demons not only from my enemies, but friends and allies as well. Ever since, my own personal demon, Lola, had been weak and wimpy inside me. Hard to be part succubus when I couldn’t even . . . suck.
That was the disadvantage of using the spells in the encyclopedia. The more I used a spell, the stronger it became, making any other spells or magickal abilities harder to access. Weird balancing act, especially since I hadn’t been able to rebuild Lola’s strength yet. After all those spells, my succubus was only at about ten percent power.
AND WHOSE FAULT IS THAT? my own Jiminy Cricket wannabe asked.
“Shade’s,” I muttered. Everything had been going along just fine until my supposed boyfriend, the totally hot shadow demon, turned cold and distant. No sucking any lusty male energy from him , not when he’d been in a mood since Christmas. And all I’d done was leave him with another succubus . . . because he asked me to. Men. I’d never understand them.
YOU COULD FEED ON AUSTIN, Fang suggested, waggling his eyebrows. HE’D BE MORE THAN HAPPY TO BE YOUR STUDPUPPY.
Yeah, that was the problem. The hunky cowboy vamp was only too willing, and it kinda bothered me. Especially since I enjoyed it a tad too much myself. It felt like cheating on Shade.
SO, IF YOU WON’T FEED ON AUSTIN, AND YOU CAN’T FEED ON SHADE, HOW ARE YOU GONNA BUILD LOLA BACK UP?
Well, if an evil bloodsucker would just show up, I’d feed on him. No guilt there. I walked down the street a ways, hunching my shoulders, letting my eyes dart around as if I were scared there was a boogeyman around every corner. Hello, anyone there? Helpless victim here.
Fang helped, trotting along beside me, his tongue lolling out for all the world like he was a brainless toy. SO, WITH LOLA DOWN FOR THE COUNT AND YOUR STRENGTH AND SPEED GONE, JUST HOW ARE YOU GOING TO FIGHT ANY VAMPS WHO MIGHT SHOW UP? I MEAN, I’M GOOD, BUT I DO LIKE SOME BACKUP.
I have the amulet, I reminded him, fingering the crystal teardrop hanging on a chain inside my shirt. I’d taken it from Dina, the power-hungry succubus who tried and failed to rule the Demon Underground with it. It enhanced a succubus’s or incubus’s abilities many fold and had even allowed Dina to control men after they left her presence. With it, I could enhance Lola’s abilities until I could get her back up to speed. I didn’t really want to use it, but I had no choice.
I’M NOT SO SURE IT’S A GOOD IDEA TO RELY ON THAT THING, Fang said. YOU DON’T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT IT.
I knew enough. I glared down at him. Would you rather leave, go check on Princess? I’m sure she’d love that. After all, the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel was heavily pregnant with Fang’s puppies.
Fang shuddered. GIMME A BREAK. I JUST ESCAPED FROM HER FOR A FEW HOURS. DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT IT’S LIKE DEALING WITH A PREGNANT HELLHOUND?
I suppressed a grin. I had a pretty good idea. Princess was demanding at the best of times. Pregnant, she must be a real bitch—pun intended. Ah, poor Fang. You—
But I didn’t get to finish that thought as something big, strong, and incredibly fast slammed me up against a brick building. I felt a sharp pain as fangs pierced my neck. What? No foreplay?
Crap. I tried to fight back, but my strength was gone, and he had me pinned. And now that he was within Lola’s field, he was enjoying it waaaaay too much.
Fang clamped his jaws on the guy’s ankle, but he was wearing heavy boots, and Fang couldn’t get a grip. Fear surged through me, and I shoved Lola into the vamp, yelling “Stop,” but Lola was too weak. It only made him pause for a moment.
He tried to control my mind, keep me quiet. Big mistake—his. That gave me access to his thoughts, and I realized what a cold killer Bruce here really was, how many defenseless people he’d murdered.
How could I stop him? The amulet! Concentrating, I called on it and tried harder. “Bruce, stop ,” I commanded, trying to control my