"I get it." Julie admits it immediately. Her goal isn't to make Abby feel bad or imply that she's naïve or unwise. But she wants to make sure that Abby can see the pattern. Not seeing it means it keeps going. "Look, sometimes there is all you really need. Just don't think you can't do better than some fuckin' creep. That's all. You can. You just have to choose to believe it."

A lot of life, Julie has found, is just faking it until everyone else buys it too. False confidence is just as effective with other people as real confidence usually is, and having everyone else believe in you tricks your mind into believing too. And Abraxas is a rare, rare opportunity for the Summoned, where they can make themselves into exactly who they've always wanted to be, and no one will be any the wiser.

"Anyway, the only way you're ever gonna find out is to try, right? And if he would really say no to you 'cause of your thighs or your boobs, then fuck 'im. I'll teach you how to set his shoes on fire from across the room."

She nods a little. "He's a master of the mystic arts," she says, clearly sarcastic. "Which is like a Tibetan wizard, basically. I think. But he's white. Like, very white."