I hung up the phone and sat down on my bed. Good Lord. My weekend had taken an abrupt U-turn. Like it or not, I supposed it had been only a matter of time before a new succubus joined the ranks here. Seattle had grown significantly over the years, and I could only do so much. But a green succubus? One I had to train up? If I hadn't known such administrative decisions were out of the demon's hands, I would have accused Jerome of doing it on purpose. It was on par with his sense of humor. Why couldn't we have just gotten some antisocial pro who did her job without ever interacting with me?

  And Niphon…well, that was the coup de gras. I didn't like being reminded of my past, and I didn't like him. Something told me he had it in for me, though I couldn't entirely fathom why. He'd bought my soul and recruited my eternal services. What more was there? Wait and see, a warning voice whispered in my head. I shivered. Tawny couldn't make her first score a moment too soon.

  Suddenly, I didn't feel like passing out after all. I wanted to go out. Not for a victim or anything…just to, well, be out. Grab a drink. Do a little flirting. It might salvage the train wreck I'd just endured.

  I headed downtown to the Cellar, a favorite watering hole for local immortals. After Tawny's coming-out party tonight, I doubted anyone I knew would be there. A little alone time suited me just fine. Yet, as I entered the crowded bar and slipped through the drinking, laughing patrons, I felt a cool sensation tickle my immortal senses. It made me think of crystal and ozone.

  Scanning around, I finally found Carter sitting across the room at a round table. Seattle's most powerful angel—and the one who had burned down my Christmas tree—had sensed me too, and a slight smile curled his lips in greeting. Although he naturally hadn't been at Hell's all staff meeting, he did have a tendency to hang out with my little clique. It had weirded me out at first, but I'd since come to view him as a normal fixture in my life, albeit a strange and badly dressed one.

  More startling than seeing him out tonight, however, was his assortment of companions. Three angels and a human—none of whom I'd ever met before. All of them watched me, displaying curiosity and—for one of them—scorn at my presence. Whatever. He could scorn all he wanted. It would take more than an angel posse to get to me after everything I'd experienced today. Carter's company did strike me as odd; I'd never known him to work with others. A grudging curiosity rose up within me, wondering what could have brought them all together—with a human, no less.

  Noting my scrutiny, Carter winked and made a small gesture of invitation, much to the astonishment of two of the angels. I nodded back in acknowledgement, first stopping by the bar to get a vodka gimlet.

  When I walked over a minute later, I put on my best saucy succubus attitude and pulled up a chair beside Carter.

  "Well, well," I said. "I feel like it's Rush weekend or something. We're all entertaining guests, huh?"

  "So I hear," he said. He absentmindedly ran a hand through his chin-length blond hair. Unless I was mistaken, it had been washed for the first time in six months. These guests must be serious. "I also hear one of yours is of a more permanent nature."

  I pulled a face. "I don't really want to talk about that, if it's all the same to you."

  "Can we expect a cat fight soon?"

  "That joke is so one hour ago. You want to introduce me to the rest of the class?"

  This made one of the angels laugh. She had deeply tanned skin and black hair that shone like silk. A merry glitter danced in her eyes as she extended a hand to me.

  "Yasmine. And you're Georgina."

  I nodded back, unable to help a smile. The one she gave me in return filled me with warmth and joy. Maybe some angels weren't so bad after all. It was a good thing, too, because her companions seemed less thrilled to make my acquaintance.

  "I'm Whitney," said another slowly, a pretty black woman whose hair consisted of myriad tiny braids. She dressed with a fashion sense that met my standards and wore cat-eye glasses that made her look both cute and wise. Her handshake took a moment in coming, but it did come.

  I glanced at the last angel expectantly. He had dark brown hair and blue eyes, paired with a long and narrow face. His expression conveyed clear disapproval and a haughty coldness. Now that was behavior I associated with angels. For a moment, I didn't think he'd speak at all. Then, with great stiffness, he said, "I'm Joel." No handshake followed.

  I turned to the human. He grinned back with as much enthusiasm as Yasmine and flipped his longish dark hair out of his eyes. "Vincent Damiani. Nice to meet you."

