lap. “Tel me about your day.”
I shifted until I sprawled on top of him with my head on his chest. I could hear his heart beating hard and steady. This was the highlight of my day. Lying on his chest and doing nothing or sharing the things we did apart.
“Mr. Sorenson picked on me again. I came this close to zapping him.” I indicated with my forefinger and thumb. “Then Celeste came and I did the image retrieval thing, which I now know I shouldn’t have done.” I covered Bran’s lips when I felt them move on my temple. “Don’t say a word. Mrs. D
already chewed my ear. It was weird, like I lost my head during the retrieval. Anyway, the rest you know
—we came to Seattle, kicked some demon butt, came back, and here we are. Now, I want to hear about the List. Why does Valafar want it yet insists we shouldn’t search for it? How does it involve you?”
“You left out the part about your cel phone and Kylie.”
His sister had a big mouth, and he was hedging. “What did she tel you?”
“That Kylie hurt your feelings. What happened?”
I skimmed over the incident. “She’s my friend.
She’l come around.”
Bran ran the tips of his fingers up and down my arm, but didn’t respond right away. I lifted my head so I could see his eyes. They were narrowed, as though he was thinking about something unpleasant. “Say something.”
“She’s your friend and wil come around.”
“Quit patronizing me.” I pinched his nose.
“Just agreeing with you, Sunshine. Kylie is lucky to have you as a friend. If she can’t handle who you are, let her go.” He cupped my cheek and kissed you are, let her go.” He cupped my cheek and kissed me.
I got sidetracked, but not for long. Putting my hand between our faces, I forced him to stop. “I can’t let Kylie go. She’s my best friend. I run to her when al this Guardian business becomes overwhelming.” He frowned. “That’s what I’m here for.” Ooh, he was jealous. How ridiculous and sweet. “You’re not around al the time. Anyway, tel me about the List.”
He shrugged. “There’s nothing to it.” I searched his face. “It can’t be nothing. Not when Valafar warned Grampa not to search for it and Solange said you’d join them if they got it first.” Bran chuckled.
“It’s not funny,” I scolded him.
His expression became serious. “No, it’s not.
The List contains damned souls, or names of people who sold their souls to Coronis and her minions.
Whenever a person sel s his or her soul to a demon, they sign a contract, a special scrol . Their names appear on the List and stay there until they either die or fulfil their contract.”
“And the contracts?”
“They go to their superior, a dark lord the demons serve, then to a warehouse.”
My mind raced as I connected the dots. “Like where Valafar kept Grampa? There were hundreds of barrels and crates.”
Bran nodded. “Exactly. From there, they’re shipped to secret dungeons around the world. When a person dies, the contract self-destructs. Coronis had the largest database of contrasts and she trusted only one person with her List, Damien. He was her accountant, her record keeper.”
“So why aren’t we going after the contracts?
Why the List?”
“It’s easy to transport. Imagine mil ions of names in a rol ed-up parchment the size of a regular paper towel rol . Al a demon has to do is read out a person’s name or have the person touch their name on the List to retrieve the contract.” The image of possessed humans searching through computers, yanking out hard drives and wal s flashed in my head. “Then what were the Lazari doing in that office in Seattle?”
Bran chuckled and tucked my head under his chin. “Trying to find Damien. He must communicate with his employees, who are al human. E-mails and wire transfers leave an electronic trail. This was the third office we raided in the last few weeks and the first time I encountered the Lazari. Valafar must think like
I shifted until I sprawled on top of him with my head on his chest. I could hear his heart beating hard and steady. This was the highlight of my day. Lying on his chest and doing nothing or sharing the things we did apart.
“Mr. Sorenson picked on me again. I came this close to zapping him.” I indicated with my forefinger and thumb. “Then Celeste came and I did the image retrieval thing, which I now know I shouldn’t have done.” I covered Bran’s lips when I felt them move on my temple. “Don’t say a word. Mrs. D
already chewed my ear. It was weird, like I lost my head during the retrieval. Anyway, the rest you know
—we came to Seattle, kicked some demon butt, came back, and here we are. Now, I want to hear about the List. Why does Valafar want it yet insists we shouldn’t search for it? How does it involve you?”
“You left out the part about your cel phone and Kylie.”
His sister had a big mouth, and he was hedging. “What did she tel you?”
“That Kylie hurt your feelings. What happened?”
I skimmed over the incident. “She’s my friend.
She’l come around.”
Bran ran the tips of his fingers up and down my arm, but didn’t respond right away. I lifted my head so I could see his eyes. They were narrowed, as though he was thinking about something unpleasant. “Say something.”
“She’s your friend and wil come around.”
“Quit patronizing me.” I pinched his nose.
“Just agreeing with you, Sunshine. Kylie is lucky to have you as a friend. If she can’t handle who you are, let her go.” He cupped my cheek and kissed you are, let her go.” He cupped my cheek and kissed me.
I got sidetracked, but not for long. Putting my hand between our faces, I forced him to stop. “I can’t let Kylie go. She’s my best friend. I run to her when al this Guardian business becomes overwhelming.” He frowned. “That’s what I’m here for.” Ooh, he was jealous. How ridiculous and sweet. “You’re not around al the time. Anyway, tel me about the List.”
He shrugged. “There’s nothing to it.” I searched his face. “It can’t be nothing. Not when Valafar warned Grampa not to search for it and Solange said you’d join them if they got it first.” Bran chuckled.
“It’s not funny,” I scolded him.
His expression became serious. “No, it’s not.
The List contains damned souls, or names of people who sold their souls to Coronis and her minions.
Whenever a person sel s his or her soul to a demon, they sign a contract, a special scrol . Their names appear on the List and stay there until they either die or fulfil their contract.”
“And the contracts?”
“They go to their superior, a dark lord the demons serve, then to a warehouse.”
My mind raced as I connected the dots. “Like where Valafar kept Grampa? There were hundreds of barrels and crates.”
Bran nodded. “Exactly. From there, they’re shipped to secret dungeons around the world. When a person dies, the contract self-destructs. Coronis had the largest database of contrasts and she trusted only one person with her List, Damien. He was her accountant, her record keeper.”
“So why aren’t we going after the contracts?
Why the List?”
“It’s easy to transport. Imagine mil ions of names in a rol ed-up parchment the size of a regular paper towel rol . Al a demon has to do is read out a person’s name or have the person touch their name on the List to retrieve the contract.” The image of possessed humans searching through computers, yanking out hard drives and wal s flashed in my head. “Then what were the Lazari doing in that office in Seattle?”
Bran chuckled and tucked my head under his chin. “Trying to find Damien. He must communicate with his employees, who are al human. E-mails and wire transfers leave an electronic trail. This was the third office we raided in the last few weeks and the first time I encountered the Lazari. Valafar must think like
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