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Zee glanced over, then back at the vampires. “What he said, I guess.”

“What the fuck is this? You let your twink bait talk for you, demon?”

Zee kept his lips firmly closed, but I could see his thoughts broiling behind his brightening eyes, and how his tail lashed. He knew how to take a few verbal blows.

“Remember, we’re here to find out about Little Jimmy, and maybe get rid of the gremlins. Let’s not make a scene,” I suggested.

“I don’t see a leash,” Ingo tittered, swaggering forward. “Do you bark for the twink too, doggy? Woof woof.”

Zee’s eyes narrowed and he muttered, “Lemme fuck ’em up.”

“The pixie . . .” I stepped forward, deliberately putting myself in front of Zee. “Why was he in the tin?”

“Why should I tell you shit, human?” Ingo snarled down at me. “You’re not welcome round ’ere with your fancy clothes and stupid hair.”

What was wrong with my hair? Why did everyone pick on my hair? I looked down at my plain clothes. In a green T-shirt and sandy pants, I couldn’t have dressed any plainer.

“Leave Adam’s hair out of this,” Zee growled.

I patted the bouncy curls on top of my head. I liked my hair.

The campfire between us and the vampires spat and hissed.

“C’mon now, friends. Everyone,” Jim said, trying to placate a whole lot of rising tension. “Let’s all sit and talk. I got weed. You guys want weed?”

“Shut up and back off, Jim,” Ingo warned. “We know where you live, eh? Go back to your van and look the other way, like the good little fairy you are.”

Jim gulped, dropped his head, and shuffled back toward the front of his van.

“Can I fuck ’em up now?” Zee asked, louder.

It was definitely heading that way. I sighed. “It would be wrong of me not to warn you. If you continue with the aggression, we’ll be left with no choice but to force the answers out of you, and while Zee doesn’t look dangerous, he’s probably one of the most powerful demons this side of the veil. And then there’s me . . . You really, really don’t want to see my bad side.”

Ingo curled his top lip. “Is this some fucking joke? A demon and his twink bait think they can waltz into my back yard and demand answers of me?”

“We weren’t demanding,” I sighed. “Just asking.”

“Go on then, human.” Ingo vampire-beckoned with both hands. “You want to mess me up? Have at it.”

“Adam?” Zee asked, arching an eyebrow. “Vampire sushi?”

I didn’t want to fight. Really, I didn’t. But also . . . I kinda did.

I’d begun the day learning that my vampire lover had left, while also discovering a goo portal in my room, and I didn’t have enough money to stop the gremlins from eating the hotel. And somehow, the day had gotten worse since then.

Some mindless violence would cheer me up.

There weren’t any cameras here. Just us, Jim, and three vampires who were about to learn a valuable lesson—never underestimate the smallest person in the room.

Ingo snickered, taking my hesitation for surrender. “You are out of your depth, human. This is my town you took a wrong turn into, and I’m feeling all kinds of hungry. I can smell your blood. Smells weak. Smells like my next meal.”

Ingo probably didn’t expect me to smile.

“Oh, you gonna get dead,” Zee said, head tilted.

Ingo’s vampire eyes widened, then narrowed. He bared his fangs in a hiss, and lunged.

I grabbed him by the neck, spun, and slammed him into the ground. He hadn’t moved fast—not like Reynard could. Maybe Ingo didn’t have Reynard’s speed, or maybe he’d mistakenly thought that taking me out would be a walk in the park. The flash of fear in his eyes suggested he might be about to regret that error.