I opened my mouth but my brain had ground to a standstill. This was exactly what we’d needed to prevent. This was the worst-case scenario. My secret was out. The MPD would brand me a rogue and bounty hunters would kill me.
Todd’s shock broke before mine. He whipped his infernus out of his jacket and red light blazed over it. His demon appeared in a swirl of crimson, towering seven and a half feet tall.
Zylas leaped forward.
I watched him dash down the slope, silent and lethal. Todd’s spiky demon swung its huge fist. Zylas ducked the lethargic blow and sprang past the demon. His fingers were curled, red magic streaking down his hands to form six-inch talons.
He didn’t turn on the spiky demon’s back. He kept going.
And I realized his intention.
“No!” My shriek echoed through the silent night—but it was too late. A rasping tear. The splatter of liquid hitting the ground. The thud of a falling body.
Todd’s demon, frozen in mid-swing, straightened. The blankness in its face melted away, and a mixture of rage and triumph twisted its bestial features. It turned around, the shift of its huge body revealing what lay behind it.
Zylas stood beside Todd, his crimson talons dripping. The man lay prone, blood spreading under him and trickling down the sloping concrete.
“Gh’athirilnā nul thē,” the spiky demon rumbled.
Zylas sneered at his kin. “Ait eshilthē adahk Ivaknen īn idintav et Vh’alyir.”
Crimson magic bloomed across the spiky demon. Its form dissolved into a cloud of light that shot at Todd. Glowing power hit his body, illuminating it from within like a scarlet light bulb. Then the radiance faded and the demon was gone.
The Banishment Clause, I realized numbly. Todd’s death had freed the demon from its contract. It had possessed him, taken his soul, and escaped back to its world.
Todd’s death.
Todd was dead.
Zylas had killed him.
I stumbled forward on weak legs. Zylas watched me approach, his eyes wary. Stopping a few feet from the body, I stared at the rivulets of blood running down the slanted sidewalk.
“You killed him.”
Zylas silently regarded me.
“You killed him!” The words burst out, edged in hysteria. “He didn’t do anything wrong! He was scared and—and he was only—you killed him!”
Zylas’s tail snapped side to side. “You said no one can know I am not enslaved. I am protecting you.”
“No!” I grabbed the sides of my head, holding my skull together against the boiling panic and horror. “No, this is wrong! You killed an innocent man!”
“You said—”
“I didn’t say to kill people!” I shrieked. “Get back in the infernus! Right now!”
He snarled at the command, then a crimson glow swept over him. The pendant buzzed against my chest as his essence filled it.
Alone, I hugged myself and stared down at the dead man. An innocent man. He’d seen an out-of-control demon and called his own for protection. He’d been afraid. He’d been defending himself.
He was dead now. Because of me. Because I couldn’t control Zylas.
Tears ran down my cheeks. My fault. All my fault. Tahēsh had killed people and I felt horrible guilt over that already, but I’d had no idea Zylas could or would free the other demon. The blame wasn’t entirely mine. However, I’d known full well that Zylas was a risk to everyone around me.
I’d known, and I’d ignored the danger. Now an innocent man was dead. Why had he even been here? So late at night? Standing outside?
An electronic trill made me leap backward. The tune blared from Todd’s body. His wife, calling to ask when he’d be home? Friends he was supposed to meet, calling to find out why he was late? His champion, who was supposed to protect him while he commanded his demon, concerned about where he’d gone?
My demon had murdered a guild member—on our guild’s literal doorstep.
Before I knew what I was doing, I’d turned and bolted. I dashed up the street, cut west, and ran until I couldn’t breathe. Then I kept on running, fleeing Todd’s death and my own selfish decisions. I ran until my legs threatened to give out, then I walked.
I walked and walked until I found myself at our motel room. With unsteady fingers, I dug out my key card and unlocked the door. Inside, our beds were unmade—we couldn’t let housekeeping in because Zylas had destroyed the TV—and our suitcases lay untouched.
