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She was spread-armed against her large desk, on top of stacks of papers that slid all over while she struggled against Percy’s spell.
He frowned at her and tapped the computer under his arm. “Why are you here? I thought that you were fired?”
She glared at him, a glare that would have turned him to stone if he weren’t already a gargoyle. “I’m not going to quit my post until I find that demon and send him back into the infernal realm where he belongs. I’ve spent thirty-two years as guardian of the library without a single questionable event, and then all of that time and effort is ruined, because some student gets it into their head to play with things that they can’t control. Was it you, Percival?” She eyed him suspiciously, ignoring me completely, because I was clearly not smart enough to raise a demon, or stupid enough.
“Does your evidence suggest that it was me? If so, you’re clearly not doing a great job,” he said drily.
I elbowed him. He’d gotten her fired, and she was clearly one of those workaholics who didn’t know how to quit. “We think that it’s Scott Bellham,” I said.
He elbowed me back and whispered, “She’s a suspect.”
I shook my head, because the evidence was in this room with piles of to-go boxes and dry shampoo. This was a woman who had been living in this office for weeks searching for clues. “I don’t believe it. Look at the paperwork she’s been going through, student profiles, background checks. Why would she be doing that if she weren’t trying to find out who would be stupid enough to summon a demon? What do you have on Scott Bellham?” I asked her.
She blinked at me, still stuck to the desk thanks to Percy’s fine spell. “He’s not corruptible.”
“There was a cult leader in the Gray Society last year,” Percy said calmly. “How did he enter the ranks without someone on the inside intentionally overlooking certain traits?”
She shook her head. “But he’s been cataloguing the library. He’s in there right now, working so hard to make things better.”
Ice ran down my spine, and I grabbed Percy’s hand. Apparently, we didn’t need to check the mainframe to find Scott, after all.
“We need a plan. If there’s a demon and a gargoyle, it will take some serious effort to take him down. What about my bodyguards?” I looked at him expectantly, but he was frowning at Mrs. Hanley.
When he finally looked at me, there was reserve in his eyes. “I need to protect you, Red, but I need to protect the city, too. It’s not going to be safe for you to go anywhere near a demon for a lot of reasons.”
I scowled at him. “Maybe I’m not as fabulous as Percy of No Mercy, but I’m not worthless. I agree that we shouldn’t do this alone, though. Time to call backup. Why haven’t I done that already?”
He shook his head. “If Scott’s actually summoned a demon, I can’t trust anyone, gargoyle or not.”
The glowing lines holding Mrs. Hanley brightened and then went out as she came off the desk in a surge of anger. “If he has chosen to be corrupted, then he could destroy us all.” She pushed past us, towards the door, no doubt to find Scott and single-handedly end the corruption. I followed, shaking my head. Because while she was not wrong, I’d had no idea that she could be so melodramatic.
The library was blocked off by nailed up plywood that Mrs. Hanley ripped off with her stone claws, throwing the huge pieces over her shoulder and almost hitting us. We clearly weren’t being sneaky, but there were no sounds of violence or spells when she disappeared into the library.
I glanced at Percy, then ducked through after him.
Scott was sitting in the middle of a glowing array, my mom’s lifeless body on the floor behind him, the demon to the side on a lounge, reading my book. It was all very civilized and cozy if you didn’t take into account the bodies of the construction workers hanging from the ceiling in long stringy cocoons, very clearly not in the greatest health, and well past dead into some other stage of existence that wasn’t nearly so charming.
“It took you long enough,” Scott said with a satisfied smirk.
Mrs. Hanley roared and brought an elaborate magic array to life and tried to cut his head off with it, but as she stepped forward, a bright flash of magic etchings rose from the floor, wrapping around her like a slithering red tornado.
Percy grabbed me and pulled me back before I could get sucked into the spell.
Mrs. Hanley started twitching and shuddering, and then she shifted into gargoyle form, spun around, and tried to chop off Percy’s head with the array that she still held.
He shoved me behind him and then formed a solid defense that sparked bright blue on impact with hers. He backed away from her while Scott’s eyes burned red, like the demon’s, both of them grinning with the same smiles. What could I possibly do to get to my mom and get her to my dad, and away from the complete nutjob? Everyone knew that messing with demons was the fastest track to insanity and self-destruction. That didn’t stop some people, though. You’ve gotta have the nuts to keep the world from going around. Because they wanted to open a demon gate and end everything, including life as we knew it.
I put a knee down and worked on my defense, like Percy had taught me over and over again, so that it only took me a few seconds before it engaged and I was in the sparkling gold layer that would take my defenses with me.
Scott frowned and stood up. “What kind of defense is that, garbage girl?”
“The kind that you’re too small-minded to understand.” I summoned a shield and then cast a spell at him that was so unexpected that he didn’t block it only frowned as part of his shoulder sparked gold before going back to normal.
“Aren’t you going to come and get your mother? You can’t do any real damage from all the way over there.”
“Only an idiot would walk into a room you’ve booby trapped. Give me my mother and I won’t kill you.”
He glanced back at my mom, flicked her cheek, and then turned back to me with a gross smile that did nothing to hide his contempt. “No, I’m saving her for the demon that’s coming.” He checked his watch. “It should be soon. I’ve worked tirelessly, placing the summonings through the city, so as soon as there are enough lives ended by Bellham, the great demon Jazharad will possess the bodies of these carefully prepared vessels and rule Singsong City in truth and benevolence.”
