Rival Demons by Sarra Cannon Page A

powers and abilities. All it would take is one demon who
could see through my invisibility glamour and my fate down here
would be in serious danger. Hiding out to watch their secret
training sessions would definitely make me look like a spy. It was
too risky.
    I pushed the doubts from my mind and instead,
channeled my frustration into my magic. I stood with my back
against the door and slowly chose several items one after the other
and lifted them into the air. My jacket. The backpack. A hairbrush.
My pillow. One of my black boots. It took every ounce of my
concentration to keep all five items lifted and controlled.
    Slowly, the jacket began to fall toward the
ground and I switched my concentration over to it, lifting it back
into the air. As soon as I did, the other four items collapsed in a
heap on the floor. Damn. I sighed and leaned against the door. I'd
been trying to perfect this one skill for at least an hour. I did
okay when it was just four items, but the second I added a fifth,
everything fell apart.
    I knew that if I ever wanted to have a chance to
defeat the Order, I was going to have to bring my focus to a whole
new level. I needed to develop a concentration so sharp that no one
and nothing could break it during battle. Right now, my mind was
still too scattered.
    In the other room, I heard the front double
doors open. I froze, listening for who had come through. Mary Anne
giggled, and I relaxed, glad it wasn't Jackson. If he discovered me
in here practicing magic on my own, I knew he'd be pissed.
    I poked my head out my bedroom door and saw Mary
Anne and Essex sitting on the couch, heads huddled together looking
at something.
    "Hey guys," I said.
    They turned toward me, then separated like kids
caught making out in their parents' living room.
    "Hey," Mary Anne said. "I didn't realize you
were home. Essex just got off work so we came here to hang out for
a while. Hope that's okay?"
    I shrugged and came deeper into the living room,
curious about what they'd been looking at so secretively. "Sure," I
said. "I don't mind."
    Essex turned shyly toward me and put up his hand
in a half wave. On his lap, I could just make out a blue book with
a tattered binding. "Hello Harper, I trust you are having a
pleasant day."
    "It's been fine so far," I said. "I just wish
there was more for us to do down here. I mean, even just a place to
exercise or a small library or something, you know?"
    He fidgeted and moved the book under his thigh,
looking nervous. "Yes," he said. "It can be quite dull down here if
you don't have a trade."
    I moved around to the front of the couch and sat
down on the large white marble coffee table. "What's that you've
got there?"
    It was obvious he hadn't wanted me to see the
book, and maybe it was rude to call him out on it, but I wanted to
know where he'd gotten it and what, exactly, was in it that he
didn't want me to know about.
    Mary Anne shifted her feet underneath her. She
looked around, double checking that the doors to the suite were
closed. "Is Lea here?" she whispered.
    I shook my head. "I haven't seen her since
yesterday afternoon."
    She bit her lower lip and seemed to make a
decision about the book. "Show her," she said finally. "She won't
tell anyone, I promise."
    Essex kept his eyes trained on the ground. In
his lap, his left hand trembled slightly. I realized I'd misjudged
how important this book was to him. He wasn't just nervous. He was
terrified.
    "Hey," I said, leaning my head down to try to
catch his eye. "I didn't mean to upset you. I just saw the book and
was curious. Is it something important?"
    He nodded slowly and looked up at Mary Anne, as
if asking her if she really did trust me.
    "It's fine," she said. "We're like sisters. I
swear you can trust her."
    Essex took a deep breath in, his chest puffing
out. He finally released it, allowing his shoulders to relax a
little. With a nervous twitch of his hand, he lifted the book and
set it out on the couch between the two of them.
    "What