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

20. Amon

20

Amon

As soon as I entered the home, I was assaulted by the intense gaze of three women. One was human. Two were witches. One of the witches was what my shadows wanted to protect more than anything.

Relief rippled through me, but it was short-lived. The Bone Threader or Melrose could show up at any moment.

“Oh, he is so beautiful. Victoria is going to be so jealous,” the older witch said as she fanned herself with a wooden spoon dripping with yellow batter.

I took a few steps toward Lucy, stopping next to her. “Lucy, are you okay?”

“Why wouldn’t I be okay?” Lucy asked, taken aback.

“Can I speak with you in private?”

“No, you cannot,” the other witch answered. “What you have to say to my daughter, you can say to her mother.” A bowl full of batter began to levitate off the counter. “My name is Cindy, and you must be the demon named Amon who has been harassing my daughter?”

“If harassing is protecting, then I agree with you,” I replied .

Cindy's gaze intensified. I ducked as the mixing spoon went flying for my head.

The old lady grabbed it and licked the batter off it.

I crossed my arms in front of my chest, addressing the witch named Cindy who was Lucy’s protective mother. “Here’s the thing. Lucy is in danger.”

“ Danger ?” Cindy stammered.

“I’m sure you’ve seen the strange marks on the sidewalks. The familiars around town have also been spooked by another demon.”

“What kind of demon are we talking about?” Cindy asked.

“His name is the Bone Threader, and he’s a wendigo,” I replied.

The old lady with the spoon gasped.

Cindy clapped her hands on either side of her mouth. “A wendigo? Oh, no. We don’t mess with those. They’re cannibals!”

“Well, this one has an appetite for books, specifically those that contain shadow magic.”

“Then let him eat the grimoire,” Lucy protested. “As long as it keeps demons away from my library, I’m happy.”

I shook my head. “He’s already stepped into your library, making it a possible target too.”

Lucy’s face twisted. “When?”

“That boy you were tutoring the other day? I confirmed that he wasn’t a normal boy. Melrose fed him the grimoire shortly after we left the bar the other night. He’s been planning this all along. The Bone Threader set a trap, so he could get a taste for your magic.”

Lucy’s face scrunched. “Ewwww! Why would he want to taste my magic? ”

Cindy set her hands on her daughter’s trembling shoulders. “Why is this wendigo coming after my daughter?”

I glanced from mother witch to her librarian witch daughter. “Lucy has magical talents that the Bone Threader has long been trying to devour, magic that my witch mother possessed.”

“How did this wendigo even learn about Lucy's magic? I’m sure you’ve met her bookworm. He would never allow a demon as dangerous as a wendigo to get anywhere near her,” Cindy protested.

I chuckled. “Lucy's bookworm has been feasting on bewitchments from the grimoire that have rendered his magic useless.”

Cindy's mouth opened and closed a few times before she spoke. “There must be another witch who has experience with this magic the wendigo wants. Is your mother alive?” she asked, the fierceness of a lioness reflecting in her eyes.

“No,” I replied. “If she was, we wouldn’t have this problem.”

“What can we do to protect my daughter from this nasty demon?”

“One thing is for certain. I’m not letting your daughter out of my sight.”

“She can stay here,” Cindy argued. “I have magical barriers out the wazoo all around my property. How do you think I keep the solicitors away?”

“Lucy is not safe here. The Bone Threader can smell a witch’s coven from miles away. Having a member of a witch family mingle in one location will only make his appetite more dangerous. He has already created a sink-hole in town. I don’t think you want him tunneling close to your house. ”

The house creaked at my words. A hazy figure drifted into my periphery. I swore I saw my own mother standing there, her aura extending to me.

I blinked, turning back to Cindy.

“Amon, what is your last name?” Cindy asked, her brow arching up.

“Ravenblood, why?”

“Crows and Ravenbloods?” Cindy asked, a twinkle in her green eyes. She patted Lucy’s shoulders. “Go with him.”

Lucy whipped her head around. “What? Mom, are you sure?”

“He’s telling the truth,” Cindy said. “I recognize the same look in your father’s eyes when he was worried about one of us.”

My shoulders relaxed. I could breathe again. “I promise to keep your daughter safe.”

“Can we at least call each other?” Cindy asked.

“As long as you don’t send magical sparks across the phone to each other, I don’t see why not.”

Lucy hugged her mother, then the older lady, who hadn’t stopped gawking at me.

“I’m sure you’ll have some forbidden desires to share with us when you get back!” she teased Lucy.

Lucy flushed as she left for the front door with me.

I had won her over, momentarily. But I could tell Lucy didn’t yet believe me about everything. It would take some convincing I knew only a true book-loving witch would appreciate.

We exited the home and stopped on the stone path in the garden facing each other. A chilled breeze whipped through the lilacs. Before, we’d been foes. Now I had a feeling that our ideas about magic would be different before all of this was over.

I held out my hand.

“Where are we going?” she asked before she took it.

“First thing’s first. I need to find a spell that’s going to protect you from the Bone Threader if he does decide to attack.”

“Where would we find that?”

I squeezed Lucy’s hand. “I’m taking you to the shadow archives. It’s time you see the library that houses shadow magic.”