..I've never heard of anything like that."She thought for a moment. "Succubuses consume your life energy as they take your soul and send it to Hell. P...ercing the dimensional barrier takes a lot of energy, so most of that stolen life energy is used up when sending the soul there, which is why someone has to die to summon the demon in the first place, but what if that soul doesn't get sent 'down below'? Where does all that energy go then?"I looked at her, considering.Kate nodded. "Demie had the. " And you tried to make a fried fish of yourself. At least that's what you looked like flipping around on the floor before your latest invention cooked itself." Where's Joel?" Stacey giggled. "Probably in the locker room trying to get clean. You turned that stinker into a real stinker. I haven't sent that much shit since old Harold dumped his honey wagon on the mayor's lawn to protest a traffic ticket."Remembering that made me laugh, which hurt. Ed grabbed the remains of my box, and disappeared. Come on, I'm serious. How much time?"Ryan looked at her watch. "Well, it's going on three. I need to be back by eight. What are you planning?" We're going shopping." Shopping? You hate shopping. I hate shopping. What kind of shopping?" You'll see."An hour later, Ryan was in her kitchen staring at the array of purchases. Ground beef, ricotta cheese, tomato sauce, frozen spinach, noodles and more covered the counter. "Just what do you expect me to do with these?"Brody took her by the shoulders. You check your watch and hurry out, grabbing your bag on the way. You stroll down the street and are browsing the windows when you see someone approaching, reflected in the window. You are surprised when the arm encircle your waist and you feel lips on your neck. I nibble the point where your shoulder and neck meet. You hear me murmur near your ear and twist in my arms to kiss me on the lips. We walk down the street, hand in hand, and you pull yourself in, tight against me. You hold my arm down.