all the horrible things he could have done to earn the swirl-
ing void around him.
An elbow dug into my lower back. The tiny speck of pain
was nothing compared to the exquisite anticipation. Just a few
more steps and his soul would be so close—right there. I knew
the first taste would spark the sweetest fire imaginable—a
high for which there was no equivalent. It wouldn’t last very
long, but the brief moments of pure ecstasy lingered as a po-
tent allure.
His lips wouldn’t even need to touch mine. Just an inch or
so, and I’d taste his soul—never take it all. Taking his soul
would kill him and that was evil, and I wasn’t—
This was evil.
I jerked back, breaking eye contact. Pain exploded in my
stomach, shooting through my limbs. Turning away from the
man was like denying my lungs of oxygen. My skin burned
and my throat felt raw as I forced one leg in front of the other.
It was a struggle to keep walking, to not think about the man
and to find the Poser again, but when I finally spotted her, I
let out the breath I was holding. Focusing on the demon at
least served as a distraction.
I followed her into a narrow alley between a dollar store
and a check-cashing place. All I needed to do was touch her,
which I should’ve done back in McDonald’s. I stopped half-
way, looked around and then cursed.
The alley was empty.
Black garbage bags lined mold-covered brick walls. Dump-
sters overf lowed with more trash and creatures scurried along
the gravel. I shuddered, eyeing the bags warily. Most likely
rats, but other things hid in shadows—things that were worse
than rats.
And a Hell of a lot creepier.
I walked farther in, scanning the darkening passage as I ab-
16 JENNIFER L. ARMENTROUT
the Seeker dangling several feet off the ground. “Now, that
wasn’t very nice,” he said in a low, ominous voice.
Spinning around, he tossed the Seeker like a beanbag. The
Seeker slammed into the opposite wall, hitting the ground on
his knees. The Upper Level demon raised his arm…and the
snake tattoo lifted off his skin, breaking apart into a million
black dots. They f loated into the air between him and the
Seeker, hung for a second, then dropped to the ground. The
dots oozed together, forming a thick black mass.
No—not a mass, but a huge freaking snake at least ten feet
long and as wide as I was. I sprang to my feet, ignoring the
wave of dizziness.
The thing spun toward me, rising halfway up. Its eyes
burned an unholy red.
A scream caught in my throat.
“Don’t be scared of Bambi,” the demon said. “She’s only
curious and maybe a little bit hungry.”
The thing was named Bambi?
Oh, my God, the thing stared at me like it wanted to eat me.
The…the giant snake didn’t try to make me his snack pack.
When it swung back toward the Seeker, I nearly fell over from
relief. But then it shot across the small space, rising until its
monstrous head hovered over the petrified lesser demon. The
snake opened its mouth, revealing two fangs the size of my
hand and, past them, a yawning black hole.
“Okay,” the demon murmured, smirking. “Maybe she’s a
lot hungry.”
I took that as my cue to book it out of the alley.
“Wait!” yelled the demon, and when I didn’t stop but ran
faster than I ever had before, his curse echoed in my head.
I crossed the avenues bordering Dupont Circle, passing the
shop I’d planned on joining Stacey and Sam at. Only when
22 JENNIFER L. ARMENTROUT