Taming Demons for Beginners (The Guild Codex: Demonized #1)(42)
“I explained to him how I’d be executed if the MPD found out I’m in an illegal contract,” I told her. “I think that’s why he’s behaving so well. If he draws attention to himself, it would put me in danger.”
“And putting you in danger would violate the protection clause,” Amalia murmured. “That’s a good sign.”
“What happens if he violates a clause?”
“Demons never violate their contracts. The magic binds them somehow. You can violate it, though. If you do, the contract magic weakens, so make sure you bake that bastard all the cookies it wants.” Her face hardened and she leaned close to whisper in my ear. “You’d better keep that demon one hundred percent convinced you can’t survive without me.”
I nodded earnestly. If Zylas decided Amalia wasn’t necessary anymore, he’d kill her.
She sat back against the headboard. “All right, first things first. You’re an illegal contractor, which means you’re officially a rogue and—”
Crunch.
Zylas, still crouched on the dresser, now held the television, which he’d ripped off its wall mount. As a crappy made-for-TV movie blared from the speakers, he studied the television’s back, then tore the cord out. The sound cut off and the picture went dark.
Amalia continued as though we hadn’t witnessed anything out of the ordinary. “You’re a rogue, so your best bet is to find a rogue guild and—”
“Wait,” I interrupted. “Doesn’t Uncle Jack have a system for forging his clients’ paperwork? So they can be legal contractors?”
“Yeah, but he uses special forms that his MPD contact has prepared, and without those …”
She trailed off as I jumped up. Zylas paused midway through prying the plastic backing off the TV to watch me dig through my suitcase. I pulled out my cantrips textbook and flipped it open. Taking the folded papers, I closed the book on the copy of the grimoire page and handed Amalia the forms.
She unfolded them, her expression incredulous. “How did you…?”
“Uh …” Admitting that I’d considered blackmailing her father seemed unwise.
“Whatever,” she sighed. “This is good. We can register you as a legal contractor, but you’ll also need to join a guild with a Demonica license.”
“A Demonica license?”
“Yeah.” She unplugged her phone from the wall charger and pulled up an app. “Guilds need a special license to have Demonica members. Most guilds don’t bother with it—they don’t want contractors. Let’s see … guilds with a license …”
I recognized the MPD app on her screen. Along with making and enforcing laws, the MPD required anyone with magic to join a guild by eighteen years old. Guilds provided support but also monitored their members, helping enforce the rules and laws.
Since I wasn’t a practicing sorceress, being a guild member was kind of like having a gym membership I never used. I paid a monthly fee and scheduled an annual checkup every spring, but not all guilds were that passive. Some were tight-knit communities, some were weekend clubs, and some were businesses with members doubling as staff.
“Okay,” Amalia said. “There aren’t many around here. Your options are the Grand Grimoire, Odin’s Eye, M&L, the Crow and Hammer, and the Seadevils. That’s it.”
“The only one I recognize is M&L.” That guild was also an international bank—the same one my father had worked for. They employed a lot of mythics, and most of us did our banking with them.
“You don’t want to join M&L. They’re sticklers for rules, and I think they only take Demonica mythics for security jobs. Let’s see … the Seadevils guild has one contractor and the Crow and Hammer has none. That’s no good. You’ll need to blend in.”
Unease churned in my gut at the thought of transferring to any of those guilds, but this was my new reality. Until I could get rid of Zylas, I had to accept I was a contractor. An illegal one.
“So that leaves the Grand Grimoire and Odin’s Eye—oh, but Odin’s Eye is a bounty-hunting guild. You’d never get in, and you want to stay far away from bounty hunters anyway. It’s gotta be the Grand Grimoire. They’re a Demonica guild, so you’ll blend right in with the rest.”
“Okay,” I mumbled.
“Let’s get this form filled out and—” Her phone beeped loudly. She tapped the screen and read something, her full lips pressing into a grimace. “The MPD just sent out the alert.”
“What alert?”
“For an unbound demon. Took them long enough. You sent in that tip hours ago. They must’ve lost the demon, but now they’ve located it and they need the combat guilds. See?”
She held out her phone, the message displayed in bold text.
MPD Emergency Alert: --CODE BLACK-- Suspected unbound demon active in your area. All CM assemble at GHQ ASAP. NCM take shelter. PROCEED WITH UTMOST CAUTION.
Unused to MagiPol acronyms, it took me a moment to parse the whole message. Combat mythics were to assemble at their guilds, while non-combat mythics should take cover. With that alert, every mythic in the city now knew about the escaped demon, and they’d be either terrified or preparing to face the creature’s unchecked magic in the hope of killing it. I squirmed, painfully aware of my role in the demon’s escape.