Taming Demons for Beginners (The Guild Codex Demonized #1) - Annette Marie Page 0,38
special, and someday, it’ll be yours. Before you inherit it, we’ll finish restoring and translating it.” She beamed at my awed expression. “It’ll be a mother-daughter project, just for us, and when you have a daughter of your own, you’ll pass this book on to her.”
I frowned. “What if I don’t have a daughter?”
She tweaked my nose playfully. “A worry for another day, Little Bird. Shall we find Daddy? He’s lost in yardwork again.”
As she ambled out of the office, I blinked up at the cabinet, the secret, special book hidden on the top shelf.
“Robin!”
My cut finger twinged painfully. I held it up—and terror flooded me as red liquid spurted through the Band-Aid.
“Robin!”
Cuts opened on my thin arm, the three gashes pouring blood over the hardwood floor. I screamed—
“Robin!”
Hands shook my shoulders roughly. My eyes flew open.
Amalia leaned over me, her face pale. The library lights blazed, illuminating the horrific scene. The empty summoning circle. Blood everywhere. Two bodies. I gagged on the stench of death.
“Is she awake?” Uncle Jack’s shout made me jump. He appeared beside Amalia, his face splotched with pink and a vein throbbing on his bald head. “What happened?”
I cringed back from his furious holler.
He stooped, grabbed the front of my t-shirt, and yanked my torso off the floor. “Robin, where’s the demon?”
“That’s your first question?” Amalia yelled. She shoved his hands away and put her arm around my shoulders, helping me sit up. “If you won’t ask if she’s okay, at least ask about Travis before the goddamn demon!”
“Someone stole it,” Uncle Jack spat. “I want answers! Robin, tell me what happened!”
“I—I heard noises in the basement, so I came to see and I saw … I saw the bodies.” My gaze darted to Vince and Hulk. “I don’t remember anything else. I think I fainted.”
“What about the demon?”
“What about Travis?” Amalia burst out, glaring at her father.
I swallowed painfully. “I d-don’t know. I … I never saw Travis. The circle was empty when I came in.”
Swearing, Uncle Jack stormed across the room. “Those backstabbing bastards! They stole my demon! How did they get it to agree to a contract? Travis is in league with them, I know it.”
“Or he’s missing because he’s in danger!” Amalia cut in loudly. She lifted her arm off me, her nose wrinkling. “You’re drenched in blood, Robin. Are you sure you’re not hurt?”
I peeked at my inner elbow. Dried blood coated my skin, and barely visible fingerprints smudged the gore where a hand had gripped my arm. I couldn’t see the wounds from Vince’s knife.
Amalia was watching me anxiously, so I stammered, “I—I guess I fell in the … the …”
Determinedly looking away from the bodies, she muttered, “Come on.”
She helped me stand, keeping a firm grip on my elbow. The hem of her pretty purple dress was stained red.
“Where do you think you’re taking her?” Uncle Jack stalked toward us, blowing air through his nose. “I want answers! I want—”
“No one cares what you want!” Amalia shouted. “I can’t believe you! Kathy is upstairs in hysterics, trying to find her missing son, and all you care about is the demon!” She hauled me past him and spat over her shoulder, “I’m taking Robin upstairs. Do something useful while I’m gone.”
Uncle Jack swore at her. As we left, I stared at my feet, unwilling to risk glimpsing the bodies.
Amalia steered me directly to my bedroom. “You should clean up. I’ll check on you in a few minutes. You … you sure you’re okay?”
When I nodded weakly, she retreated into the hallway and closed the door. I stood there, numb and shivering, then looked down. My white t-shirt was drenched in crimson that had dried to brown at the edges. Blood everywhere.
My stomach jumped. I bolted into the bathroom just in time to throw up in the toilet. Panting, I washed out my mouth, then stripped off my shirt and wet a towel in the sink. I vigorously scrubbed my arm, then paused. Lowering the towel, I stared at my inner elbow.
Three pink scars marked my skin where Vince had cut me. I prodded one, surprised it didn’t hurt. Healing sorcery could close wounds but it took intensive work … and no healers had been present in that basement.
A visceral memory hit me in the gut: Zylas leaning over me, a hand on my chest, another on my injured arm, red magic crawling over the floor and sliding into my body. My stomach twitched threateningly and I grabbed the sink,