The Medium

I shivered. I knew where this was going. "It was the demon, wasn't it?" I whispered.

He stopped again, nodded, and rubbed a hand over his face. He looked tired, which was absurd given he no longer required sleep. "This is the second victim."

"Second?"

"The first, a woman, didn't die. Yet."

I breathed deeply in an attempt to calm my churning stomach but it did nothing. I still felt like throwing up. "Do you think...?" Oh God, it was too horrible to even say it but I had to. "Do you think someone directed the demon to attack these two people? These two specifically, I mean?"

He shrugged. "I don't know. The Administrators are giving me as much information as they have and so far there seems to be nothing linking the two incidents. The victims aren't known to each other and the attacks occurred in separate parts of the city. The first one, the woman, happened in Whitechapel. She's a prostitute, no family, lived alone in a single room she used for her work." The poorest of the poor then.

"The footman died in a better part of town. If he had any money on him, it was gone when his body was found the next morning."

"So the attacks were completely random?"

"Possibly. If the demon is out of control then it would attack the easiest target-a woman alone, a man asleep in the alley. Shape-shifting demons may have a large appetite but they don't like to work too hard for their food if they don't have to. But there's more to it that makes me think the second attack at least wasn't random."

"What?"

"The house where the footman worked was burgled soon after his death."

"Burgled! You don't think it's simply a coincidence?"

"There doesn't appear to be any broken windows or doors, no sign of forced entry."

It took a few moments for his words to sink in. Then it hit me like a punch to the chest. "The demon took on the form of the footman it killed and someone unwittingly let it in thinking it was the real servant."

Jacob nodded grimly. "It probably wandered up to the service entrance and was let in by one of the staff."

I shivered and wrapped my arms around myself.

"You're cold." Jacob was beside me in a heartbeat, my shawl in his hands. He came up behind me and placed it around my shoulders but instead of letting go, he kept a hold of the edges. He was very close. I could feel his strength, his essence, pulsing between us, as alive and real to me as my own. Without thinking, I leaned into him. His body was hard, solid, a comfort despite the lack of a heartbeat or warmth. If I turned around, tilted my head, I could kiss him...