Dani allowed herself a moment of relief, staring at the severed hand that rested on the grass a few feet away. She didn’t know what she’d do with it without Jasper or Silas to consume the demon’s flesh and banish it back to the lower realms. But then Dani remembered her mother, and she scrambled back to her side. “Mom? Mom, it’s me. It’s Dani. Wake up.” She shook her shoulders, and when that didn’t do anything, she felt her neck for a pulse.
There. It was weak, but it was there.
“Poe? Kiva? Silas. Jasper.” She called to the Ink, but nothing happened. Tears burned hot in her eyes. They must still be too injured to take form in her world. Too depleted from their battle.
“Mom, please. You have to get up. You have to be okay.”
Andrea’s eyes fluttered, and Dani’s heart gave a little lurch. Her mom’s eyes opened fully, and the relief was so strong it physically hurt. But then confusion creased Andrea’s brow. She scrambled away from Dani.
“Monsters,” she mumbled, her voice shaking. “Monsters everywhere. Danger and screaming and it’s the end, the end, the end.”
“Mom?” Dani reached out, but her mother shrank way, covering her ears with her hands.
“It’s the end. I hear the monsters. They’re so happy. Laughing, laughing, laughing.”
“Kiva,” Dani called again, desperate for the panther’s guidance. Still nothing. “Silas,” she tried. He was banished first. Maybe he could help. “Silas, please,” she begged, and the Ink on her right arm shuddered then released, pooling before her.
Silas curled on the ground, moving sluggishly as he lifted his head, looking between Dani and Andrea, his forked tongue flicking out to taste the wind. Andrea screamed when she caught sight of the mighty python.
“What’s wrong with her? What did he do to her?”
Her mind is no longer her own. She isn’t fit to bear the Ink. Silas turned away from Andrea and curled up Dani’s leg, nudging her hand with his head. We are now your burden to carry.
4
One year later.
Dani was late.
She always seemed to be late these days, always lacking something, with no shortage of people—or birds—to tell her so. She didn’t spend enough time hunting. She didn’t earn enough money at her job. And she definitely didn’t come here enough. She hated this place. The walls were a soft cream, freshly painted and accented by soft, gauzy photographs of foliage.
At the front desk, Dani signed her name, trying not to think about how long it had been since she visited. One week. Maybe two?
“It’s nice to see you, Miss Frost,” the woman behind the desk said, her smile sickly sweet. “Do you remember the way?”
Dani nodded and slipped down the hall without a word. It was hot, almost stiflingly so, but Dani didn’t take off her leather jacket. It was the only thing of her mother’s that fit her, the only thing that remained of their life in Greenvale. Besides, she didn’t need anyone seeing the uniform underneath. At room 113, she paused in the doorway and took a deep breath, steeling her nerves. Dani never knew what she’d find in this room.
Slowly, her shoes squeaking on the linoleum floor, she entered.
“Mom?”
Her voice was a whispered, barely there thing. She found Andrea asleep in her bed, as she so often was these days. Relief clutched Dani’s chest, followed swiftly by shame. Neither emotion was particularly helpful, but Dani couldn’t prevent herself from feeling either of them. It was always so much easier when her mother was asleep, even if thinking so made her a terrible daughter.
Dani sat in the chair beside Andrea’s bed. The hallways were decorated with bats and pumpkins for Halloween, but Andrea’s room was bare of decorations. “Hi, Mom.” Dani traced the edge of the soft blanket. She didn’t know how much her mother heard, but she tried her best to pretend everything was normal. “I have good news. I found a new place to live. I have the best view in the entire city. You’ll love it.”
They’d travelled a lot in the first few months after Dani took on the Ink. She’d dropped out of school and taken her mother east, trying to track the monster who did this. Who stuck his demonic fingers into her mind and ruined everything. They kept on the road, relying on Andrea’s meager savings, then stolen credit cards, to get what they needed to survive.
