pay attention to other people, though, so maybe I’m in a good position.
I walk around the empty space of sidewalk and notice looks in my direction. When a cab stops I catch a glimpse of myself in the window. I look bad. Like I’ve been beaten up and rolling around in dirt, ripped clothes and all. I guess I have been. A sudden weight is added to my shoulders as a bow and arrow appears around me. Awesome. This isn’t helping. My look is already attracting attention, so let’s add weapons. How am I going to fight a demon without gaining more? I hate this.
“Do you know which way Bryant Park is?” a Non asks me, strolling up right beside me. I cock my eyebrow and look at him. He looks normal enough, but locals don’t ask for directions. They’d rather be lost. He could be a tourist, in which case he’s an idiot for asking someone dressed like me.
“I don’t, really,” I say. He frowns. That’s when I see that there’s a little bit of dirt on his face. Which probably isn’t dirt at all but demon dust. “What’s going on there today?”
If I can keep him talking, I can watch his eyes. Find out for sure if they flicker to the demonic colors. The Non starts spouting off something about a band, and the whole time he talks I don’t notice any change in his eyes. He’s not possessed.
“Sorry, I don’t know how to get there,” I say. The guy nods and wanders off to ask someone else.
I start to cross the street and a taxi driver nearly plows into me. I turn to yell at him, and I see it before the driver can recover. A flash of red in his eyes. He’s a demon.
I can’t attract attention. Think, Penelope. Make this work. I hop into the back of the death cab and everything smells like sulfur. There’s even dust on the headrest. This is totally the demon.
“Where you going?” the cabbie-demon asks. He has very gray hair, big teeth, and a mustard stain on his shirt. He looks like he’s had a few too many doughnuts. Not that I blame him; doughnuts are good.
“Columbus Circle,” I say, because it’s the first thing I think of. That’s right on the edge of Central Park. I remember that area from the one time I visited with my parents before they died. It was a circle with a big statue and the park was really gorgeous. It’s after 9:00 p.m. here, and I feel like the circle will be crazy busy. How will I find a place to kill a demon without anyone seeing me? I’m so glad that I don’t live in region one every day. This is stressful.
We’re there before I’m ready and it’s asking me for money. I reach into my purse to get it and exit the car. The cabbie-demon doesn’t leave, but he watches me. I know he wants me as much as I want him. If he’s desperate enough, I can hope that he will follow me.
I don’t look back for a few minutes because I don’t have to. I can still smell him. He totally wants this milkshake.
I rush ahead of the demon and get a stance around the corner past the statue, where there’s an open space of grass and not too many people. He’s so close to me. I extend my arrow and pull back on the bow. One more step. One more step . Something jumps me from behind and I lose my footing. The arrow flies as I face my attacker. Another demon—that Non from before. He was not a demon then. I’m sure of it. The boy knocks me to the ground and my arrows go flying in different directions. Have I mentioned that I hate this?
Nobody around us is paying us any attention. I roll onto my back, reach one of the arrows, and shoot it off at the boy from a crouch; it zings him in the arm and he screams his crackly-demon sound before he starts heaving in breaths. That’s probably not good.
The cabbie-demon has rejoined the party and now there are two of them and one of me without my salted arrows. I can see the arrows but I’ll have to do some maneuvering to get them.
I flip up to my feet and charge the demon boy. It’s stupid, but it’s the only thing I can think of doing. He’s not ready
I walk around the empty space of sidewalk and notice looks in my direction. When a cab stops I catch a glimpse of myself in the window. I look bad. Like I’ve been beaten up and rolling around in dirt, ripped clothes and all. I guess I have been. A sudden weight is added to my shoulders as a bow and arrow appears around me. Awesome. This isn’t helping. My look is already attracting attention, so let’s add weapons. How am I going to fight a demon without gaining more? I hate this.
“Do you know which way Bryant Park is?” a Non asks me, strolling up right beside me. I cock my eyebrow and look at him. He looks normal enough, but locals don’t ask for directions. They’d rather be lost. He could be a tourist, in which case he’s an idiot for asking someone dressed like me.
“I don’t, really,” I say. He frowns. That’s when I see that there’s a little bit of dirt on his face. Which probably isn’t dirt at all but demon dust. “What’s going on there today?”
If I can keep him talking, I can watch his eyes. Find out for sure if they flicker to the demonic colors. The Non starts spouting off something about a band, and the whole time he talks I don’t notice any change in his eyes. He’s not possessed.
“Sorry, I don’t know how to get there,” I say. The guy nods and wanders off to ask someone else.
I start to cross the street and a taxi driver nearly plows into me. I turn to yell at him, and I see it before the driver can recover. A flash of red in his eyes. He’s a demon.
I can’t attract attention. Think, Penelope. Make this work. I hop into the back of the death cab and everything smells like sulfur. There’s even dust on the headrest. This is totally the demon.
“Where you going?” the cabbie-demon asks. He has very gray hair, big teeth, and a mustard stain on his shirt. He looks like he’s had a few too many doughnuts. Not that I blame him; doughnuts are good.
“Columbus Circle,” I say, because it’s the first thing I think of. That’s right on the edge of Central Park. I remember that area from the one time I visited with my parents before they died. It was a circle with a big statue and the park was really gorgeous. It’s after 9:00 p.m. here, and I feel like the circle will be crazy busy. How will I find a place to kill a demon without anyone seeing me? I’m so glad that I don’t live in region one every day. This is stressful.
We’re there before I’m ready and it’s asking me for money. I reach into my purse to get it and exit the car. The cabbie-demon doesn’t leave, but he watches me. I know he wants me as much as I want him. If he’s desperate enough, I can hope that he will follow me.
I don’t look back for a few minutes because I don’t have to. I can still smell him. He totally wants this milkshake.
I rush ahead of the demon and get a stance around the corner past the statue, where there’s an open space of grass and not too many people. He’s so close to me. I extend my arrow and pull back on the bow. One more step. One more step . Something jumps me from behind and I lose my footing. The arrow flies as I face my attacker. Another demon—that Non from before. He was not a demon then. I’m sure of it. The boy knocks me to the ground and my arrows go flying in different directions. Have I mentioned that I hate this?
Nobody around us is paying us any attention. I roll onto my back, reach one of the arrows, and shoot it off at the boy from a crouch; it zings him in the arm and he screams his crackly-demon sound before he starts heaving in breaths. That’s probably not good.
The cabbie-demon has rejoined the party and now there are two of them and one of me without my salted arrows. I can see the arrows but I’ll have to do some maneuvering to get them.
I flip up to my feet and charge the demon boy. It’s stupid, but it’s the only thing I can think of doing. He’s not ready
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