Page 54 of The Music Demon

The second the girls were gone Rosie summoned Kellareal by calling, “Lally. Lally.”

Kellareal appeared almost instantly, but instead of his usual white robes with gold braid cinch – sometimes with wings, sometimes not – he was in black leather head to toe.

Rosie took one look and pointed at his clothes, “What’s that about?”

He looked down like he’d forgotten what he was wearing. “The duds?”

“Yeeeees,” she said slowly, implying that he was already trying her patience.

“Black and white party. Everybody expects me to be in white. So…”

Rosie nodded absently, but fully understood what would motivate someone to do the opposite of what people would expect.

“What’s up?” he said. With a big smile, “Miss me?”

“We’ll discuss that some other time. Right now I want some straight answers.”

“Straight answers? Am I being overly sensitive or do you sound mad?”

“I don’t know how I sound, but I can assure you I’m irritated and it wouldn’t take much to send me into a full-blown snit.”

“I call bait and switch.”

“What?”

“Bait and switch. It means…”

“I know what it means.”

“It means you lured me here with your sweet voice then took off the Rosie mask. And you know what’s always under the Rosie mask? Medusa.”

“You are exaggerating. As usual.”

“Am not.”

“Of all the angels in the universe, how did I end up with you for a guardian?”

“Lucky?”

Rosie waved her hand in front of her face. “Sit down right there. I have questions.” Kellareal looked at the leather armchair and began shaking his head. “Why are you saying no? You don’t like that chair?”

“I’m not sitting.” He looked at Rosie defiantly. “I’m not sure I’m staying.”

“You are.”

“You’re not the boss of me.”

She cocked her head to the side, thinking. “Who is?”

He crossed his arms over his chest. “Classified.”

“That brings me to what I want to talk about. Sit or stand. I don’t care. But you’re going to tell me what all I can do.”

A flash of apprehension crossed his face before he shut it down, but not before she saw it. “What do you mean what you can do?” He’d chosen to feign innocence and she knew it.

“Want to play dumb? Okay. Let’s start with basics. One of the transformed hunters can detect lies. She can change her clothes with a thought, conjure high tea with a thought, grow wildflowers with a thought, and I don’t know what all else.”

Kellareal looked around, doing his best to appear nonchalant. “Uh-huh.”