  "You too." I cut Carter a sly look. "And all this time, I didn't think you had any friends."

  "You're jumping to conclusions, Daughter of Lilith." He sipped from what looked like whiskey straight up. "They're here on business."

  "Ooh. Top secret angel business, huh? What're you going to do? Dance on a pinhead? Lobby for National Cute Puppy Day?"

  Joel's cold look dropped another ten degrees. "As if we would discuss our affairs with a dark seductress of evil."

  Yasmine elbowed him with an eye roll. "She's joking."

  "That's what she wants you to think," he warned ominously. "I for one am not going to let my guard down while she attempts to use her wily and sinister powers of seduction on us."

  Fixing him with a slow, languid smile, I leaned back in the chair, crossing my legs so the skirt rode up my thighs. "Baby, if I were using my wily and sinister powers of seduction, you'd be the first to know."

  A dark flush stained his cheeks. He fixed his gaze on Carter. "I don't know what game you think you're playing, but you need to get rid of her."

  Carter stayed unfazed. "She's harmless—unless you're a drug-pushing god or a nephilim. Or an introverted writer."

  Yasmine flinched, her cheerful countenance becoming sober. "Don't joke about nephilim."

  "In fact," Carter obliviously continued, "she might fix that little logistical problem. Georgina, I don't suppose you'd mind playing hostess, would you? Vincent needs a place to stay while he's in town."

  I arched an eyebrow in surprise. Misinterpreting my silence, Vincent hastily added, "It's okay if you don't want to. I mean, you don't even know me. I can see how that'd be weird."

  "I don't know," I told him, even more curious as to what was transpiring with this odd group. "If angels vouch for you…well, you can't really get a better recommendation than that. If you don't mind sleeping on the couch, it's fine by me."

  "You're a pearl among succubi," Carter declared.

  Joel nearly choked on his drink. Considering his stick-up-the-ass attitude, I doubted he had anything alcoholic. Probably Kool-Aid or Pepsi. Diet Pepsi, at that.

  "Are you out of your mind?" he exclaimed. "She's a succubus. You can't subject him to that. Think about his soul."

  "She's not really into nice guys," Carter said. "Usually. You won't have a problem."

  Yasmine offered Vincent a playful look. "He's not that nice anyway."

  "Carter—" began Joel.

  "I told you, she's fine. Let it go. You have my word. Besides, she won't ask any questions, and it'll give him an accessible place to stay while you guys search."

  I jumped on the word "search." Now we were getting somewhere. "What are you guys looking for?"

  Dead silence met me. Whitney crossed her arms. Vincent sipped his drink.

  "Okay, I get it." I finished the gimlet with a gulp. "Need to know basis. Mum's the word. Hush-hush and all that."

  Yasmine's easy grin returned. "I love her, Carter. No wonder you keep her around."

  She then started talking about another succubus she'd met in Boston, smoothly changing subjects as deftly as Carter could. Guessing what I was thinking, Carter caught my eye and grinned. I rolled my own eyes in exasperation.

  Nonetheless, as the evening progressed, I found myself liking Yasmine immensely. She, Vincent, and Carter carried most of the conversation, and while angels weren't nearly as fun as the rest of my friends, I found this group entertaining in their own way. They also swore and drank a lot less, but well, nobody's perfect.

  When the bar closed, I took Vincent with me, but not before Joel issued warnings about the sanctity of the human soul. Vincent listened to it with a patient face, nodding along at the key parts.

  "Is he always like that?" I asked on the drive home.

  Vincent laughed. "He can't help it. He means well. He's just worried about me."

  "Are you worried?"

  "Nah. You're pretty cute, but no, I'm not worried. I'm already in love with someone."

  I started to joke that that was no protection against anything, that I'd seduced plenty of guys who thought they were in love. Something in his voice stopped my quip. The way he spoke implied that being in love was indeed protection from me and all the other evils of the world. He spoke like one who was invincible. I suddenly felt sad.

  "Good for you," I said softly.

  He cut me a sidelong look. "You're okay for a succubus."

  "Okay enough to tell me what you and the Super Friends are doing in town?"

  A smile flashed back over his face. "No."

