Kindling the Moon by Jenn Bennett Page A

couldn’t, I’d never be able to leave the house.”
    â€œI suppose that would be … overwhelming.”
    â€œWhen other Earthbounds find out, they start avoiding me. Relationships are hard.” One corner of his mouth puckered as gave me glance from the side. “The only person who doesn’t mind my ability is Jupe. He’s … well, an open book, so to speak.” He closed the tome in front of us and smiled at me weakly before pulling the next one off the stack.
    A low wave of pity rolled over me, and I let it, even with the knowledge that he could sense it. “Is that why your marriage broke up?”
    â€œIt didn’t help. It’s hard to stay together when you know someone’s cheating on you and doesn’t care that you know it.”
    â€œThat sucks. I’m sorry.”
    He shrugged. “I married her after she got pregnant with Jupe. I thought it was the right thing to do, thought we were in love—or at least that we might be one day—but her demonic ability …” A scowl darkened his face for a few seconds. “Turned out, staying together was bad for us and bad for Jupe. So I divorced her eight years ago and took Jupe with me. He’s a good kid.”
    â€œIt’s kinda admirable that you’re raising him by yourself.”
    â€œI’ve had help. I employ an elderly couple who live on a small house on the property. They help take care of the house and watch out for him.”
    Housekeepers. Hmph. I knew a man like him couldn’t possibly keep a house like that so clean by himself; I tried to erase that thought before he caught my smugness.
    â€œHas Jupe’s knack surfaced yet?” Abilities usually didn’t until mid-teens, from what I’d heard.
    â€œNo, but as much as I hate my knack, I hope like hell he inherits mine and not hers.”
    He didn’t offer any further information about her ability, so I didn’t pry.
    â€œWell, like you said, he’s a good kid. You’ll teach him to handle it fine.” I smiled, and his tightly creased eyes relaxed.
    â€œI’m glad you like him,” he said. I wondered if that was just a casual observation, or if he sensed that I did. Before I could ask, he cracked open the second book.
    â€œHere’s the third demon I found,” he said, going back to our shop talk as if his revelation was inconsequential. As if nothing had changed between us.
    And maybe it hadn’t.

9
    I flipped on my high beams as I drove out of the gates and began the trek down Lon’s rocky mountain. Despite the nice house, I really didn’t see why Amanda had fussed over the piece of property. Maybe it looked different in the daytime, but right now it was pitch black, and the seaside cliff’s steep road set my nerves on edge.
    Lon had given me several decent leads. All told, I’d walked away with four possible albino demons, which was great. Problem was, to find out whether one of them was the particular demon I wanted, I’d have to summon and question each one. I
really
wasn’t looking forward to that. Summoning Æthyric beings made me sick as a dog. Half of the ones I’d evoked in the past were utterly uncivilized, little more than wild beasts. Some only spoke Æthyric languages, maybe Latin or some Coptic dialect. The ones that spoke English had been summoned to earth frequently by other magicians, and were pretty savvy about weaseling their way out of negotiations. Some were even strong enough to attempt to break out of my binding triangles if I didn’t charge them correctly.
    Summoning was tricky business, and it took a lot of skill and smarts to do it without getting yourself killed.
    As I rounded a sharp turn, a few raindrops splattered on the windshield and I hoped like hell that I could make it all the way down before a storm hit. I soon forgot about this, however, when the air around me bubbled.
    â€œWhat the—”
    A light