I put on a winning smile and quickly walked past both of them. As I stepped out the door, though, I glanced back and met Seth’s eyes. My smile faltered. A thousand messages passed between us, just as they used to when we were dating. Only this time, I wasn’t sure what any of them were saying.

I kept walking, suddenly realizing I had a lot more than mortality to worry about.

Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Searching the Internet didn’t turn up much, just as I’d feared. Still, I took some satisfaction in at least doing something. It kept my mind off my possibly impending death. It kept my mind off demons descending on Seattle. Most importantly, it kept my mind off Seth.

Because if I thought about him, I was going to think about touching him and kissing him and . . . well, a lot of other things. My feelings for him were starting to consume me, almost to the extent that my other problems seemed trivial. So, I lost myself in Google searches, hoping for any scrap of information about demon summoning. As expected, most of my hits sent me to sites on role-playing games and Dr. Faustus. Still, I felt better than if I’d just sat around.

Driving to the meeting at the Cellar was about as agonizing as walking to the bookstore had been. I took slow back roads, unwilling to face the congestion and speed of the freeways. The Cellar was a pub a lot of Seattle immortals liked to frequent. Whoever had organized this event had apparently reserved the restaurant’s back room, which was normally used for banquets and wedding receptions. I didn’t have to sense demonic magic to know they’d sealed off the space from prying ears.

The dimly lit room was crowded when I entered. I recognized some of the local lesser immortals, but most were demons I didn’t know. Few sat at the long table, which was covered with appetizer plates and bottles of wine. Most people stood around the edges, deep in conversation, or had pulled chairs up in tight, furtive clusters. Grace and Mei were both working the room, looking as businesslike and efficient as ever—albeit edged in an uncharacteristically frazzled air. For the first time ever, they were dressed differently, and I wondered if stress had prevented them from coordinating their wardrobes. Mei wore a red skirt and blazer with a necklace made of tiny alternating gold and silver rings. Grace wore a linen pantsuit with a chunky stone choker with a crescent moon pendant.

Peter, Cody, and Hugh stood in the corner and waved me over.

“Hey,” I said, “what’s going on?”

“Not much,” said Hugh. “This seems to be more of a meet and greet. Not a lot of organization.”