Amalia wasn’t in the room. I didn’t know where she’d gone and I didn’t care. I couldn’t face her right now.
I stumbled to my bed and stopped. Carefully, as though it were a live bomb, I lifted the infernus off my neck, opened the nightstand’s drawer, and set it beside the standard motel Bible. I closed the drawer and toed off my shoes, then collapsed onto the mattress.
Burying my face in the pillow, I cried silently, my voice muted by guilt, horror, and the petrifying dread of what awaited me in the morning.
Chapter Twenty-Five
I woke at a quarter after six, groggy, unrested, and sick with guilt. The room was dark, the sun yet to rise, and I sat up clumsily, my nose stuffed and eyes dry. My glasses lay beside the pillow. I’d slept in my clothes, sprawled on top of the unmade bed.
My gaze darted to the bedside drawer. Zylas was still inside the infernus. Maybe, with the access to my thoughts that our contract had awarded him, he knew I couldn’t stand to see him right now.
Maybe he knew I loathed everything about him.
He was a remorseless killer. He didn’t care that he’d slaughtered an innocent man. He felt no guilt and would never apologize. But he’d acted to protect me. He’d responded based on his understanding of the situation—based on the information I had given him.
Zylas had killed Todd, but the responsibility was mine. All mine.
My phone had fallen off the bed. Retrieving it, I slid on my glasses and pressed the power button to wake the screen. Twenty-six texts, eight missed calls, and three voicemails demanded my attention.
Stomach churning, I flipped open the texts. The first dozen were from Amalia, asking what was going on, but those had stopped at eleven. The rest were from Tae-min and spanned the better part of the night—informing me that I should come in immediately to see the GM. They grew progressively more urgent every time I failed to respond.
His last text told me he was heading home, but the GM was waiting at their headquarters and I should get my butt over there ASAP if I wanted to remain in the guild.
I called my voicemail and listened to the messages—all from Tae-min and saying the same things as his texts. He sounded annoyed and harried, but not panicky, horrified, or furious. That meant he either didn’t know about Todd or didn’t suspect me.
The last thing I wanted to do was return to the scene of last night’s murder, but I couldn’t avoid the GM any longer without arousing suspicion. Sighing, I pushed off the mattress and stretched. The sight of Amalia’s empty bed triggered a cold prickle in my gut. Where was she? Why hadn’t she come back last night?
I reclaimed my phone and called her number. It clicked straight to voicemail.
“Hey, it’s Robin,” I said. “Where are you? Please call or text me right away so I know you’re all right. I’m heading over to the guild, but I’ll have my phone.”
I ended the call, then sent her a text saying the same thing. Worrying my bottom lip, I used the bathroom, brushed my hair, and mourned my wrinkled outfit. But without a change of clothes, my bookworm look would have to do.
As ready as I would get, I stared at the bedside table. Creeping over as though I might disturb a sleeping beast, I slid the drawer open and peeked inside. The infernus lay where I had left it. If I didn’t wear it, could Zylas still hear my thoughts? Was he waiting for me to call him out?
My throat worked, my innards twisting. I slowly closed the drawer again. With a final glance back, I left the motel room.
I couldn’t control Zylas. If I brought him with me, he coul
d kill again. For all I knew, I might be heading toward my own arrest—and I would not let him kill the MPD agents who were rightfully protecting people from out-of-control demons and their selfish contractors.
Achingly aware of how alone I was, I walked away from the motel and the infernus.
* * *
The cab dropped me off a block from the guild. I could’ve walked the entire distance, but that would’ve meant thirty minutes alone with my thoughts.
As I turned the corner and faced the guild’s green awning, I cringed in anxious anticipation—but the street looked exactly as it had three days ago. I cautiously approached the door, unsure what I’d expected. Lines of police tape? A white outline of Todd’s body on the sidewalk? The only sign that a man had died here last night was a dark patch on the dirty concrete. Had it rained, or had someone washed the blood away?
