A Demon’s Book Of Shadows (Witches & Demons #1)

9. Lucy

9

Lucy

It was mid-afternoon by the time I regained a partial amount of my sanity. Luckily, the library was closed on Sunday, so I had some time to sort things out. Like what the heck was I supposed to do with the book? And what did Amon mean?

Was Amon some kind of spell? Or a name? And who or what was coming?

Heck, I hadn’t seen a lot of grimoires in my life, just Victoria’s shady romance novel collection I was pretty sure had some kinky stuff that would make Satan blush. I’d seen something when I tapped into my magic, a tree branching behind my eyelids. The tree was ancient and gnarled, lit up with purple lightning that branched across the sky. The smell of electricity still burned my nose.

Something about the vision made my chest ache. The tree wasn’t healthy. It was sickly, its roots and branches whipping in the wind as a violent storm grew around it.

I wedged my fingers into the binding. The grimoire refused to open. I glanced over my shoulder, expecting that any moment now for the demon to show.

Why did he leave so abruptly ?

I put the grimoire into my tote and left the library. It was three in the afternoon, yet the sun was already starting to dip on the horizon. The air felt oddly still, like a breath drawing in before a storm. It wasn’t until I was half-way home that I realized how light my tote felt. I was missing a certain someone.

Right on time, Grubs had ghosted me like he always did this time of year. Honestly, not having him chew holes through everything I touched was a breath of fresh air. This book, even if he wanted to, didn’t seem like it was one his greedy little mouth parts could penetrate through. The pages were as tough as tree bark. The binding was thicker than leather.

Trick-or-treaters were starting to appear on the streets. My phone buzzed. Victoria was calling me.

I pressed my phone to my ear. “Hey I’m on my way home.”

“That’s grrreeattt! Come overrr and help paaaasssss out candy.”

I cringed. Great . Her Rs were slurring, and her As were twice as long. I knew for a fact that Victoria had been drinking.

“Fine, but only if I can look at your spell book collection,” I replied.

“What arrrreeee you looking fooor?”

“Anything you have on demons.”

Upon arriving home, I squinted at the candy bowl on the front porch. The hedgehogs were nowhere. It seemed a little odd for a bunch of nocturnal creatures I imagined would like to forage on Halloween candy to retire early into their dens for the night.

I ascended the stairs and walked inside, finding shot glasses everywhere. Victoria had definitely been slamming the hard stuff.

“Victoria?”

No answer. But I heard her voice over the shrieking laughter of the Sanderson Sisters blaring from the TV. I peeked into the living room, finding her bookshelf. The perfect opportunity had presented itself. I could do my research without her seeing what I was looking for. Victoria had books I wish I would have inherited from Dad—books that were far darker in details about magic than anything I would ever find in the library.

I thumbed through the titles, wishing I could find something that stood out. Goddess upon goddess upon moon ritual texts lined the shelves.

Victoria appeared in the kitchen, her hair frizzing on end. Her bloodshot eyes found me. “Well, well, well, what do we have here? A librarian peeping through my spell books?”

“Candy?” I replied, holding up the bag I’d bought at Target that morning.

“Set it here,” she said, swaggering toward the kitchen table. “I need to sober up.”

I walked to the table, relieved her cauldron was no longer full of crystal dicks, but actual Halloween candy.

“Who were you talking to?” I asked, swiping a Hershey’s candy bar and sitting down .

“Grace. She’s heading home from the party she got invited to. I asked her to come over, but she made her excuse to tend to her screaming death beans.” Victoria sat down next to me, grabbing an Almond Joy. “That girl needs one of two things, to decide on her major already, or find a steady partner. Apparently the last girl she dated ended up being a total swinger.”

I unwrapped a candy bar and shoved it into my mouth, mostly to stop myself from saying anything. I was so jealous of my youngest sister’s love life.

Victoria ate her Almond Joy and flipped on her mini skull radio.

“ What was seen as a Halloween prank at the public library is now a sensation among locals . Librarian Lucy Crow is sure to go down in the history books . During her Halloween story time, the kids reported a terrifying cackling monster erupting from the book. ”

Victoria’s eyes went wide. “Lucy, is this real? Are you finally practicing your magic again?”

I wanted to sink down into my chair and forget I was here.

“What a hit! My sister is gonna be bitchin’ famous at the library!” She clapped her hands together. “I need to see the book this cackling monster erupted from!”

I reached into my tote and tugged out the book. I swore the air in the kitchen thickened as I set it on the table.

Victoria’s purple lipstick quivered. “Hot Hades, this is wicked!” She grabbed it, trying to tug the cover open.

Ding dong !

“I’ll get it.” I excused myself from the table with the cauldron of candy. I opened the front door, finding three kids dressed as Ninja Turtles thrusting pillowcases toward me.

“Trick-or-treat!” they shouted in unison.

Grubs perched atop Leonardo’s mask, his tiny body trembling. “ We need to talk about what escaped that grimoire .”

