behind her ear. “Rogues attacking a guild head-on is unexpected enough, but then last night, the same thing happened to the SeaDevils.”
“The Pandora Knights are a bounty guild, aren’t they?” I asked uncertainly. “But the SeaDevils …”
“Only do a bit of bounty work,” she confirmed. “They weren’t equipped for an attack. Their guild was leveled and two members died.”
A small, sad sound escaped me.
Zora’s face hardened with determination. “The other downtown guilds are teaming up to help with the investigation. We’ll find the rogue group sooner or later, but until we do, be careful—especially at Odin’s Eye.”
I nodded earnestly.
She glanced over me. “By the way, are you going to your meeting like that?”
I looked down. My oversized sweater featured a cartoon Grumpy Cat dressed like St. Nick, with the text “Feliz Navi-DON’T” under it. It’d been Amalia’s Christmas present to Zylas, but he wouldn’t wear it.
“I was going to change.”
“Good. No one at Odin’s Eye will take you seriously in that. Wear your leather.”
“My leather?” I shook my head. “I don’t have any … leather.”
“You still don’t have combat gear?”
“I didn’t know what to get,” I mumbled.
“Get leather. Leather is better than just about anything.” She headed for the door. “I need to go. Keep me posted on your evening.”
“Okay. Good luck with your investigation.”
“Thank—” She cut herself off, glancing back at me with a crinkle between her eyebrows, then swept out of my apartment. The door clacked behind her.
I looked down at my Grumpy Cat sweater again, then pulled out my phone to text Amalia. Guess I’d be joining her for a last-minute shopping trip before my meeting with Tori.
Chapter Five
“So …” Tori drawled. “Tell me about this infernus maker.”
I tried not to puff as we walked down Main Street, heading away from the guild. Tori was only a bit taller than average for a woman, but her stride far outstripped mine, and my thighs burned.
“I don’t know much about him, to be honest.” I tugged at the sleeve of my new jacket. Leather. Leather was not my thing. I hadn’t liked any of the jackets from our impromptu shopping trip, so I’d let Amalia pick one for me.
That might’ve been a mistake. My new coat was tight, black, and didn’t suit me in the slightest.
“He was an accomplished summoner until he retired fifteen years ago,” I continued as we approached a crosswalk. “Now he makes infernus artifacts, but he’s supposed to be well connected in the Demonica community. According to a rumor”—that rumor coming directly from Uncle Jack—“he was … cutting edge … when he was a summoner, and he’s still very interested in new summoning practices and unusual Demonica knowledge.”
The light changed and we crossed the street in front of a line of waiting cars, their headlights glaring.
“If this guy doesn’t pan out,” Tori said, “who else might have useful information?”
“Um, well, Demonica isn’t a common class to begin with, and summoners are even rarer. It requires a lot of study, and summoning demons is quite tedious … and dangerous.”
“Tedious and dangerous? Those two don’t usually go together.”
“It’s dangerous when it goes wrong, and tedious when it goes right,” I clarified with a shiver, remembering my first-hand experience with how badly summoning could go wrong. “Just setting up a summoning circle can take weeks, and you often have to wait weeks more for the demon to accept a contract.”
Tori brushed red curls away from her face. “How did you become a contractor?”
Why hadn’t I seen that question coming? I couldn’t answer with either “completely by accident” or “sort of destiny”—even though both were true.
“I … fell into it, I guess,” I said lamely. “Most of my family are Demonica mythics.”
She absorbed that in silence, and my nerves prickled. Maybe this joint venture hadn’t been a good idea, but we were already passing into Chinatown and it was way too late to back out.
“We’re halfway back to my place,” Tori remarked dryly. “I should’ve asked where we were headed before meeting at the guild.”
“Oh,” I cringed. “I’m sorry. I thought this would be easier.”
Checking the street signs, I crossed to the opposite sidewalk and onto a main thoroughfare lined with commercial buildings. The raised SkyTrain tracks followed the center boulevard, and we weren’t far from the spot where Zylas had leaped from a rooftop and onto a speeding train to escape TahÄ“sh.
“Um, so …” I peeked at the guild bartender. “How long have you been friends with Aaron and Kai and Ezra?”
“Since my first day at the guild,