Sebastian

movement barely a stride away from the planks and off to the side.
    Had the ground shifted a little, or was it just the air stirring the grass?
    He moved toward the bridge, setting each foot with care, unable to shake the feeling that something was waiting.
    Nothing stirred. Nothing moved.
    Clear your mini , he thought. Get back to Captain Dalton and the fellows. Cross over the bridge.
    Wizard City, Wizard City, Wizard City .
    He turned to face the bridge straight on. Lifted a foot to set it on the planks of wood. A few moments more and he'd be safe.
    It burst out of the ground, all legs and jaws. A familiar shape, if it had been the size of his thumbnail, now grown into a nightmare.
    He screamed as it grabbed him and bit into his leg. He went down hard, his legs already numb from the venom, but he held on to the knife. Before the nightmare could pull him into the tunnel beneath the trapdoor, he reared up and, using both hands and what strength was left in his arms, drove the knife into the spiders head.
    Its legs flailed and its jaws bit deeper as the creature died. Then it lay still.
    Panting, sweating, Faran turned his body as best he could. If he could stretch out his arm, he could reach the bridge. Had to reach the bridge. Had to get to the other side. Help was across… the…
    *
    Lynnea hummed a little tune while she cleaned off a table. She'd done pretty well for her first day of work. True, she'd forgotten part of one order, but she'd made up for it by calming down a bull demon bellowing for food.
    Grinning, she wondered if she'd get to be the first to tell Sebastian about the new addition to Philo's menu: the Sebastian Special. Who would have guessed a vegetable omelet could impress a demon?
    She took her tray of dirty dishes back to the kitchen, gave Brandon a cheerful smile, since he was the one stuck with the washing up, grabbed another tray, and headed back out to the courtyard to clear off another table.
    Despite the Eater of the World being loose in the landscapes and the very real possibility that terrible things could happen in the Den, she had never been happier. She had work she found interesting, she was with a good man who was also an incredible lover, and—noticing the blond man across the street, she smiled—she was making friends.
    The Den wasn't the place she would have picked if she could have chosen a landscape, but here she'd found all the things she'd yearned for, so it had turned out to be the right place for her after all.
    She picked up the full tray, then waited for Teaser to cross the street so she could tell him she needed a few more minutes to finish up before she could go back to the bordello. She'd promised Sebastian that she'd stay at Philo's until he or Teaser escorted her back to the room.
    Problem was, there wasn't anything to do when she got there. She wasn't used to having idle time, and it seemed wasteful to sit and do nothing. Well, she'd just have to think about what skills she had and how she could make use of them. If she could find the supplies she needed, she could knit some scarves. The Den's visitors would have no use for such simple things, but the residents might appreciate them when the weather turned cold. If it did turn cold. She'd ask Teaser as soon as he…
    She watched a woman walk up to Teaser, watched the body language that plainly indicated a flirtation—
    or something more—was going on between them.
    Watched him walk away with the woman without so much as a glance in her direction.
    So that was how well promises were kept in the Den.
    He's an incubus. This is what he does. I suppose it's silly to feel hurt that he chose to go off with a bed partner instead of keeping a promise to me… or Sebastian.
    "Isn't it time for you to be going?" Philo asked, glancing in her direction when she brought the tray into the kitchen. "I thought Teaser was coming for you."
    "Apparently not," she replied, just sharply enough to have him turn away from his pots and pans to look at her.
    She shrugged to indicate it was nothing. "Got more customers. I'll take the order." She was out of the kitchen before Philo could ask any questions.
    She'd just taken the order and was heading back to give it to Philo when Teaser walked into the courtyard, rubbing his hands and looking gleeful.
    "You ready to go?" he asked. "Or do I have time for a bowl of whatever Philo's serving?"
    "Finish your business so soon?" she replied tartly.
    "Just in time, I'd say. Was down at Hastings