Angie Fox - The Dangerous Book for Demon Slayers

Surprise brushed across her features. “You don’t know that,” she said, sinking onto the edge of the bed.

“Lizzie heard it herself,” Dimitri said, tying a strip to Pirate’s tail for extra protection. “Once they have six hundred sixty-six demons here, they’ll be able to open the portal wide. All hell’s going to break loose.”

Dimitri shoved a handful of strips into his pocket and sat next to Grandma on the drippy bed. “Phil is the key to stopping the demons tomorrow night. We need to find him.”

Her eyes widened. “And Pop said he’d never amount to anything,” she said, almost to herself. “ ‘Course that was the day he took apart Dad’s barbecue pit to make me a suit of armor. Kids can be cruel, ‘cept for your Uncle Phil.” Grandma gave an uncharacteristic sniff, buried in a cough.

We’d get him back. “I have the focus object,” I said pulling out the bow tie we’d used in our disaster of a ceremony at the Paradise hotel.

Grandma took it, careful not to touch me. “Don’t I wish we could make use of this again,” she said, twirling it around her finger. “Still, you know what happened when I tried to channel Phil the last time. Serena spotted me faster than green grass through a goose.”

Sure, we failed before, but that was before I had my mark. What good would my extra power be if I didn’t use it? “I can do it.”

“What?” Grandma and Dimitri said in unison. Oh good. They finally agreed.

It made perfect sense. “The demons can’t see me.” Grandma could tell me what to do. I was the only one who could do it.

Dimitri looked like he wanted to clamp his hand over my mouth. “It’s too dangerous,” he told Grandma. “We don’t even understand the mark.”

She nodded. “And Lizzie’s not a witch.”

Hello? Over here. “You let me in the coven.”

Grandma looked me up and down. “You’re too young,” she said.

“I’m thirty.”

“You don’t know how,” Dimitri added.

“Grandma can teach me.”

“Lizzie—” Dimitri began.

Enough. “Will you two stop agreeing? We know we have to act soon or we’re fried. Now is the time. Phil needs us. Dimitri, you need this.”

He shot off the bed. “Don’t you even think about sacrificing yourself for me.”

Mistake. “Okay, what about Vegas? The West Coast? The entire planet is screwed if they get that portal all the way open. This isn’t going away on its own and I—me—I have the power to stop it.”

Grandma raked the quilt strips through her hands.

“You know I’m right,” I said.

“Six hundred sixty-six. All coming tomorrow night.” Grandma had gone completely still. “Damned if I ever thought I’d see the day.” She swiped at the corners of her eyes. “Fine. We’ll do it your way. But you have to do exactly what I say.”

With a grunt, Grandma launched herself off the bed and yanked open the outside door. “Frieda!” she hollered. The blonde witch rushed up in a jangle of plastic jewelry. “Get Scarlet.” She glanced back at me. “Prep the Cave of Visions. Have Sidecar Bob fetch up those armadillos from last night. We’re doing a channeling.”

Relief surged through me, mixed with acute paralyzing fear.

How was a demon slayer on a permit supposed to stop Armageddon?

Dimitri looked as though he’d been punched in the stomach.

Grandma turned to us. “I wish I knew how to find some help for you, sport, but you’re it.” She checked her watch. “Ceremony starts at nine o’clock.”

That gave us an hour and a half to get ready. “Is that a magic time?” I asked.

“No. That’s about how long it’ll take Frieda to get to Wal-Mart and back.”

“Lizzie.” Dimitri touched me and I pulled back. Something bad was happening to me. Back on the bike, he hadn’t been able to drain me, but what if I could do it to him now?

The hurt registered in his eyes.

Grandma watched our exchange with an inscrutable expression.

Ant Eater ducked her head in the door. “Scarlet needs the skull for the cave, Frieda wants to know how many guppies you need, and—wait,” she leaned her head out the door, “and if you want fancy or plain guppies, and Sidecar Bob needs Pirate to help him unwrap eighteen dozen Twinkies.”

My dog hopped up like the place was on fire. “Twinkies? I can help with the Twinkies! I know all about snack cakes.”

“Fine. I’ll be there in a second,” Grandma said. “Now you two get.”

“Come on.” Dimitri took my hand and led me outside.

The warm desert air felt wonderful, especially after the antidemonic stench in Grandma’s cabin. I could still smell the acid of the protection strips Dimitri carried in his front pocket.

He tugged me onto a rocky trail that ran alongside the stables. Horses whinnied beyond the age-stained walls and the odor of fresh manure ran strong. Gargoyles circled in the moonlit sky, their staccato calls piercing the night.

“You need to be as powerful as you can for the channeling,” Dimitri stated, as if he was telling me to eat my vegetables.

I nodded. I knew I’d need everything I had.

“If I can take from you, I can give to you.”

“What?” I stammered. No way was I going to be like the succubi draining him, even if we could find a way for it to work.

“I’m a griffin. We are protectors. What good am I if I can’t protect what’s mine?”

I wasn’t going to debate the “mine” part, just the obvious point. “I’m not taking anything from you,” I said, running a hand along the rough-hewn boards as we walked.

“Regardless of what you think of me now,” Dimitri said, “I came here to help you. You need to learn how to accept it.” Dimitri scanned the horizon. “And me.”

“I don’t know, Dimitri.” He’d already risked too much.

“You created the connection when you gave me part of your essence. Now that I know it’s there, I can feel it. Trust me, Lizzie. Let me redeem myself.” I felt for the raw spot between us as he tugged me into his arms. “Let me save us.” His voice rumbled with promise.

What do you say to a man who is willing to give everything to you?

“Yes.”

The corners of his mouth tugged up, and he drew me in for a long, burning kiss. He smelled like sweat and work and rock-solid man.

I rubbed up against him and felt him stiffen.

Closing my eyes, I fought the urge to pull back.

I hated the demons for draining him, and now I was supposed to do the same? I felt my dark mark pulse. It wanted him. I did too, but not at the expense of who he was.

His lips brushed the tender spot at the back of my ear, my throat, my mouth. To think, if I failed, we might not have any of this. My kiss faded and he felt it. He drew back, a questioning look on his face.

“How will we know when to stop?” I asked.

He squeezed my hand. “I’ll know,” he said, his voice rough around the edges.

Hand in hand, we walked the trail, pebbles crunching under our boots.

“You don’t need to do this.”

Dimitri slid his arm around me as we wound down into a rocky canyon.

The dark mark pulsed with anticipation. I hoped he could trust me with his power. “You don’t know what could happen if we try this.” I slid my marked palm away from his. “I’m evil. Or at least I’m turning evil. I don’t know.” None of this made any sense.

He tipped my chin up. “Is that what you really think?”

I didn’t know anymore. It certainly hadn’t been good for Max’s last slayer.

Dimitri regarded me with a mix of amusement and chagrin. “I’m not going to lie to you. The devil’s mark is usually a bad sign.”

“Thanks,” I said, breaking his gaze. What kind of person was I to need a little support here?