. Was he going to get angry or stubborn or take it out on Demetrius himself like he had in the past?

“Okay. And how do you feel about that?” Demetrius asked.

Cody took another big bite of his sandwich. He sat back, hands planted on the bench to either side of him. As he chewed, he looked at Demetrius, studying him it seemed.

“What?” Demetrius asked. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

“I’ve done a lot of thinking since Halloween.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. I didn’t treat you fairly back then about… you know, the whole situation.”

Demetrius felt a cautious flicker of anxiety high up in his chest. Where was Cody going with this? And did Demetrius want to follow? It all sounded good right now, but things might take a hard left at some point. He settled back against the booth. “Okay.”

Cody blew out a breath and shook his head. “I’m really bad at this. What I’m trying to say is, I’m sorry for the way I treated you. It’s not your fault all of this shit has happened to us. We’ve got extraordinarily bad luck when it comes to monsters and creatures of the night. Something, or someone, may be gearing up for a big attack on the town. We’re going to need to be ready.”

“Wow.” There was a lot to process in what Cody had said. These kinds of conversations had previously been so fraught with emotion and guilt, Demetrius’s body had preemptively started to react as if that were the case. Now, he felt as if he were watching their conversation from a few feet above the booth. It was disassociation, he knew, brought on by anxiety and stress over the topic at hand, as well as past monster-related trauma. He’d read up on these kinds of reactions online because they didn’t have insurance coverage for therapy visits, so he knew what was happening. He needed to get back into himself, to ground himself in the moment and acknowledge what Cody had said.

Picking up his tea, he took a drink and sucked an ice cube into his mouth. He pressed the cube against the roof of his mouth. The cold helped to bring him back into his body. Once he felt more settled, Demetrius chewed the ice cube to pieces and swallowed it.

“Sorry, I needed a minute there,” he said.

“You all right?” Cody was watching him closely, knowingly. The familiarity in his expression and the depth of knowledge they had about each other made him feel even better and more connected.

“Yeah. I’m good. I didn’t know where you were going with that, so I got a little anxious. Needed to head some things off.” He reached across the table. Cody gave him his hands and Demetrius squeezed gently. “Thank you for saying that. You’ve said it before, but this time felt different.”

“Yeah, it felt different for me, too.”

“You know how I feel about stuff like this. We’re the ones best equipped to handle these kinds of things. But we’ve also got a lot of people to help us out now—your brother Dave, Oliver, Clarabell, Lucia and Gayle, Tracey, Zenona, Jugs and Agatha, and Amelia and the entire condo complex out at Parson’s Pines.”

“God bless Isaac Wilkerson and his police band radio,” Cody said. He tipped his head toward the counter. “Don’t forget Margie, whose ex-husband had a big dick but didn’t know what to do with it.” He widened his eyes slightly and Demetrius snorted a laugh.

“Right, yes. And Margie. So, we’re not alone in this, not by a long shot. It’s okay to ask for help. We don’t have to do it all on our own.”

“Says the man who offered himself to an alpha werewolf.”

“Says the man who drove a snow plow through the DPW garage.”

“Point taken.”

“Thank you. Now, let’s enjoy our surprise free lunch and then do some digging.”

Demetrius released Cody’s hands, and they both returned to their meals.

After a couple of bites, Cody said, “What are we going to be digging into, exactly?”

Demetrius smiled as he speared a piece of chicken. “I say we start with that body that was found in the woods.”

CHAPTER SEVEN

Cody stepped over a small fallen tree, then turned to hold Demmy’s hand and help him across. He paused with his hands on Demmy’s hips and looked down into his eyes. “People have written a lot of poetry about the woods, but all I hear in my head when we’re out here is ‘Run like hell!’”

Demmy smiled and stepped in close, sliding his arms around him. He pressed the side of his head against Cody’s chest and sighed. “I love you.”

Cody closed his arms around him. Tipping his head down, he placed a kiss on the soft cotton beanie Demmy wore. It was orange and one of six in different colors he had stored in either truck and around the house. With his thinning hair, he complained about being cold often, so Cody had bought him a black beanie he’d found at a shop in Harriettville. Demmy had gone back and bought one in each available color. They were adorable, and Cody loved seeing him wear them.

“I love you, too.”