Taming Demons for Beginners (The Guild Codex Demonized #1) - Annette Marie Page 0,23

cantrip textbook, the papers hidden inside, and stacked it with my other books.

One quick and silent trip through the house later, I entered the library, leaving the lights on their lowest setting. Ebony filled the summoning circle, nothing but silence inside it, and the soft thump of my socked feet was uncomfortably loud. Zylas didn’t speak as I crossed to the sitting area, but the back of my neck prickled, warning that a predator was observing me—hunting me.

I pulled The Summoner’s Handbook from under the coffee table, then said stiffly, “I can feel you watching me, Zylas. I’m not here to pester you. I’m just getting something.”

As I headed back to the door, his low voice slid out of the circle. “Getting what?”

I should’ve kept walking. Should’ve gone straight to my room with my prize. Instead, I returned to the inky dome and held out the book in answer.

The darkness swirled, then faded. Zylas sat in the circle’s center, looking bored. “A book?”

“A book about demons.” Crouching so we were at eye level, I tapped on the cover. “I’m learning how summoning and contracts work.”

He appraised me, suspicion creasing the corners of his mouth.

I lowered the book to peer more closely at him. His eyes were no longer what I’d call crimson—they were dark red, like cooling coals with only a hint of heat left. He watched me with dislike, but his snarling rage was gone. He seemed … tired.

“Um,” I whispered uncertainly. “Are you … okay?”

A muscle in his cheek twitched, a suppressed reaction to my question. He opened his mouth to reply, then his gaze shot past me to the door and darkness whooshed through the circle. I launched to my feet and spun around.

Uncle Jack and Claude walked into the library.

“… won’t wait much longer,” Uncle Jack was saying. He swiped at the switch and lights brightened throughout the room. “But it shouldn’t—”

He and Claude spotted me at the same time. I clutched the Demonica book, my brain frozen with panic.

“Robin?” Uncle Jack barked. “What are you doing in here? I told you to stay out!”

Claude’s pale eyes moved from my guilty face to the black dome. “Were you talking to the demon?”

“No!” I gasped. “I—I—I just wanted to borrow a book.”

Face reddening, Uncle Jack advanced on me. He wrenched the book out of my hands. When he flipped it open to read the title page, his eyes bulged.

“What are you doing with this? Have you read any of it?”

“N-no. I only just got it a minute ago—”

His fingers closed around my arm with bruising force. He dragged me across the room, shoving The Summoner’s Handbook at Claude on his way past, and propelled me toward the stairs. I stumbled and almost fell.

“You’re living under my roof,” he growled, a vein throbbing in his forehead. “I will not tolerate any lies. Have you come down here before?”

“No,” I whispered, staring at my feet as I twisted my hands together. “Not since you showed me the—the summoning circle. I wanted to learn more about Demonica so I came down just to … just to …”

He grabbed my upper arm again. “You don’t need to know anything about Demonica. Didn’t your parents forbid it? Stay out of the basement, Robin.” His hand tightened, fingers grinding into my flesh, and tears spilled down my cheeks. “If I catch you down here again, I’ll kick you out of my house in a heartbeat. Understood?”

“Yes,” I choked out.

The moment he released me, I bolted for the stairs. My socks slipped and I pitched forward, bashing my knee against a step. Lungs paralyzed by pain, I heard Claude’s say from the library, “I warned you about her.”

I shoved myself up and ran. I didn’t stop until I’d reached my room and slammed the door behind me.

Chapter Ten

I was getting good at sneaking around.

For three days I hid in my room to demonstrate my obedience. That was as long as I could stand my boredom and restlessness. When I ventured out again, it was with a plan: sneak into the library and steal The Summoner’s Handbook, or a similar book, without getting caught.

If Uncle Jack was determined to keep me away from Demonica and summoning, the information must be important. It could be he was afraid I’d realize he was breaking laws—as if I needed a book to tell me—or it could be more than that. I would find out.

Once I knew what I was dealing with, I’d devise a way to get my

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