Page 28 of Taken to the Deadlands

“No, I can't just see her walking around. I have to pull on her spirit. And how can I do that if I don't know who she is? How do I know which of the many spirits I feel brushing upon me is hers?"

"You can feel them all?”

Shit.

“Yeah," I said, though my confidence dipped when her eyes narrowed. “I mean, you were the one who mentioned soul pieces, right? So you know that a human soul can be anywhere they've been. Including attached to the person—demon—who ate them.”

Her face relaxed just enough for my heart to slow down in my chest.

“I haven't eaten that many,” she muttered.

I raised an eyebrow at her. “How many in total?"

“Won’t it scare you?” she shot back.

I sighed. “I told you on the cliffs that I can’t hold it against you. Just tell me.”

Her jaw tightened, and I could hear her teeth grinding in the quiet room.

“Three hundred,” she finally replied. "Back when I was young, I would let myself indulge maybe once or twice a year, but as I got older, I skipped years altogether. The more powerfulthe human, the more power they had, the longer they would sustain me."

I nodded, biting my bottom lip.

Don't ask, please don't ask, just shut?—

“How long did she last?"

“Twenty years," she answered. ”But I didn't get any powers from her."

"You can take our powers?”

She gave me a stiff nod. "They help with the hunger. Though sometimes, if you're lucky, the power will transfer to you. I was not. Another reason I wouldn’t chance eating you.”

Oh geez, how thoughtful.

“So, what do you eat now?"

My mind went back to our time in the dining room together. It looked like a bunch of burnt meat, but I didn’t allow myself to wonder what kind of meat it could be.

She looked away.

"What?" I demanded. "What could be worse than eating humans?"

"Eating other demons," she said. Her eyes shot to me as if she were almost afraid of what my reaction would be.

"Demons like your maids or demons like hellhounds?" I asked.

She didn't want to smile, but I saw her lips twitching. "We don't have hellhounds here. But yes, something similar. They don't always taste that good."

"But it's still a way for you to stop yourself from eating me and other humans. Nothing to be ashamed about.” I leaned back on my pillow, placing my hands behind me and tilting my head. "I'm guessing not all demons think like you."

She gave me a shrug.

"I guess I'm lucky then,” I said on a smile.

Something like happiness showed on her face, and it shouldn't have made me feel the way it did. I opened my mouth to change the subject, but then I felt a strong force swirling around the room. I snapped my head to the right and toward the aura, expecting to see one of those gruesome monsters from the auction house again.

But instead, there was nothing.

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