It was surprisingly easy to change their tickets at the gate then hide out in the terminal until the plane left. Snip kept watch and gave them the go-ahead once the skinny demon headed out — which was pretty much the moment the plane backed up from the jetway.

They met Terrelle’s friend, Marco, at the Hyatt near the ornamental pool with the black swans. Over champagne, egg salad sandwiches, and gigantic chef salads, the man recounted how stupidly easy it had been to steal the Tear, swap it for one of Terrelle’s fakes, then slide the box back into the Gormand’s pocket, all while the demon was bartering with one of Marco’s friends for a stolen designer watch.

Terrelle examined the Tear, and proclaimed it to either be the best fake she’d ever seen or the original artifact. Then she pocketed it, saying with a shudder that it made her skin crawl.

It was all so easy. Too easy. But maybe sometimes things were meant to be easy, so Nyalla texted Gabriel to let him know that they had the Tear and would take the last plane back home tonight.

Well, Snip and Terrelle would. She’d stay here until Gabe got his forged identification, then return with him. The only trick would be for the two demons to stay hidden until they were truly off the island, and for Nyalla to hold back from seeing Gabe until the Tear was safely out of the Gormand’s hands. With any luck, he would be back in Hel before he realized the deception. And then she’d only have to worry about how to tell Sam about the Tear and how to keep Gabe’s condition hidden until he was fully recovered.

“Can I have a fifty?” Terrelle asked Nyalla.

She rolled her eyes and pulled the money out of her wallet. “Use a condom, and leave the Tear with me just in case your sexual partner decides to steal it back.”

Terrelle nodded and took the folded money, passing Nyalla the box. It did feel different than the others even through the velvet-covered cardboard. There was something harsh and cold about the bead. Nyalla closed her eyes, trying to use her gift, but the object wasn’t sentient and the only impressions she received were from her friends and the humans around them.

And one more demon. She took a calming breath and pushed harder, honing in on the intentions and emotions. Terrelle was brimming with lust. Marco with greed and mild anticipation. Snip was bored and planning mischief. There were drunk humans, sunburned humans, humans worried about looking fat in their swimsuits or how much they’d lost at poker last night. The demon was patient, watchful and absolutely unconcerned if any of them — humans or demons — had to die to get what he wanted.

Under the table she pulled the Tear from the box, pocketing it and sliding the box back on the table. “Watch this,” she told Terrelle. “I’m going to feed my bread crusts to the swans.”

Keeping her movements easy and casual, Nyalla stood and walked over to the ornamental pond with its little waterfall and lily pads, then tossed in a few bread crumbs. The swans raced over like sharks, gobbling up the crumbs. She dropped a few more in watching as all four swans began snatching the bread, eager to swallow the treat before another had a chance to grab it. It was so easy to drop the small, creamy-white seed in with the crumbs. After she’d scattered the last of the bread, she wiped her hands and headed back to the table, pocketing the empty box and signing the bill.

Terrelle and Marco headed off, his arm around her shoulders. Nyalla’s hands shook as she took one last sip of champagne and stood.

Snip eyed her with concern. “Are you okay? I was going to go play the slots for a few hours, but you don’t look so well.”

Great. She’d hoped that she was a better actress than that. “It’s carrying this Tear. It makes me nervous.”

Was her voice too loud? And she needed to work harder at getting rid of that hysterical note.

“Do you want me to carry it?” Snip asked,

“No, I’m fine.” There, that was better. Not quite as panicked sounding. “I’m going to go to the bathroom, then take a walk on the beach. I’ll meet you guys back here at nightfall.”

Snip nodded. “Sure you don’t want me to carry the Tear? You look kind of pale.”

She forced a smile. “I’ve got it. And I won’t be so pale after a walk on the beach. Go. Have fun. Win some money, but please do it legally.”

Snip grinned. “Oh where’s the fun in that?”

Nyalla forced herself to walk slowly to the bathroom, not bolting for it like she wanted. In the stall, she opened her empty Tear box, then dug in her oversized bag to pull out a bunch of inexpensive jewelry she’d bought as gifts for friends. Emptying them all into her bag, she surveyed the six jewelry boxes lined up on the toilet tank cover. Then she pulled the fake Tears from her bag and put one in each of the jewelry boxes, stuffing them all back into her bag.

Then she flushed the toilet, washed her hands, and strolled through the restaurant and down the pathway to the beach, the whole time feeling the demon following her. She followed the surf past the manicured resort beaches lined with their chickies, then to the rocky section of pubic beach with an old, rusted car blaring music from its speakers, a few sunbathers, and a woman sitting on a rocky outcropping, fishing.

Sitting her bag on the sand, Nyalla stripped off her t-shirt and shimmied out of her shorts, wading into the water in her bikini. She swam, chatted with the sunbathers, then watched the sun drop down to the horizon. As the sky turned tangerine and pink, she brushed the sand from her skin, put on her clothes and headed back to the Hyatt to meet Snip and Terrelle.

And although she’d been keeping an eye on her bag the whole time, she was quite certain it felt lighter, less bulky than when she’d sat it down. Once she’d returned to a more populated area, she looked inside, unsurprised to see the jewelry boxes gone.

That would buy her some time. But the demon was still following her. As soon as they found out that she’d deceived them, they’d be back. And she wasn’t sure that this time Terrelle and Snip would be able to protect her.