I nod. Me neither. I leave the shed with more questions than answers. And if I want to see if he’s telling me anything that’s true, I have only one course of action available to me:
Research.
17
I KNOCK ON RHYS’S DOOR as soon as it’s a reasonable hour. He opens it and peers out. “Is something wrong?”
“No, nothing! I kind of wanted to do . . . some research.”
Rhys blinks in surprise. “Research? Really?” His eyes narrow slightly. This is a request I’ve never made. I can’t have him suspecting there’s a very real reason behind it. I hate manipulating him, but short of going to the Council, it’s my only option.
“I just—after last night I want to feel normal. And what’s more normal than us hanging out in the library studying demons?”
Rhys smiles, genuine fondness in his face. I feel a deep twinge of guilt over misleading him. I think he’d help—really help—but then I’d have to ask him to keep secrets for me. I understand now how wearing and awful secrets are. I don’t want to burden him with this.
“I would like nothing more,” he says. “Did you have a specific research goal? Or go wild and play bookshelf roulette?”
I laugh. “Focus on demons? There was a new kind last night. Zompires. It made me realize how much I still don’t know.”
“Perfect! We’ll bulk up on demonology. And you can give me all the zompire details, plus help me narrow down my ideas for my Watcher project. All my previous efforts were scrapped when Buffy tanked magic. I need something new. Something practical but also sensational.”
Rhys and I walk to the library together. He breathes in deeply, rubbing his hands together. “Where to start?”
I trail my fingers along the shelves. It really is a beautiful room. The window slots provide abundant golden light that cuts the room in rays, illuminating the dust motes dancing languidly in the air. Most of the books are bound in leather, their spines faded. Illegible covers have neatly labeled cards beneath them. Artemis’s handwriting. Yet another thankless chore she’s done. Do I ever tell her how much all her work is appreciated? Does anyone?
But Artemis’s labels don’t tell me what type of demon I have in Cillian’s shed or whether he’s dangerous. “Is there anything that categorizes demons by . . . color?”
Rhys shakes his head. He’s already pulling vampire books as well as several books whose titles begin with “necro-,” which is a prefix I normally avoid if possible. “Is ‘zompire’ a technical name? It sounds like a nickname.”
“I doubt you’ll find them in any books. Cosmina said they popped up after the link to hell dimensions was cut off.”
He sets down several of the books, his face falling. “So we’d need field reports. Which would be easy if we had more than Honora in the field. And if she ever checked in. Leo hasn’t encountered them?”
“Not that he mentioned, but feel free to ask him.” I need to redirect Rhys’s excellent brain. Zompires are something new, which isn’t good because it means no info, and we thrive on info. But the demon in the shed is more pressing than zompires in Dublin. “What about a book that organizes demons by type? A comprehensive reference. Like an encyclopedia of demons.”
He scratches his head, looking around with a dazed expression. “No. Most of the books were written about specific demons. Areas of the world. Periods of history. But . . . wow. That’s an amazing idea. If I could condense this information into an easily searchable reference guide . . .”
And I’ve lost him. I snap my fingers. “Okay. Let’s narrow it down, then. I’m interested in hybrid demons. But I’m feeling a little squeamish. So how about hybrid demons that eat things other than people. Maybe ones that eat . . . emotions?” There’s a sign as neon yellow as the demon flashing over my head saying NINA IS UP TO SOMETHING.
Fortunately, Rhys is in his element and doesn’t notice my obvious guilt. “So empath types? Actual emotions, or emotional energy? Or just energy?” He starts pulling books at what looks like random. He knows these shelves so well he can grab books without looking. “This one has a section on fear demons. Nasty little blokes. Emphasis on ‘little.’ Oh, this has a good primer on incubus- and succubus-type demons, with several in-depth studies. A history of Pylea, that’s