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“Sit,” she pointed at a chair. “Start talking.”

Evan rubbed his ear, taking a seat at the outer curve of the crescent table while Rhea sat down at the opposite side. “I’d initially declined the case because of its…complexity. But I was barely getting by. There was the loan installment and Celie's tuition fee,” he rubbed a hand down his face, his cheeks burningas he complained to the only trusted adult in his life. “I had to do it.”

Rhea studied him closely, then sighed. The boy was usually quite carefree—or perhaps careless—when it came to himself, but as soon as his sister was mentioned, he would willingly agree to pick up a mountain on his little finger. Over the years, she had tried several times to make him understand that going out of his way like this wouldn’t make a difference in their siblinghood if he didn’t actuallytalkto her.

But Evan Blackwood was nothing if not stubborn.

“You took the case even though you knew there wasn’t anything you could do to help?” Rhea took off her glasses and cleaned them with a handkerchief, eyebrows furrowed. “Since when have you been so generous with your time?”

“I wasn’thelping,” Evan cleared his throat. “I was after the money, and let me tell you, Ididget paid. Even if only half.”

Rhea waved that off. “Spare me the act and tell me, where is that thing?”

“What thing?”

“The thing you let out of that place,” Rhea paused, then leaned over the table, narrowed eyes shooting daggers at Evan when he remained quiet. “Youknowwhere it went, right?”

Shit, shit, shit. Evan coughed. “Of course, he, uh…went back to the mansion.”

“Ah, right,” Rhea nodded with a calm expression, reaching forward to caress the ear she’d almost ripped off Evan’s head. Then, with a smile, she twisted the reddened ear shell, making Evan howl. “Didn’t I warn you not to lie to me?”

“Okay, okay, sorry! I don’t know where he went! He disappeared yesterday night, and I haven’t seen him since then!”

After confirming he was telling the truth, Rhea retracted her grip. Evan quickly cupped his ears, leaning away from the table.

Is it just me, or is she angrier than I’d thought?

Rhea settled back into her seat, brushing a silver lock out of her face, shoulders tense. Seeing her so unusually quiet, unease stirred in Evan’s gut. To him, Rhea was the encyclopedia of all knowledge acquirable, the epitome of composure and poise. If she was tense and uncertain of something, that was a dead end for him.

Evan rubbed his aching ear. “Do you know what he is?”

Rhea looked up, stormy eyes unreadable. “He’s not something you’ve dealt with before. And you weren’t supposed to. Not if I had…” She paused, then nodded. “I guess it’s time you know.”

Confused, Evan watched her stand up and walk to the small room at the back of the shop, herprivate library.

Out of every corner of the shop he’d explored since his teenage years, that was one room strictly off-limits for Evan. Apparently, it stored a collection of books and records that were so precious Rhea never let anyone in. Not even Evan. Once when he’d pestered her with questions about that room many years ago, she’d warned him that some knowledge—even though available—was forbidden to this world. That if it fell in the wrong hands, it would be catastrophic.

That was enough to keep him away from that room for life.

Evan’s fingers drummed against the stone table, his overly sensitive ears picking up the faint shuffling and rustling in the far away room.

I hope she’s not looking for something to whack me with. But what if she is? Should I make a run for the door?

Rhea returned holding a book. She handed the dusty, old, leather-bound book to Evan. The cover was so worn out that the title was no longer comprehensible.

Evan turned the book over in his hand, scrunching his nose at the scent of leather. “What is this?”

Rhea gracefully lowered herself into her seat. “The answer to your questions,” her eyes snapped up. “You let something out. Now you have to bring it back to its original place.”

Original place?Evan gulped. Guess it was not the right time to tell her that the original place had all but burnt to ash.

Evan coughed. “This book looks old. Where’d you get it from?”

Rhea paused, seeming to ponder whether to answer his question, then shook her head. “Don’t worry about it. Worry about yourself and the mess you’ve created.”

Evan slumped in his seat and flipped open the book, pretending he hadn’t heard the last sentence. On the first page were words, engraved dark and slightly smudged but clear nonetheless.

Demons: The Deities from Hell.