“I said he looked rough…,” Alice says, face blanching. “I—I thought you saw it, too.”

“I didn’t,” I mumble.

William whirls to Sel, eyes hot with anger. “How long, Selwyn?”

“Since the plane,” I bite out, glaring at Sel. “He mesmered me on the plane when you all were asleep.”

“Bree.” Sel takes a slow step toward me, then halts at the look on my face. “I’m so sorry….”

I turn away from him. “I don’t want to hear it.”

“Me neither.” Alice’s hands ball into fists. “You are a real piece of shit, you know that, Kingsmage? How dare you—” Sel flinches.

“Just… stop.” I wave my hand. “I can’t. Not right now.”

Alice looks back at me, then to Sel, then to me once more. “This isn’t over.”

“We’re not done talking about this, Selwyn,” William says lowly. The disappointment and anger rolling off him are enough that even I would back away. Sel, for his part, nods once.

“Yes, yes, you’ll all yell at Kane later. I don’t need to be involved,” Valec says, exasperated. “Here at the Crossroads Lounge, we like to expose dirty laundry, not clean it.”

“The Crossroads,” Alice repeats slowly. “I finally figured it out. The bar name. I get it now. My dad likes the blues.”

Valec rolls his eyes. “Congratulations, you and your father have good taste.”

“Can someone explain why we’re talking about music?” asks William.

“Blues folklore says that a musician can go to the crossroads at midnight to meet the man in black,” Sel explains in a hoarse voice. “The devil.”

Valec’s smile is disturbingly pleased. “Oh, do go on, I like a nice story. Especially told in that sullen, unhappy voice of yours, Kingsmage. Do you ever smile?” Valec turns to me. “Does he ever smile?”

“Rarely,” Alice mutters.

“I like you,” Valec says. “What’s your name?”

“I’m Alice.”

“I know this story, too,” I add. “My dad used to tell it. If the bluesman sells his soul to the devil, he’ll gain the ability to play the guitar like no one before or after. Like Robert Johnson did.”

“The exact words were ‘musical talent beyond human imagining,’ ” Valec says, tilting his head back. “One of my first deals.”

“You’re the devil?!” Alice screeches.

“No, sweetheart. But it makes for a nice story.” Valec leans forward. “I just help with the deals. Greater demons don’t need aether for physical form, but they do still need to feed. Raw, negative human emotions and energies are delicious, but it’s like a whale eating plankton. Demons spend all their energy feeding, all day, just to get a full meal.”

“So, you lure humans in for demon food,” Sel says. “You truly are scum.”