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TWENTY-TWO

Life was weird, reflected Pauleng Go. One moment your house had been reduced to a smoldering ruin and you'd been forced to run for your life, pursued by a hysterical demon bent on revenge, and the next, you were reclining on a chair overlooking the harbor, with an iced tea, and a beautiful woman pottering about in the next room. He still found it difficult to believe that Jhai Tserai had taken him on board. He knew who she was, naturally—it was a real blast to find out she was a fan—and he'd heard some pretty odd stories about her, including one that she was herself engaged to a demon. She'd mentioned that in the car, sitting in the back with him while the chauffeur steered the Mercedes expertly through the city traffic.

"Yes, my fiancé's from Hell." Her dark eyes had dared him to make any cracks about that and Go, mindful of his position and his gratitude, had refrained. "He's a nice guy, though. He's a vice cop here in Singapore Three."

"How do you meet someone like that?" Go had ventured to ask.

"Oh," Jhai had said vaguely. "Through work."

Go preferred not to take that line of enquiry any further—vice cop, eh?—but then Jhai said, "He's not around at the moment. He's off on a case."

"So when's the wedding?"

"Next spring. You can imagine what my schedule's like."

"It would make a great movie," Go remarked before he could stop himself. "Top industrialist meets demon, falls in love."

Jhai looked a little startled, then she laughed. "Yeah, I suppose it would. The course of true love hasn't exactly run smooth, either. Lots of adventures on the way. I'm not sure I'd be prepared for you to film it, though. I don't know who I'd want to play me."

"Ever acted?" Go asked.

A sidelong glance. "All the time."

They'd reached Paugeng shortly after that and Jhai had installed Go at the very top of the building.

"It's the apartment we use for visitors. We encounter a lot of problems with industrial espionage—everyone in the pharmaceutical industry's the same, it's such big bucks—so security here is very, very tight. If anyone does come after you, they'll be intercepted long before they get to the second floor, let alone all the way up here. Unless your demon can fly?" She grinned.

"Not without a hang-glider," Go replied. He was not quite convinced. He'd somehow got himself into that state of extreme paranoia where everything seemed possible: What if Lara somehow materialized out of the air, just as she had during the banishing ritual? As if she had read his mind, Jhai said, "By the way, when I mentioned security—it isn't just armed guards and computer systems. There are magical wards on this building—feng shui guards and some customized stuff, too. We're set up for all eventualities."

"Impressive," Go said. But if her boyfriend was a demon, who knew what she'd had to contend with? It made him feel easier, however.

"I need to do some work," Jhai said. "There are servants; ring the bell if you want anything. You look like you need some sleep, though."

"Thanks," Go said. "I really appreciate it. Can I just ask—I mean, why are you doing all this for me?"

Jhai's face was inexpressive. She said, "I've had problems with Hell before now. Not just the Hell attached to China. Let's say there's some mutual feeling involved, shall we, and leave it at that? Besides, I owe Chen a few favors. He's a decent man."

"Can he really help me, do you think?"

"I don't know," Jhai said. "But I do know how hard he'll try."

 

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