Page 144 of The Girl Who Should Be Dead

The girl shakes her head at that, which is fair. If she lives in such a state with her father, she would fear him far more than whatever monsters he has locked in his basement.

“I’ll get you somewhere safe.” It must be too many words for someone to lipread, for the child gives her a blank look.

It’s words she said to Stella, in the last ditch attempts to get her to stop crying many times, and it never worked.

The demon in the cage twitches, and the hint of a hand curves around the bars of the cage.

Keeping a wary eye on the demon in the cage, the girl crosses to the television, bending behind it and messing with the cords that run to it. The picture flickers, but nothing else happens.

“It’s supposed to play sound,” Boltiex’s daughter says, and in her tone is a hint of Boltiex’s familiar frustration. “This won’t work if it doesn’t play sound.”

The entire thing just got way more complicated. Now there’s another demon and a child she has to get out, as well as Gurlien.

Slow, not spooking the child, Ambra retreats, letting her palm fall away from the glass, until she folds herself up next to the soft spot on the tile.

“Please don’t do that,” the girl murmurs, as if she could tell Ambra is trying to escape. “He’ll be mad if you do.”

Ambra bets he will.

On the screen, the familiar hunched shoulders of Boltiex cross the room, and Gurlien lifts his head. They’re obviously speaking, and static crackles with one shift of the cords, but the sound doesn’t connect.

The demon in the cage starts watching Ambra again, and she can’t tell if there’s malice or curiosity in that gaze. The moment she lets them go, there could be bloodshed or immediate retreat, and little in between.

Slow, the demon drops one hand to the floor and scratches the tile, sending a chilling creak through the whole room.

The child freezes, staring over at them with wide eyes.

The demon gestures, indistinct, and Ambra doesn’t know how much the child can see of them. Either the child has more magical talent than most, or Boltiex has given the child the ability to see demons in their raw form.

Which is a cruel thing to do to a child on the best of days.

“I’m not supposed to go close,” the girl says, Boltiex’s familiar temper leaking through. “Stop it.”

Another scratch on the floor, and the girl looks over her shoulder to Ambra, as if for back up.

Ambra just crosses her legs, her multi tool in her hand. Gurlien and Boltiex continue to converse in the silent video on the screen, and he’s not approaching Gurlien, just pacing back and forth.

The screen flickers, static crackling. “I need you to—” it cuts off and the girl makes a huff of annoyance.

The demon in the cage locks eyes with Ambra, and makes another long scraping sound.

And it’s been a while since she’s had to communicate with someone outside of a body, but she can recognize a signal when she sees one.

So, even though the stasis chamber has ceased the nerves from flooding into her blood, she digs the tool into the floor again.

The sharp edge of the screwdriver skips along the tile, before hitting purchase, sliding underneath one of the tiles.

The motion tugs at her chest, at the half-healed wound, and she grimaces, pressing a hand against it over the shirt.

The sky-blue shirt.

The child glances at her, then at the other demon, then scowls at the other one.

“I told you, my dad will be mad,” she scolds, even though there’s fear in her voice, and the other demon grins at her.

But she doesn’t recoil back.

So there’s some familiarity, even with the fear.

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