Demon Night

more hazel-like,” he drawled. “Her teeth ain’t so straight, and her bosom’s not inflated like one of your video girls. She wouldn’t ever wear a skirt that short. You forgot the scar on her throat, and her natural hair color is darkish brown.”
    Jake tore his wide-eyed gaze from Ethan’s wings, opened his mouth.
    Ethan shook his head, silently cursing Lilith and Castleford, Mark Brandt, the nephilim, Sammael, and the damn sun. Charlie would like to have enjoyed taking a few hits at Jake right then. “Before you say some fool thing that’ll have me setting those teeth crooked for you, I’m talking about the hair at her scalp.”
    A wry smile curved Jake’s pretty lips. The novice’s expressions were his own; there was no mistaking him for Charlie if someone knew her well. Mark Brandt didn’t, so Ethan figured that’d be all right. Sending Jake in wasn’t altogether a bad plan, just mostly one.
    “I think this is the first time I’ve seen you pissy, Drifter.”
    “I ain’t pissy,” Ethan bit out. “Just a mite disturbed.”
    Jake’s gaze rose to his wings again. “That looks like it hurts.”
    “Shucks, no.” Ethan turned away. His left wingtip dragged on the floor, and the arch still showed raw flesh; his right had been mangled pretty bad when he’d landed on it, and bent a couple of ways that it shouldn’t be bending. “This ain’t nothing but an itty bitty scratch. Hurting is what’ll happen to you if you decide to take a look-see around that body while you’re in this house.”
    “I wouldn’t.”
    Ethan looked at him.
    “…anywhere that you can hear me.” Jake’s grin showed fangs.
    “You ought to get rid of those, too,” Ethan said. “You ain’t a vampire tonight. You’ll play her a little scared—knowing about us, but not being one of us.”
    Jake’s fangs shortened into human teeth. “What if he knows she’s been turned?”
    “Even if he’s heard rumors, Brandt hasn’t seen her close up. Maybe it’ll unsettle him a bit, make him realize he doesn’t know as much as he thinks.” And if Brandt hadn’t heard—if he thought that Charlie was still human—then there wouldn’t be any fangs to frighten him. It wouldn’t do for the boy to bolt before he’d talked.
    Ethan carefully maneuvered through the door to the tech room. Hopefully Savi would have come up with something more on the Brandts or Legion; his instincts were still saying he was missing something big, and he sure didn’t like going in without finding what it was. With luck, they’d get it from young Brandt.
    “Should I let him mention the demons first?”
    “Yes.” Ethan glanced over at Jake, wished he hadn’t yet again. “Charlie ain’t the type to flutter her lashes like that. You plan on being in that form all day?”
    Jake’s eyes widened, all innocent-like. “It’s good practice for later.”
    Ethan couldn’t rightly argue with that, but he wasn’t going to stay around and watch. “Then you’d best practice being her . You go online, check if we’ve got anything from SI. I’ll be scoping out that restaurant, seeing where our best vantage point is. Most likely, you’ll have to listen for Charlie to give you answers to personal questions.”
    “You’re leaving with your wings like that?”
    “I reckon I’ll swim.”
    “I must look hot in this skirt.”
    Ethan shook his head and kept on walking. The worst part of this whole plan, he reckoned, was that Jake wore a shape Ethan just didn’t feel comfortable hitting.

    Mark had remembered that she liked sushi; he’d chosen a small, trendy restaurant in Madison Park.
    Sitting on the roof of the real estate office across the street, Charlie watched Jake contain his grimace as he looked over the menu, and tried to decide if the food or the prices had produced that expression—then decided she didn’t want to think about it too much. The sight of someone else filling out her skin held the same surreal disbelief as watching a home video. That’s how I move, how I sound?
    Jake looked up as Mark spoke to him, and coyly pushed his hair back behind his ear. Good Lord. Did she do that as much as Jake apparently thought she did?
    Judging by Ethan’s deep sigh, probably not. She glanced over at his face; his focus on the scene before them was intent, but she read impatience there, too. From the little Charlie could hear and the questions Ethan had relayed to her, Mark hadn’t moved beyond small talk, asking about her job and