When offered no response, Jared took a step back and threw a ten-dollar bill onto the counter. “That should cover it.”

The man looked down at the folded bill before him, and then closed his eyes. He pressed his fingertips onto the counter, and then his body vibrated for a few moments before he snapped straight. He peered up at Jared. His eyes had changed; now obsidian orbs bulging from their sockets.

Jared put his hand on my chest and nudged me toward the door. “It’s time to go.”

I stumbled back, reaching blindly for the glass door behind me. The small man jumped into the air and landed in a crouch on the counter. “I’m going to gut her like a fish.” The sound of his voice was terrifying; a combination of a small child and the hiss of a snake.

I pushed open the door and ran head first into one of the large men that belonged to the group of bikers in the parking lot. He had a long, gray beard, and wore riding leathers. Forgetting my new strength, I plowed over him, knocking him to the ground. The man looked up at me with shock and confusion. Within seconds, all expression left his face, and the blackness of his pupils spilled into his irises, and then to the whites of his eyes.

I scrambled away from him, and then Jared grabbed my arm, pulling me to the Tundra at full speed. The passenger door slammed in my face, and then Jared was next to me.

“Seatbelt!” he commanded.

I grabbed for the clasp, trying in vain to remain calm. The small, dark man galloped toward us on all fours. Jared stomped on the gas pedal. The nozzle was still tucked in the Tundra’s gas tank, and after a quick yank, the line came free of the pump, dragging behind us as Jared fish tailed onto the highway.

I rolled down the window.

“What are you doing?” Jared yelled.

“Your gun!” I said, my heart pounding against my rib cage.

“Here!”

He pulled his Glock out from behind him, and placed it on the seat between us. I grabbed it, and then leaned out the window. Jared grabbed a fistful of my dress to keep me from tumbling to the road below. The small man stood in the parking lot, chin down, watching us flee with his unnatural black eyes. I stretched out my arms in front of me, and pointed the gun at him, aiming at his forehead.

“What are you doing?” Jared yanked on my skirt, pulling me into the cab of the truck. “You can’t kill him!”

“Why in the hell not? He was going to kill us!”

“Once the demon leaves, the Shell is human again. He’s an innocent, Nina.” Jared pressed a button on his door, and my window rolled up, cutting off the wind that had blown my blonde hair into a wild mess.