A/N: This was my entry in Karen Chance's Valentine's Day Content 2013. There were lots of great contest entries so I didn't place (go read the winners on her web site, they're wonderful!). But I cleaned a few things up in my story and figured I'd go ahead and post it here for those of you desperately waiting for Tempt the Stars and more Pritkin and Cassie.

Disclaimer: The characters, world, and story image all belong to Karen Chance.

Shadowland Valentine

John stepped out of the dive bar into the perpetual gloom of the Shadowland. He leaned against the bar's graffiti-covered stone front and tried to get his bearings. The bloody streets kept changing on him.

At this hour even the bad little demons had trundled off to their lairs. So he was surprised to see two people round the corner and stop in front of him. This couldn't be right. There was no way Rosier and Cassie could possibly be slumming together in Hell.

He blinked his eyes, but they were still there. This was one hell of an hallucination. He should have looked at the label on that last bottle of whiskey more closely.

Rosier held out his hand to Cassie. "We have a deal, right?"

"Agreed." She shook the outstretched hand then quickly wiped hers off on her jeans.

"Nice," Rosier said and promptly disappeared.

"Pritkin!"

She leapt at John. He staggered back as her voluptuous little body pressed against his. Blond curls nestled under his chin as the warmth and vitality that was Cassie washed over him.

"Cassie?"

Clear blue eyes looked up and her pink lips curved into a smile. And then she was kissing him. With a groan he crushed her soft curves against his hard body. He was losing control, and he didn't care.

At some point John realized she was trying to pull back. He broke off the kiss but couldn't quite make himself let her go.

"You're drunk!" She sounded more surprised than angry.

"No. Yes." He breathed in her crisp citrus scent. "Maybe. You smell like her."

"What?"

Reality came roaring back. Or maybe one of his nightmares.

She wasn't real.

"I don't want this." His grip tightened on Cassie's T-shirt. He didn't want the illusion. It ripped him open all over again. His worry, his pain, his loss — that was real. Like the lampade prostitute in his arms. "How much to change into someone else?"

She frowned.

"I want dark hair and tall. Thinner."

"Thinner!?" She straightened and put her hand on her hip. Those blue eyes narrowed and then a familiar stretching and tugging sensation grabbed at his gut. Just like when Cassie took him along on a shift.

Bright light disoriented him. He blinked until his eyes adjusted, and he saw they were in the shopping plaza at Dante's. Looking down at her scowling face, he struggled to keep a sudden flood of hope from drowning his reason. "I'm not in Hell?"

"You're welcome," was her tight-lipped reply. And she shifted without him.

Hope and shock sobered him up quickly.

He became aware of the crowd of tourists moving around him. Freshly brewed coffee. The red and white banner celebrating Valentine's Day that hung over a kiosk selling heart-shaped boxes of chocolates.

He'd need to buy the biggest box they sold.

According to Q&A #38:

Question 2: Do lampades have the same shape shifting/illusion abilities as Rakshasas?

Lampades don't shape-shift, but they are skilled at illusion. They can look like anybody they choose–or anybody you want.

A/N: I'm trying to improve my writing skills. All constructive criticism is appreciated!