“Can you tell us more about the accident?” Logan asked, crouching down next to my chair. “How you got the ability to talk to spirits trapped in the other world?”
I nodded numbly. When I was finished telling them the story of how I saved Dylan, Rego actually looked impressed. He even chimed in with, “Fascinating. It sounds like a fear demon got loose.”
“What? Are you saying Dylan’s a demon?” I blurted out. The kid was annoying as hell, but I couldn’t imagine him actually being from hell.
“Nothing like that,” Logan said. “It sounds like a fear demon transported Dylan to the middle of the street, since it was his mother’s greatest fear that he’d run away like that.”
“It’s kind of their thing,” Ajax chimed in, licking sour cream and onion dust from his fingertips as he swung his feet from his perch on the countertop.
“And you intervened and subsequently died—but were brought back. Had you not been resuscitated, you would have been trapped in the Dark World for the rest of your natural life, just like your friend Dottie,” Rego surmised.
I stared down at my fingers as they mashed together in my lap, the news of how I narrowly avoided being a wandering soul, lost in a nightmarish dimension, sinking in and, not surprisingly, making me nauseous. Logan plunked a generic can of lemon-lime soda down in front of me, and I jumped back in surprise.
“Sorry, but you look a little pale,” he said apologetically. “I thought you could use some sugar.” I took the can gratefully, downing a couple of huge gulps.
“One thing I don’t get is, why now? Why attack me at school and kill Travis?” I asked, my voice cracking over his name. “Why not just sneak into my bedroom and kidnap me—not that I want them to get any ideas.”
Rego stood up and placed another piece of vellum, this one with a golden hue, over the map. Tiny pinpricks of light dotted the city—several in Central Park, a few in lower Manhattan—but there was a brilliant light marking where Holy Assumption stood.
“We’ve been looking for places where the membrane between the worlds is thin—places we could use to attempt opening a portal to strike against our enemies on the other side. My spies learned the Regents were doing the same thing. See, every time you’ve pulled a spirit out of that side into ours, you’ve impacted that membrane,” Rego explained, jabbing each point of light.
“Every time you’ve talked to Dottie, you’ve kind of sent a big flare in the air.” Logan circled the bright golden light at Holy Assumption with his finger tip. “So we knew there was someone with your talent in this vicinity—and it had to be someone at the school.”
“Please don’t tell Dottie that!” I begged. “If she knew that talking to me put a big fat glowing target on my back, she’d never forgive herself.”
“Wow,” Logan said, giving me a half smile. “That’s really...nice...of you to look out for her like that.”
“Oh. Um. Thanks,” I muttered, fidgeting uncomfortably as I caught Rego’s suspicious glare. “But it won’t really matter, will it? I’m gonna get kidnapped and end up in some demonic version of Holy Ass.”
“Look, Paige, no one’s going to get you.” Logan crouched down again so we were eye level, his voice low and sincere. “Two demons down. I’ve only got two more to kill.”
“They’re the new kids, right?”
Logan nodded. “Della’s a lust demon—she’s here to assist in your capture. She can simulate feelings of attachment, make you think you want to go with them. Aiden’s a Regent.”
Seeing my confused face, Ajax oh-so-helpfully explained, “They’re the most powerful ones. Regents are the ones in charge.”
My panic at hearing that a member of the dominant demon race was hunting me must have shown on my face, because Logan quickly grabbed my hand, giving it a squeeze. “I know how to kill a Regent. Trust me, I can protect you.”
I took a final gulp from my soda and slammed it on the table, which tilted, and a lone scroll rolled off and hit the floor.
“No.”
“No?” Logan’s eyes widened, and he dropped my hand and stepped back.
“No?” Ajax repeated. “Did you hit your head, and did all your common sense fall out?”
“No—I mean, teach me. Teach me how to defend myself against them. Please.” I waved my hand toward the living room. “You have a billion weapon-looking things in there. Give me a sword. Teach me to fight. Please.”
“While that’s admirable, this isn’t your war. Now it’s time for you to step back and let Logan do his job,” Rego said, a bit condescendingly. Logan didn’t even acknowledge that his uncle had spoken, and just continued to stare at me.
“Give me a fighting chance,” I pleaded, trying to make my voice sound strong—which was a futile task, considering how much it was trembling. “What if you’re not around?”
“I’ll teach you,” Ajax offered, hopping off his perch, only to rest his elbows against the counter behind him, stretching his legs out and crossing his ankles.
“Where? In the kitchen?” Logan scoffed, rolling his eyes at Ajax before turning back to me. “I’ll help you,” he said, and Rego scowled.
“Logan, if she wants to help, she can by opening portals for me. Having an untrained civilian battling demons is not beneficial to our efforts to take back control of the throne.”
Logan stood, turning to face his uncle. “She wielded my sword and killed the incindia. I think Paige can handle it.”
“Paige isn’t the one I’m concerned about,” Rego said coolly. “You don’t need the distraction.” His last word was overflowing with innuendo, and I tugged at my skirt self-consciously, trying to make it longer. Jeez, what did he think I was, a lust demon? I wanted Logan to show me how to use his sword, not show me how to use his man sword.
If Logan picked up Rego’s insinuation, he ignored it. He turned to face me. “Start tomorrow?”
I gave him a grateful smile and whispered, “Thank you.”
“Just let me know if you need a sparring partner,” Ajax said flirtatiously, and Logan shot him a withering glance.
“What?” he asked, blinking his eyes innocently. “She’s going to be fighting demons, might as well practice on one.”
“Practice on one?” I repeated, staring at Ajax, who raised his shoulders, giving me a guilty smile.
“Wait...you’re a demon?” I gaped at Ajax, who watched with mild interest as I shot out of my seat, scrambling backward and knocking over my chair. It hit the floor with a loud bang, and Ajax, Logan and I all startled at the noise. Only Rego remained unflustered, his arms folded as he watched the scene with mild interest.
“He’s not going to hurt you,” Logan said, coming to stand between us, and Ajax shook his empty bag of chips, frowning.
“Oh, I don’t know,” he sighed. “I could kill for another bag of chips.”
“You’re not helping,” Logan groaned.
“Paige, please, rest assured, Ajax is a trusted comrade, redeeming his reprehensible demonic nature by helping us. He’s a double agent, if you will,” Rego said, standing up and righting my chair in one swift, smooth move.
“It’s because I’m doubly adorable,” Ajax said playfully, not seeming at all offended that I’d freaked out when I found out he was a demon. “But perhaps I should leave. My good looks are already terrifying enough—I don’t want to give the poor girl a heart attack.”
Ajax bowed my way. “Goodbye, dear Bliss. I hope to see you again.” Ajax nodded at Rego, promising briskly, “I’ll be in touch.”
Ajax slapped his palm against the front door, repeating the words Logan had used. But instead of a white light, the entrance was framed in a purple glow before the door fell in ribbons, revealing a murky, swirling darkness. I could barely make out the faint outline of a hallway; it was like I was staring through polluted, cloudy water. With a crisp salute, Ajax stepped into the abyss, his form obscured by the muddy atmosphere before the door shimmered back into place.