see you." Spyte nibbled at one of his black claws.
"Oh, he did. Showed me what I'd look like as a size six. Tried to tempt me with all kinds of, ahem, lures. Guess he really wants Team EV out of the way. Or it was just a slow night down at the old torture chamber." I couldn't look at Penny now. The memory of what had happened with Lucifer was too raw and even now the temptation was too shameful.
"Read her mind, Spyte. She's telling the truth. We're doomed." Caryon sank down to the grass. "It's the fiery furnace for us."
"No, no, no, that's so last century. Now he does this thing with electrodes and acid." Spyte shuddered. "Fire would be like a cool bath on a hot summer day."
"So now you know. Stop harassing me and my people." I glanced at Penny. "I've got places to go, people to see. Keep distracting me and I'll never get this done."
"Whatever." Caryon waved his hand and started muttering about power surges and microchips.
Penny was immediately free, jerking away from me when I tried to touch her shoulder.
"Let's go." I didn't look back as I followed Penny to the street, which was deserted this time of night. She ran toward my shop, cutting through alleys and side streets. I decided that my high heels weren't going to cut it and shifted, flying over her head, but keeping an eye on her. When she finally got to the shop, she was a little winded, but seemed okay. That is except for her attitude toward me. I ducked into an alley and shifted back, then approached the shop on foot.
"Penny, can we clear the air?" I waved at Erin through the window before we climbed into the back of the limo Ray had sent for us. Paparazzi shouted out questions about where we were going and asked for Penny's name as they snapped pictures. I ignored them while Penny just got flustered. When the car took off I could see we were being followed. No big deal. I'm sure they'd staked out Ray's house already.
"How?" Penny glanced at the partition between us and the driver. It was up and we could speak freely. "You spoke to Lucifer. You're doing the Devil's work. I really don't like where this is going."
"Neither do I, but I didn't have a choice." I sighed and leaned back. I needed to call Rafe and let him know we were okay, free and clear of the demons. In a minute. And were we free and clear? Good question.
"According to my grandpa, we always have a choice." Penny picked at her black jeans. "But I guess I'm undead proof that sometimes we don't." She looked up. "This Destiny character is a really bad man?"
"The worst. And he and his followers are the only ones I'm helping the demons with, I swear." I grabbed Penny's hand. "Now you swear something."
"What?" She looked alarmed and I realized I was gripping her too hard. I eased off.
"That you'll keep an open mind about Ian. Just because he's a scientist, don't jump on whatever he's offering. If he even offers you something." I let Penny go. This was so complicated. I couldn't dictate her life. She was basically an adult. And she needed to make her own decisions. But she was so new to this world. And Ian was so . . . not. He was a master manipulator.
"Can you just relax and let me meet the guy and talk to him without freaking out?" Penny finally relaxed. "Tell me more about him. You took his diet stuff. And it worked. Any idea how?"
"Not a clue. But it gave me nightmares. Can you imagine? During my death sleep." I checked the supplies in the mini-fridge in the space in front of us. Oh, yeah. High-quality synthetics in every blood type. I picked out two bottles of AB negative and handed one to Penny.
"Nightmares? When dawn hits, I'm dead. No dreams. Nothing." Penny twisted off the cap from her bottle, took a sip and sighed with pleasure. "Mmm. This is the good stuff."
"Only the best for Ian MacDonald. And, yes, that's exactly what happens. Dawn hits, we die. You heard me, we call it the death sleep. So when I suddenly got nightmares after four hundred years, I couldn't believe it." I savored the taste of that superfine synthetic for a moment. "They were horrible. Terrifying."
"Interesting side effect. What did Ian say about it?" Penny was