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muttered, and Cassandra began to cough.
    Edward pounded her on the back, more in irritation than to be helpful. “Move along:’ he ordered. “Alex has been holding off the demon thus far, but I worry it will overtake her soon.’, Alex worried about that, too. She could practically hear their human hearts beating; she sensed the swoosh of blood through their veins. The scent of warm flesh made her stomach cramp and her mouth water.
    On top of that, her own skin felt too small, her teeth too big. She kept hearing howls and growls, but they weren’t real; they were in her head. Every once in a while she flashed on a forest, on prey, and her pulse accelerated in anticipation of the kill.
    And there would be a kill. There had to be.
    “Do something,” she managed.
    Cassandra got down to business, pulling bottles and vials and bags of what appeared to be grass out of her backpack; then she removed a clay bowl and set it on the table.
    Tossing in a little of this and a little of that, she sang a song Alex had never heard before in what seemed to be a combination of French and something else. As she did, the sounds in Alex’s head faded.

    “Come here:’ Cassandra said.
    Alex cast a quick glance at Edward. He had his gun pointed at her head. “Touch her and I will shoot you.”
    “You’re under the delusion that I care if I live or die’ Alex strode closer to Cassandra.
    “You might not care:’ Edward said, “but the demon does. It wants to kill. It will fight what we mean to do.”
    “Just say no’ Cassandra quipped, then she lifted a dagger.
    Alex took a quick step back, the scent of the silver burning her nostrils. But Cassandra slashed her own palm before grabbing Alex’s. A jolt, reminiscent of the stun gun, went all the way through her.
    Cassandra released Alex, and she fell to the ground, dizzy with the crackle, the scent, of flames that weren’t, the raging of a battle that was going on inside. She felt like a cartoon, as if her skull should be shaping and reshaping while the demon within poked and kicked and battered to be free.
    Edward was right. It wanted her to kill. Them. Now.
    The change threatened. Her teeth itched; so did her skin. She stared at her fingernails, waiting for them to grow.
    Once she shifted, she would be unable to control herself. She’d listen the urges within her, urges that were no longer voices but instincts; they would be impossible to, ignore. She would kill whoever was the closest, and she would enjoy it.
    “No,” she said. “No.”
    Everything stilled.
    Cassandra knelt on the floor next to her, gaze intent on Alex’s face. “You okay?”
    “Saying no actually worked.”
    Cassandra shrugged. “Figured it wouldn’t hurt.”
    “Is she clean?” Edward asked.
    “She’s right here,” Alex muttered, “And I wasn’t dirty.”
    He sniffed. “That is a matter of opinion.”
    “She’s cursed.” Cassandra got to her feet. “Just like you wanted.” -
    “You cursed me?”
    Cassandra flushed. “Yes and no. I took away all evil desires—what we refer to as the demon—but not the necessity of shifting under the full moon.”
    “Gee, thanks,” Alex muttered.
    “You cannot be too different,” Edward said, “or he will know. You must fake the demon somehow.”
    She could probably do that.
    Alex glanced at Cassandra. “I still don’t understand how this is a curse. More like a blessing.”
    “Yes and no,” Cassandra repeated. “Once the demon is removed you remember what you’ve done; you understand how wrong it is. The spell gives those without conscience a conscience.”
    “Which, if I’d actually been eating people, would drive me kind of mad.”
    “Exactly.” Cassandra dusted off her hands. “Well, my work here is done. Nice to meet you, but I really need to get back to New Orleans.”
    She tossed all the voodoo paraphernalia into her backpack and headed for the door. New Orleans was definitely the place for her.
    “Use the exit we devised:’ Edward