Taming Demons for Beginners (The Guild Codex: Demonized #1)(62)

“Robin? Are you still there?”

“Yeah,” I mumbled, my confusion growing as the two civilian men and the redhaired woman also launched into motion. Two of them jumped into the car, and the dark-haired guy picked up the bike and started it. “I’ll wait here.”

I ended the call as the red sports car reversed off the grass and onto the road. The motorcycle followed, their engines roared, and a moment later, Zylas and I were alone in the park.

While I pondered the bizarre behavior of the witnesses to Tahēsh’s defeat, Zylas relaxed out of his wooden stance—then let out a whoop that made me jump a foot in the air.

“Vh’renith!” he shouted, pumping his fist. “I killed the Dīnen et Lūsh’vēr! I killed Tahēsh of the First House!”

Eyes glowing and a broad grin stretching his lips, he spun on the spot like he couldn’t contain his exuberant energy.

“That was lalūdris, kirritavh’ dahgan rūs hh’istaran,” he spouted, slipping into his native language. “I will be …”

He trailed off, his victorious outburst fading into a scowl, then he groaned and flopped backward, landing on the grass.

“Zylas?” I yelped. “What’s wrong?”

Flat on his back, he glared at me. “No one will ever know.”

“Huh?”

“I am the first of my House to kill a Lūsh’vēr and no one will ever know!” Heaving a sigh, he sat up and glowered at Tahēsh’s body like it was all the winged demon’s fault. “No glory for me.”

“Glory? For killing another demon king?”

“It is the greatest victory for my kind—to kill a Dīnen.”

I crouched beside him. “Doesn’t that mean that other demons try to kill you all the time?”

“Ch. Of course.”

Hesitantly, I patted his shoulder. “Well, you know you defeated him, and that’s what’s important.”

He squinted at me like I’d said something utterly moronic, then gazed across the park. “Maybe the other witnessed my triumph.”

“The other what?”

“The other demon.”

Confusion fizzled through me. “You mean the two contracted ones?”

“No. There was another.” His nostrils flared. “I can smell his vīsh. Different from Tahēsh.”

Vīsh. Magic. Zylas could detect the magic of another demon? But contracted demons couldn’t use magic.

“I could smell him on Tahēsh,” Zylas added. “This other demon … he is the one who injured Tahēsh. The one Tahēsh was hunting. He is powerful. Second or Third House.”

A chill washed over me. Another powerful demon, one capable of using magic, had injured Tahēsh. Did that mean there had been a third unbound demon in the park?

“I did not see him.” Zylas pointed to the dark street where the red car had disappeared. “But his scent … it disappeared with them.”

I stared at the empty street. Two dark-haired men, one unconscious. A pair of redheads, one male and one female. They’d looked human to me, but Zylas didn’t lie.

Who were they?





Chapter Twenty-Four





I sat on the grass, bored and exhausted. More than a dozen MPD agents and high-ranking mythics—GMs and first officers from multiple guilds—swarmed the park.

Over the past couple of hours, I’d been questioned, questioned some more, then questioned again. The demon corpse had been bagged up and a nondescript van was parked beside it, back doors open to receive the body. Someone was pouring liquid from a large jug over the bloody grass, and silver vapor rose from it in unnatural corkscrews.

My phone buzzed in my pocket, but I ignored it. I had a dozen messages from Amalia and Tae-min—the former asking if I’d killed the demon, because rumors were flying, and the latter demanding, with growing urgency, that I return to the guild immediately to see the GM.

I pushed my glasses up my nose, nervousness skittering through my belly. This was way too much attention. Would the MPD investigate my paperwork and realize it was all a forgery? The Grand Grimoire guild master summoning me didn’t seem like a good thing either. Hopefully he just wanted to congratulate me on a job well done.

Chewing my lower lip, I watched a tall woman in a crisp business suit bark orders at various agents. From what I’d overheard, she was the captain of this MPD precinct. That made her the biggest boss in the city, and I was extra glad I hadn’t had to talk to her. Despite her waves of soft blond hair, she was inexplicably terrifying.

A man broke away from the crowd and strode toward me. I got wearily to my feet, trying to place his thick beard and longish gray hair. He seemed familiar.

“Robin?” He held out his hand. “Girard Canonach, first officer of the Crow and Hammer.”

His guild jogged my memory; he was a teammate of Darius, the Crow and Hammer’s GM. “We met a couple of days ago, didn’t we?”

“Briefly,” he confirmed as he shook my hand. “You did an excellent job on the unbound demon. Are you hurt?”

“Not a scratch. My demon did all the work.”

“Glad to hear it. The entire city owes you a favor—though I believe the bounty for an unbound demon kill should go a long way toward that IOU.”