I wasn’t entirely certain, either, but whether Bettina’s assailant was wielding a tire iron or a magic wand made a world of difference. At least it did here, in the Underworld.
“He wasn’t done, either,” Bettina said. “He—he was going to hit me again, in the head, but the game must have let out, because people started to fill the streets. He told me that my kind needed—needed to be erased.”
“Your kind? Did he—did he know you were—”
My saliva went sour and suddenly my skin felt too tight.
Demons walk among us every day. A vampire might be your neighbor; the corner store might be run by a werewolf or a troll. There is a thin veil that masks the demon differences from the human sight. That veil, combined with our human ability to unsee anything that might unsettle us, has allowed the demon race to prosper and blend into the natural world.
That veil doesn’t work on me; and if Bettina’s assailant was human, the veil didn’t work on him, either.
“He looked over his shoulder and ran, once the people started to come.” A single fat tear rolled down her cheek and plopped onto her cheery pink skirt.
“I’m so sorry, Bettina.” I patted her shoulder awkwardly and she fell into me, head buried in my shoulder, her small body shaking violently as she cried.
“I’m so scared,” she whimpered. “I’m so scared.”
I patted Bettina’s back and let her cry; then I cocked my head and squinted as her cries gave way to a series of half-muffled screams.
I thought I heard bodies dropping in the lobby.
“Don’t worry, Bettina. We’re going to find out who did this to you, I promise. We’ll keep you safe, too.”
My heart walloped and my mouth went dry. Even as I said the words, I wondered how I was supposed to keep a killer demon safe, and who would keep me safe.
I escorted Bettina through the UDA lobby and stepped into the elevator with her while she whimpered, gingerly touching a tissue to her moist eyes. As we neared the first floor, I bit my lip, working out the most diplomatic way to remind Bettina to keep her mouth shut. With someone walking around beating up demons, the last thing the city needed was the entire police department dropping dead.
The elevator lurched to a stop and the doors began to open on the police department.
“Bettina, you know you need to—”
But she already had her lips clamped shut; the edges turned up in a tiny, grateful smile. She pantomimed locking her lips and tossing away the key.
“Thanks.”
“So what was that all about?” Nina inclined her head toward the elevator doors when I came down again, popping a giant Hubba Bubba bubble in my face.
I don’t care how long I live—and live after that—I’ll never get comfortable with the weird look of vampire fangs working a piece of hot pink bubble gum.
I pinched the bridge of my nose, huffing the strawberry-scented air.
“Someone beat Bettina up.”
Nina snorted. “Not a great person to hit up. Is the idiot dead now? Did she need a Certificate of Acci-demal Death? I hate doing those things.” She flopped her wrist around. “So much flippin’ paperwork.”
“No.” I scanned the crowd of UDA clients lined up neatly between velvet ropes, some waiting silently, sitting on our straight-from-the-catalog office furniture, a few kids pushing around ancient toys on the IKEA kid’s table. If you took away the horns, plumes of smoke, and general stench of the undead, this could have been the waiting room for any other government office.
Why would someone attack a demon?
“She didn’t scream. He caught her by surprise.”
Nina shrugged. “Aren’t those a banshee’s best screams?”
“He told her he was going to eradicate her kind.”
Nina pinched her bottom lip. “What, like women?”
I shook my head. “No. Like demons.”
Nina’s bare shoulders quaked with a tiny shiver. “Who would want to kill demons?”
“That’s what I intend to find out.”
Nina crossed her arms; a single eyebrow raised. “Sleuthing?”
I rolled my eyes. “This is important.”
She leaned her ear toward her shoulder and cracked her neck. “You know every time you plan to get to the bottom of something, someone gets kidnapped. Or killed.”
I blinked; there was no reason to argue the truth.
“Why don’t you leave this one to Dixon?” she asked, falling into step with me as I walked toward my office.
“I mentioned the missed appointments to Dixon. He barely even batted an eye. He’s not going to care about Bettina.”
“So what are you going to do?” Nina wanted to know. “Become the Banshee Avenger?” Her lips parted slightly, forming an O of surprise. “If so, I have a great outfit for that.”
“I’m just going to look around. Maybe see if I can find any clues.”
Nina crossed her arms, jutted out one hip. “Knock yourself out, Nancy Drew.”
“You’re not going to help me?”
“I thought you had Alex on speed dial for that?”
My stomach quivered—something between sadness and nerves—at the mention of his name. “He’s not here.”
Nina’s eyes went wide and she sat down hard. “Heaven? Holy—”