"My gods," she breathed, stopping in front of one stand. She read the sign. "Funnel cake."
She spent a minute thinking over how she'd seen human-Deidre buy things. Deidre looked through her purse and pulled out the wallet. She had a ten dollar bill. She looked at the sign again and stepped forward.
"One of those," she said, pointing. They smelled too good to eat just one. "No. Three of those."
Ten minutes later, she sat at a picnic table, devouring the crispy-sweet treats. She made it through two and a half of the dinner-plate sized confections before she grimaced. Her stomach was too full to finish. Her gaze lingered on the remaining half a funnel cake. It was the most incredible food in the world, much better than omelets. Why did human-Deidre not eat these every day?
Deidre delicately wiped her face and stood, stuffed but beyond pleased with her first day as a human. Cora said nothing, her features emotionless and eyes roving for threats.
They continued, and Deidre's attention went to a small shop behind the tents, from which incense drifted. She entered the darkened store while Cora remained outside. There were a few people in the store. She went to the back, where the jars of essence were kept. Intrigued by the new scents, she began opening bottles to smell them. Light flared suddenly behind her, and she turned curiously. The clerk darted around the counter towards the corner, where someone had accidently tipped over a lit candelabra that was now burning the curtains. The other customers crowded the back with Deidre. The clerk was holding an extinguisher, shaking and cursing it.
"Go out the back!" he shouted to them as the fire grew.
Deidre let the group jostle her down a small hallway that emptied out into an alley behind the row of buildings. The group lingered, peering into the store to watch the fire and the clerk.
Deidre stayed for a moment then decided to leave, more interested in exploring the world than waiting long enough to see what happened. She walked down the alley, nose wrinkling at the scents of trash and stagnant water. She paused at the intersection with another narrow alley, not liking the smelly alleys at all.
With a look around, she started down a new direction, hoping it emptied out somewhere that didn't creep her out so much. At the far end, she saw what looked like a busy street.
"You here for me?" The voice was mocking.
Startled, Deidre turned. She hadn't heard the demon drop from the top of the building to land a few feet behind her. Without her power, she wasn't able to sense him or the danger he posed. His pointed teeth, soulless eyes and rumbling growl gave away the otherwise human-looking creature as a demon.