Page 97 of Coven of Corpses

"Some night, huh?" Cody said softly.

Demmy smiled up at him. "Some week.”

"I'm glad it's over."

“Me, too."

Cody grinned and looked down at him. "Although, I have to admit, there were some… educational moments."

Demmy smiled. Cody could almost feel the heat of his blush like when he’d inhabited his body. "We are never discussing that with anyone."

"Agreed," Cody said, leaning down to kiss him softly. "But we're definitely discussing it with each other. Later."

After a last look around the clearing, they began the trek back to the vehicles. As they neared the road, they could see the revolving red light of a sheriff’s vehicle, like a beacon guiding them out of the woods. Lucia and Deputy Gayle Walsh were talking with the others who had remained behind. Everyone cheered when they saw their group step out of the trees.

“Another body back there,” Cody said. “You’re going to need more yellow tape.”

Lucia looked from Demmy back to him. “You two are swapped back?”

“We are,” Demmy said. “Thank God.”

Lucia pulled her handcuffs from her belt. With a hard smile, she approached Cody. “Good. As a material witness, Bower, I’ll need you to come with me to the station.”

“What?”

After a lot of protests from Cody, Demmy, and Cody’s parents, Lucia put away her handcuffs, albeit with great reluctance.

“All right,” she said, then pointed up into his face. “But don’t leave town.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

He gave Jugs a strong hug, then Margie, Clarabell, and, surprising both of them, even Tracey. The three women got into Jugs’s truck and he pulled away. Through the driver’s window, Cody could see the top of Enid Helen’s head in Jugs’s lap.

After Jugs had left, Cody herded the others toward the Cadillac. Everyone was shouting out questions Amelia and Demmy were trying to answer. He avoided looking at the damage to the trunk caused by the demon possessed tree, and opened the driver’s door. The keys dangled from the ignition, and Cody paused to savor the feel of the driver’s seat, running his hands over the steering wheel.

“Hey, girl,” he said quietly. “I missed you.”

The engine rumbled to life and he executed a three-point turn to head back toward Parson’s Pines. It felt strange being back inside himself, but good as well. He was tired—exhausted, really—but relieved that it was finally, thoroughly over. A strange sense of peace came over him, and he smiled as Demmy pressed his leg more firmly against Cody’s.

They’d made it through, again. The demon was bound, once more, by the descendants of those who had trapped it centuries before. And now Cody and Demmy were back inside themselves and all was right with the world.

“Oh, shit,” Demmy said. “Your brother and his family are going to be back at our place.”

Cody made a face and hung his head.

And then, family ruined it once again.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

The week following the ritual was packed. Demetrius was glad to be back in his own body, but he really wanted more time to think about what they’d lived through. The Bower family had left town on Sunday. Cody’s parents’ SUV had been drivable, and before they went, Greg had hugged them both tight, then handed Cody a check.

“A gift from your grandmother,” Greg had said with a sad smile. “Your brothers will all be getting something, but not this much. You did the most for her. She loved you.”

“Thanks, Dad,” Cody had said, his voice tight.

Demetrius had been amazed at the amount. It wasn’t going to allow them to retire, but it would definitely help, especially since Cody had been fired. That hadn’t surprised either of them. Cody said he was actually relieved.

It was Friday evening, and they’d been busy all week. After they’d finished cleaning up after dinner, Cody had kissed Demetrius, told him to be ready to go out in an hour, then left the house. Now, almost exactly an hour later, someone knocked on the front door. Demetrius peered through the peephole, saw Cody grinning back, and opened the door.