I loaded up the kids’ pillowcases as Grubs launched himself into the cauldron, where he inched down between the candy bars.

I closed the door and walked back inside.

“ I knew that demon was up to no good. . . ” His pudgy little cheeks bulged.

A stream of projectile vomit sprayed over my shoulder.

“Ewwww, gross!” I stammered, the candy spilling out of the cauldron as Grubs released the floodgates.

“Why does it smell like a rose bath bomb went off in here?” Victoria asked.

Luckily, whatever sparkly vomit sprayed out of Grubs evaporated into a shimmering mist, leaving the entryway smelling like a bouquet of fresh flowers.

“It’s not even the evening. How much candy have you eaten?” I scolded him.

“ It wasn’t candy that Amon fed me. That demon tried to poison me with bewitched rose petals .”

“Amon? That’s the demon’s name?”

Victoria emerged next to me. “All right, who is Amon and what is he feeding your bookworm to make him puke flowers? ”

“ He’s the demon who’s been haunting the library looking for that grimoire ,” Grubs barked.

Victoria’s eyes swiveled between me and my bookworm, who had inched his way out of the cauldron and was now perched atop my shoulder. “Well then, what are we waiting for? Let’s have a look at this grimoire!” She grabbed the candy cauldron from my hands, opened the front door, and set it outside for the kids to help themselves. She returned into the kitchen, a wicked grin creeping up her face.

I followed her. She grabbed a spatula from one of her drawers and tilted it toward the pages. With a flick of her wrist, she attempted to pry it open.

“ That won’t work ,” Grubs said as I watched in amusement at my sister’s bizarre drunken behavior.

“My ass it won’t,” Victoria chided, clapping her hands together, then holding them out wide. “By the power of the goddess beneath our feet, I demand that you reveal the secrets you keep!”

Purple sparks erupted from her fingers, zapping the grimoire’s spine. Electricity ricocheted off it, bolting over our heads and zapping out a few lights.

“Watch it!” I yelled, ducking as Grubs sprung off my shoulder.

“ It’s bewitched with shadow magic ,” Grubs said, inching his way up the chandelier dangling above the kitchen table.

“Then why don’t you take a bite out of it? You eat books for breakfast,” Victoria scolded Grubs, fanning out her hands as her magic fizzled and popped .

“ I wouldn’t take a bite out of that old thing if the goddess promised me my own kingdom .”

I stopped next to my sister, who finally admitted defeat. Her hair frizzled on the ends, adding to the wild and crazy witch that she was.

“ It opened when the spirit of a witch went flying out of it ,” Grubs said as he weaved a small thread of silk to the light, then descended down to the table, where he landed with a tiny thwop !

I stared at the book that was immune to my sister’s magic. I’d seen her use that simple opening spell on cans of tuna for her cats, and the most stubborn jar of pickles in the Midwest. Was Grubs really telling the truth? He’d lied to me before. His eyesight wasn’t the best, but his sense of smell was very strong. He could smell magical disturbances miles away and deep beneath the ground.

Was a witch’s spirit trapped inside? Why? How? Where did she go when she escaped? Would she also be looking for the book? What kind of relationship did she have with Amon?

Victoria shook her head. “I wish I could remember some of the more powerful spells mom used to cook up a magical storm with. That witch could dig me out of my bedroom after I’d barricaded myself in.”

“I never understood why you locked yourself inside your room in the middle of summer,” I protested.

Victoria shrugged. “I absolutely hated summer camp.” She turned to the cupboard and began sifting through spices, bags of tea, and what appeared to be an assortment of jars stuffed with moldy peach pits. She pulled away, snapping her fingers. “I remember now! It has something to do with beans! ”

“Beans? You’ve got to be kidding me,” I stammered.

Victoria laughed. “Grace has loads of bean plants she’s preparing to winter in her greenhouse. What I would do is head over there first thing tomorrow. They’ll be freshly charged with magic after Halloween. She’s sure to have something that can help you open the grimoire.”

“Why do you think I want to open it?”

“We both know Grubs doesn’t always see things correctly. But this is a magical book, one that houses shadow magic, specifically. It will be sure to tell us just who or what this spirit was that he witnessed escaping, and possibly what she wants.”

“ What if this spirit comes searching for the book ?” Grubs asked, trembling.

“Pffffft, are you kidding? Have you felt the magic in my house? Mom and Dad made sure their daughters were well protected from anything supernatural. As long as the grimoire is here, it’s safe with us.”

“ Amon. . . ”

I blinked as the name filled my skull. The image of the tree appeared again, its silhouette whipping in a violent motion as lightning branched across the night sky. Something was there between the branches, long sinuous fingers gripping for me. Rattling breath shook the air as a pair of white eyes gazed out of the tree.

“Lucy, are you all right?” Victoria asked, her hand coming to my shoulder .

“Yeah,” I lied. The haunting image of that black tree vanished from my mind. But the white, soulless eyes of whatever had been there were still staring at me.

Who was that spirit? What did it want with me?