  At home, I set him up on the couch, producing piles of blankets to keep him warm. I kept my apartment at a steamy temperature most of the time, but it was December, and the part of me that still remembered huddling around meager fires in days gone by felt one could never have enough blankets.

  I soon went to bed, buried under my own stash of covers. This time, I didn't dream.

  CHAPTER 3

  After a good night's sleep, I went to work the next morning, feeling a bit more optimistic about life. I decided Tawny had probably already scored last night, and Niphon was on his way to the airport. Plus, I'd get to see Seth soon since he had made my place of employment, Emerald City Books & Café, his writing headquarters. Yes, it wouldn't be such a bad day.

  Due to my ex-manager's complicated pregnancy, I'd recently inherited her position. This had left my old assistant-manager position vacant, and we'd ended up hiring Maddie Sato who just happened to be the sister of Doug Sato—the other assistant manager. It had been a stunning display of favoritism, and Doug had thrown a fit, complaining how we'd just lowered his coolness rating by ten points. As it was, Maddie already lived with him. She'd come to visit after his recent hospitalization and never really left. She had a second job as a freelance writer at a feminist magazine, and working at Emerald City gave her a more stable source of income.

  I liked Maddie. She was smart and capable and had a twisted sense of humor that spoke to mine. She worked well with customers and was always very polite in a professional capacity. For example, she could get caught up talking with Seth about ‘writerly' topics and function beautifully. But, when it came to friendlier and more interpersonal stuff, her social skills were a bit lacking. After a particularly analytical writing discussion, Seth had once made an off-hand comment about her childhood, and she'd frozen up. Seeing him with someone even more socially awkward than he was had been amusing, but mostly I'd felt disappointed at her relapse. I'd made good progress in getting her to come out of her shell and knew how fun she could be. I wanted everyone else to see it too.

  Today I found her upstairs in the café, sitting at the table Seth had staked out with his laptop. It apparently wasn't a writerly day because Doug sat with them. He and Maddie appeared to be in some sort of heated argument. Seth sat between them, looking like he desperately wanted to be somewhere else. Catching my eye, he gave me a pleading look. I purposely slid a chair up beside him, forcing Doug to scoot his own chair over. No one knew Seth and I were dating, and the Sato siblings were so caught up in the discussion they didn't think anything of the chair placement.

  "What's going on?" I asked. "It had better involve the fate of the store to be detaining the entire management team." The holidays were nearly upon us, and business was insane lately.

  Maddie had the grace to look embarrassed, suddenly remembering her duties. She opened her mouth to speak, but Doug interrupted her.

  "My illustrious sister's an insensitive bitch."

  Maddie rolled her eyes. "He has some crazy ideas about Beth."

  I sighed. "Look, if this is about the time Beth wore leg warmers here—"

  "Don't remind me of that," grumbled Doug.

  "My illustrious brother has this crazy idea that Beth just broke up with someone," explained Maddie.

  Both looked at me as though they expected me to set this matter straight. Puzzled, I glanced back and forth between them.

  "Why's that crazy?"

  "Because she has a cold," said Maddie. "She said she has a cold. That's why she's sniffling."

  "She's pretending to have a cold," cried Doug. "What kind of sick and twisted world is this when an asshole like me is the one to notice heartache in the masses? For God's sake, her eyes are all red."

  "Cold," Maddie repeated firmly. She considered. "Or maybe allergies."

  "In December?"

  The two of them bickered on. Beside me, Seth fought—and failed—to keep a straight face. I studied the way his lips curved into a smile, liking their shape and recalling how they felt. I turned my attention back to the siblings, enjoying the show. Finally, after about five more minutes, I remembered I was an authority figure and not a slacker employee.

  "Why is this a big deal?" I asked.

  "Because she's wrong," Doug said. "I'm just trying to prove that."

  Maddie sighed. "You're like a twelve-year-old."

  "Am not." He jabbed her in the arm.

  "Okay, enough." I pointed to Doug. "You, register." I pointed to Maddie. "You, my office."

  "Ooh…you're in trouble," Doug told her.

  "I'm going to show her how to process orders," I growled.

  Maddie's eyes gleamed with anticipation, dimples appearing in her round cheeks. She ate up new tasks.

