Free Demon Bait (Keeley Thomson) by P.S. Power Page A

while
being the captain of the cheerleading team, involved in most of the school
special events, and mentoring not one, but two Baby Demons in the last
year. That was sort of impressive.
    Maybe she deserved the car after
all?
    They didn't speak until they were
on the road, at the second stop light. There was an Arby's down the way and
while that wasn't her favorite, it was good enough and they didn't blink much
when you ordered twenty sandwiches at a time. Before they pulled in, Darla made
a slightly sour face, which was fake, and let it shift into a grimace.
    "I guess I need to take care
of that then. It's too bad. I kind of liked him. In a hapless puppy dog sort of
way. I'll handle that tonight, I guess." She sounded pretty sad
about it, so Keeley shrugged.
    "Or, you know, ignore him?
He might come back later, but he isn't that big of a threat to you. You just
graduated, so going off to Europe for a while even fits in with what would be
expected. He's going on that road trip with Gary and Becky. If you aren't
around and I just move away, then it isn't too likely that he'll figure things
out, is it? Or... I suppose I could handle it for you. For a price." She
grinned, since there wasn't a lot that she needed from her sister for the time
being.
    Darla didn't say anything at all
for a long time, until they ordered, which she did without asking what Keeley
wanted. The design of the order was all about making it look like they were
shopping for a party. Because kids went to fast food places to do that, instead of grabbing a few bags of chips from a store? No one would question it however.
It took a while but was early enough that there wasn't a big line behind them
as they paid the bored looking boy in the window and took their food, checking
the bags first to make certain they had it all. They'd been shorted a sandwich,
but the kid just made a tight face and got that for them without bothering to
spit on it or anything. Being polite about it all helped. Darla being so hot
didn't hurt either. She paid for it, using her card.
    That could have been a problem,
since Keeley was an adult, but her sister didn't mention it until they were on
the road again.
    "KFC, and then Taco Bell?
You can eat some of those while I drive and pick up every other place? Leave a
few for me too however, they smell good."
    That meant, about an hour later,
that they were able to pull off into the groves and park. They weren't the only
people there, but the other car, which was also old, had steamy windows. It
should have had at least. They could actually see the couple inside pretty
clearly. A man and a woman that were both old enough not to be out necking like
kids. From the frantic way they were going at it, they were both probably
married to someone else and on a time schedule. Darla started eating, not
saying too much about anything, until they were into the last very well filled
bag of food.
    Keeley still needed more, but
she'd go shopping later. She had her mom's Costco card, which would make it
seem more natural for her to buy in bulk.
    "What do you want?" The
words came out quietly enough that Keeley nearly said what , as if she
didn't know. "I know that you aren't that thrilled with Quince,
personally. Taking him as a slave, well, if it isn't that dangerous for him, I
suppose it could be done. I could do it, but..." The truth was that Darla
wasn't even half as good at that kind of thing as she was. Not even close. She
could take the Durg, but if she did, it would be obvious, most likely.
    Keeley might be able to do it at
a distance, she realized. Durgs weren't hard targets that way, and she could
use him for practice. It was a thing to work on, after all. Even Tarsus had
agreed there.
    "Forty million. That and two
large favors, to be named by me later." That got Darla to narrow her eyes
at her sister, skeptically.
    Keeley understood that at least.
Darla always accused her of bargaining like a hippy, but that was starting out
asking for a lot. For