Sebastian

playing a few hands of cards while I waited for you. Won the last hand, scooped up my winnings, and said I had to be off to give Sebastians lady an escort. Bull demon at the table didn't even bellow about me leaving before he had a chance to win a few coins back.
    He just rumbled, 'om… e… let good'—whatever that means."
    Lynnea stared at him. "Teaser, I saw you just now. You went off to the bordello with a woman."
    "Didn't." He looked baffled and a little hurt. "Said I'd be here, and here I am."
    "But I saw you."
    He shook his head. "Must have been someone else."

    "There's someone else in the Den who looks just like you?"
    "Wasn't me. Although…" He rubbed the back of his neck. "Hastings said he saw me in the tavern a couple of days ago making time with the succubitch, which is a load of horse… stuff, since he knows I can't stand her." He turned and looked in the direction of the bordello. "But he also said no one has seen her since then." He looked back at Lynnea. "Come on. I'll take you to the room. Then I'm going to see what I can find out about this… twin… people have been seeing."
    "All right. Let me give Philo this order; then I can go."
    As she started to walk away, Teaser grabbed her arm. "How much did this other fellow look like me?"
    She hesitated, more because he seemed upset than because she wasn't sure of what she'd seen. "Well,"
    she hedged, "he was across the street, and he wasn't directly under one of the lights, so I could have been mistak—"
    "If he'd come over here, would you have gone with him?" Teaser demanded.
    A chill went through her as she stared into his blue eyes. "Yes," she whispered. "I would have gone with him, thinking he was you." And if the man she'd seen wasn't Teaser, what might have happened to her once she was away from Philo's? There were plenty of dark alleys where she might have been taken and
    … hurt.
    She knew two women had died in the Den before she'd arrived. Sebastian had told her about them. That was one of the reasons he didn't want her walking around alone.
    "I have to give this order to Philo," she said, holding on to something simple and ordinary. As soon as Teaser released her arm, she hurried to the kitchen. She must have looked as shaky as she felt, because both Brandon and Philo stopped working to stare at her.
    She ignored the stares, gave Philo the order, and told him she had to go now.
    "Teaser is here?" Philo asked.
    "Yes." But was she certain the man waiting for her was Teaser? She'd met the incubus only a few days ago and didn't know him that well.
    Maybe she should tell Teaser she was going to wait for Sebastian, even if it hurt his feelings. But what if a man approached her wearing Sebastian's face? Would she be able to tell the difference?
    Yes. Definitely, yes. She knew the feel of Sebastian, would be able to pick him out in a crowd of men all wearing his face. Because none of them would be able to imitate the feel of his heart.
    But there was still the question of Teaser. Go or stay? The hesitation must have shown in her face, because he cocked his head when she walked toward him.
    "If I promise not to leave wet towels on the bathroom floor anymore, will you let me escort you to the bordello?"
    Relief surged through her. No one but the real Teaser would think to say that to her. "I'll hold you to that promise." She linked her arm through his as they left Philo's courtyard. "So how much did you win off the bull demon?"
    He grinned and relaxed—and asked her about her first day working for Philo instead of answering.

    Yes, that felt like the real Teaser. Smiling, she told him about the bull demon and the Sebastian Special while they walked to the bordello.

    Sebastian planted his feet on either side of the demon cycle when it stopped halfway down the Den's main street. Since it floated on air, he didn't need to do that to keep the cycle upright. He just wanted to see if his legs still stretched to the ground.
    Why had he spent the past few hours riding around, looking for signs that the Eater of the World had found a way into one of the dark landscapes that bordered the Den? Why had he studied every bridge as if he could tell what he might find if he crossed over?
    Part of it was his promise to Lee to do what he could to protect the Den. The other part was that he needed something to do while Lynnea was working at Philo's. Hovering around the courtyard would have made her nervous—and might have given too much of an impression that he