Oh, I didn’t like that. Not at all.

“He wants me to spy on another demon? An archdemon? Do you know what kind of trouble I could get in if Cedric finds out?”

Neither demoness said anything. It was no concern of theirs if I got smote. Considering Jerome’s current attitude toward me, it probably wasn’t much of a concern for him either, aside from having to send a requisition to Personnel for a new succubus.

“So,” continued Mei, “you’ll have two agendas. You need to let Jerome know what Cedric’s doing. And, you need to infiltrate Cedric’s problem cult and keep them in line—although, if you make things a little uncomfortable for Cedric along the way, Jerome won’t mind.”

“Right. The Canadian Satanists. What on earth are they doing that’s such a big deal? Putting 666 on the backs of hockey jerseys?”

My joke had no effect on either demoness. Someday, I thought, I’d get one of them to crack a smile. “They’re attracting attention, enough that Cedric’s superiors are embarrassed. They’d prefer this cult conduct its evil in more subtle ways.”

“Last I knew, true Satanists aren’t actually evil per se,” I mused. The rep aside, most Satanists were more into just acknowledging chaos and humanity’s wild, base nature. “Most aren’t actually out conducting bloody rituals or spray-painting pentagrams on walls.”

“Actually,” said Mei, “this group is spray-painting pentagrams on walls.”

“Oh,” I said. “That’s lame.”

“They think they’re evil . . .” began Grace.

“. . . but they’re not,” finished Mei. “They need to be reined in.”

“Okay, sure. No problem.” Influencing wannabe Satanists was a piece of cake compared to spying on a demon. I glanced at the time. “Anything else? I should probably head out.”

“Yes,” said Mei. “Jerome wants you to check in on Tawny.”

“Seriously?” I groaned. “He hates me.”

The demonesses neither confirmed nor denied this statement.

“See you around, Georgina,” said Grace.

“We’ll check in,” said Mei.

They vanished.

With a heavy heart, I finished my packing and told Aubrey good-bye. Then I lugged my suitcase down to my Passat, off to play Mata Hari. I just hoped my end would be better than hers.

Once you clear Everett, a naval city just north of Seattle, the drive up to Canada is pretty easy. The speed limit goes up, and the most exciting attractions along the way are casinos and outlet malls. About a half-hour from the border, I reached Bellingham, the current residence of Tawny Johnson.

Tawny was a succubus, a very new succubus. Technically, I was her mentor, but her assignment in Bellingham mercifully limited our interactions. She’d come to Seattle back in December and had gotten involved with an imp named Niphon who’d been trying to make my life more of a living hell than it already was. He’d roped her into his plans, and as angry as I’d been about it, I knew the fault was his more than hers. She hadn’t really known what she was doing and had been convinced he could help fast-track her career. Nonetheless, she’d gotten in enough trouble that Jerome had sent her out of the city. It was better than being sent back to Hell, so really, the arrangement suited all of us just fine.