Read Online Hollywood Demon (The Collegium Book 6) by Jenny Schwartz - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Jenny Schwartz
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frowned at the road as it twisted and turned, climbing before suddenly descending. Suburban houses had claimed the hillside, jumbling against each other and crowding out the trees. She might have been distracted, but he wasn’t. “I also got involved in gaming because producing the games requires coding.”
“And Silicon Valley isn’t far away,” she said, demonstrating her business savvy. Being able to recruit the people you needed was important.
He coughed, although it didn’t quite disguise his laugh. “True, but that’s not what I meant. Faust, the demon, uses code to strike a bargain with people to steal their souls. So I needed to learn about coding and how it wraps into people’s lives, into their dreams and influences their choices.” He pulled out around a garbage truck.
She slumped a bit in her seat. It seemed that they couldn’t help but discuss the demon.
“Games are the obvious medium for demons to enter Earth. People playing them are already in a state of heightened imagination, even arousal. They’re more likely to consent to something weird.”
“Kinky,” she muttered. She didn’t think he heard.
“What I’m working on is a counterspell to erase all Hell-linked code.”
She sat up straight and stared at him. “A counterspell is high magic.”
“I know. And I know it’s beyond me.” A nerve pulsed in his jaw. “But I’m modelling the counterspell on the original demon-binding that my great-grandfather and the other Collegium mages used a century ago. I’m being careful.”
“Does the Collegium know?” She wasn’t its biggest fan, but Mark was meddling with dangerous forces, ones significantly beyond his power level.
“No.” His voice was solid, about as yielding a granite.
“But you told me.”
“It’s not like you’re a fan of the Collegium. I heard you complaining about Neville.”
She folded her arms in a self-defensive gesture. “I still abide by their rules. Mostly. I try to. I have to, if Jeremy is to let me stay here.”
He shot her a quick, but fiercely incredulous look. “Why wouldn’t he? And why does he have any say over where you live?”
“It’s about geomages and territories. What Doris and I were discussing. California is Jeremy’s territory.”
“I realize that, but…you’re his sister. Why would you think he’d throw you out?”
She drew an unsteady breath. “Because my magic is unstable. Sometimes, when I’m emotional, it slips and makes a connection with the Earth where I am. And then, it does things.” She might as well tell him. She’d have to tell Doris sometime. Mark could be her practice run. “You know that latest volcanic eruption in Iceland a month ago?”
“Heathrow Airport was closed for three days.”
She winced.
“That was you?” In his disbelief, he almost didn’t see the stop sign and had to brake hard. The SUV lurched to a halt. “Sorry.”
“No problem.” She readjusted the seatbelt that was trying to cut her in half. “Uh, yeah, the Icelandic thing was me. I was taking photos for a fashion shoot. Anyway, some of the clothes hadn’t arrived. The fashion designer was having a meltdown. His assistant was in tears. The models were huddled in a car with the heater blasting. I went for a walk. We were near some thermal pools.”
She paused, remembering the eerie way the steam had gusted on the air and the faint sulfur stink. Not brimstone but hydrogen sulfide. “I guess I’d walked further than I thought. I’d been taking photos, not really paying attention to where I wandered.”
Being a geomage, she always knew she could find her way back. Like a homing pigeon, something in her knew exactly where she was all the time.
And, maybe, like a homing pigeon, she’d had to come home. Something to think of later.
“I walked around a lump of lava that had cooled and weathered to this fabulous shape, lichen on it in orange. Weird and amazing. And around the corner of it, a woman beaten and bloody and
“And Silicon Valley isn’t far away,” she said, demonstrating her business savvy. Being able to recruit the people you needed was important.
He coughed, although it didn’t quite disguise his laugh. “True, but that’s not what I meant. Faust, the demon, uses code to strike a bargain with people to steal their souls. So I needed to learn about coding and how it wraps into people’s lives, into their dreams and influences their choices.” He pulled out around a garbage truck.
She slumped a bit in her seat. It seemed that they couldn’t help but discuss the demon.
“Games are the obvious medium for demons to enter Earth. People playing them are already in a state of heightened imagination, even arousal. They’re more likely to consent to something weird.”
“Kinky,” she muttered. She didn’t think he heard.
“What I’m working on is a counterspell to erase all Hell-linked code.”
She sat up straight and stared at him. “A counterspell is high magic.”
“I know. And I know it’s beyond me.” A nerve pulsed in his jaw. “But I’m modelling the counterspell on the original demon-binding that my great-grandfather and the other Collegium mages used a century ago. I’m being careful.”
“Does the Collegium know?” She wasn’t its biggest fan, but Mark was meddling with dangerous forces, ones significantly beyond his power level.
“No.” His voice was solid, about as yielding a granite.
“But you told me.”
“It’s not like you’re a fan of the Collegium. I heard you complaining about Neville.”
She folded her arms in a self-defensive gesture. “I still abide by their rules. Mostly. I try to. I have to, if Jeremy is to let me stay here.”
He shot her a quick, but fiercely incredulous look. “Why wouldn’t he? And why does he have any say over where you live?”
“It’s about geomages and territories. What Doris and I were discussing. California is Jeremy’s territory.”
“I realize that, but…you’re his sister. Why would you think he’d throw you out?”
She drew an unsteady breath. “Because my magic is unstable. Sometimes, when I’m emotional, it slips and makes a connection with the Earth where I am. And then, it does things.” She might as well tell him. She’d have to tell Doris sometime. Mark could be her practice run. “You know that latest volcanic eruption in Iceland a month ago?”
“Heathrow Airport was closed for three days.”
She winced.
“That was you?” In his disbelief, he almost didn’t see the stop sign and had to brake hard. The SUV lurched to a halt. “Sorry.”
“No problem.” She readjusted the seatbelt that was trying to cut her in half. “Uh, yeah, the Icelandic thing was me. I was taking photos for a fashion shoot. Anyway, some of the clothes hadn’t arrived. The fashion designer was having a meltdown. His assistant was in tears. The models were huddled in a car with the heater blasting. I went for a walk. We were near some thermal pools.”
She paused, remembering the eerie way the steam had gusted on the air and the faint sulfur stink. Not brimstone but hydrogen sulfide. “I guess I’d walked further than I thought. I’d been taking photos, not really paying attention to where I wandered.”
Being a geomage, she always knew she could find her way back. Like a homing pigeon, something in her knew exactly where she was all the time.
And, maybe, like a homing pigeon, she’d had to come home. Something to think of later.
“I walked around a lump of lava that had cooled and weathered to this fabulous shape, lichen on it in orange. Weird and amazing. And around the corner of it, a woman beaten and bloody and
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