back your fangs, woman.â
She hmphed and crossed her arms over her chest. âFuddy-duddy. Donât worry, I wonât eat your little friend. Wouldnât want to risk your wrath.â She studied him for a moment. âYour eyes are flickering something fierce. Been a long time since Iâve seen them do that. And over a girl who dresses likeâ¦Iâm not even sure how to categorize her style. Grunge? Thrift store?â
He watched Ruby cross the street, or try to, between cars. âIâm not attracted to her.â Though she had an intriguing mouth, with her upper lip a bit wider than her lower lip, wide jaw line, and strong chin. The sass that came out of her mouth was more interesting than annoying, for the most part. She would learn to respect him. âYouâre going to see a lot of her. Sheâs a new Crescent.â
âNew, at her age?â
âLong story. I expect you to help her however you can. Sheâs got a hell of an adjustment period coming.â
Glesendaâs eyes widened. âYou mean she doesnât knowââ
âShe has no idea.â
Ruby glanced back, blinking when she saw him at the door watching her. She gave him a look that probably equaled the finger and got into her dark blue truck. He pushed the door open before Glesenda could grill him further. The flow of traffic forced Ruby to wait before pulling out of her spot.
She also had no idea that a demon sat in the passenger seat of her truck. Whoever had sent the orb was wasting no time in trying to take her out. His Dragon clawed at him, its protective instinct pushing to Catalyze.
You know better. Not in public.
He ran to his â57 T-bird as Ruby peeled away from the curb. The demon turned to him, its red eyes flaring, its lip curling with victory. A humanoid demon, it took the shape of a person, but with brown skin and ears that pointed up like horns.
Hell. The damned thing was gloating. Cyn despised the humanoids only second to harbingers. He pulled into traffic as the truck moved out of sight. He tried to pull around the cars between him and Ruby, but traffic gave him no break.
He took the chance on a small gap, passing one car at the cost of a blaring horn. The demon watched him, its hand on the back of the bench seat like it was Rubyâs date. It couldnât materialize, bound by the same rule as Crescents: never reveal your presence to Mundanes. It could, however, kill her right there, depending on how much evidence and chaos it was willing to cause. Demons werenât known to be subtle. Those rare cases of spontaneous combustion and one-car accidents? Usually demons.
âDamn it.â His Dragon strained now.
Cyn thought about pounding his horn to get her attention, but sheâd likely drive away faster. He passed another car, narrowly missing a collision with an oncoming garbage truck. Now he was one car behind hers.
The demon leaned close to Rubyâs neck, flicking its long pointed tongue toward her skin. She brushed at her neck, glancing over but obviously seeing nothing of the menace sitting right next to her. All the while it looked at him.
He thought she might go to her restoration yard. He knew where that was. Despite reluctantly agreeing to Moncriefâs plan, heâd checked on the girl from time to time to see if the spell had broken yet.
The demon waved its long fingers as Ruby cleared a traffic light. The light skipped from green to red, making the driver in front of him slam on his brakes. Cynâs bumper tapped the rear of the car, but he was already looking for a way around. Rubyâs truck turned right one block ahead. Short of running down people on the sidewalk, Cyn could do nothing but wait. He gripped the steering wheel so hard it began to crack.
He had to get to Ruby. The moment the demon had her alone, it would all be over.
Chapter 6
S ed, the demon, followed Ruby into a building that was identified as a library. She asked
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