The Demon and the City

address that Ei had given her. She left the car at the side of the wharf.
    The houseboat floated some distance away, and she would have to negotiate a series of pontoons to reach it. Jhai slipped off her heels and stepped gingerly off the wharf. The first pontoon rocked gently beneath her slight weight. The last of the sunlight sparked from the lapping water. The far islands were blocks of twilight shadow. With high heels in hand, Jhai took a deep breath, and clambered across the row of pontoons.
    "Zhu Irzh?" she called when she reached the houseboat. There was no reply and she froze, thinking: the bastard has stood me up . Then a familiar voice came from below deck.
    "Hello?"
    "Zhu Irzh? It's Jhai."
    There was an unnervingly long pause. "Come down."
    When she reached the bottom of the steps she saw that the room was dark. After a moment's adjustment, she saw the demon sitting on the windowsill. She shut the door behind her.
    "Turn the light on," he said mildly. He involuntarily ducked his head as the light went on and Jhai saw a dark membrane slide across his eyes and back, like an animal's eyes. Like her own. She went to stand by the window. Beyond, the harbor lay like a field of shadow, sparked with the lights of ships.
    "Do you like sitting here?" she asked, and instantly regretted it. What a fatuous thing to say.
    "I can watch the ships, sit in the breeze. You can see Lantern Island from here. Come here, I'll show you." Reaching out, he drew her close. Jhai stiffened for a moment, then relaxed against him. It felt alarmingly natural to be so close to him. His skin was smooth and cool, and the silk jacket was soft against her skin. Zhu Irzh bent his head, and kissed her. There was a familiar tightening deep within her; she stepped quickly back.
    "Would you like a drink?" the demon asked, after a slightly bewildered pause.
    "Yes." Jhai said shortly. She felt as though she'd been hit by a sledgehammer.
    "Wine? Brandy?"
    "Whatever." She leaned back against the windowsill.
    Zhu Irzh came back with a bottle.
    "It's brandy. Hell's own. A little rough, perhaps, but it grows on you. Here." He held out a generous measure. Trying to get me drunk, Jhai thought, but suddenly it seemed like an excellent idea.
    "You look very nice," the demon said admiringly.
    "Thanks." She took a large swallow of brandy and choked. Tears streamed down her face, so much for the make-up. She'd look like a panda.
    "Are you all right?" Zhu Irzh asked, in some alarm. Jhai leaned against him, mastered the coughing with an effort, then reached up and pulled the demon's head down to kiss him. Zhu Irzh put the bottle on the windowsill and responded with enthusiasm. Then the tension was back, lust jerked into submission by the iron pull of the drug, and Jhai found herself struggling.
    "We don't have to if you don't want to," said Zhu Irzh reproachfully.
    "Don't we?"
    "I mean, I may be from Hell, but I can still behave like a gentleman if the occasion demands it." He looked as though it had cost him quite a lot to say that. Doubt assailed Jhai. She used people so much that she wasn't sure anymore whether she'd know if they were using her: this is the trouble with power, the small voice said in the back of her mind. Zhu Irzh was watching her, his golden gaze shadowed, and it had been a bad idea to drink that brandy, because she wasn't sure what was real and what was not, and she had given him control. She turned away from him and stood looking into the room, and felt his hands take her by the shoulders and run lightly down to her waist, making her shiver. Then he turned her around again and drew her against him.
    "What do you want me to do?" he whispered against her throat. "Tell me what you want." Anything, she wanted to say, anything you want, and shut out the voice inside her head and the insistent wire-taut singing of the drug. "Do you want to go and lie down?" he asked, and she nodded against his shoulder. Zhu Irzh put his arm around her waist and led her to the bed, where he sat beside her.
    "What do you want?" she asked in a very small voice.
    The demon considered this. "Apart from the obvious? I'd like you to enjoy yourself." He kissed her, and she put a hand over his. As she did so she felt the claws slide out from his fingertips. Her hand jerked.
    "What's wrong?"
    "Zhu Irzh, I'm afraid of you," Jhai said, horrifying herself.
    There was the sudden glitter of teeth in the dimness.
    "That," said Zhu Irzh softly, "is very wise. Now, will you let me