Page 27 of Disabling Relics for Dummies
Beyla started worrying her bottom lip with her teeth.
“Kaine is really anal about his lawn. So is his neighborhood of dragons. They all seemed to be really into gold, but there’s this entire competition about their yards. All Kaine talks about sometimes is how he came in second place last year, and he just has to win this year, or he’ll literally die. I had less anxiety about my ballet school audition.”
Modern dragons were so weird. There used to be a time they took pride in their caves and hordes. They couldn’t exactly run amok plundering gold from kings in their dragon forms anymore. They didn’t get into fights over the best cave space that would keep their treasures from being stolen or dragon hunters finding them. They lived in the suburbs now and were obsessed with their lawns and gold.
“You don’t have to explain Kaine’s obsession with his grass to us,” I said. “It doesn’t have to be buried in a place that messes it up. I know he has a very nice garden too and wouldn’t mind you burying this there if it means you are safe.”
Kaine was pretty gruff unless it came to Beyla. She was his weak spot. I knew he wanted to win that lawn competition, but if she needed to dig a massive hole in his front yard to keep bad people from hurting her, Kaine would let her.
Gabriel whipped out a piece of parchment and some charcoal. He slid it over to Beyla. We all knew what he wanted her to do, but her parents kept so much of her birthright from her, she didn’t know.
“I’m shit at art. I’ve been able to easily do the thirty-twofouettésfrom Swan Lake for years, but I can barely draw a stick figure. Do I have to be good at art and ballet too if I’m going to be a witch?”
“Not at all,” Killian said. “Sigil work isn’t about being perfect. It’s about intention. You’ll need to practice this in addition to your ballet when your feet heal. You close your eyes, center yourself, and visualize your intention. Let your hand move, and it will draw the sigil. If it doesn’t speak to you when you open your eyes, just do it again until you draw one that does. When you start getting your sigils down, you’ll want to record them in your grimoire.”
“I got you a blank one to use for now, but we’ll have to take you shopping for the one you are going to keep and pass down. You should pick the one that speaks to you,” I said.
“I’m guessing they aren’t made from human skin and written in blood like they say in the human world?”
“What the actual fresh hell?” I said. “I’ve got countless grimoires at the museum, and none of them are like that.”
Even the Cult of the Aether Sister’s grimoire wasn’t bound in human skin and written in blood. Humans were just soweird.Literally, no one was doing that. Beyla just shrugged.
“I like horror movies. That’s what they do in those movies.”
“We’re going to have to introduce you to supernatural streaming channels because they have much more accurate horror movies,” Felix said.
“Oh, I know. Kaine and I watch them together. He calls it a working education.”
That was kind of adorable. Kaine around Beyla was adorable. Dragons were fiercely loyal to their families and would do anything to protect them, but they mostly kept to themselves and didn’t mix with the other supernatural races. Kaine treated Beyla like she was his whelp, but he was a little out of his element.
“Okay, so you know how Kaine was in Hell recently?” Gabriel said. “We were there with him, and we learned demon magic lies in their sigils. They had them tattooed on their skin. Bram has them hidden in his tattoos. Lilith created witches, demons, and Hellhounds, so we’re all related in a way. Witch’s magic is different, but we do share a few things, like the sigils. Our sigils can’t bring someone’s darkest wish to life like a demon, but they are still potent. Why don’t you try?”
“I think they are teaching this to the witches at my new high school, but because of my history, they stuck me in remedial classes with all the burnouts. I was a straight-A student at my old high school. I’m so behind now.”
“Between Kaine and us, we’ll have you caught up in no time. The other students aren’t being stupid, are they?” I asked.
“I’m not supposed to talk about being raised human. They think it’s cool I’m a dancer and think I focus on that instead of school, and that’s why I’m in remedial classes. A few people have offered me drugs, and some thought I was selling them.”
Felix looked completely amused by this.
“Did you tell Kaine?”
“Oh, shit, no. He’d show up at my high school and roast someone with dragon fire. I’dneverget a date to prom after that. I don’t really want to date again after Derrick, but I don’t mind using someone for arm candy for the memories.”
Ireallyliked this kid and fully supported her men ban until she found one that wasn’t physically abusive and supportive of her ballet career. I wasn’t a dancer, but I loved watching it. I knew about the company whose school Beyla had auditioned for because they had donated items to my museum.
I spoke to them at length about the history behind them, and I knew exactly what dancers put themselves through to get into companies like that. The fact that Beyla’s boyfriend was willing to take all that away from her by breaking both of her feet still astounded me.
Before Beyla could practice her sigils, Reyson did that thing he liked to do where he appeared out of nowhere. He’d brought Kaine, Balthazar, and Bram with him, and they all had trays of food. I’d forgotten all about brunch, and I was starving.
Beyla didn’t seem to be one of those dancers that restricted her food, and Kaine wasn’t pressuring her to eat. She fixed herself a plate of options that would keep her body fueled if she had a day of dancing after this. She had a good head on her, and with our help, she’d be in the advanced classes at her high school in no time.
Reyson kept staring at Beyla, which meant he was up to something, and there was a fifty percent chance whatever came out of his mouth was going to get Kaine to set his ass on fire.
“What do the modern healers say about your feet?”
“They said even with the physical therapy after the casts come off, dancing may always be painful.”
