Casnoff. Still, nearly everyone there had treated Jenna like a freak and a killer. But the two demons across from us were looking at Jenna with nothing but compassion.
The music had changed, going from that thumping techno to something softer and slower. It was a welcome relief. “So you two really have no idea how you became demons?” I asked. Hey, if they were gonna pry into Jenna’s personal monster business, I could pry into theirs.
They didn’t seem offended, though. Daisy laid her head on Nick’s collarbone. “We really don’t.” Her face got distant as she said, “Not even dreams. It’s like everything before is just this big black hole.” She waved her fingers dreamily in front of her face, and I saw Nick’s fingers tighten on her shoulder.
“All we know is that someone did this to us,” he said, his voice tight.
Jenna shot me a look before saying, “How could you know that?”
“We can feel it,” Daisy said, closing her eyes. When she opened them, they nearly glowed with unshed tears. “It’s like we were…”
“Violated,” Nick finished, and Daisy nodded slowly.
“Yeah, exactly,” she said. “It’s like everything inside us is different. Our brains, our souls, our blood…”
I found myself nodding. After all, hadn’t Dad said demonhood was literally in our DNA? And I’d been born this way. How weird would it feel to just wake up a demon one day?
“It’s awful,” Daisy continued, her words coming out a little slurred. “All this magic just pounding inside your skull every single day.”
Her words sounded strangled, like she was trying hard not to cry. I had no idea what to say. I mean, I wasn’t exactly thrilled about being a demon either, but I certainly didn’t feel like that . If that’s what being demons was like for Nick and Daisy, no wonder they drank all the time.
I cleared my throat. “So do you guys actually use your powers?”
But before they had a chance to reply, a loud cracking sound echoed through the room.
“What was that?” Jenna asked, nearly dropping her glass of blood.
“Thunder?” I guessed, even though the sound had been more like the crack of a whip, or wood breaking.
The music cut off abruptly, just as a chorus of howls started up from somewhere on the dance floor.
“Don’t worry about it,” Nick said with a wave of his hand. “Probably just a shifter fight. Happens like every night.”
But then someone—or something—screamed, and suddenly the room was full of shrieks and guttural cries and pounding feet.
“Sounds like more than a shifter fight to me.” I stood up, trying to see the dance floor. It was hard to make out anything through the smoke. All I could see were hazy forms that seemed to be running toward the door. Then a purpled-winged faerie shot above the crowd, her wings beating furiously. There was a flash of silver as something curled around her ankle. She shrieked with pain and fell back into the throng.
Then I saw them. Moving in and out of the smoke, like they were made of it, were dozens of dark figures. One moved near enough for me to see the blue lights gleaming off the dagger he held in his hand.
My mouth went dry, and my heart plummeted to somewhere south of my toes.
“What is it?” Daisy asked, looking more curious than worried.
I could barely get the words out. “It’s The Eye.”
“W hat?” Jenna cried, leaping to her feet. Nick stood up too, but slowly, shaking his head. “That’s impossible.”
A bright flash of blue illuminated the room, like a bolt of lightning, as the witch I’d seen dancing with the werewolf earlier struggled with three of the dark figures. Nick’s eyes widened. “Oh my God.”
“The Eye can’t get in here,” Daisy said, shaking her head. “And they’ve never tried to raid Shelley’s before. Ever.”
Nick blinked like he still couldn’t believe what he was seeing. The dance floor was utter chaos now. There was so much magic flying around that my skin ached
The music had changed, going from that thumping techno to something softer and slower. It was a welcome relief. “So you two really have no idea how you became demons?” I asked. Hey, if they were gonna pry into Jenna’s personal monster business, I could pry into theirs.
They didn’t seem offended, though. Daisy laid her head on Nick’s collarbone. “We really don’t.” Her face got distant as she said, “Not even dreams. It’s like everything before is just this big black hole.” She waved her fingers dreamily in front of her face, and I saw Nick’s fingers tighten on her shoulder.
“All we know is that someone did this to us,” he said, his voice tight.
Jenna shot me a look before saying, “How could you know that?”
“We can feel it,” Daisy said, closing her eyes. When she opened them, they nearly glowed with unshed tears. “It’s like we were…”
“Violated,” Nick finished, and Daisy nodded slowly.
“Yeah, exactly,” she said. “It’s like everything inside us is different. Our brains, our souls, our blood…”
I found myself nodding. After all, hadn’t Dad said demonhood was literally in our DNA? And I’d been born this way. How weird would it feel to just wake up a demon one day?
“It’s awful,” Daisy continued, her words coming out a little slurred. “All this magic just pounding inside your skull every single day.”
Her words sounded strangled, like she was trying hard not to cry. I had no idea what to say. I mean, I wasn’t exactly thrilled about being a demon either, but I certainly didn’t feel like that . If that’s what being demons was like for Nick and Daisy, no wonder they drank all the time.
I cleared my throat. “So do you guys actually use your powers?”
But before they had a chance to reply, a loud cracking sound echoed through the room.
“What was that?” Jenna asked, nearly dropping her glass of blood.
“Thunder?” I guessed, even though the sound had been more like the crack of a whip, or wood breaking.
The music cut off abruptly, just as a chorus of howls started up from somewhere on the dance floor.
“Don’t worry about it,” Nick said with a wave of his hand. “Probably just a shifter fight. Happens like every night.”
But then someone—or something—screamed, and suddenly the room was full of shrieks and guttural cries and pounding feet.
“Sounds like more than a shifter fight to me.” I stood up, trying to see the dance floor. It was hard to make out anything through the smoke. All I could see were hazy forms that seemed to be running toward the door. Then a purpled-winged faerie shot above the crowd, her wings beating furiously. There was a flash of silver as something curled around her ankle. She shrieked with pain and fell back into the throng.
Then I saw them. Moving in and out of the smoke, like they were made of it, were dozens of dark figures. One moved near enough for me to see the blue lights gleaming off the dagger he held in his hand.
My mouth went dry, and my heart plummeted to somewhere south of my toes.
“What is it?” Daisy asked, looking more curious than worried.
I could barely get the words out. “It’s The Eye.”
“W hat?” Jenna cried, leaping to her feet. Nick stood up too, but slowly, shaking his head. “That’s impossible.”
A bright flash of blue illuminated the room, like a bolt of lightning, as the witch I’d seen dancing with the werewolf earlier struggled with three of the dark figures. Nick’s eyes widened. “Oh my God.”
“The Eye can’t get in here,” Daisy said, shaking her head. “And they’ve never tried to raid Shelley’s before. Ever.”
Nick blinked like he still couldn’t believe what he was seeing. The dance floor was utter chaos now. There was so much magic flying around that my skin ached
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