“Go,” Zil ordered Lance.
Nerezza tilted her head a little and looked at Zil curiously. “Are you ready to do what has to be done?”
“What has to be done?” Zil asked.
“Killing,” Nerezza said. “There must be killing. It’s not enough to build a fire. The bodies must be fed into the flame.”
“Only the freaks,” Zil said.
Nerezza laughed. “Tell yourself whatever makes you happy,” she said. “The game is chaos and destruction, Zil. Play it to win.”
Edilio saw Nerezza with Zil. He couldn’t hear what they were saying. But he could read body language.
Something was wrong there.
Zil rapt. Nerezza flirting just a little.
Where was Orsay? He’d never seen Nerezza without Orsay. They’d been inseparable.
Lance went tearing off in the direction of Zil’s compound.
Edilio glanced at Astrid, but she was paying no attention. Her little brother had a piece of fish in one hand and his game player in the other.
Little Pete stared at him, as if he’d never seen Edilio before and was surprised by what he saw now. Little Pete blinked once. He frowned. He dropped the last of his fish and went instantly back to his game.
There was a scream. It cut through the chatter and drone of a crowd of kids eating.
Edilio’s head snapped around.
Mary was running from the day care. Screaming a word, a name.
“Drake! Drake!”
She tripped and sprawled facedown on the concrete. She rose to her knees and held up scraped, bloody palms.
Edilio raced toward her, none-too-gently pushing wandering kids out of the way.
There was a bright red line on Mary’s face. Magic marker? Paint?
Blood.
“Drake! He’s in the day care!” Mary screamed as Edilio reached her. He didn’t even slow down but leaped past her, swinging his gun into firing position as he ran.
Someone coming out of the day care. Edilio slowed, raised his weapon, aimed. He would give Drake one chance to surrender. He’d give him to the count of three. And then he would squeeze the trigger.
Brittney!
Edilio lowered the gun. Stared in confusion. Had Mary just lost it? Mistaken a dead girl for a dead monster?
“Is Drake inside there?” Edilio demanded.
Brittney frowned in confusion.
“Is Drake in there? Is he in there? Tell me!”
“The demon is not in there,” Brittney said. “But he is near. I can feel him.”
Edilio shuddered. Her braces were still flecked with mud and tiny fragments of gravel.