Page 61 of Darkness Defined

I scowled, and he returned to his own reading material.

Such a typical bookie answer.

“Do you think it’s true?”

“Do I think what is true?” he asked, once again putting his book down.

“That there was a family dedicated to wiping out Shadow Demons.”

He sighed and rested against the back of the couch, his dark hair a stark contrast to the red fabric. “Honestly, it wouldn’t surprise me. Fear is a really powerful motivator. Back in those days, we were more common, and like any demon race, making a mess of everything.” This time, his smile felt more genuine.

The tightness in my chest eased, and I returned the smile. It was nice to see my friend again. “How many times have you read this, anyway?”

He looked sheepish. “A few.”

“You know, some of this doesn’t make a damn bit of sense.” I waved the book around. He laughed like I hoped he would. See, we could be normal.

“Well, it was written a very long time ago.”

My smile widened as he shifted to face me more squarely. “And I bet you’ve looked up every arcane reference.”

“Maybe,” he smirked.

I smiled back, feeling lighter than I had in days. “You really are a know-it-all.”

“Are you going to ask me to explain parts of it or just wait for me to volunteer?” he asked, then promptly smacked me with his book.

“Watch it. I will come over there.”

“Empty threat.” He made to smack me again, and I snatched the book right out of his hand. His mouth fell open with an indignant cry. “Come on, Matt, you’ve already stolen one.”

I tossed it back. “Then stop hitting me with it. And for your information, I have a better idea than swallowing my pride and asking for more help than I already have.” I picked up the notebook still lying on the side table. “I’ll just write my own theories and you can correct me later.”

“That’s also not yours.”

I gave him a pointed look. “Do you have anything important in here?”

“Not really.”

“Then I guess you won’t mind if I borrow it.”

He rolled his eyes, but kept smiling. “Maybe one of these days you’ll check to see if someone else’s name is on something before you decide to commandeer it.”

Before he could stop me, I snatched a pen from the table and opened the small notebook to the front. Sure enough, Alexi Roman was written on the cover in his perfect penmanship.

He leaned slightly toward me to get a better look. “What are you doing?”

“You’ll see.” I added ‘& Matt’ then held it out for him to see. “There, now it’s communal property.”

“You’re a regular artist.”

“You’re just jealous you didn’t think of it first.”

He shrugged and looked around. “I haven’t heard any thunder for a while. Maybe the storm is finally over. I never imagined there would be so much rain when I came out here. Everything is going to be soaked tomorrow.”

At the mention of the rain, I flashed to him laughing, drenched from head to toe while trying to keep water out of his eyes. It wasn’t from the dream, though; it was an actual memory, complete with every tiny detail, including the soft look in his eyes as he stared back at me.

“Hello. Matt. Are you listening?”