Page 91 of King’s Kismet

A lust-filled high still fogged up my thoughts as we ended our ride. Once we were out of the exiting crowd, I spotted the same strange man from the ticket booth studying us. I didn’t like the way his eyes tracked our movements, unblinking and angry.

I couldn’t figure out what his problem was. Maybe I’d fired him once upon a time or Novak had fucked his girlfriend. There were so many options.

I slid into my vampire’s mind. “Do you see that blonde man standing by the concession stand?”

His hand tightened around mine. “Yeah. I’ve actually noticed him a few times since we’ve been here.”

“I think he’s following us.”

“Let’s just watch him, okay?” Novak peeked at me, grinning as he said aloud, “I really want a funnel cake. Do you want anything?”

“Oh, cotton candy,” I blurted, a very sticky idea popping into my head and thoroughly turning me on. “I want purple cotton candy and hot chocolate, if they have it.”

He grimaced as we ambled up to the window. “That’s going to taste terrible together.”

“The cotton candy is for later,” I whispered in his ear. “I’ll have a tipsy shifter with a ravenous sweet tooth.”

“I want to watch,” Novak declared, nodding his head.

After ordering our treats, we cruised through the rows of games, choosing three to bet on. The winner got to pick out the loser’s costume, and I was not losing. I was putting my vampire back in a dress because he’d clearly not learned his lesson on betting against me.

We started at the milk jug game, tossing the softballs from a few feet away and trying to ring the jug’s opening. It was tricky, but after a few throws, Novak landed one, winning a huge stuffed bat.

Then we moved to the shooting game—the one where we had to shoot the metal ducks with a BB gun. I was definitely going to win this one. My aim was impeccable, even though I preferred to fight with my daggers. I hit every target, and Novak squinted his eyes at me, searching me up and down like I was cheating or something.

I smirked at him. “Have I never mentioned that I’m good with a gun? I know we’ve talked about this.”

“You’ve been getting in extra practice with Briggs and Palmer,” he accused.

“Not with guns, no. But we’ve been doing other things…”

The blonde man caught my eye again, standing at the end of the row of games. His body vibrated with a rage that I couldn’t understand, and his eyes shifted from deep blue to solid black as he glared at me.

So, he wasn’t a jilted lover or an angry ex-employee.

There were too many innocent people around for a demonic encounter.

“Leave. Now,” I commanded into every human mind I could reach.

I observed the people as they scattered, most of them freaking out over the strange voice they had heard. The collective panic set others into motion, but they weren’t leaving fast enough.

The blonde demon stomped toward us, stopped about twenty feet away to appraise me.

“Devil,” he hissed in acknowledgment.

“Demon,” I replied, perplexed by the public confrontation. “If you have issues or a request, please notify your territory representative. These are not business hours, and I’m not the Devil tonight. I’m off the clock, so to speak.”

He said nothing else, not verbally, anyway.

He did lob a ball of hellfire right at Novak and me, though.

I shoved my vampire away as the blue flames hit my shoulder. They spread down my arm as my body absorbed his attack. Several leftover humans screamed, and Novak darted over, trying to compel and corral them away from the fight.

“That was rude,” I admonished the unnamed demon, sensing this wouldn’t be a warning type of situation. “I’m on a date, and I made a promise that I wouldn’t kill anyone tonight. I might lie sometimes, but I don’t like breaking my promises.”

“Devil,” he repeated, making it sound more like a curse than my title.

He advanced on me, raining hellfire over the near empty carnival. Within seconds, the entire area was an inferno, rides creaking and cracking as they bent under the heat, ready to tumble to the ground.