If there was one thing I could not abide, it was dishonesty. I knew there was a reason I hated Kitsune. I worked in a dangerous business, but there was honor among thieves. There had to be, or it was chaos, and yet I had been double, triple, and quadruple crossed enough times in one night to last a lifetime. If we could save Anjelica, I would make sure they all paid with their pound of flesh. Every last one of them.

But first, we had to save her.

We went through the portal and jumped into the shop of the duplicitous Kitsune who had stabbed us in the back. I knocked over a stand full of incense as I fell through the portal onto the ground. When I stood and caught eyes with the Kitsune, she snarled at me. “You! But how—”

“I was going to ask yo—” I pressed my hand against a stand.

“You sold us out!” Kimberly screamed at the Kitsune. I didn’t have the energy to do so.

“I know that!” Kitsune screamed. “I was there! The question is, how are you still alive?”

“Because we’re awesome. Where is the spell?” Kimberly pulled out a dagger from her belt. “Tell me, or I will rip you open!”

“I—I—I burned it when you left, okay?” Kitsune said.

“I am so going to gut you like a fish!” Kimberly screamed as I fell onto the table, the effects of the last few hours taking their toll on me.

“Uhhh,” I groaned. My head was light and fuzzy.

“Are you okay?” Kimberly asked, holding a knife to Kitsune. “Cuz I really want to cut a bitch.”

“Wait!” Kitsune shouted. “I can help her. I can help both of them, but not if I’m dead.”

“How?” Kimberly grumbled.

“I know the potions they need.” She tapped her head. “They’re both in here, so if you kill me, they die with me.”

Kimberly looked at me, then back at Kitsune. “Do it, and hurry, but you’re not leaving my sight again. If that little girl dies, you do, too.”

I rolled over, my face on the cool tile floor. It felt good against my burning skin. I had never used so much energy as I did with that spell in the sushi restaurant. Most days, all I would be thinking about was how I could return to full strength, but tonight—I turned my head to see Anjelica writhing on the floor, moaning, her demon face no longer a deep red but a light pink. She was dying.

“Hang on, kid. We’re almost there.”

“It hurts so much,” she whimpered.

“I know, but we’re so close. We’re so close.”

Kitsune shuffled out of the back room with a steaming cup of white goo. She yelped as Kimberly, following behind her, prodded a knife into her back. “Drink this.”

She handed it to me, and I warily took it. “This is bull semen, isn’t it?”

Kitsune reeled back, horrified. “Absolutely not. This is an ancient—it will restore your manna. It does taste a bit salty, though, if I’m being honest. The main ingredient is a special salt from the top of the—” She realized that nobody cared. “Just drink it. Every drop.”

I looked over at Anjelica. “Looks like you’re not the only person drinking something disgusting tonight.” I tipped my head back and let the warm liquid slide down my throat with as few sips as possible. The quicker it was inside my gullet, the less I had to deal with the foul taste.

When it was all gone, I dropped the cup on the floor.

“How do you feel?” Kitsune asked.

“My head’s no longer trying to spin off my body, so I think a little better. Thank you.”

“Don’t thank her!” Kimberly shouted. “She’s the reason you ended up like that!”

I pushed myself to stand. “She’s also the reason I feel better.”

The Kitsune stammered. “I am really sorry. It’s just so hard, all of this. The business is going under, and I—the reward was substantial. You must understand.”

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“That’s no excuse,” Kimberly growled. “It just shows your soul has a price.”

“I never said it was.” She sucked in a deep breath. “It’s not an excuse, but it is my reason.”

“One down, one to go.” Kimberly pressed her dagger into Kitsune’s cheek. “I sure hope you have a good memory. Otherwise, I’ll splash your intestines all over this dusty floor.” She looked at Anjelica, who was still whimpering, barely moving. She was not going to make it much longer. “Come on, we still have work to do.”

They disappeared again behind the curtain, and I slid over to sit next to Anjelica. I pulled her head onto my lap, and she looked up at me, hopeless. “Can you take those stupid glasses off?”

She pawed at them. She had almost no strength left. I placed her hand in mine. “I don’t like to do that. For anyone.”

“I’m not anyone…” she eked out. “I’m me.”

I smiled grimly at her and took off my glasses. I didn’t show anyone my eyes—one crystal blue and the other a swirling red, demon and angel, a reminder every time I looked at myself in the mirror that I was a freak.

“Your eyes are super pretty,” Anjelica said with a soft smile.

I snapped my head away from her. “You don’t have to lie to me.”

“I’m not lying.” She took a deep breath. “They really are lovely. Striking, even.”

