On the other hand, now I was in debt to a demon; not the brightest or pickiest demon, but still . . . I watched Jin while I caught my breath, thinking about how I was going to slip out of this problem. Jin had helped me out twice, but it wasn’t from altruism. He would always want a quid pro quo; that seemed to be how he worked, though I wasn’t completely sure. He could think for himself, so it was possible he might play a longer game if he had a reason to. There was no doubt in my mind that he was working with or for Willow Leung—I’d seen them together on the highway and he definitely took orders from her—but the purpose was what made no sense to me yet. How could I get him on my side? First I needed to know why he’d come along just now, though I thought I knew. “Thanks,” I said, turning and starting up the narrow road in the general direction of East Beach. Jin caught up to me in a single easy bound that almost looked like teleportation. He waved a clawed hand in front of my face and spoke in an urgent, low voice.
