Excerpt: Gemini City

He glanced back at the struggle; the necroworker had cut through the tendons of one of the demon’s arms, leaving the limb flopping uselessly. He bled from one ear, but seemed to be gaining the upper hand. Gavin sighed; he would have to join the fight if he wanted things resolved in his favor. With a last look to note the Wojir pack’s position in the crowd, Gavin slipped over to the fight. He grabbed the collar of the necroworker’s coat with one hand; his other wrapped around the other man’s throat, twitching his fingers to release the poison. So near to the spinal cord, the neurotoxin would work instantly.

When he felt the muscles turn rigid under his fingers, Gavin let go. Wojir’s necroworker slumped to the ground, unable to even blink. As long as he was careful, Gavin would not even be seen by him. He turned to go when the demon coughed. “Wait.”

Gavin turned back and looked at it with a grimace. Its face was nearly unrecognizable, slivers of meat and gristle. One of its eyes had popped open from a knife thrust, but the other burned steadily at him. It held out a hand toward him. “Please.”

Gavin studied it critically. The demon was in no shape to get up; the necroworker’s knife had really done a number on it. He shook his head and turned away again.

“I’ll scream.”

He stopped short at those two words. It could be bluffing, too weak to scream loud enough to rouse the opera house’s security and then the real badges. Or the threat could be genuine, forcing him to dodge out of there before getting a chance at Wojir without the protection of his necroworker. Damn him. As if sensing its victory, what was left of the demon’s mouth twitched into a grin, revealing broken nubs of teeth.