It was hard, but I smiled at her, tears welling in my eyes. I didn’t get attached often and never this quickly. I desperately didn’t want Anjelica to die. “Thank you. My mother hated them.”

“I’m sorry she screwed you up so bad.”

“I hated her for it my whole life. She was just being her, and I’m just being me. We can’t fight our nature. I can’t hate her for that.”

“You sure about that? What about Moloch and Balaam? Were they just being them, too?”

“Oh no, they suck. I hate them.”

“…good.” She struggled to speak, but it seemed to help her fight drifting away. “I thought angels were supposed to be all ‘sugar and spice and everything nice’ until tonight.”

“She’s not that kind of angel,” I said, brushing the hair out of her face. “She’s more the fire and brimstone reigning destruction on Sodom and Gomorrah type of angel.”

“Ah. Those ones were less nice.”

The drapes rustled, and Kimberly led Kitsune back into the room. She was holding a cup of black juice. “It’s ready.”

Anjelica was mostly dead weight, but with a grunt and the force of brute energy, I got her to her feet, stumbling forward. “Great. Let’s end this.”

She slammed into the counter as she tried to lift herself on wobbly legs, and Kitsune placed the glass in front of her. “Here you go.”

“So, I just drink this, and it’s over?” Anjelica slurred.

“No,” Kimberly said. “Once you drink it, you won’t die at sunrise, and you can’t destroy the world. There’s still a pack of bloodthirsty demons hunting you.”

“Oh, right.”

Kimberly patted her on the back. “One thing at a time, okay?”

“Right.” Anjelica grabbed the drink. “One thing at a time.”

I helped her lift the cup to her lips. “Bottoms up.”

Anjelica tilted her head back. “Bottoms up.”

The drink slid down her throat, assaulting my nostrils with its rank odor as the slimy liquid drained. I felt bad for the poor girl, but I still helped guide the glass higher into the air.

Finally, when it was done, Anjelica slammed the drink on the counter. “Done!”

I rubbed her back. “Feel any better?”

“Not really,” she replied. “Except I really want to barf right now.”

“Fight the urge,” Kitsune said. “It takes time for the tincture to work, and if you throw up, this will have all been for nothing.”

Kimberly pulled Kitsune toward the back room. “Stay with her. We have to call the demon who’s trying to kill you.”

“No way,” I replied. “I’ve been looking for this son of a bitch all night. He took three million dollars from me. I am going to listen to this conversation.”

“That’s why you shouldn’t come. You’re too emotional.”

“That wasn’t a request. I’m coming. Deal with it.”

“Fine,” Kimberly sighed. “Let’s go, then.”

They led me into the back room of the apothecary. It was barely big enough for one person, let alone three of us.

“We’re listening,” I said. “Don’t mess it up.”

“And if you mess this up,” Kimberly said, pushing the dagger into Kitsune’s side. “We’ll—”

“Kill me.” Kitsune rolled her eyes. “I get it. Trust me, I have no interest in dying.”

She picked up the phone and dialed a number into her rotary phone, a relic of a bygone age. Push-button phones had been out for over a decade.

“They came back,” Kitsune said into the mouthpiece. I leaned in to hear the other end of the conversation, and for the first time, I heard his voice.

“Are they there now?” he asked, smoothly and casually, like he wasn’t a sadistic, bloodthirsty prick.

“They are,” Kitsune replied, trembling. “They’re in the front, taking care of their friend.”

“So, the demon girl is with them?” There was barely a hint of interest in his voice.

Kitsune nodded. “Yes, she’s here.”

“Do they suspect you?”

“No,” she said. “I don’t think they suspect me.”

“We’ll send men right now to yo—”

“No,” she whispered. “If you do, they’ll know it was me.”

“But my love,” the voice changed, from smooth to agitated, anger bubbling up with each passing word. “They already know it was you because they are there with you, listening, right now, to this very call. Tell your friends that they are not as clever as they think they are.”

“No, but I di—” It was too late. Kitsune wasn’t as good a liar as she thought she was, which made me like her slightly more.

“It’s not your fault, my love, but duplicitousness must be punished. I promise not to hurt you…much.” The man cleared his throat. “Now, this is very important, so I will say it slowly. My patience has worn thin with this charade. It ends now. Do you understand?”

“Yes,” Kitsune replied, her eyes bouncing between each of us for confirmation. I had no idea what to do except listen to him talk. “I understand.”

“Good,” the voice continued. “Now, if you want to see your alien friend again, come to Griffith Park, in the parking lot of the observatory, in forty-five minutes.”

Phil. They had Phil. I grabbed the phone from Kitsune. “Listen to me, you little shi—”

But it was too late. All I heard was the dial tone.