Make Me by Parker Blue

of a vampire? There was no reason for it, but hey, if it meant Shade came with me, I was all for it.
    Shade glanced at his hellhound. “Gwen agreed to take care of Princess while I’m gone.”
    SHE PROMISED TO PAMPER AND PET ME, AND GIVE ME A PINK BED OF MY VERY OWN, the pregnant diva shared with us.
    I hid a grin, secretly glad we wouldn’t have to deal with her drama. “Sounds good to me.”
    “Will you help protect Gwen, too?” Shade asked, sounding totally serious.
    Princess tipped her head up. OF COURSE. I AM AN EXCELLENT HELLHOUND.
    “Good,” I said. “And I’ll text Micah and ask him to check in on both of you.”
    Jack said mournfully, “Can we not bring Gwen along?”
    “Don’t worry,” I told him. “There are plenty of places to eat in Austin. You won’t starve.” Heck, he’d be lucky if he didn’t balloon up to twice his size, the way he’d been eating. “But that’s not why you’re going, remember? You’re supposed to be teaching me how to use the books.”
    “I will,” he said.
    “When?” I pressed him. “You haven’t taught me anything yet.”
    He swallowed a bite of mashed potatoes. “What’s your hurry? We have a great amount of time.”
    Annoyed, I snapped, “Maybe, maybe not. I’m going to the capital to meet some strange vamps and demons and face unknown dangers. If the books can help me, I’d like to know how before I go.”
    HE DOESN’T WANT TO TELL YOU, Fang said.
    I glanced at the hellhound and grinned. Oh yeah, that’s why I keep you around. You can be handy sometimes.
    DOES THAT MEAN THE PIZZA BAN IS LIFTED?
    Don’t push it. Turning to Jack, I asked, “What don’t you want to tell me?”
    He grimaced and set down his fork and paused for a long moment, as if wondering how much to tell me. “Well, you see, back in my time, they called me the keeper, but it was a misnomer. I didn’t keep the books so much as they kept me.”
    “What you do mean?” I asked.
    “The mage demon who created them did so with one clear imperative—protect themselves at all costs. He wanted to make sure they would be available for use by his descendants.”
    Shade swallowed a bite of chicken. “Trevor said only full mage demons can create new spells and use them. His descendants have to read them from the books. Was he telling the truth?”
    Good question. Trevor, the SOB mage demon who’d tried to kill me and steal the encyclopedia, had been lying to us and manipulating us to find the books for him. Who knew what was the truth and what was a convenient lie?
    “Yes, partially,” Jack confirmed. “Each mage demon can be taught one spell, passed down from parent to child. But that’s all. The others have to be read from the encyclopedia. Unfortunately for them, the books gained awareness and a mind of their own.”
    I nodded. I remembered feeling that. And that explained why Trevor had a shield but no other powers.
    “Self-preservation is what drives the books now. They don’t want to be used by anyone, because it endangers them. So they choose keepers who aren’t hungry for power, with no reason to love mage demons, and who are willing and able to defend them tooth and nail to keep them out of mage demon hands.”
    “So, you’re saying… what?” I asked. “That they’re all take and no give?”
    “Sometimes,” Jack admitted.
    Shade protested, “But you said Val could get her powers back.”
    Jack held up his hands defensively. “Not exactly. I said the books can grant her powers—other powers within their ability. And they can… if they want to.”
    “If they want to? What does that mean?” I wasn’t sure I liked the sound of this.
    “The books do what’s good for them , though that may not necessarily be what’s good for you .”
    “So what exactly did you plan on teaching me?” I asked indignantly. “Or were you just hanging around, making empty promises while you take advantage of Gwen’s food?”
    “No, I can help,” Jack assured me. “I know