City of Demons by Richelle Mead Page B

maybe—was walking through. She had two grade school children, a boy and a girl, walking with her while she pushed a stroller holding a toddler. The boy was pointing toward one of the games. I couldn’t hear what he said, but he sounded excited. They passed near us, and I heard his mother’s words clearly.
    â€œNo one ever wins those things,” she told him. “It’s a waste of money.”
    They kept going and then paused in the shadow of a crazily spinning ride, so she could kneel down and fuss with the toddler’s bottle.
    â€œBe right back,” Seth told me.
    A smile crept onto my face as I watched him stroll over, bearing the stuffed animals. They were too far away now for me to hear, but I watched him speak to the woman and present his offerings to the children. My heart fluttered, and my insides turned wispier than the cotton candy. Seth was amazing. There was no one else in the world like him. No one as sweet. No one as kind.
    â€œDo you know,” a voice suddenly said in my ear, “how easily the bolts in one of those cars could come loose? And at the speed they’re going . . . wow. Yeah. It’d be pretty bad for anyone in the car—not to mention anyone it hit on the ground.”
    I turned jerkily and looked into the cold eyes of Magenta Lips from the jury. Weak Chin stood beside her. A slight shimmer to their appearance told me they were invisible to mortal eyes. Damn. For half a second, Seth’s sweet nature had made me forget about my woes. Now, here they were, right in front of me.
    â€œAnd did you also know,” Weak Chin added, “how many people in a crowd like this are armed? Guns, knives. So easy for things to go awry if some would-be thief tries to steal from someone. Hell, there doesn’t have to be a crime involved. A trivial fight breaks out, someone pulls a gun, some bystander in the crowd is in the wrong place at the wrong time . . .”
    â€œAnd yet, even that’s not as dangerous as the ride back,” mused the demoness. “People still don’t believe those statistics about flying being safer than driving, but it’s amazing what can go wrong on the road. Drunk driver. Brake failure. Really, it’s a wonder mortals live as long as they do.”
    â€œFortunately,” pointed out Weak Chin, “ we aren’t mortal, so we don’t have to worry about anything like that.” He turned from me, and I followed his eyes to where Seth still stood talking to the family. “Poor bastards.”
    â€œAre you threatening me?” I asked in a small voice.
    Magenta Lips’ magenta lips turned up in a cruel smile. “Of course not, sweetie. You know the rules. We can’t harm you . Wouldn’t dream of it.” But her eyes were on Seth now too.
    â€œLook, if you guys think—”
    â€œOh, look at that,” interrupted Weak Chin, glancing down at his watch. “We need to get back. Still got more deliberation in the morning, and I’m sure we’ll all want a good night’s sleep if it turns out to be as long as today’s was.”
    â€œWell,” said Magenta Lips crisply. “Let’s hope it isn’t.”
    They vanished. A minute later, Seth walked back over to me, smiling broadly. It was another of those full ones I loved so much, but I couldn’t even appreciate it.
    â€œNow there are some people who really value a good throwing arm.” The smile faded as he peered at me. “Are you okay?”
    No. No, I wasn’t. I could barely focus on his face, and I felt cold all over, despite the warm weather. The two demons’ words had ripped into me like shrapnel.
    â€œI . . . yeah . . .” I swallowed. “Just not feeling so great all of a sudden. Let’s go back.”
    * * *
    I didn’t sleep well that night. “Not well” meaning “not at all.” I tossed and turned and alternated between staring at the ceiling and at