Ceri was pale, and feeling ill, I said, “I don’t want to be in a demon registry. Go.”

Minias touched the crucible, his fingers coming away with ash. “It’s too late. You put yourself on it when you called me the first time. Either update your information so I can reach you, or I have every right to pop over here any time I think I have a way to remove my mark.”

My head came up, and I stared, sick with dread. Damn. Was that why he had agreed to wear the mark in the first place? Minias’s eyes glittered with success, and I dropped my head into my cupped hand. Double damn. “How do I register?” I said flatly, and he snickered.

“You need a password. Connect to your calling circle as if you’re going to contact me, and while connected to a line, think your given name, and then follow it with your password. QED.”

Simple enough. “Get a password,” I said, feeling weary. “Okay. I can do that.”

Minias was eyeing me from under some curls that had escaped from his hat. He was silent for a moment, and then, as if he didn’t really want to, he crossed his arms over his chest and said, “You have a common name that everyone calls you and a password that you keep to yourself. Pick it carefully. That’s how people pull demons over the lines.”

Horrified, I looked from Jenks to Ceri, who was now holding her stomach. “A summoning name?” I stammered, figuring it out. “Your password is a summoning name?”

The demon grimaced. “If it gets out, yes, it can be used to force someone across the lines. That’s why you pick a password that no one can piece together.”

I backed up until I bumped into Ceri’s circle. “I don’t want a password.”

“Fine with me,” Minias said snidely. “But if I can’t contact you, I’m going to come over when it’s convenient for me, not you. And seeing as I don’t care, it’s going to be right before sunrise when you’re trying to sleep, or making dinner, or screwing your boyfriend.” His eyes drifted over the kitchen. “Or is it girlfriend?”

“Shut up!” I exclaimed, worried and embarrassed. But I was stuck, and stuck tight.

“Make it impossible to guess,” Minias said. “Nonsense syllables.”

My mouth opened in an O of realization. “That’s why demon names are so weird,” I said, and from behind him Ceri nodded. Her face was white, and she looked as shaky as I felt.

“Demon names aren’t weird,” Minias said indignantly. “They serve a purpose.”

Jenks landed on my shoulder. “How about your name backward? Nagromanairamlehcar.”

I felt my face twist. It sounded like a demon name.