Jenks…

I blinked fast, my jaw clenched. A tingling at my shoulder pulled my attention to Al. He’d changed from his crushed green velvet coat and lace into a three-piece charcoal gray suit. A red handkerchief peeped from the breast pocket, and his hair was slicked back. He looked like a professional businessman, right down to the eight P.M. stubble.

“Cheer up, Rachel,” he said, shifting his shoulders as if fitting into a new suit. “This is Dalliance. You’re not still moaning about Pierce, are you? We’ll pick up your little pet tomorrow. Tonight is for celebration!”

“Where did you get that?” I asked, not caring about Pierce.

He looked at me, new lines in his face as he played the part. “My closet. You don’t think I am a one-trick pony, do you? Hold still. First thing tomorrow, I’m teaching you a brush-and-wash curse.”

I took a breath to complain, even as I felt a wave of his energy cascade over me, easing the pain in my knees if not the ache in my heart. Yes, I was depressed, and yes, I’d just lost everything, but I felt like a slob with the grit of the surface on me, and if it would clean me up, then all the better.

I shivered as the curse slipped away, looking up as Al took out a pair of modern wire glasses and perched them on his nose. They had a bifocal line, and I knew he didn’t need them. “Much better,” he said with a sniff. “No one takes you seriously if you’re in rags.”

I jerked when his energy flowed over me again, and my tight leather melted away into an uncomfortable gray business suit. A purple Gucci bag was in my hand, and a Palm Pilot on my hip. “Hey!” I exclaimed, my hand going to my hair to find that it was back in a bun. My shoes were so tight they hurt. “What was wrong with the leather dress? You picked it out for me.”

The host was coming back, and Al pulled me forward as if I was his arm candy. “This is Dalliance. If we don’t fit the theme, we can’t stay.”

The thought of Bis made my brow furrow. I should have called him when I had the chance. “I just lost everything in the world that means anything to me, and you’re taking me out to eat?” I protested.

Ignoring the host now looking at us, Al waited until I brought my gaze up to him before saying, “You just gained everything in two worlds, and I’m taking you to Dalliance. You don’t eat here, you network.”

My shoulders slumped. Networking. I was sick of demon networking/partying.

The host sniffed at us, and Al turned, his jaw a little heavier than he usually had it, his hair a little thinner. What do you really look like? I wondered, thinking of that black-skinned demon with the tail he’d scared his gargoyle with.

“Reservations for two. You’ll find it under Algaliarept,” Al said, hooking his shiny dress shoe behind my leg and pulling me forward.