Page 45

I stopped a passing server—the same guy I’d seen outside. “Hey, where did the singing demon go?”

“Oh, hey there. No idea. You wanna drink?”

“Uh, no, I’m good. When did he finish up?”

“Huh?”

“The demon, Zee, when did he leave the stage?”

“I don’t know, like . . . ten minutes go? Are you okay, man? Do you need to sit down?”

“I’m fine . . .” I left him, shoved through the crowd, and found our table, now empty. Our half-empty glasses were still there . . . but no Victor or Zee. They wouldn’t leave. They’d be looking for me.

I had to find them. Fast.

If Kat was working with Skrinde, then Kat could have tipped him off. Skrinde probably already knew we’d planned to spring a trap.

I scanned the crowd and spotted some of Hooper’s people enjoying their drinks and waiting for six a.m. to roll around. But there were trolls here too. And while not all trolls were Skrinde’s people, they could be.

“Adam?”

I whirled.

Zee was back on stage, but this time not to sing. He was looking for me.

I waved, caught his attention, and in an instant, he poofed to my side, startling others nearby. “Where did you go? Where’s Vic? If this is a game of hide-and-seek, you gotta warn me. I’m into games, but I need a bit of warnin’ first⁠—”

I shoved the picture into Zee’s hand. He unfolded it and frowned. “What’s this?”

“They were partners, all three of them, Zee. Kat doesn’t hate Skrinde. I think they’re in business together, and maybe . . .” Zee looked up, already knowing where I was going with this. “Maybe they got rid of the human?”

His tail whipped. “For real?”

“I might be wrong, but also . . . he kinda hit me over the head, so yeah . . . for real.”

“He hit you?!” Purple sparks sizzled down Zee’s horns. “Now I’m fuckin’ mad.”

“We have to find Victor. I think Skrinde might already be⁠—”

The music cut off and the club’s lights dimmed. Skrinde stood on the stage, bathed in spotlights. His white suit glowed, but it wasn’t just any white suit. It was covered in little cartoon unicorns. Skrinde really liked unicorns.

“Alright, settle down . . .” Skrinde said into the mic, making it screech. “No need to panic. This is just a public service announcement.” The mic screeched again, and Skrinde adjusted it, looking my way. “Adam Vex, did you really think I was so dumb I’d fall for your stupid trap?”

A spotlight flooded over me, highlighting me in the crowd. “Uhm . . . yeah?”

“Ha!” Skrinde beamed. “Alright boys, let’s show them who’s the boss of this town!” Skrinde’s not-so-subtle gang members pulled guns, grabbing Hooper’s people. “Surprise! Look around. You really are surrounded this time, and oh no, where’s your vampire? The one who can voice-fuck people? Huh, not here.”

“Fuck this tiny asshole.” Zee poofed onto the stage, but a cloud of pink got there before him. The two ex-warrior demons faced off, wings flared, tails whipping. Kat was smaller, but he had the element of surprise and shock over Zee. They hadn’t traded blows . . . not yet.

“Kat told you about the plan?” I called over to Skrinde.

“Yeah, and?” he replied into the mic, his voice filling every corner of the room.

“So you would have fallen for it, if Kat hadn’t betrayed us?”

“What?” Skrinde snorted. “No. It’s obviously a trap. You think I got to be top troll in this town by trusting people?”

“Traitor,” Zee snarled, ignoring Skrinde and instead focusing on Kat.