Rule one: Don’t look at the demon.

When I attained my uncle’s house, I expected my relatives to be like me-outcast sorcerers who don’t practice magic. I had been best about the sorcery, but incorrect about the rest.

Guideline two: Don’t listen to the demon.

My uncle chose a far deadlier power. He calls animals of darkness into the world, binds them into provider contracts, and sells them to the highest bidder. And I’m supposed to become I have no idea how unlawful and dangerous it really is.

Rule three: Don’t talk to the demon.

All I had to do was hold my nose from it. Pretend I didn’t find the summoning circle in the cellar. Pretend I didn’t spot the shadowy getting trapped within it. Pretend I didn’t break the guidelines.

But I did so, and now it’s too past due.