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tightly clenched and he fingered the bow with nervous intent. “I don’t know what to do,” he said. Frustration and anger poured off of him. “I’m trying to read him, but there’s no sense of Jett in there. Not at all.”
    “He’s there. I know he’s there.” Addie took a step forward. The demon growled. He swung his head from left to right, from Locan to Addie. Then he snarled, stretched his arms wide as if he would embrace them both. Locan grabbed Addie’s hand as if he might pull her to safety, but the air shimmered and Jett the demon disappeared.
    Addie stared at the ripples in the pool, the only sign that the water had been displaced by a creature twice the size of either her or Locan. “Where’d he go? We have to find him.” Still clutching Locan’s hand, she tugged him toward their clothes. Stooping to gather their clothing, Addie let go of Locan and reached for Jett’s bloody pants and vest with hands that wouldn’t stop shaking.
    The stench of demon was still strong, the leather stiff with drying blood. Grabbing up his black leather vest, she clasped it against her naked breasts and wondered if she’d ever stop shaking. Locan knelt beside her and drew Addie into his arms. The wounds on his chest were already healing, the blood mostly washed away, but he trembled as badly as Addie.
    “I don’t know what to do.” Locan’s voice cracked on the words, but he hugged her even tighter. “I don’t know how to help him.”
    With Jett’s bloody vest between them, both Locan and Addie bowed their heads and wept.

Chapter 4
     
    The demon stood outside the cavern he thought he’d once called home. There was no welcome for him there. Not anymore. He looked at his bloody claws with disgust. He’d hurt the woman. He’d hurt the man, too, and somehow, he knew that was a bad thing, though he wasn’t quite certain why.
    He’d tried to speak, but no words came out. He could growl and grunt, snarl and scream, but he couldn’t speak. The words were there in his head, but he didn’t really understand them, could no longer project his thoughts. He’d almost figured out their meaning, but meaning was gone now. Gone like the woman. Like the man.
    He gazed at the doorway leading down into the caves and tried to remember why he knew this place, but those thoughts were fleeting, too. The only constant was the burning in his veins, the sharp pain that seemed to throb with each beat of his heart. He sat there on the hard cold ground in the dark, and waited. Maybe the memories would come back. Maybe he would know them again, understand why those fragile creatures had felt important.
    Something howled in the distance. He heard rustlings in the grass, a sharp scream as something gave up its life so that another might eat. This was familiar. This world without rules, without companions.
    He’d had companions once, hadn’t he? No matter. He didn’t need them. Not anymore.
    Something moved through the grass not far from where he crouched. He sniffed the air, smelled life, heard the sound of a beating heart. A heart meant blood. It meant life. Life meant food. Death for one creature, life for him. That was the way things worked. Grunting, he shoved himself to his feet and lumbered off in the direction of his next meal.
     
    * * *
     
    Locan led Addie back into the warm pool. The filthy water had cleared away and he helped rinse the blood from her hands and then from her inner thighs where the demon’s barbed penis had torn tender flesh.
    Then he wiped the tears that still streamed from her eyes. “Are you okay? He didn’t mean to hurt you. I’m sure he didn’t. Please don’t cry.”
    She sucked in a ragged breath and wiped the back of her hand across her eyes. “I’m not crying for me. I’m okay.” She ran her fingertips over the healing gashes in Locan’s chest. “What are we going to do? How can we get Jett back?”
    Locan shook his head. He couldn’t think. Couldn’t move his mind beyond the horrible