Page 3 of Grimoire Omens

“Look at you with a grasp of the English language.” Cedric’s mouth kept moving, and it hit me like a serious ton of bricks.

“Holy fuck. You really can talk!”

“No shit. Now if you’re done stating the obvious, I do believe there are more demons coming.”

“Demons? Demons aren’t real,” I squeaked.

“Tell that to the one you killed.”

I glanced at the goo, which had mostly evaporated, leaving a scorched mark on the floor. “That wasn’t a mutant bat?”

“Nope. That was a demon. A minor imp if we’re being technical.”

“What’s it doing in my house?”

“Likely coming after the person who summoned it. Duh. You see, demons are usually contained to the Infernal dimension, but someone”—Cedric fixed me with a baleful yellow glare—“decided to cast a spell she didn’t understand and opened a portal, allowing them to enter our world.”

“No, I didn’t.”

Only, I suddenly recalled—a bit fuzzily—the night before pulling out Grams’ Grimoire and flipping through it while smashing two bottles of wine with Flo. Pretty sure there were a few joints involved too. We’d giggled at the names and descriptions of some of the spells, and I had a vague recollection of Flo saying, “Do it! I triple dog dare you.”

Dare me to do what, you might wonder. Apparently summon demons.

And to think it all began with a phone call telling me Grams, a horrid woman I’d avoided like the plague, had died.

1

Before my dumb ass summoned demons…

My cell phone rang while I was at work, the caller ID showing Smith & Clarke Legal Services. Most likely spam, but given my boredom—and love of fucking with scammers—I answered.

“Hello, can I help you?”

“Good afternoon, ma’am. I am Adam Clarke of Smith and Clarke Legal Services. Am I speaking to Ms. Charlotte Alice Miller?”

“Yes.” The use of my full name didn’t surprise. Scammers tended to know the basics of the people they called.

“You are the daughter of Ava Danielle Miller.”

“I should hope so since she claimed her vag was never the same after she pushed out my fat head.”

Not even a chuckle. “You are the granddaughter of Alice Ava Miller?”

I rolled my eyes. “Also yes. What’s this about?”

“Your grandmother recently passed, and as her only surviving heir, you’ve inherited her assets.”

My first reaction? A vehement, “Fuck off.”

“Excuse me?”

“Surely you could come up with something more believable. No way that old bat died and left me her shit.”

“I assure you, Mrs. Miller has indeed passed of natural causes. As per her final wishes, there will be no funeral and her remains are to be cremated. As her executor, it is my duty to locate the heirs mentioned in her will.”

“Doubt my name was in it.” Although she might have referred to me as that unholy bastard or that wretched disappointment.

“You weren’t specified by name. However, the will states the entirety of Mrs. Miller’s assets are to be divided among her direct descendants. With Mrs. Miller’s daughter, your mother, being deceased, that leaves you, her granddaughter, as the only living heir.”