back.”
“Fat chance.” I sighed.
“Oh wow,” she squealed on the other end. “I just got two VIP passes to The Creeps tonight. You in?”
“That concert’s been sold out for months. Were you born with a lucky gene?”
“I know. I can’t believe it either,” she said, the pitch of her voice rising higher. “Sheilajust texted me saying she got into a fight with Patrick and that she only bought the stupid tickets because it’s his favorite band. Not hers.”
“I think I’ll pass. It’s a long walk to Foxwoods.” Not even one of my favorite live acts could get me over my current vehicular phobia.
“Oh Gem, I wish you would tell me how I can help.”
“You’re doing just fine, Charlotte. Just be yourself,” I said. “Bye, Char.”
As soon as the conversation was over, I went to work practicing sigils, knowing that it was the type of busy work that kept my mind blissfully blank. The demonic world was filled with pretty strange names: Leviathan, Beelzebub, Gaap, Vual.
There was no way anyone could commit all the information to memory so I took great care in keeping my best sigils in a notebook, just as Mr. Flynn suggested. When it was break time, I walked over to the window and looked out as I stretched my neck. From the corner of my eye, I glimpsed a cluster of black shadows sailing across the tops of the trees.
I hope there really is something to all this. I have a feeling we’re going to need it.
On Monday, Mr. Flynn stopped me before homeroom. “I’d like you to stay after class today, Miss Pope.” His left eyebrow arched in anticipation of an answer.
“Sure,” I replied. “I just didn’t know what you wanted. I mean, Friday you weren’t really paying any attention to me.”
Great job running your mouth off, Gemma.
“Ah, attention.” There was amusement in his tone and I couldn’t look him in the eye as he stared down at me. “I gave you an assignment. I hope you’ve done your homework.”
He walked into the classroom before I had a chance to redeem some of my pride. I stood in the hallway for a few minutes to regain my bearings. Mr. Flynn had a way of setting me off balance, and I kind of liked it.
Late that afternoon I was excited to show Mr. Flynn what I had been working on. Maybe it would make up for sounding like an idiot earlier.
“We need to find someone who’s gone a bit rogue,” Mr. Flynn said as he fingered the pages of the grimoire.
“Rogue?” I asked.
“Flying under the radar. Not checking in with superiors. Toying with humans without following proper protocol. Avoiding contact with other demons of your rank.” He picked up the large book and moved to his desk, where he sat on the edge, keeping one foot on the ground.
“There’s protocol for tormenting people? Like paperwork?”
“Nothing like that, unless you’ve entered into a contract. But the Dybbuk are gaining strength and that kind of coordination could only mean they are getting support from down below. We need to find someone who’ll spill the beans.”
He was back to his giddy boyish self, rubbing his hands in excitement. I made a show of flipping through some of my practice sigils that I had worked on all day Sunday but in reality I was peeking through my fingers and checking out his ass as he reached over to his jacket. Stop it, he’s a teacher. Not really, he’s student teaching, that’s different. Yeah, that’s so much different, Gemma.
“Is there some sort of demon social media page out there? We can check who hasn’t updated their status in a while.”
“I’m afraid not.” He chuckled. “We’ve got to do it the old-fashioned way. A good old summoning.”
“Why would any of them help?”
“They aren’t automatons. Nor are they evil. They just happen to be on the side opposite of God’s.”
“Do tell. Sounds interesting and deeply philosophical.”
He grinned and pulled one of the desks in front of mine so that we faced each other. “When God
“Fat chance.” I sighed.
“Oh wow,” she squealed on the other end. “I just got two VIP passes to The Creeps tonight. You in?”
“That concert’s been sold out for months. Were you born with a lucky gene?”
“I know. I can’t believe it either,” she said, the pitch of her voice rising higher. “Sheilajust texted me saying she got into a fight with Patrick and that she only bought the stupid tickets because it’s his favorite band. Not hers.”
“I think I’ll pass. It’s a long walk to Foxwoods.” Not even one of my favorite live acts could get me over my current vehicular phobia.
“Oh Gem, I wish you would tell me how I can help.”
“You’re doing just fine, Charlotte. Just be yourself,” I said. “Bye, Char.”
As soon as the conversation was over, I went to work practicing sigils, knowing that it was the type of busy work that kept my mind blissfully blank. The demonic world was filled with pretty strange names: Leviathan, Beelzebub, Gaap, Vual.
There was no way anyone could commit all the information to memory so I took great care in keeping my best sigils in a notebook, just as Mr. Flynn suggested. When it was break time, I walked over to the window and looked out as I stretched my neck. From the corner of my eye, I glimpsed a cluster of black shadows sailing across the tops of the trees.
I hope there really is something to all this. I have a feeling we’re going to need it.
On Monday, Mr. Flynn stopped me before homeroom. “I’d like you to stay after class today, Miss Pope.” His left eyebrow arched in anticipation of an answer.
“Sure,” I replied. “I just didn’t know what you wanted. I mean, Friday you weren’t really paying any attention to me.”
Great job running your mouth off, Gemma.
“Ah, attention.” There was amusement in his tone and I couldn’t look him in the eye as he stared down at me. “I gave you an assignment. I hope you’ve done your homework.”
He walked into the classroom before I had a chance to redeem some of my pride. I stood in the hallway for a few minutes to regain my bearings. Mr. Flynn had a way of setting me off balance, and I kind of liked it.
Late that afternoon I was excited to show Mr. Flynn what I had been working on. Maybe it would make up for sounding like an idiot earlier.
“We need to find someone who’s gone a bit rogue,” Mr. Flynn said as he fingered the pages of the grimoire.
“Rogue?” I asked.
“Flying under the radar. Not checking in with superiors. Toying with humans without following proper protocol. Avoiding contact with other demons of your rank.” He picked up the large book and moved to his desk, where he sat on the edge, keeping one foot on the ground.
“There’s protocol for tormenting people? Like paperwork?”
“Nothing like that, unless you’ve entered into a contract. But the Dybbuk are gaining strength and that kind of coordination could only mean they are getting support from down below. We need to find someone who’ll spill the beans.”
He was back to his giddy boyish self, rubbing his hands in excitement. I made a show of flipping through some of my practice sigils that I had worked on all day Sunday but in reality I was peeking through my fingers and checking out his ass as he reached over to his jacket. Stop it, he’s a teacher. Not really, he’s student teaching, that’s different. Yeah, that’s so much different, Gemma.
“Is there some sort of demon social media page out there? We can check who hasn’t updated their status in a while.”
“I’m afraid not.” He chuckled. “We’ve got to do it the old-fashioned way. A good old summoning.”
“Why would any of them help?”
“They aren’t automatons. Nor are they evil. They just happen to be on the side opposite of God’s.”
“Do tell. Sounds interesting and deeply philosophical.”
He grinned and pulled one of the desks in front of mine so that we faced each other. “When God
Similar Books
