Kris Starr used to be famous. Rock and roll. Sold-out shows. Literal magic. Empathic talents and screaming fans. But he has a problem or two. He's having a hard time writing new music. It’s Midwinter, which means he’s surrounded by depressing holiday cheer. And he's in love with Justin, his manager, who has a talent for rescuing almost- or once-famous bands ... and who’s hiding secrets of his own. Justin Moore, on the other hand, is very good at keeping those secrets -- he's had to be for years. One secret involves a demonic inheritance that would make him a target of suspicion. Another involves his past. And the third involves Justin’s feelings for Kris Starr, rock and roll icon and now his client ... and a powerful empath of his own.

A Demon for Midwinter

“I got a demon in my head, and I…” That’d be a pause, an indrawn breath, the swell before the storm: he could feel it, oh he could feel it, the pregnant pulse of an opening, the tension of an audience, of his beating heart.


He finished, half-singing, “…and I want him there,” and in a stadium it’d be a scream, a shout, an affirmation, kicking off drums and bass and orchestral support crashing in. A band at his back. Music launching them into the stratosphere. Rock and roll.


Softer, again, a different verse, he decided; and played around with words. Empathy. Heartfelt. If the first bit’d been Justin, this one was himself. And a story. “I get feelings in my head, sometimes…I get it all out of my head, sometimes…” Inside, outside: projection and power and everything he’d ever done with it.


Chapter 61