Page 143 of The Girl Who Only Died Once

Completely ignoring Killian.

He’s of average height and average appearance, with light brown hair that might be closer to blond in sunshine, and a face that no one would pick out of a crowd with a gun to their head. His shoulders sloop, ever so slightly, like he works a discouraging desk job.

Killian hisses out a breath, and the man doesn’t look at him.

“Not really,” Chloe says, her knuckles turning white around the battery.

He’s unarmed. Not grasping magic, not actively generating anything Chloe can see, and besides the fast-disappearing ward, no strange power clings to his clothes or movements.

Still keeping his eyes locked on her, he paces the mouth of the alcove, just a few steps in either direction.

“I thought another demon killed Kliss in Minnesota, when I saw the wreckage,” he remarks, his words ever so slightly too fast, like he’s struggling to keep his mouth up with his brain. “There was demon wreckage everywhere, and I’ve followed the trace to you.”

He kicks a chunk of dirty ice into the shield, it bounces off, crunching into shards.

“This is a demon shield. There was a remnant of a demon bubble in Arizona. That house…” His eyes trail off of her, searching the background of the cave, completely skipping off of Killian. “I’ve never seen a more protected demon hiding spot in my life.”

Killian straightens, and that motion doesn’t draw his attention.

So all of his bravado, all of his knowledge, and he can’t see the demon.

Killian obviously comes to the same conclusion. “Keep him talking,” he murmurs, twisting his hands, and a flicker of power begins to grow.

“Who are you?” Chloe asks, then gives the man her sunniest smile, the sort of smile that has dissuaded more people than her powers. “My name’s Chloe!”

He doesn’t flinch at her smile, but it’s a near deal. “Chloe the tombbreaker?”

“Apparently, that’s what they’re calling me,” Chloe says, still smiling. “I don’t really like the name, but everyone keeps on saying it to my face, so I guess it’s sticking.”

Her heart pounds and her palm goes sweaty against the battery.

“Did you escape in Toronto, too?” he asks, voice silky.

Too.

Was he in the stasis chambers, slowly going insane, or was he somewhere else?

Killian shifts to the side, slowly, like he’s worried that too sudden of movement will draw attention, but it doesn’t.

All the attention stays on Chloe.

They might’ve been responsible for unleashing the person

“Years ago,” she answers honestly, and his brow twitches up. “Who are you? Why are you tracking me?”

There’s a moment, a beat, where his shoulders twitch, but his face remains friendly, as he obviously evaluates her and Killian shifts away further.

Before the man’s face splits into a huge smile, imitating hers precisely, and it’s enough that both Chloe and Killian recoil back.

“I wanted to see who was breaking down those other bases, of course,” he replies cheerily. “What are you after, how are you duplicating demon tech, who do you know?”

The hair on her arms raise, and she takes a step back away from the shield.

The other bases.

This unassuming man in front of them could be the person who took down Atlanta.

“How did you raise this? How is it still up?” He kicks another clump of ice into it, watching it as it crumbles.

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