Lupi 04 - Night Season

have recognized the little demon.
    Former demon, she supposed. Gan had been staying with the gnomes while she underwent some kind of mysterious transformation. Cynna ought to have recognized the voice, though—high-pitched and squeaky, as if one of those yappy little dogs decided to talk.
    A crowd was gathering. “I’m calling the police,” Briefcase Man announced.
    Gan ignored him. “I’m going with you, of course. Didn’t they tell you I was coming?”
    â€œThey?” Lily said. “Who?”
    Gan looked around, frowning—an interesting sight, given the lack of eyebrows. Then she rolled her eyes. “Great. They got the timing wrong. Wouldn’t you know it! They’re supposed to be such hotshot gaters, but they couldn’t even sync the—”
    The screaming interrupted her.
    Cynna and Lily locked glances for a split second, then took off running. The screams were coming from back near the fountain.
    The China Doll was smart, she was tough, but Cynna’s legs were a lot longer and she knew how to run. As Cynna pulled ahead, she heard the little demon piping away—somehow, despite her runty legs, Gan was keeping up with Lily. “Are you going to shoot someone? Who? I want a gun, too.”
    Gun. Right. Probably a good idea, so Cynna fished in her purse for her weapon without breaking stride. She had only two offensive spells—one that worked only on demons, and one that required physical contact. If whatever was up ahead required subduing, she’d rather not have to waltz with it.
    She swerved around two young men running flat out and nearly collided with one of the stroller-mobiles. Damned bloody things were everywhere! She skidded, managed to dodge it and its terrified mom-motor—and stopped dead.
    There were three of them. They stood beside the empty fountain, looking around. The short one wore a short green robe and tights. He looked like a gnome—small, wrinkled, long beard, big nose. A pair of oversize ears parted his scraggly hair, their tips covered by the absurd pouf of a hat he wore. The middlesize one was the color of wet clay, his skin damp and shiny, as if he was sweating. His lips were the weirdest part of him, being dusky black. He was as bald as Gan, but the effect was different…maybe because he wore only a loincloth and some sort of fancy boots.
    Never mind the funny skin. This dude was beefcake.
    The third one was gray, tusked, eight or so feet tall, with tight little curls on his head—no, her head. Those were breasts beneath the brown tunic, not just great pecs.
    Didn’t matter. Not when she was holding a sword big enough to gut an elephant. Cynna slid into firing position. “Put down the sword!”
    They all looked at her. The gnomish one smiled and said something, but the syllables did not add up to English.
    â€œHold your fire,” Lily told her as she skidded into place on Cynna’s left, weapon ready.
    â€œHey! You can’t shoot them,” Gan squeaked, sounding disappointed as she, too, came to a stop. “Harazeed,” she called out to the trio—or something along those lines. “ Ke antar essy isclaum Lily Yu si Cynna Weaver. Ke relan English, you idiot!”
    â€œAh!” said the little one in the funny hat, beaming. He put one hand on his chest and bobbed his knees once. “Welcome me-you-us, Lily Yu and Cynna Weaver. Please to take us to your leader.”

THREE
    G AN liked cars. She’d been in cars a few times back when she’d been sent to this Earth realm to help that idiot Harlowe. That was before Harlowe got himself killed, which had kept Gan from possessing Lily Yu like she was supposed to, and then they’d been dragged off to Dis, where she ended up liking Lily Yu, which made her start growing a soul so she couldn’t be a demon anymore.
    Things had sure been simpler back then. Simpler, but not as interesting.
    Because life was more interesting now, Gan had decided to forgive Harlowe. When she’d told Jenek that, though, he had laughed in that whispery wheeze of his and said that wasn’t really forgiveness, oh no. But he wouldn’t tell her what forgiveness really was.
    Gnomish elders were like that.
    Gan had enjoyed the fuss when she blinked out of dashtu and surprised everyone, with people screaming and all. There’d been even more fuss when the three from Edge showed up, but Lily Yu didn’t like fuss. She’d