Page 25 of Demon Hunger
“Would you like to win an ATV?” Sage nudged me with his elbow, gesturing toward the “ring the bell” game. “Want to test your strength?”
“I wouldn’t know what to do with an ATV other than sell it,” I said, “which wouldn’t hurt my bank account, actually.” Instead, I guided him to a stand where a friendly looking woman was selling cotton candy. “This is more my speed.”
“That’s pure sugar, Lucia. You shouldn’t eat that.”
“You don’t always eat right, Mister Universe.” I poked his stomach playfully, which felt as hard and unyielding as my Demonology tome.
“Yes, I indulge every once in a while, but at least I try to eat things that have some level of nutrition.”
“Witchlights, you sound like an infomercial.”
When we approached the cotton candy stand, I was surprised to find Drevan there. He was paying the lady and receiving in return a fluffy ball of pink, spun sugar attached to a paper cone.
He acted surprised when he saw us, shrugged, and said, “You gotta live a little sometimes.”
Sage and I stared as he walked away, enjoying his treat.
“You know he did that for your benefit, right?” Sage pointed out.
I said nothing.
“Doesn’t he get on your nerves?”
“All the time.”
Sage grunted.
I grabbed his arm and pulled him away from the stand. “I lost the craving.”
As we stood to the side, I scanned the crowd, thinking there would be no way I could spot Jophiel or LeBeau in the chaos. At any moment, one of them could sneak up behind me, stab me, and walk away with no one the wiser.
As a chill rolled down my spine, I glanced backward to find a couple of kids counting their change to see if they had enough for a funnel cake. I shook my head, then pulled Sage toward Jenna and Benjamin, who were trying to win a stuffed animal by knocking down bottles with plastic balls.
“That thing was rigged,” Benjamin complained when we moved on, and he hadn’t won a giant unicorn for Jenna.
“We’re not here to play.” Sage was staying sharp, his eyes constantly scanning the crowd.
Benjamin and Jenna sobered up at the comment. She sidled up to me, abandoning Benjamin.
“I get distracted too easily,” she complained. “I need to do better.”
“I think we all need to do better. Everything about this place is meant to distract you.”
“Yeah, you’re right. It’s worse than a casino. Damn capitalist pigs. All they’re trying to do is take our money.”
I chuckled. “You might be going a bit too far with that. These aren’t the capitalists you need to worry about.”
For the next half hour, we meandered around the field, paying better attention to what was going on around us and, most importantly, trying to spot Kody, but we never did. Not until a voice came over the loudspeaker announcing that the main event was about to begin.
Sage, Jenna, Benjamin, and I made our way to a large stage set up with a long table, while Drevan and his cohorts stayed out of sight, ensuring our protection.
“Here are our twenty competitors,” the announcer said over the loudspeaker, “including Joey Flint, our state champ.”
The crowd cheered as who I assumed was Joey Flint walked onto the stage and took the spot in the middle of the table in front of a pile of hot dogs and many plastic cups full of water.
Next, the announcer started calling the other competitors, and one by one, they climbed the stage and took a place in front of their station.
“Kody Jeong,” the announcer called.
