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react?” she asked. “I know they’ve extended their help, but to what end?”
    He rubbed the back of his neck. “That’s the question we’d all like answered. They never bothered with us before, so why now?”
    Beryl rested her head on his shoulder. “Until we know otherwise, I’m choosing to believe it’s for a good reason. I don’t like to think Seere and his legion will step in and destroy everything good about this place.”
    â€œWhat good?”
    She gave him a patronizing look. “You’re not a pessimist. You brought me back from the brink of death. That means you still carry plenty of hope.”
    â€œI’m half demon. We’re not supposed to do good.”
    â€œStop.” Her eyes narrowed. “Everyone has good inside and you have a big heart. I like that about you. Even when things look hopeless, you find a reason to carry on. I owe you my life.”
    He should have known she’d feel that way. He would have in her place. The best thing he could do was dispel her sense of debt. “You don’t owe me anything.”
    â€œThat’s generous, but if I can find a way to repay you, then I’m going to do it. That’s a promise and I won’t break it.”
    A surge of anger ripped through Eban. Beryl didn’t deserve to spend her life with a lust demon occupying her mind. He’d harbored his doubts that the Ars Notoria could help, but looking at her, he knew asking for it hadn’t been a mistake. It would be days before he was in the proper state of mind to summon an angel. Starting today, he’d begin fasting and preparing.
    â€œWe should get back before dark. I have some research to do.” He rose, then turned his back on her and the angel with its all-knowing glare.

Chapter Four
    Berner’s streets were dark, the way the demons of the night preferred them. It made traversing them a more dangerous venture, but Rosemar had never feared the dark, though her senses were duller inside the human body. The pathetic creature’s eyes weren’t made for such little light. She marveled over how many demons opted to occupy human hosts. There were animals better suited for the task, yet she’d needed a body with the ability to talk in order to follow her liege’s orders.
    She walked down the middle of the street, breathing in the scents of alcohol and intimacy. The one saloon in this town was on the opposite end from Eban’s clinic. She didn’t mind the walk, enjoying the feeling of stretching her human legs and the cool desert breeze that brushed her face. The tinny sound of a badly tuned piano reached her ears.
    Seere would frown on her call to the saloon, preferring that she act as normal as possible in case the human she tenanted should remember any of this. Rosemar laughed at his worries, reminding him that she’d pulled Beryl’s weakened body from a situation worse than one she’d find inside Berner’s saloon. He agreed she’d done well in choosing a woman no one would miss, but he didn’t like her taking little excursions, preferring she stayed near Eban.
    Eban was predictable, too human, a weakness that wouldn’t do any good in the war against Hell. She seldom argued with Seere, but Eban wouldn’t have her in his bed and she needed some relief, even if it came in the form watching rather than participating. Try as she might to convince him Beryl wouldn’t mind if he entered her body, he wouldn’t break. His demon blood should’ve overridden any foolish human notions. She wondered if Seneca Heckmaster had ever regretted taking a human female as his wife and having offspring with her.
    The saloon spilled bright light into the dark street. A few demons lurked outside, smoking cheroots with glowing cherry tips. They watched as she passed, but she gave off enough of a malicious aura that they didn’t attempt conversation.
    Alcohol flowed in the