Page 24 of Demon Hunger
Despite how taxing fighting this battle was, not to mention the risk to my life, it was worth it if it gave people like Giuseppe, his wife, and unborn baby a chance at a happy future.
It took thirty minutes to arrive at Henry Kaufmann Campgrounds, where the competition was being held. When my friends got out from the back of the limousine, I was almost expecting them to stagger out drunkenly, but it seemed Drevan had been responsible for distributing the champagne.
Thank the witchlights.
Everyone was dressed casually, jeans, tennis shoes, T-shirts, light jackets, all in an effort to blend in with the crowd. Though honestly, there would be no blending in for the likes of Drevan. His jeans alone were likely worth more than my entire lifetime wardrobe—not to mention his shoes and designer sunglasses that he was putting on as my eyes got drawn to a muscular torso, masterfully outlined by a T-shirt that stretched precariously around his biceps and chest.
I turned away from him and slung the Queller over my back, adjusting the straps so it was comfortable. I wearily glanced up at the sky, my ears attuned to the sound of large beating wings. The day was unusually mild for January, and the sun was doing a great job warming the day up to a toasty sixty-one degrees.
“This has got to be the warmest day ever for January in New York,” Benjamin said.
“Actually, in 1950, the temperature got to seventy-two degrees,” Drevan informed us.
“You are such a wealth of interesting information,” Jenna said as we walked up to the line that led to the ticket booth. Sage was up front followed by Jenna and Drevan, while Benjamin and I brought up the back.
Eyebrows drawing together with determination, Benjamin walked up to Jenna and placed a hand on the small of her back. She jumped a little, startled by the unexpected touch.
“Hey,” Benjamin gave her a reassuring smile as he slid his hand, gently wrapping his arm around her waist. It was so sweet to watch, and I couldn’t help my sympathetic smile.
“You look very… pretty today,” Benjamin said haltingly, as if each word took a Herculean effort to push out.
“Thank you.” Jenna blushed and completely forgot about Drevan.
“They’re cute together.” Drevan was suddenly at my side, as if he’d popped out of thin air.
“Yes,” I admitted.
“You all right?”
I nodded.
He glanced up at the cloudless sky. “I have scouts dispersed throughout the campground, so we’ll have a warning if there’s danger.”
“Good to know. Thanks.”
I started to walk ahead, intent on joining Sage, but Drevan captured my hand in his.
“I won’t let anything happen to you. I swear.” There was such conviction in his expression that I almost believed him, but how could he be so sure? I wasn’t going to hang around and argue, though. My only aim was to redeem another subject as quickly as possible, while I stayed free of Drevan’s web of deception.
I extricated my hand from his, jumped ahead, and joined Sage. “Quite a crowd, huh?”
“Yeah, I didn’t know this type of thing was so popular.”
“Me either.”
I was about to say something else when Khargon suddenly appeared at my side. I was surprised that Iwas notsurprised by her sudden appearance. Drevan used to scare the crap out of me, but it seemed I had gotten used to demons materializing out of nowhere.
“Here are your tickets,” she said without preamble, then moved on to distribute the others. She even handed Drevan one as she joined his side. He winked at me when he caught me watching. I returned my attention to the front of the line, wondering why we even bothered trying to blend in with the crowd when Khargon was wearing a leather suit fit for Catwoman. People, especially men, were ogling her as if she were a banquet to be devoured.
We stepped out of the ticket line and moved to a different one. When we reached the front, a man in a Jets jersey took our tickets, stamped the back of our hands with a logo in the shape of a hot dog, and let us through.
I squared my shoulders and moved forward, hoping that whatever we learned about Kody today would bring us closer to the end of this awful mission.
10
Pasttheentrance,thecrowd seemed to multiply. They spread out like a sea, moving toward the different booths and stands that were strewn over the large field.
The sound of live music came from somewhere deep in the back of the field. The many booths were occupied by people selling a variety of things that included T-shirts, hats, jewelry, pottery, knives, large foam fingers, and hats in the shapes of hot dogs, pizza slices, and hamburgers. There were also booths where the kids could get face paint or temporary tattoos, another for girly makeup, and one for balloon art in the shape of puppies and bunnies. Further down there were games like ring toss, dunk a duck, and ring the bell, where people could win stuffed animals or tickets for a raffle.
