Page 65 of Devils Don’t Deal

“Sure.” He picked up one of my vegan sweetbreads and bit into it with his sharp teeth. “I’ll go to the bookstore as soon as it opens. It’s still early if you want to take a nap before you bake.”

I ran my hand over the sigil he’d carved into the wood then looked up at him, pretty sure my desperation was written in my eyes. I felt trapped, locked in a glass case the shape of my body and unable to escape. Unable to speak. Unable to scream. “I need to start right away. I don’t know very much about peppermint cream and pepper chocolate.”

“Sure thing. I’ll be right back.” He hesitated then pulled me into a hug, squeezing me tight while he let his strength soak into me.

I clung to him and took in a trembling breath that he must’ve noticed. “Hurry back.”

“I’ll take my time to make sure to get the right books. Sounds like you need two, one for the peppermint cream and one for the spicy chocolate.”

I nodded. “Two books. Yes.”

He pulled away and gave me a sharp smile before he turned and left my kitchen.

I held very still while I considered the kind of pastry I needed to make that would hold that sigil. Best would be a pastry actually in the shape of the sigil with mini sigils underneath. Would it be possible to create something that could help me absorb different books at one time? Probably. If I failed, it would give me a stomachache, but what was that? Nothing.

I hummed as I focused on my work, sifting flour and stirring while I danced, the tune we’d danced to filling my head. I spun around the room, lost in the spell, the magic, lost until I slipped the pan into the oven and set the timer.

Now what? Might as well start on the macarons and some pop cakes. And some caramel-swirled cinnamon rolls.

I exhaled and got started, although my energy was at an all-time low. I’d used more magic for those things than I’d ever used before.

I worked until the magical sigil pastry was done. I pulled it out, inhaling the scent of vanilla and a hint of smoky apple cardamom.

I stood at the table staring at the pastry, the first thing I’d really pushed my magic into. Finally, I ripped a corner of the twisted bread apart and nibbled on it.

A shuddering shock went through me, like being electrocuted by the devil’s magic but less delicious. And that was just a taste. Imagine eating the whole thing. I took a deep breath, shivering as I picked it up and had a huge bite.

By the time my dad got back, I was a shivering, sweaty mess.

He barely glanced at me or the tiny bit of pastry still on the pan. “I got your books,” he said, setting a stack of cookbooks on the table then sliding another stack onto my lap beneath the table. “And don’t worry about paying for them. It’s on me.”

“Dad! Did you steal them?” I demanded, almost distracted from how my whole body felt like a wavy strand of taffy filled with uneasy bursts of magic.

He grinned at me and patted my head, lending me some comfort and calm to the erratic magic. “Don’t worry your pretty head about it, princess. Just read your cookbooks and come up with something marvelous for your devil. You’re going to dinner with him tonight, right?”

I nodded and felt queasy. “Of course.”

“There’s not enough time to read all those books before dinner. Pity you don’t have any way to stop time.” He winked at me then turned and left.

I stared after him, feeling like an idiot.

Divinity stared at me from his place on the table.

“Can you get it for me?” I whispered.

He hopped forward and dropped the pocket watch onto my lap where the books rested then nosed my cheek.

“Thanks,” I whispered then I took a deep breath and clicked the watch. Time stopped. The rest of the world stopped. I placed a hand on the stack of books on my lap as I opened the first cookbook on the table.

Chapter

Nineteen

My brain melted into a hallucination of exploded popcorn. The books my dad must’ve gotten from the library of antiquities were filled with elaborate spells, theories, history, facts, and all of it poured into my lower brain like a perfectly mixed macronage. Clockwork hearts. Deals with devils. Split souls. Enchantresses and fairies…

So much pounded into my lower brain while I carefully focused on each word in the book about peppermint cream.

It took twenty minutes to consume all the knowledge in my lap. I clicked the pocket watch closed, and the world snapped back into focus with a lurch.