  "Female favoritism," said Doug. "You like her better than me, don't you? It's okay. You can tell me. I can take it."

  "Go. Both of you. I'll be down in a sec."

  I looked at Seth when they were gone. "This is why I don't have children," I told him. That wasn't true, of course. Not true at all. Children simply weren't in the cards for succubi.

  "Although…I think Doug's actually right," I mused. "As crazy as that is. I saw Beth on my way in."

  Seth smiled. "Maddie's a good writer and super smart, but she's kind of oblivious to other people."

  I gave him a wry look. "I thought that was true about all writers."

  "Some are worse than others."

  "Shocking. You rode in a car with her for, what, four hours? What'd you guys talk about?"

  "Writing."

  I sighed. "I wish she'd relax around people other than Doug and me. She's hilarious. She came up with the idea to Silly String Doug's car after he said Betty Friedan was PMSing when she wrote The Feminine Mystique."

  "I'm not sure I'd describe that as ‘hilarious' so much as ‘scary.' Besides, that was your idea," he reminded me. "You two are dangerous. Your whole soul-stealing act seems kind of softcore compared to the stuff you and Maddie concoct."

  I grinned. It was true. I hadn't really hung out with a lot of women in the last century or so and was discovering I'd been missing out. "You have no idea. Social awkwardness or not, she's the best thing that's happened to me in a while."

  "Oh?"

  "Well, present company excluded of course."

  "Sure. Whatever you say."

  "Hey." I almost grabbed his hand, then remembered we were in public. "There's no competition. You're a better cook. And a better kisser."

  "I didn't realize you'd tried her out."

  "Well, you know how much I like writers."

  My smile slipped a little as my mind switched subjects. I'd been thinking about my energy loss all morning, particularly since I'd probably be seeking my hit tonight or tomorrow. Jerome had blown the matter off, but like usual, I couldn't let it go. I decided then that I'd go visit my friend Erik Lancaster, Seattle's local mortal source of occult knowledge. He seemed to know more than my cronies half the time.

  I extended the invitation to Seth, and he agreed to come with me. I was glad. I had often thought it might do him some good to talk to another human who regularly dealt with the supernatural. This was as good of a time as any.

  Seth met me at my place after work, and we microwaved a quick dinner before heading out. As we walked down the stairs of my building, he teased me about Maddie again.

  "You guys were working in the office a while. Sure you weren't making out?"

  "Not too much," I assured him.

  He laughed and caught hold of my hand. I jerked him toward me. Our lips met in a kiss, and as the warmth of his body stirred mine, I had no doubts about what the best thing in my life was. After a few sweet moments, we followed the drill and separated, our reluctance making the disentanglement a bit awkward in execution.

  "Yeah," I told him. "She's definitely not as good a kisser as—"

  I cut myself off, grimacing as I felt Niphon coming toward us. His immortal aura felt slimy and musky. I stepped farther away from Seth and glared down the sidewalk at the approaching imp. Seeing me, he waved a hand in greeting.

  "Excuse me a moment," I muttered. I skipped down the steps and blocked Niphon from getting within earshot of Seth. "What do you want?"

  "Attitude, attitude, Letha," he tsked. "Succubi should be charming and cordial at all times." He peered beyond me. "Is that the human boyfriend? Can I meet him?"

  "You can go the fuck away. You're supposed to be keeping an eye on Tawny."

  "I have been," he said cheerfully. "That's why I came to see you. I followed her last night. She was quite confident in her abilities but had some difficulty arranging an assignation in the end. Poor thing. It seems she may take longer than suspected in getting established. Fortunately, I'll stay with her until the end."

  His mocking concern dug into me, just as he'd intended. "Is that all you came to tell me? Because I'm leaving now. I've got to be somewhere."

  "Of course, of course," he simpered. He gestured vaguely in Seth's direction. "I didn't mean to interrupt your heated moment, even if it looked like it was about to cool down." A sudden look of realization crossed his face. "You don't sleep with him, do you? You've got some sort of noble sense of duty about absorbing his life. That poor, poor man." Niphon laughed. "Oh, Letha. You are one of the most fascinating creatures I've ever come across."