Page 24 of Garden of Poisoned Delights

“Flick,” Hektor said, desperately. “Did you really eat Charon’s new book?”

YES

NO

I READ IT

IT WAS DELICIOUS

Flick gamboled after a butterfly, while Hektor put his face in his hands and sighed.

* * *

Hektor sat in Charon’s room with an empty book in his hands, staring down at the blank pages.

It was bound to happen, really. Flick hadn’t eaten an entire book since before Hektor’s first year in Staria, when Hektor had used Flick to steal the Archmage Drakos’ memories from every mirror between Staria and Mislia. His demon just eating one page of text was enough to send Hektor to bed with fierce headaches and a rolling stomach, and he’d spent the better part of a year building up a system with Flick, a way to organize his thoughts so he could separate Hektor from Everything Else. Now, it seemed that Flick was growing bolder, because when Hektor searched his mind for the carefully constructed catalogue he and Flick had made, he found a whole wealth of information Flick had squirreled away.

“It’s like he’s a cat with a hoard,” he said. He held himself very still while he sifted through the contents. “There’s a gossip magazine, I think Simone’s, and a recipe for...cake? And the cover of a children’s book.”

IT’S CALLED POOR POLLY AND THE DREADFUL HORSE, Flick said. He was curled up next to Hektor, tail swishing. AND I AM NOT A CAT.

“You know you can’t just steal books from people,” Hektor said.

WHAT? Flick sat up, ears alert. IT ISN’T THEFT IF THEY’RE GOOD PEOPLE. THEN IT IS JUST BORROWING.

Flick paused, head cocked to the side.

FOREVER.

“No, Flick.”

BUT THEY WON’T HURT YOU FOR IT HERE, Flick insisted. SO IT’S FINE.

Hektor glanced at Charon, who was sitting in the chair opposite. It was hard to tell when Flick was speaking to Hektor alone or broadcasting his words to everyone in the surrounding area. Charon didn’t so much as blink, so maybe he hadn’t heard, but it was hard to tell with Charon. He kept so much of himself inside, something Hektor could never learn to do. Sometimes he still felt like an open wound, spilling emotions everywhere he went, but Charon kept his quietly locked away.

Just because people won’t hurt me here doesn’t mean you have free rein to eat their books, Hektor thought at Flick. You have to show some restraint.

Flick narrowed his eyes at Hektor.

“I’m telling him he needs to show restraint,” Hektor said, “but I don’t think that’s enough. Could I buy you a new copy, at least?”

“It was a limited run,” Charon said. “I don’t know if you’ll be able to find it so easily.”

Hektor bit down a curse. “I can rewrite it for you.” Charon opened his mouth, probably to be magnanimous and tell Hektor it was fine, but Hektor rushed forward before he could say it. “I will rewrite it for you. Flick, I’ll need you to help me focus or I’ll get the words mixed up again. But Charon, I’ll need your help with disciplining him.”

WITH WHAT. NO.

Charon raised his brows as Flick stood up, fur bristling.

THERE WILL BE NO DISCIPLINE, Flick said.

“Flick, you need to?—”

NO.

Hektor sat back, alarmed, as Flick turned to Charon and hissed.

HE IS MY BOY AND YOU ARE NOT TO TOUCH HIM.

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