Devil May Care by Pippa DaCosta Read Free Book Online Page A

surface of its maze-like layout. On the inside, it bustled like a university campus with people coming and going from different departments and areas of expertise. Weapons, Science, Public Relations, Training. On the outside, it looked like an abandoned industrial park. Unusual graffiti riddled the outside walls, the perfect camouflage in a city environment. That graffiti looked right at home in the forgotten neighborhood of industrial units, but it also had intricate symbols etched into it which nullified elemental energy. No full-demon could pass through the exterior of the Institute. The magic didn’t completely subdue elemental magic—they need to be able to use the demons they capture—it worked as a perimeter fence. I could only get through the barrier because of my half human body. The Institute knew what they were doing when it came to demons. Nobody could argue that.
    My rambling brought me to the library. The room was called a library, but it was more like a store room. Rows of high shelving units housed countless books, mostly foreign and all antiques. Almost nobody used the library, not when all the information could be found on the Institute’s cloud network. It had been forgotten and discarded, a victim of progress. I often visited it when awaiting some assessment of my behavior.
    I poured myself some vending machine coffee. The machine hissed, gurgled, and spat. I noticed a handful of other people in the library. One young woman sat in one of the comfy chairs, legs curled under her, nose in a book. She flitted between a substantial hardback and a dog-eared paperback, and then scribbled some notes on a pad. Nica Harper was Adam’s daughter, Stefan’s younger half-sister. She and I had our differences, not least of which was the fact she blamed me for her brother’s untimely departure.
    She sensed me watching her and peeked over the book. I lifted my dishwater coffee. She made a face and shook her head, her blond ponytail swishing behind her, and then buried her nose back in the book. I settled into a chair next to hers and took a sip of my coffee. I grimaced. It needed more sugar. And real coffee.
    Nica smiled and finally tore her attention away from the books. “Tastes like something died in the machine.” It really did. “You’ve been doing well. Top of the class. You must be pleased.” As she spoke, her face came alive, blue eyes brightening. She was one of those people who couldn’t seem to sit still, as though she had surplus energy. If you spent enough time with Nica, her enthusiasm rubbed off on you. I missed that. I missed her. I didn’t really have friends. Akil didn’t count. Friends don’t threaten to kill you with the intention of carrying it out. There was Sam… Akil killed him.
    “The other Enforcers say I do so well because I’m half demon.” I shrugged.
    She nodded and closed the large hardback with the title The Art & Implications of Summoning Demons with a thwump that echoed around the library. “It’s difficult. Stefan he... he had to fight every step of the way to prove himself. After a while, he just stopped caring what they thought. He never had to prove anything to me.”
    I dropped my gaze, and my coffee suddenly seemed very interesting. I hadn’t expected to come into the subject of Stefan so quickly. “I’m sorry.”
    “It’s okay.” Her hand swept away the apology. “It was his choice. He did what he had to do.”
    “I know but, I...” I had told him to leave. Looking into Nica’s face, I couldn’t bring myself to admit it. “I was so angry. He should have told me everything.” Instead of piling lie upon lie, like bricks in a wall.
    Her eyes fluttered closed. She sucked in a breath and sighed. When she opened her eyes again, they sparkled with unshed tears. “He did what he could, and kept us both alive. Had Akil stayed, we’d be dead. And yeah, my brother lied to you, but sometimes you gotta do the wrong thing to do the right thing.”
    Ouch. I may