But life on the road was hard on all of them, especially Andrea. She’d press her face to the window and rant unintelligibly about monsters. When they stopped for supplies, sometimes she’d refuse to leave the car, and more than once, she tried to make a run for it. Dani was faster and stronger than ever before, but something about the way Andrea moved made it hard to keep hold of her. At night, as they’d stop at run-down motels to sleep, Dani would push her bed in front of the door so her mom couldn’t escape.
When they finally made it to Blackthorn, a city so full of demons that even Poe agreed it would take years to get rid of them all, Dani tried to make a life for them. She rented a tiny apartment and went looking for work. But she was always away. Working. Hunting. As far as Poe was concerned, she was never hunting enough. So, she increased her patrols.
Blackthorn, she quickly learned, was the demon summoning capital of the world.
Dani tried leaving her mother home alone, but after she trashed the place twice, she left Silas behind to babysit. That ended with Andrea screaming until the landlord keyed into the trashed apartment to find the mythical python wrapped around Andrea, tying her to a chair.
They were evicted that same night.
It didn’t help that they were already two months behind on rent.
In the end, it was Kiva who suggested this place. Somewhere doctors could keep an eye on Andrea. Somewhere she’d be safe so Dani could fulfill her duties as the Ink Carrier. In the two months since, she’d learned everything she could about the five families of necromancers who seemed to run the city. She’d destroy every last one the demon summoners if that’s what it took to find the monster who ruined her life.
“I’m going to find him, Mom,” she whispered then, reaching for Andrea’s hand. “I’m going to kill the demon who did this.” And maybe, just maybe, whatever twisted magic had hurt her mother would be undone.
“Miss Frost?” The deep, rumbling voice of Andrea’s doctor greeted Dani from the doorway. “Could I have a word?”
Dani stood and pressed a kiss to her mother’s forehead, who stirred but didn’t wake. When she turned and saw the doctor’s drawn face, worry joined the shame that burned her skin. “What’s wrong? Is she okay?”
The doctor, a man in his late forties with dark hair that grayed around the edges, plastered on a pleasant smile. A patient one.
“Your mother’s condition hasn’t responded to any of our usual medications. The best we’ve been able to do for her is keep her mildly sedated.”
Andrea’s condition had been diagnosed as a severe case of schizophrenia, but though the symptoms might look the same, Dani doubted medication could undo what the demon had done.
“Have there been any other . . . ” she trailed off and had to clear her throat before she could continue. “Any incidents since the last time I was here?”
“Not since the escape attempt we called about last week.” The doctor checked the chart in his hands. “The injuries were minor, but we did have to increase her dosage after that.”
Dani nodded. She didn’t need to ask who had been injured in the attempt — it was never her mother. Always a nurse or another patient who got in her way. A doctor she mistook for a demon.
“I’m sorry, sir.” Dani was always apologizing these days. To her mom. To the people who were paid handsomely to care for her. An alarm beeped on her phone, and Dani stifled a groan. If she didn’t hurry, she’d owe another apology to her boss Frank for constantly being late to work. Dani glanced up at the doctor, who hadn’t stepped aside to let her pass. “Was there something else?”
The doctor nodded. “There’s the matter of the bill. The card we have on file was declined.”
“There must be some mistake.” Dani glanced back at her mother’s sleeping form. She was growing restless. “I used the card last night. It was working fine.” She reached for her phone. “I’ll call the bank and see what’s going on.”
The doctor shook his head, stalling her hand. “This is the second time the card has been declined. You’ll need to see reception to run payment.” He smiled at her, but it was a pitying thing. “I asked them to waive the late fee, but this is the last time. Understood?”
“Of course. It won’t happen again.” Dani held her breath until the doctor took his leave. When she gave herself permission to breathe, her knees almost gave out beneath her. She was out of money. Out of options. Her mother needed this place, but it cost more than she made. Leaving her less than nothing for herself.
She had to find the demon and reverse what he’d done.
She needed her mother.