My nerves prickled again. I circled the building and used the side entrance as Tae-min had instructed, punching a six-digit code into the panel beside the door. Ascending to the second level, I peeked into the common room. It was empty. Like Tae-min, the guild’s exhausted members had gone home to sleep and recuperate after spending three straight days hunting Tahēsh.
I continued to the third floor. Tae-min had said the GM’s office was at the end of the hallway. Six doors lined the bland corridor, all closed, but the one directly ahead was open, revealing the corner of a steel desk.
Deep breaths. I tried to remember the advice of my current self-help book, but it felt like months, rather than a week, since I’d last picked it up. I couldn’t even think of a famous mythic from history to inspire me, my mind stubbornly blank.
Raising my chin, I strode to the open door and peered inside. A man sat at the desk, his attention on his computer monitor and his back to a large window with a drab view of the street below. He looked like a Viking in a business suit—bulky, blond, thick beard, deep-set eyes, and a hooked nose.
I raised my hand to knock on the open door, but he looked up first. Surprise splashed over his face, then vanished so quickly I wondered if I’d imagined it.
“Robin Page, I assume,” he barked in a deep, gravelly voice. “About time. You were supposed to come last night.”
“I’m sorry, sir,” I muttered, racking my brain in panic. What was his name? Tae-min had mentioned it, but I couldn’t remember. Crap crap crap.
“Sit down,” he ordered, thrusting his beard toward the plain office chair waiting in front of his desk. As I sank into the seat, he picked up the cellphone beside his elbow, tapped at the screen, then set it down. He returned to squinting at his monitor.
I waited another few seconds, then cleared my throat. “Um, sir?”
“Impressive work last night, Page,” he grunted. “The MPD just issued the paperwork for your bonus.”
“My bonus?”
“For the demon kill. Two hundred grand, split seventy-thirty between you and the guild.” He drummed his fingers on the desktop. “They’re generous with bonuses for unbound demons. Want to ensure everyone is as motivated as possible to take it out fast.”
“Oh,” I said faintly, struggling to appear calm. Any minute now, he would ask about Todd. Someone had found the body and moved it. The GM must know Todd had been murdered. The MPD had to know. The investigation would’ve begun hours ago. “Is … is that what you wanted to see me about?”
He glanced at his phone, its screen black. “Your demon is a new House, is that correct?”
“Um … well, it’s rare,” I hedged.
“Who’s the summoner?”
I kept my expression as neutral as I could. “I’m sorry, but that’s confidential.”
“What about the unbound demon? What do you know about it?”
Fresh alarm blared through me. “What do you mean?”
His cold eyes fixed on me. “I’ve done a lot of research into the Houses. The unbound demon matched the descriptions I’ve found of the First House, but that lineage has been lost since the Athanas summoners disappeared at the turn of the last century.”
I froze, unable to breathe.
“They’re said to be the only summoner line to have possessed all twelve names. And your demon matches no description I’ve ever read.” He leaned forward. “Didn’t your champion mention family secrets?”
My mouth hung open, horror rooting me to the spot. The Athanas summoners. I knew that name, but not because I’d ever read about famous Demonica mythics of the past. Athanas was my grandmother’s maiden name. My mother once told me how all the women in our family had kept the Athanas name until my great-grandmother, who’d abandoned it before emigrating from Albania. I’d never thought to question my mom about the story.
Suddenly desperate to leave, I stammered, “I got my demon from a summoner. I don’t know anything about him or where he learned his demon names.”
“Who is he?” the GM asked again, leaning forward. “Tell me now, Page, and I can protect you.”
Protect me from what? Eyes wide, I shook my head mutely.
“I’m offering to help you, Page.”
“I don’t—”
An electronic chime sent my hand flying to my hip, but the sound had come from his cell. As he checked the message, I slipped my phone out of my pocket. Amalia hadn’t responded to my plea for contact.
“It’s a shame you won’t be more forthcoming, Page,” the GM grunted as he sat back. He tapped his phone on his desk. “You have to understand that building a powerful guild is expensive. When lucrative opportunities present themselves, I can’t pass them by. It’s simple business.”
