“Does it, though?” Doug seems genuinely puzzled by my leap. But it’s the only lead we have, the only connection. I know it isn’t a solid lead, but I want it to be. I need it to be. And it really does make sense that if some dude pays for one type of supernatural creature, odds are he’s paying for others, too. Or at least knows how to find them.
“Is there somewhere quiet we can go? I can’t focus in here.” My mother was very clear that we should stay away from Von Alston. But who knows how many demons or werewolves or other vulnerable creatures he’s holding? If I can’t go after Sean, why can’t I go after some rich creep? Are we really going to take more money from someone like that?
Then again, my mother was right. We don’t have many—or really any—allies these days. We’ve been in hiding for so long, everyone assumes we’re dead. Which we meant to happen. So is it worth potentially saving a demon or two to alienate one of our only remaining contacts? Am I only doing this on the off chance I can get information about succubus and incubus and cambion demons out of guilt for letting Leo die?
I glance over my shoulder, paranoid that the confusion demon will smell me from across the floor and come to eat.
Doug leads me out a back door and we end up in an alley between buildings. A few demons are smoking near us. Literally smoking, the smoke trailing up from their skin instead of from cigarettes.
I pace. I don’t know what the right choice is. Do I go against my mother—with whom I’m finally beginning to develop trust? In the past when she told me not to do things, she had her reasons. And I know she cares about demons. She’s the one who helped Doug in the first place.
Would I be endangering us if I went after Von Alston? All for the chance of finding a type of demon I know we can’t take into Sanctuary and who probably won’t give me answers about Leo even if they have them?
Artemis’s accusation punches me in the gut. This really is about me. This whole trip. I don’t care about helping any of the demons here. I just want closure, desperately, and I’m willing to paw through the absolute dregs of demon society to find it. Gods damn it all, Artemis left! She doesn’t get to show up for twenty minutes and be right about everything.
The door we came out opens and the drooping-skin demon, Clem, nearly stumbles into me. He has a kitten half pulled out of his pocket. It mews frantically. He leans against the wall, stroking the kitten and lifting it to his face.
A drawing in one of my research books flashes in my memory. Before I can stop myself, I snatch the kitten out of his hands and hold it against my chest. “No!”
He flinches, then stares guiltily at the ground. “Sorry. Sorry. Terrible habit. I keep trying to give it up, but the pressures of my life, I tell you. And the camera adds twenty pounds of skin folds.” He rubs his face. “Thanks. Yeah. No more kittens. Just fear from now on.” He looks up hopefully. “You aren’t scared of me, are you?”
I raise a single eyebrow. He sighs.
“Your Harmony vampire,” I ask, reminding myself that whatever else I am, I’m a Slayer. “Does she eat people?”
“Harm? Nah. I mean, she’s not as vegan as she pretends to be. But you can’t quote me on that. Still, she’s careful. Only kills in self-defense. She likes fame more than blood. And more than me.” His droopy face droops further, every line a frown.
At least I can cross that off my to-do list. I don’t have time to hunt a reality-show star. Besides, it’s not like I’m the only Slayer out there. Someone else can worry about D-list celebrity demons. We really should have a text chain or something to assign tasks.
Doug ignores Clem. “Any idea where this Von Alston lives? Maybe we could snoop. If he is the one they’re whispering about, he’s bad news and we should do something. And if he’s not, we haven’t hurt anything.”
“Are you talking about Ian Von Alston?” Clem asks.
I narrow my eyes. “Yeah. What do you know about him?”
“Oh, he’s dreadful. Kept trying to hire Harmony to do a private party. You know what that means with these rich humans. I didn’t even send her the offer. She has no idea how much I protect her from.”
“Do you have an address for him?”
He eyes the kitten in my hands. “What’ll you give me for it?”
“I’ll give you a heaping serving of not beating the crap out of you.” The edge I say it with surprises me. More Artemis than me. Or maybe … more Athena than Nina. I lean into it.
Doug coughs to cover up a laugh. “She’s a Slayer, mate. You should probably tell her.”
“A Slayer!” Instead of looking intimidated, Clem brightens. “Do you know Buffy? I haven’t seen her since Sunnydale was swallowed whole! It was a simpler time back then. Just a demon, trying to make it on a hellmouth. None of the cameras and the fame and the love of my life who can’t see me, you know?”
Doug and I share an awkward glance. We actually do know. We both nod encouragingly.
Clem continues. “Anyway, you should have said you were a Slayer. Slayers and I go way back. Here.” He pulls out one of his cards, scribbling an address on the back. “If you see Buffy, tell her Clem says hello, would you? And if you see that good-for-nothing peroxided nightmare of a vampire, tell him I haven’t forgotten he owes me ten Scottish Folds and three Siamese. Gets a soul and thinks all debts are crossed off. I’ll have those cats from him, diet be damned.” Muttering to himself, he heads back inside.
“That was really weird.” I stare at the door. The three smoking demons have gone back in as well. Only one demon is left out here with us, a human-looking woman in a black cloak leaning against a wall. “Right? It’s not just me. That was weird.”
“Demon conferences tend to be.” Doug holds out the card. “Let’s go see whether this collector has managed to nab any nasty incubuses or succubuses—succubi? Incubi? Succubussesses? No wonder they’re going extinct, what a nuisance. Hopefully it turns out Von Alston has something less nasty and easier to say. Or that he actually is a friend, he’s not the nameless threat hunting for demons, it’s all a misunderstanding, and he gives us a check for no reason.”
“One of those giant cardboard ones. With lots of zeroes. Maybe then we can finally fix up the tower section of the castle.”
“I call dibs if we do. Always wanted a room in a tower.”
“No way. I’m the Slayer. I get the tower room. Assuming it ever isn’t a total crumbling safety hazard that would get the whole building condemned if anyone actually knew the castle existed.” I pause, nuzzling the purring kitten. “Aw man. Now I really want a tower room. Let’s go see about that imaginary check. Or demons, I guess. Whichever.”
We turn to find our way blocked by the woman in the cloak. “Doug!” she says brightly. “Fancy meeting you here!” And then, knife in hand, she lunges.
I shove Doug out of the way so hard he slams into the wall and slumps to the ground, winded. The woman dodges me, blade winking wickedly in the sun. I’m still holding the kitten. It purrs, a soft warm ball against my chest. I duck a slash of the knife, spin left, and kick at the woman’s leg. She jumps, landing neatly and punching me hard in the side. I shift to protect the kitten, then toss it gently onto Doug’s chest.