Dani hurried down the hall and slipped past reception without stopping. She’d find the money somehow. She had to. For now, she had a job to do.
Just not the one she was destined for.
The crisp air blew across Dani’s sweat-slicked face, tossing her faded red hair over her shoulders. She needed another dye job, as soon as she could afford one of the cheap store-brand boxes. She slipped out of her jacket, the black leather too warm even in the cool October air. In the shadows, she called Poe’s name, and the bird soared from her skin. All of the Ink were restless against her flesh, but Poe was the only one who wouldn’t draw attention.
It’s been too long since they went hunting, Danika, Poe said as he stretched his wings against the sky. You have to make time for them.
“I know,” she muttered, but there wasn’t anything she could do about it.
She was late. Again.
Dani stepped out of the shadows and continued down the street, the deep mustard yellow of her shirt glaring back at her from the windows of brightly lit shops. The inviting smells of the restaurants made her stomach growl. Spicy Indian fare. Savory Italian sauces. Even the greasy pizza joint made her mouth water.
“Dani?”
She kept moving. No one in this city knew her. She was hundreds of miles from anywhere she’d ever been before, which was part of what she liked about Blackthorn.
“Danika Frost?”
Shit.
The young man broke into a grin when she turned, deep dimples burrowing into his cheeks. He looked familiar, with his crystal blue eyes and blond hair, but Dani couldn’t immediately place him. “Can I help you?”
“We went to Greenvale High together, remember?” He paused, but Dani shook her head, still at a loss for the boy’s name. “I’m Gabriel,” the man said, and in a flash, Dani remembered. He’d been there that night at the club. They’d danced. She’d even kissed him.
“Oh my god, Gabriel! Of course! How have you been?” She faked excitement like it was her job, like it was the only thing keeping her alive.
“I’ve been great! What about you? I almost didn’t recognize you with the red hair and everything. I haven’t seen you since . . . ” He trailed off, either unsure exactly when he’d seen her last or embarrassed by the memory of their dancing. Of their kiss. Or, more likely, the way she had ditched him in the middle of the street when she’d run off to save her mother.
“Yeah, sorry about that night, by the way. My mom got this amazing new job, but we had to get all the way out here, like, immediately. She needed me home to start packing right away. But hey, we both made it to Blackthorn. Small world, right?” Dani knew she was rambling, knew her explanation didn’t really account for the way she had disappeared, but she didn’t know what else to say. She gestured vaguely around her, as if to suggest she lived among such sparkle and wealth.
Gabriel shook his head. “Damn, that must have sucked, switching schools part-way through senior year.”
She shrugged. “I survived.” But in reality, Dani hadn’t finished school. She’d left Gabriel’s hometown and spent the twelve months since killing demons and bouncing from one shitty apartment to the next. “What brings you this far east?”
“College. I’m in the bio program at Blackthorn University, pre-med track. Got a full ride.” He beamed at her, but this time, as jealousy slammed into her so fiercely it made her teeth ache, she couldn’t muster a smile in return.
Boys like Gabriel, whose family made more in one month than Dani could in a year, didn’t need full rides to college. Dani was sure his family had a college fund all saved up, and now he wouldn’t even need to dip into it. He was going to be a doctor, without a penny stacked against him, while Dani could barely keep a roof over her head and food in her belly. The unfairness of it all, of everything she sacrificed to keep sweet, dimpled boys like Gabriel safe, threatened to crush her. When she forced herself to glance up at him, there was an expectant look on his face.
“I’m sorry. What?” she asked when she realized he was waiting for a response.
“I asked if you’re going to B.U., too. It’s a big campus, but I haven’t seen you around.”
The bitter truth sprang to her lips. That she couldn’t afford college. That her mother never wanted her to go at all. But she couldn’t get into all that, not unless she wanted to fall apart in front of someone who was more of a stranger than a friend, despite the kiss they’d shared.
