betrayal on her face . Ivy aimed her gun at her head and squeezed the trigger , putting out her eye and sending a bullet through the back of her skull .
“ What are you doing ?” one of Bao ’ s men said , passing her and pulling her by her arm . “ She was human .”
“ She deserved it ,” Ivy said , yanking her arm away . “ Come on . The demons are on the other side of the curtain , and they ’ ve probably heard the gunfire .”
Bao ’ s men switched to the automatic weapons hanging from their backs . They sprayed into the crowd at anyone who moved , demon or otherwise . Demons in men ’ s bodies leapt into the air , and Bao ’ s men pointed their guns upward , shooting them as they crawled across the ceiling . They fell to the floor , joining the others who died .
“ Ivy !” a voice called . She turned and fired a single bullet , hitting Crossan in the stomach . “ Why ?!” he demanded , walking slowly toward her , holding his wound . “ Where ’ s Lannus ?” Ivy asked . Crossan looked shocked . “ You used me to get to him ?!” he exclaimed . Ivy shot him twice more in the stomach . “ Tell me where is ,” she said .
Crossan spat out a thick stream of blood . “ He is upstairs in the restaurant ,” he said . “ You haven ’ t killed me . I will find another human to inhabit , and I will return to seek vengeance , killing you and everyone - ”
Crossan stopped speaking . Ivy had pulled the angel-bone knife from its sheath on her belt and buried it among the holes already in his stomach . His eyes turned black and he fell over , smoking from every orifice in the human ’ s body .
Ivy looked into the blackened , sunken eyes for only a moment , not regretting killing him despite how good the sex with him had been . He was still a demon , and he was standing in the way of her revenge .
The fight continued , raging as the demons tried to defend themselves . One of Bao ’ s men was thrown across the room , landing hard on a table . The demon leapt to finish the job , but he was met by a barrage of bullets . Another snapped the neck of one of Bao ’ s men before being taken down himself , a large hole in his neck .
Ivy rushed through the carnage , sprinting toward the stairs that led the restaurant upstairs . A demon jumped in front of her , but she made quick work of him , stabbing his throat with the angel-bone blade . He fell backward , black-eyed and smoking like Crossan .
Shouting could be heard from the room above as Ivy made her way upstairs alone . Most of it was in Chinese , so she had no idea what was being said . Demonic screams of rage bellowed forth as human bodies were dispatched , sending evil spirits back to Hell .
Ivy thought she ’ d face an entire hoard of demons as she entered the restaurant , but there was only one . He sat at a table by himself , a decanter of light brown liquor in front of him . His glass was half-full with two spherical ice cubes floating , and there was another empty glass across the table from him . Ivy recognized him immediately . It was the demon that had killed Simone .
“ Come and sit ,” the demon said , motioning to the chair across from him . “ I hear you ’ ve been looking for me .”
“ Are you Lannus ?” Ivy asked , approaching the table .
The demon looked her in the eyes . “ I am ,” he said . “ Do you want to kill me , or do you want a drink ?”
Ivy answered by lunging across the table and burying her blade into the center of Lannus ’ s chest .
12 Ivy sat on the balcony of her small apartment , looking over New York City . Bao ’ s had