“Valen, you stay here,” I say.
“Fuck, no,” he growls. “I’m not letting you go anywhere with a demon.”
“He’s shackled to Luna. There’s not too much he can do, right?”
“You’d be surprised,” Levi purrs. “I’m very good with my fingers and tongue.”
Valen’s nostrils flare. “I’m. Going.” He bites out the words.
I nod in understanding. After calling in sick to work, we all pile into my car. My heart gallops in my chest. I just know Jade is going to kill me when she finds out what I’ve done.
Jade looks up from the magazine she’s flipping through when we walk in and arches a dark brow. “A witch, two vampires, and a demon walk into a stationery store, but I’m not sure what the punchline is.”
“Dracula has to get his stationery somewhere,” Levi says lazily, eyeing Valen. “Pencylvania.” He grins.
Valen, my normally calm, sweet, and reserved vampire, looks like he’s two seconds away from punching him.
Cocking her head to the side, Jade asks, “When did your motley crew befriend a demon?”
I lower my head in shame. “I summoned him,” I whisper.
“You what?” she asks, stepping out from behind the counter. “I didn’t catch that.”
I lift my chin and meet her eyes. “I summoned him.”
Her mouth drops open and her eyes ping-pong from me to Levi.
“And we’re chained together,” Luna says, lifting her arm. The chain glimmers in the early morning light.
“How the fuck did you summon a demon?” Jade asks me and I curl in on myself.
“I … uh … took some photos of spells from your books. It was supposed to be a protection spell, but I must have done something wrong, so now we have Levi. He’s like Luna’s pet.”
“Woof, woof,” Levi barks and winks at Luna.
“I…” Jade presses a hand to her forehead. Pointing at me, she says, “You’re a giant pain in my ass.”
I cover my face with my hands. “I’m sorry.”
She holds up a hand and flips her hair over her shoulder. “I don’t believe you.” Jade steps around all of us and flips the sign to closed and locks the door. “This might take a while.”
I bite my lip. “That sounds ominous.”
She looks me up and down. “Good.”
I follow her like an unruly school-aged child who’s being reprimanded by the principal. The other three fall into step beside me.
Luna and Levi sit down on the couch on opposite ends. Valen’s nostrils flare as he stares down the demon. Levi just grins and tips his head like he’s greeting an old friend.
“Give me your phone,” Jade demands, hand outstretched to me.
“What? Why?”
She rolls her eyes. “I’m assuming the pictures you took are on your phone?” She makes a gimme gesture with her hand. With a sigh, I hand my phone to her. “Now show me which spell you used.”
I move to her side so I can peer down at the screen. “That one.” I point.
She clicks on the photo and zooms in. “You fucking idiot.”