“Oh, no. I’m actually taking a gap year to travel. I’m just in town visiting my mom for the weekend.” Dani crossed her arms, rubbing her cool skin. Now that she was standing still in the autumn wind, goosebumps had formed on her flesh.
Gabriel glanced down, taking in the yellow shirt. Dani followed his gaze, the transparency of her lie burning her face. The logo of Frank’s Diner, the rundown grease pit in the heart of the city’s poorest neighborhoods, stared back at her. It was the only place desperate enough to hire someone without any experience.
Her abilities as the Ink Carrier meant she never dropped a plate, but it didn’t do much for her poor attitude, as the establishment’s titular Frank often complained.
“Right. Well, it was nice to see you.” Gabriel was backing away now, pointing over his shoulder, as eager as she was to be done with the charade. “We should get together sometime. Maybe go out for coffee.”
“Sure.”
But he was already gone, his words hollow. He hadn’t even asked for her number, so he had no way to get in touch. Not that she wanted him to have it. She didn’t need a shiny example of all the things she had longed for and lost.
Dani checked her phone and cursed. She was really late now.
She slipped her leather jacket back on and hurried down the street. The bright lights of downtown gave way to dirt and decay. Trash littered the gutters, and the air smelled like piss and stale beer. Overhead, Poe squawked and Dani could already hear the lecture spilling off his beak.
He landed up ahead, resting on a low-hanging branch.
You’re late.
She glared at him as she passed his tree. “I know.”
Frank isn’t going to like it.
“You don’t even like Frank. What do you care?” Dani’s stomach growled again. She was famished, but she’d need to put in at least three hours before she’d earn a free meal during her break. Another grease-soaked hamburger and limp fries.
Poe made an indignant sound and flapped after her. If you insist on working this pitiful job, the least you could do is be punctual.
“Do you have another idea to keep her safe?”
Dani didn’t have to say her name. Poe knew exactly what she was talking about. He finally went quiet.
“Unless demon hunting starts pulling in some cash, this is the best I can do.”
What she didn’t say, what she didn’t want to admit to anyone, especially not the judgmental raven, was that her best might not be enough.
5
Frank’s Diner, despite its dingy exterior and peeling vinyl seats, was a popular place in Blackthorn. The food was cheap and it was damn delicious—if it wasn’t
the only meal you ate most days. The staff was down two waitresses that night, which meant Dani wasn’t getting a break anytime soon, no matter how much her stomach grumbled.
Though she knew she shouldn’t, Dani stole a fry or two from most of the plates she delivered, anything to keep her on her feet and moving. The nagging hunger clawed at her ribs, a pain rivaled only by the stiff smile she kept plastered on her face.
By the fourth hour, the faces at the tables were starting to blur together.
She lost track of the coffee requests and simply gave up, serving everyone the stale decaf that no one ever ordered. Hour after hour she carried trays of burgers, breakfast foods, and Frank’s famous meatloaf.
A busboy turned abruptly and crashed hard into Dani. She managed to hold onto her heavily-laden tray of food, but the boy’s plates went flying. Bits of leftover food littered the floor, and the remnants of someone’s strawberry milkshake splattered over the front of Dani’s shirt.
“Are you fucking kidding me,” she snapped, staring down at her ruined uniform. Right as her boss came through the swinging kitchen doors.
Frank Mancini was a giant of a man. In his late fifties, he towered well-over six and a half feet tall. His back rarely stood completely straight—the toll of three decades spent working the flat top, grilling all manner of meat and cheese and thick bread—but he was still an imposing man. One eye was always open a little wider than the other, and his gray hair had grown wispy on top.
“Danika Frost,” he bellowed. His voice cut through the music that poured from crackling speakers, making Dani cringe. “You watch that mouth of yours.”
“Fuck. No, shit. Gah! Sorry,” she said quickly and continued to her table. Frank helped the busboy clean up his mess, but no one seemed to care that Dani had prevented six full meals from being lost to the grime-covered floor. And she wasn’t the clumsy one who started the whole chain reaction in the first place!
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