Taming Demons for Beginners (The Guild Codex Demonized #1) - Annette Marie Page 0,51
him through the door and I trailed after them, fuming. Just because I was short didn’t mean I was a child. I adjusted my glasses, wishing I could take them off.
Beyond the dusty shop was a maze of equally neglected offices. Our guide led us up a dimly lit staircase to the second floor, where we entered a large room scattered with comfy sofas and chairs. A projector screen occupied one wall and a few tables, jumbled with computers and laptops, lined the back. Large windows let in abundant light, brightening the space despite the dark maroon walls.
A dozen people were slouched in chairs or lying across sofas. If I were stereotyping them, I’d go with “biker gang.” Leather, tattoos, beards. Big guys with big muscles. There were no women.
A head appeared over the back of a sofa. Black hair poked out from beneath the man’s vivid orange beanie as he scrutinized us. He pushed off the sofa, a gray-and-white plaid shirt hanging open over his plain t-shirt. A pendant bounced against his chest but it wasn’t an infernus.
Burly waved at him. “Tae-min, our first officer.”
Guild hierarchy was straightforward. The guild master, or GM, was the ultimate authority and responsible for everyone in the guild. He was supported by one or more guild officers, who were like the shift supervisors—or camp counselors, or maybe army lieutenants. It depended on the guild.
I blinked bemusedly as Tae-min joined us. He wasn’t what I’d expected—neither bearded nor tattooed nor muscly. At maybe thirty years old, he was young for an officer.
“What’s up?” he asked.
On closer inspection, he appeared exhausted. So did Burly; he mustn’t have been exaggerating about being up all night. Every guild in the city was hunting the winged demon.
“This chick wants to interview for membership. She claims to have a newly discovered demon line on contract.”
Tae-min’s brown eyes brightened with interest. “A new lineage? There hasn’t been a new one in, what, a century? Who’s the summoner?”
“Confidential,” Amalia replied promptly. “Is your GM here?”
“No. It isn’t a great time, you know, with the alert.” He flapped his hand like it was no big deal, the unbound demon loose in the Downtown Eastside and probably slaughtering innocent people. “But I could call him—if you and your demon are legit.”
Other guild members, listening in on the conversation, wandered closer. I edged behind Amalia, my heart pounding. Things I hated: confrontation, any form of spotlight, and not knowing what I was doing in a strange place in front of strange people. This was my social-insecurities nightmare.
Amalia folded her arms, boldly staring Tae-min down. “We aren’t here to entertain you.”
“Look, we’d love to add a new contractor to our ranks, but Rocco is busy managing our teams for the demon hunt. I’m not calling him based on your claim alone. All things considered, I shouldn’t call him at all.”
“Yeah,” someone muttered, “but for a new demon line … that’d put us on the radar for sure.”
My nervous gaze roamed across the gathering crowd. It wasn’t a big group, but the men were so tall and beefy that it felt much larger. Was every person here a contractor? Had they all sold their souls to control a demon’s brute power?
“Show us your demon,” Tae-min prompted, “and I’ll call Rocco. If you’re for real, he’ll induct you over the phone.”
Show them? I squashed my alarm. Oh no. Definitely not. Zylas was safely confined to the infernus and I planned to keep it that way.
Amalia nodded. “Yeah, sure.”
What? No!
Tae-min grinned and the other mythics drew closer, eagerness and greed livening their faces—until Amalia pulled me out from behind her.
“Call your demon, Robin,” she ordered.
A ripple passed through our observers.
“Wait,” Burly growled at her. “You’re the contractor, aren’t you?”
“Hell no.”
A dozen pairs of disbelieving eyes fixed on me. I shrank in on myself.
“Her?” someone said in an undertone.
“She’s tiny.”
“Is she even legal?”
“No way she’s a contractor.”
“Robin,” Amalia cut in firmly. “Do it. We don’t have all day here.”
Her gray eyes lashed me with warning. I needed to play my part. I wasn’t a non-practicing sorceress who read lots of books and only knew basic cantrips. I was a contractor now.
Swallowing hard, I tugged my infernus from beneath my jacket. The silver runes gleamed as I settled it on my chest. All eyes followed the motion.
Breathe. I could do this. Amalia had spent over an hour coaching me and Zylas on how a demon and its contractor were supposed to behave. It