Read Lupi 04 - Night Season for Free Online

saw the tail—long and prehensile, it lashed around to grab the man’s ankle. “Did you see that? He tried to hit me! Can I—”
    â€œNo,” Lily said loudly, hurrying forward. “Turn loose of him and give him back his briefcase.”
    â€œBut he—”
    â€œWasn’t expecting you,” Lily said, tugging on the briefcase. “You startled him.”
    â€œWhat in the hell is that thing?” the man demanded.
    My words exactly. Cynna didn’t say them, though. Lily seemed to have the whatsit situation under control, so she dealt with the teens. One of them was sobbing and clinging to the other, who glared at Cynna suspiciously.
    â€œGreat effect, isn’t it?” Cynna said cheerfully. “You didn’t see…ah, her coming, did you?”
    The dark-haired one frowned harder. “No.”
    â€œGreat! And your name is—?”
    â€œShauna. And this is Deanna.” Shauna was still suspicious, but her friend stopped crying long enough to protest Shauna’s making free with their names, which Mom had told them never, ever to do.
    Probably Mom had also told them not to cut school, but never mind that. The girls weren’t hysterical anymore.
    Lily recovered the briefcase and restored it to its owner. “Sorry for the shock, sir.”
    â€œBut he tried to hit me!” the orange whatsit exclaimed. It was child-size, but built like a squashed sumo wrestler. With breasts. Big breasts. And that tail. “Can’t you shoot him or something?”
    â€œNo,” Lily said shortly. “Gan, what are you doing here?”
    Gan? Cynna looked closer. The body had changed the most, but the face was different, too. Same orange skin and bald head, same ridiculously wide eyes with Maybelline lashes, but the rest of the features were…well, you couldn’t call them normal, but it was amazing what a difference a nose could make. Cynna would never have recognized the little demon.
    Former demon, she supposed. Gan had been staying with the gnomes while she underwent some kind of mysterious transformation. Cynna ought to have recognized the voice, though—high-pitched and squeaky, as if one of those yappy little dogs decided to talk.
    A crowd was gathering. “I’m calling the police,” Briefcase Man announced.
    Gan ignored him. “I’m going with you, of course. Didn’t they tell you I was coming?”
    â€œThey?” Lily said. “Who?”
    Gan looked around, frowning—an interesting sight, given the lack of eyebrows. Then she rolled her eyes. “Great. They got the timing wrong. Wouldn’t you know it! They’re supposed to be such hotshot gaters, but they couldn’t even sync the—”
    The screaming interrupted her.
    Cynna and Lily locked glances for a split second, then took off running. The screams were coming from back near the fountain.
    The China Doll was smart, she was tough, but Cynna’s legs were a lot longer and she knew how to run. As Cynna pulled ahead, she heard the little demon piping away—somehow, despite her runty legs, Gan was keeping up with Lily. “Are you going to shoot someone? Who? I want a gun, too.”
    Gun. Right. Probably a good idea, so Cynna fished in her purse for her weapon without breaking stride. She had only two offensive spells—one that worked only on demons, and one that required physical contact. If whatever was up ahead required subduing, she’d rather not have to waltz with it.
    She swerved around two young men running flat out and nearly collided with one of the stroller-mobiles. Damned bloody things were everywhere! She skidded, managed to dodge it and its terrified mom-motor—and stopped dead.
    There were three of them. They stood beside the empty fountain, looking around. The short one wore a short green robe and tights. He looked like a gnome—small, wrinkled, long beard, big nose. A pair of oversize ears parted