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cooler and couldn’t hear him. I leaned forward. “You felt it?”
     
“I was coming off the bridge and I felt it. You should be careful, Allay. A blast of energy like that is like sirens calling the hounds home. I wouldn’t be surprised if you see a few more of our people hanging around tonight. You’d be better off taking Shock home and getting out of here.”
     
I snorted. “As if I were going to take advice from you. Shock is safe upstairs, and that’s where she’s staying.”
     
Savor shrugged. “Do what you want. I’m only trying to help.”
     
“Why would you help me?”
     
He pursed his lips as if he were giving me a mock kiss. “We’re on the same side, you silly child.”
     
“You mean demons versus humanity? In case you hadn’t noticed, I’m on the side of the humans.”
     
“Ha-ha. No, I mean the whole Vex versus Glory drama.”
     
“That has nothing to do with me.”
     
“You think? Because from where I sit, you’re quite the prize for Vex. He’s got the only human-demon hybrid alive in his tight little grip.”
     
That irritated me. As if I were his pet guinea pig. “I work for him, just like you do. And whether I like it or not, I’m a sixth-generation Vex demon. I’m part of his line.”
     
“Unlike me,” Savor added, so I wouldn’t have to. Savor was the only demon alive who didn’t know who his progenitor was. Two hundred years ago, moments after he had been born, his progenitor had shoved him overboard into the Indian Ocean. He wasn’t even sure what kind of ship it was, but it was moving so fast that by the time he recovered, he couldn’t sense his progenitor’s signature. The shock had distorted his memories, so he didn’t have much to work from, and he was reckoned damaged by all the other demons. None of them had stepped forward to claim him, so he was a free agent. It was only recently that he had begun working for Vex. I almost envied him his freedom—almost.
     
“At least I know what it means to be a Vex demon, though you obviously don’t,” Savor added.
     
“Don’t I?” I gestured bitterly to the inner door that separated the bar from the foyer and staircase, where undoubtedly Savor had deposited a packet of money for me to pass on.
     
He waved that away. “Oh, that’s Dread’s stuff. He’s the businessman; he handles the administrivia. Vex doesn’t care about Manhattan real estate and privacy laws. Vex is busy stirring up wars and making enemies on a much larger scale than you can imagine.”
     
“So I’m only a penny-ante accomplice. Not a true minion of evil. I guess I can live with that.”
     
For a moment, something flashed deep in his eyes, a frustration that he couldn’t voice. Then it was gone. “Don’t sell yourself short, sweetheart. Nobody expected you to live this long, you know. Not only are possessed humans more unstable than new demons, but you’ve got that amazing taste.” He touched the back of my hand so quickly that I couldn’t move away in time. “Succulent, delectable, not demon and not human, but the best of both, distilling the essence of each into one fragrant bouquet. How can we resist it?”
     
“That’s it.” I picked up his mostly full shot glass of liqueur and poured it into the sink. “You’re cut off.”
     
Lolita emerged from the cooler in time to hear me. “Allay! Stop picking on Sebastian. He’s not drunk.” Her glance took in the old man who was leaning on the bar with his head nearly touching the scarred mahogany. He was definitely drunk. “Time to go home, Jose. Your wife is waiting for you.”
     
Savor got up to leave, taking the hint for a change. Lolita sounded apologetic as she bid him good-bye and thanked him for the bite of chocolate. “There’s more where that came from,” Savor promised. His slinky walk was effete as he headed out the door and gave us both a flip of his hand in farewell. Lo was epicurean in her tastes, sampling all kinds of people, including the occasional