Sneak Peek Wednesday: Taming Demons for Beginners by Annette Marie

Taming Demons for Beginners
(The Guild Codex: Demonized #1)
by Annette Marie
Publisher: Dark Owl Fantasy
Publication date: Sept. 13, 2019
Genre: Urban Fantasy

Rule one: Don’t look at the demon.

When I arrived at my uncle’s house, I expected my relatives to be like me—outcast sorcerers who don’t practice magic. I was right about the sorcery, but wrong about everything else.

Rule two: Don’t listen to the demon.

My uncle chose a far deadlier power. He calls creatures of darkness into our world, binds them into service contracts, and sells them to the highest bidder. And I’m supposed to act like I don’t know how illegal and dangerous it is.

Rule three: Don’t talk to the demon.

All I had to do was keep my nose out of it. Pretend I didn’t find the summoning circle in the basement. Pretend I didn’t notice the shadowy being trapped inside it. Pretend I didn’t break the rules.

But I did, and now it’s too late.

 

Sneak Peek

Zylas stood with his back against me, facing my assailant. “What the—” the man spluttered.Zylas seized him by the throat and threw him. The man soared ten feet, crashed into the opposite wall, and slumped to the ground, stunned. My second attacker backed away, his face a mask of horror.

The other two creeps looked around at us. “Who the hell is that guy? Where’d he come from?”

Zylas turned his glowing red eyes on them and his husky laugh rolled through the dark alley. Silence shivered between the men, then they bolted. The one Zylas had thrown scrambled after them, groaning with each pained breath.

Eyes gleaming, Zylas bounced lightly on the balls of his feet, as though warming up for a sprint, then stepped after them.

Panic gripped me and I flung myself at him. I smacked into his back, and when he didn’t stop, I grabbed him around the middle, my hands clamped over his stomach.

That he noticed. He twisted to peer at me over his shoulder.

“Stop!” I gasped. “No one can see you, remember?”

“Then I will make sure I am not seen.” His mouth curved up. “A challenge, na? Will be fun.”

“No! Just stay here. You can’t protect me if you’re chasing them.” I unwrapped my arms from his bare stomach. He needed clothes with better coverage.

His tail flicked. “She has seen me. I can kill her.” I jerked around.

Amalia was pressed against the wall, her face white and mouth gaping in a horrified O. When we looked at her, she sidled away from us.

“Uh,” I squeaked. “I—I can explain—”

“You’re a contractor?” she whispered in disbelief. “You said you didn’t know anything about Demonica …”

Zylas canted his head. “I should kill her, yes?” “No!”

“The demon is talking,” Amalia added, her voice faint. Her legs gave out and she sat heavily on the dirty pavement. “Contracted demons can’t speak. They give up their voices when they give up their autonomy.”

Zylas’s fingers curled, his claws extending past his fingertips. I grabbed his arm and clutched it to my chest. He probably wouldn’t hurt me but Amalia was in danger.

“Zylas,” I said shrilly, “you can’t kill her!” “It will be easy.”

“I mean you shouldn’t kill her! She’s—she’s my cousin. My family.” I tightened my hold on his arm, knowing it wouldn’t stop him. “I need her help to survive this.”

 

 

About Annette Marie

Annette Marie is the author of Amazon best-selling YA urban fantasy series Steel & Stone, its prequel trilogy Spell Weaver, and romantic fantasy trilogy Red Winter. Her first love is fantasy, but fast-paced adventures and tantalizing forbidden romances are her guilty pleasures. She lives in the frozen winter wasteland of Alberta, Canada (okay, it’s not quite that bad) with her husband and their furry minion of darkness—sorry, cat—Caesar. When not writing, she can be found elbow-deep in one art project or another while blissfully ignoring all adult responsibilities.

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4 Thoughts on “Sneak Peek Wednesday: Taming Demons for Beginners by Annette Marie

  1. Thanks for being on the tour! 🙂

  2. as soon as i saw the cover i couldn’t help but smile. guess that means it should go on my TBR
    lol
    sherry @ fundinmental

  3. I’ve been hearing good things abut this one.

  4. I love this series so much!
    Robin and Zylas… What a pair! Can’t wait for book three but so sad it’s not until April!

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