“Hey, hi, Ku’Sox,” I said, mouth dry. “Uh, no hard feelings, okay? Al had you beat before I got there.”

Instead of the expected threats, the demon nodded as if I’d answered a question. “I thought it was you Al had slipped into,” he said, blue eyes slitted. “If it had been Newt, I might have been hurt. You are full of unexpected talents…Rachel. I can call you Rachel, can I not?”

He came in another step, and I backed up, hitting Trent’s bubble and slipping backward when Trent took it down. There was a new caution in Ku’Sox, and that gave me hope, even as my palms started to sweat. Damn it, Jenks, where are you?

“I should have guessed,” Ku’Sox said, sniffing as he took in his image in the mirror and his nose grew a shade narrower and his tan deepened. “Even Al knows better than to let Newt hold his energy field. She might have snuffed him for the fun of it.” Blue eyes meeting mine, he frowned. “This alliance with Al doesn’t bode well for your future. I will take drastic measures if you persist in it. It’s all in the early training. I should know, having been…trained. Get us young enough, and we can do anything. Wait too long, and we never break our bad habits.”

I took another step backward, teeth clenched. I was going the wrong way, but this guy scared the peas out of me. “I’m not being trained, and Trent’s not in any danger,” I said, proud of the way my voice didn’t crack. “You can go now. He’s safe.”

I had held Al’s energy field? I thought even as I looked for a way out of this. I’d assumed it had been the other way around, but maybe not.

“Go?” Ku’Sox shifted his shoulders, watching his reflection as his suit broadened and he became wider across the shoulders. The scent of carrion seemed to tickle my nose. “Going is an excellent idea. We shall start your rehabilitation right away.”

“No, wait!” I said, my hands raised to fend him off, but it was too late and he wrapped an arm around my waist and tucked me under his arm. “Watch it!” I cried out when my head almost hit a urinal as he spun. I was still connected to a line, and I smacked him with it.

Ku’Sox trembled, shuddering in what could have been pain but what I was betting was pleasure. Maybe it was both. “More than adequate to get started,” he said as he headed for the door. Trent stood at the sink, helpless as Ku’Sox picked me up like a kitten and walked away. Maybe he’d get it now. It only looked like I was safe around demons.

Fingers scrabbling for the edge of the stall, I managed to stop us for a half second. “Still think you can find a way to control this? Then tell him to stop,” I said to Trent, then yelped when my fingers burned as Ku’Sox yanked me off the stall. My butt hit the door, and the music got loud as we left the men’s room. Three steps later, Ku’Sox swung me up, putting me over his shoulder. I was helpless. If I threw anything at him, I’d get it back in spades.