Page 53 of A Study of Blood and Ichor

My pulse thrummed thick and heavy in my veins, my blood practically boiling. Vain gently squeezed my arm in an attempt to assuage me.

The demon’s grin widened as he appraised me. “I told you, possessing their bodies can be a fun distraction for a time, but nothing truly compares to the feeling of them underneath your own hands…so soft and delicate. Breakable.” Ilo’s lips curled, and his nostrils flared once, then twice as he eyed me. “Is she a—”

It only took me a second to realize that the demon was scenting me. I fought the urge to cringe backward as Ilo outstretched one hand toward my face before Vain knocked it away.

“She’s an investment. One that is to remain untouched. Or did you forget that no one touches what is mine?”

Ilo’s black eyes flicked to the mark Vain had cut into my neck, and his grin sagged. “I never thought you were the greedy type, Vain. It seems I was wrong.”

“You’d do best not to forget it,” Vain sneered as he steered us away. “Always a disappointment to see you, Ilo. Excuse us.”

“The displeasure has been all mine,” Ilo rasped.

I tried to give the girl a remorseful glance, but she didn’t even look up at me. Vain stepped between me and the demon and dragged me roughly behind him, and I was still painfully aware of Ilo’s raking glare on me as we worked back into the crowd.

Vain leaned in close and whispered, “I know what you’re going to say.”

I gritted my teeth, unable to fully shake the image of the girl’s bruises or the state of Ilo’s vessel. “You don’t know the half of what I would like to say to you right now.”

“I do. Unfortunately, this is not the time.” Maybe it was the lack of oxygen from the ragged breaths I kept drawing in or the rush of blood pounding in my ears, but I could have sworn I heard a shadow of regret lacing Vain’s tone.

Vain stopped in front of a shut door and casually leaned against it, facing me.

“Try not to look so angry with me, mellilla. As much as I love how it looks on you, I’d rather not draw any unwanted attention.”

Then, turning the knob, Vain slipped into the room, pulling me along with him.

As my eyes adjusted to the low light, Vain moved past me and began to trace his hands along the mahogany paneled walls, tapping and pausing to press at random intervals like he was searching for something.

“Do you think the book is hidden in here?” I asked.

“It’s one possibility, yes.”

The clicks of my heels were dampened on the Persian rug as I crossed to the other end of the room where a large ornate desk sat. Each leg had been hand carved and ornamented with a detailed bust of a demon into the smooth dark wood. I stroked a hand along them all, taking in every detail as if they had been presented to me for study—the curled ram-like horns of one, the pointed tips of the harpy’s wings on another, the jagged teeth and forked tongue of the third, and finally a coil of snakes spun atop the demon’s head like a crown. I’d never observed such impressive demonic craftsmanship, and the art of it fascinated me more than I cared to admit.

I started pulling out the desk drawers to rifle through their contents, looking for anything that looked like it could be classified as a grimoire.

“The last thing I expected to do tonight was to be dragged along on a scavenger hunt.”

“You like to complain a lot, don’t you?”

Vain was turned away from me, still inspecting the walls with sharpened focus, so he couldn’t see the glare I shot at him.

“Can you at least describe it for me, so I know what I’m looking for?”

“It’s bound in black leather and has a red six-pointed star stamped into the cover. It looks old.”

“Creepy, ancient, and demonic. Got it.”

I moved to the right side of the desk to continue my search. Vain gave up his examination of the walls and began to move along the bookshelves behind me.

“Are you going to tell me how this grimoire is apparently Rory’s only shot at surviving?”

“Not yet. You only need to know that it is, and leaving without it is not an option.”

“I deserve more than that.” I spun around to glare at him again, only to find him already towering over me, staring deep into my eyes, straight into my soul.

“You do,” he said. “But I can’t give you more. Only he can. And only if he chooses to.”

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