Free Grave Attraction by Lori Sjoberg

little mud never hurt me before.”
    â€œOkay, but don’t say I didn’t warn you.” After checking for traff ic, she pocketed her keys and got out of the car. A sliver of paranoia crept up her spine, but she refused to give in to the fear. She paused for a moment to scan the area and saw nothing but pasturelands and passing vehicles. To be thorough, she also scented the air and was relieved when she found no signs of Jeremiah Brentwood or his accomplice.
    With Adam walking alongside her, she hiked across the muddy field to a small group of scrub pines. To the left was a cluster of long-leafed bushes with delicate white flowers.
    Adam scrunched his nose. “What’s that smell?”
    â€œThat’s the pawpaw.” Over the years, she’d tried to grow them in Cassie’s backyard, but the soil and sunlight wasn’t quite right. Ignoring the stench, she stepped closer to inspect the plants. “The animals have already eaten the fruit, so we’ll have to settle for the flowers.”
    That was a shame, but not a surprise. Pawpaw was popular with wildlife. The fruit, which resembled a small papaya, tasted like a combination of mango, custard, and banana. Cassie used the seeds and skin for her spells and potions, leaving the fruit to eat and enjoy.
    Mindful of wasps, Marlena picked a handful of the pungent blossoms and stuffed them into her bag. There weren’t a lot of flowers still left on the plant, so she’d take whatever she could harvest now and search for more plants in a day or two.
    Adam handed her a few flowers he’d picked from the opposite side of the bush. Judging by the greenish tinge to his face, the smell of the plants wasn’t agreeing with him. “So what does this demon horn look like?” He gestured toward the dense brush a few feet away. “If you want, I can start searching for that while you finish up with the pawpaw.”
    Marlena slanted a glance in his direction. At first she thought he was pulling her leg, but then she saw the sincerity on his face and realized he was dead serious. “It’s not a plant.”
    He shot her a puzzled look. “You don’t mean—”
    â€œOf course I do.” The way his jaw dropped nearly made her laugh. “You’ve never met a demon before?”
    â€œA couple times,” he replied, sounding defensive. “But reapers usually don’t run in the same circles.”
    This was true. As a rule, most non-humans steered clear of the agents of Death. Sensing one nearby meant someone was about to die, and most thought it was better to vacate the area to ensure it wasn’t your soul they’d come to collect.
    â€œSo how do you get the horn?” he asked.
    â€œI buy them from a guy I know.” Demon horns were similar to those of a rhinoceros—if cut or broken, they grew back in a year or two. When ground into a fine powder, the horn gave Cassie’s spells enough of a boost to overpower almost any dark magic. Some cash-strapped demons were willing to sell theirs, but demand far exceeded supply. “It’s expensive, but it beats the alternative.”
    â€œWhich is what?”
    â€œTracking down a demon and holding him still long enough to break off one of his horns.”
    Adam’s eyes got all big. “You’ve done that?”
    â€œOnce or twice, when I was in a bind.” Okay, three times, but who’s counting? Each time, the demon in question had tried to take her money without giving anything in return. And for that, she’d taught them a valuable lesson about the dangers of trying to cheat a shifter. It wasn’t easy, and it certainly wasn’t pretty, but sometimes you had to send a message.
    Leaning his shoulder against a scrub pine, Adam raked his gaze over the length of Marlena’s body. “No offense, but you don’t look strong enough to overpower a demon.”
    She got that a lot, which was fine by her.