I stared at him, confused.
“I’m sure you would’ve made a decent asset to the guild, but I’m afraid you aren’t worth that much as a contractor.”
My confusion deepened. “I’m sorry, what—”
He waved a hand, but his gesture didn’t make sense. I squinted uncertainly.
Behind me, a foot scuffed against the carpet. As I leaped from my chair, a hand seized my shoulder and something cold pressed against the back of my neck.
“Ori somno sepultus esto.”
Tingling magic swept over me, followed by suffocating numbness. My limbs collapsed. As I crumpled to the floor, my vision dimmed and my ears filled with buzzing.
A chair dragged across the carpet, then footsteps vibrated closer.
“I didn’t expect her to show,” the GM rumbled, his voice close yet impossibly distant. “Not after she killed Todd.”
“We warned you her demon is lethal. You shouldn’t have sent a lone contractor to take her.”
I knew that voice. Who … who was it …
“Well, at least I don’t have to pay him now,” the GM muttered. “I have two missing members to cover up instead of one. I expect a commensurate increase in my compensation.”
“It’s your fault your man died. We’re paying only for her.”
A harsh laugh. “I hope you know what you’re doing, kid. Once Red Rum pays you, they own you.”
The crackling noise overtook my ears. My head spun, awareness fading, then I was gone.
Chapter Twenty-Six
“You’re a traitorous coward, you know that?”
My head crackled and buzzed like a mistuned radio. I struggled toward consciousness, drowning in noise.
“I was already aware that you’re a putrid vat of slime,” the speaker continued, her acid voice echoing strangely, “but I didn’t realize you were also a self-important yak with no clue how pathetic you really are.”
I knew that angry female voice.
“You’re the one with no clue,” a man retorted.
I knew him as well. With a horrendous effort, I cracked my eyes open.
My vision blurred in and out, then steadied. I was sitting on a flimsy folding chair in a narrow, rectangular room with metal walls and no windows. I couldn’t see a door. The only light came from a battery-powered lantern on the floor beside Amalia, who sat on a chair a few feet away.
When I saw the wh
ite zip ties binding her wrists to the chair’s sides, I reflexively jerked my arms. Pain cut into my wrists. I was zip-tied to my chair too.
At my spasming movement, Amalia glanced at me. So did the second person: Travis. Stubble coated his jaw and the lantern light cast harsh shadows over his face, darkening the exhausted circles under his eyes. He regarded me for a moment, then turned back to Amalia.
“Look, I’m sorry, okay? I only brought you here so you couldn’t tip off Robin that I’d found her. I’ll let you go once we’re done with—”
“No one is going to let me go, you brainless ballsack!” Amalia snapped. “Red Rum will kill me, kill Robin, and probably kill you too. I can’t believe you’re this stupid.”
“They won’t kill anyone. They just want her demon.”
I gasped and almost choked. My mouth was duct-taped shut. Terror burned across my nerves but it was so hard to focus. My mind was spinning and the hissing racket in my ears was deafening. I couldn’t hear myself think. I could barely form thoughts at all.
Amalia closed her eyes as though praying for patience. “Travis, Red Rum is the biggest, meanest, most murderous rogue guild on the west coast. Criminals like them don’t let loose ends like us walk away.”
“Dad can handle them. So can I.”
“Dad couldn’t handle them! He was terrified of them!”
Fighting for every second of clarity, I focused through the unnatural buzzing in my head, struggling to get a better hold on the conversation.
Amalia breathed harshly through her nose. “Untie us and we’ll run for it together—before it’s too late. I already explained that Robin’s demon is—”
“No.” Hands jammed in his pockets, he paced the length of the room, his footsteps echoing off the metal floor. “Dad won’t give me a demon name. He never will. I’m not his real son.” Bitterness hoarsened his voice. “This is my only chance.”
Taming Demons for Beginners: The Guild Codex: Demonized / One Page 20