Tilted Hazewas scrawled on the top in a violent cursive font.The date and location of their show was laid out on the bottom, and in the middle, there was a hand-drawn image of a demon woman, a demoness.Her black wings peeked out from behind her shoulders.A long tail curved up from her voluptuous ass.Tiny black horns poked through her hair.She smirked at the poster viewers, her twinkling eyes daring you to keep looking.She was a horny guy’s homage to a pin-up girl dressed-up for Halloween.Not so unusual for a rock band.
Except she had Skye’s face.
Skye yanked the grimy bar door open and walked into Mike’s.She slid into a chair at a high-top table near the back and flagged down a waitress to order a whiskey neat.
While she waited for her drink, she fingered the flyer in her pocket, the pads of her fingers folding and unfolding it until the paper became soft and malleable.
The drummer was already on stage, his back to the crowd as he adjusted the position of his cymbal.The bassist hopped up beside him, and they both worked in a quick but efficient style to set up the rest of the stage.
It definitely wasn’t Tilted Haze’s first show.
The band had been playing rinky-dink bars in and around New Orleans for over five years.
The waitress reappeared and set Skye’s drink on her table.Skye mumbled her thanks, but she didn’t take her eyes off the stage.
The guitarist jumped onto the stage and plugged in.
Skye’s blood sang as she blinked and allowed her demon vision to pierce the band members.They all had bright, shining souls, more powerful than most, which typically only gave off a muted glow when Skye let the red haze of her vision move over them.Any one of the members of Tilted Haze would have been good enough for Skye to mark as her target.
The drummer, Liam, sat behind his drum set and did a short sound check, tapping out the tune of a familiar rock classic just to make the crowd laugh.He tossed his head back, his dark blonde shoulder-length hair swayed, only held back from his face by a bandana tied around his forehead.He would have been the easiest target.Goofy and carefree, he’d have probably thought Skye’s proposition was just a joke until it was already done.
The low thrum of the bass rang out through the bar.The bassist, Ollie, was the newest member.He might have been a good option if only because Skye knew he was still trying to prove his worth to the band.His curly brown hair was at the stage of being too long to be short and too short to be pulled back, tumbling out from under his black-and-green-striped beanie.
The guitarist, West, walked to the microphone stand and snapped the mic into place.His dark hair was slicked back; the ends curled in at the nape of his neck.He tapped the mic, and thethump, thumpjolted Skye in the belly.“Testing.Testing.”
Satisfied, he stepped back, flung his guitar strap over his head, and zipped through an opening chorus before nodding his approval to the sound guy at the back of the bar.
West had a vibrant soul.He also had a drop of witch’s blood in his veins, making him impenetrable to Skye’s demon magic.
But it was no matter; Skye wasn’t here for them.
She’d already set her sights and locked her mark.Her predatory demon soul-lust wouldn’t let her stop until she succeeded in the hunt.
“He’s so hot.I just know they’ll get another record deal someday,” a woman said, sitting in the booth to Skye’s right.
Her friend shifted on the ripped plastic booth seat and asked, “Another?They already had one?”
“Oh yeah, but they blew up the deal.Remi’s twin brother died like five years ago, and Remi went off the deep end.”
“Sad.”
“Yeah.”
Skye smirked as she sipped her whiskey.The bar filled with patrons and became standing room only as people took up space against the exposed brick wall and crumbling plaster.
She straightened the lace choker her mother gave her until the crystal-clear diamond settled over the hollow of her neck.The habit was born out of excited anticipation, not nerves.Demons didn’t get nervous.
Hellfire tickled inside Skye’s core, an instinctual knowing coming alive.The hairs on her arm rose, and the crowd hushed as a guy with long limbs appeared from the back.
Memories of the nights Skye had entered his dreams flashed through her mind.She shivered from the ghost of his touch.Distracted, she put her glass down a little too hard, and some of the alcohol splashed on her hand.
His chunky black combat boots thudded across the battered wood floor, and he hiked up onto the stage, turning to his drummer to discuss something.
His tight black leather pants left little to the imagination.A lustful feminine sigh came from her left.Skye wasn’t the only one enjoying the delectable curve of his ass.
He ran a hand through the long black hair on top of his head, flipping the strands to one side.The drummer nodded, and the bassist and the guitarist moved into their positions.
And thenheturned around.
