Two Parts Demon by Viola Grace Read Free Book Online

“These are all of you, each a different power. If we connect them with the binding spell...” She waved her fingers and the straws bridged around in a spoke pattern and then connections for the agents’ cups.
    “The powers are stable unless someone injures one of them.” Minerva took an ice cube out of her glass, and she dropped it in the Benny cup. The colour moved out of the cup through the straws. “She then gets strength from each of you and you get strength from each other. Usually, it is only done between a maximum of three people, but this one seems to be working quite well.”
    Minerva waved at the cups, and they floated up and into the sink. “The point of that spell is to keep you equal at all times. Your magic will still be separate for the most part, but it will flow when it needs to.”
    Benny finished her meal and got up to start the dishes. She scrubbed and smiled as she heard Argyle discussing how food actually tasted. Apparently, he had been craving the taste of food since she let him taste his first taco through her veins.
    She blinked away tears. It seemed like so long ago, but it had been less than a month since her world had spun out of her control. So many firsts in that time, and now, her parents were in danger because of her. Her stomach flipped at the thought of what she was about to do. It was only in the security of her home that she had discussed the demon zone. Even her father had never set foot in the place.
    Dishes and cutlery started to appear on her left, and she washed, rinsed and set the dishes on the draining board in rapid succession.
    “How much time has passed, Freddy?”
    “Seventeen hours, Benny. You will have most of the night in the zone.”
    Benny nodded and dried her hands. “I need to get the map. Someone else can dry the dishes.”
    Freddy nodded. “I will. I know you hate doing it.”
    Benny wanted a moment alone. She needed to talk to the house.
    She left the group in the kitchen with a tight smile and headed for the library, closing the door behind her.
    “Hello, house.”
    The phone rang.
    Smiling, Benny went to pick up the receiver. “Hello, house.”
    “Hello, Benny.”
    “You know what I am about to do?”
    “It is very dangerous.” The calm, masculine tone spoke the truth.
    “If we do not return, I want you to welcome Minerva as your new occupant. She will respect you and all that is within you.”
    “You will return.”
    “I hope I will, and Mom and Dad too, but I am bracing for the possibility that we will not. I want you taken care of in a manner that you deserve. Minerva knows you. She will respect you and listen to your council.”
    “I will accept her if the Gangers do not return.” The voice was resigned.
    There was a moment of silence before he said, “There is a present for you on the desk. I have enjoyed watching you grow, and you deserve the protection that I can offer.”
    Benny looked around and found a box that gleamed with a black silk ribbon. “Do I open it now?”
    “You will need it where you are going. Demon eyes cannot see it. Wear it and be safe.” The line went dead.
    She put the handset down on the phone and tugged the ribbon loose. She opened the ten-inch box, and tears pricked her eyes again. A knife made of ebony and obsidian was nestled in the box next to a sheath with thigh straps.
    She slid the blade into the sheath and looked at it, flicking to her demon vision. She could still feel it, but it was invisible. Grinning, she flicked back to normal vision and strapped it to her left thigh.
    Humming to herself, she got the map and flicked her hand to open the library doors. They swung open, and her entourage stumbled inside.
    The map was gross, but keeping an interdimensional diagram on normal parchment wasn’t possible. A gargoyle’s wing hosted the map, and since it did not dry out, the map was rather lifelike.
    She pinned the wing open and whispered over the skin in a language that had no name, but haunted the