"Not exactly,” Blythe said.

She still held the crow clutched in one hand, its wings trapped beneath her finger and its legs swinging limp. It had stopped struggling sometime during the car ride over, but it was still very much alert, its neck erect and black eyes shining.

Blythe would have disposed of it already, but there really hadn’t been enough privacy under the wide, clear windshield of her car or in the alley with Adri. And she hadn’t yet fallen so far as to consume small proto-demons with all their mess and noise in front of her coworkers. It didn’t seem like the sort of thing that would foster good company bonding—especially not when one of them was a literal angel.

[i]“And yet, you use your hell-given abilities in front of them.”[/I] Kolratheth was basically slavering, pooling so heavily in the hand that held the crow that he was beginning to turn her fingers purple.

[I]There is something to be said for being useful. Besides, even growing claws and sharp teeth is less… visceral than watching someone who ought to be mortal consume a demonic soul.[/I]

[I]”Hmph. Then when will you be done here? I won’t wait forever.”[/I] Of course, Blythe knew that already. Her demon’s craving was coming through so strongly that [I]she[/I] was starting to look forward to crow for dinner.

Instead of answering him, Blythe forced her attention back on the room around them, taking in the once ink-stained body. She’d never heard of Fazel, but she knew Gretchen Colter, at least… professionally. It would be extremely difficult to forget the person who’d sold her the book that had summoned Kolratheth. 

“I think I can get us in to speak to Colter if that’s the path we want to take. She’ll probably know what Fazel’s been up to, though there’s every chance she won’t tell us or that she’ll get word back to his associates or killers that we’re looking. As for the ink, I have no idea what that has to do with anything, though I can research it if there’s time.”

[I]”So helpful.”[/I] Kolratheth was a dark rumble in her left hand. Blythe just mentally rolled her eyes.