Yourself, for now.

But one point sways you above the others, as you give a silent, decisive nod, and head off to the library; reading the books yourself lets you control the risk. Maybe you won't see every trap, but you can limit how deep you go - and so long as you keep things theoretical, the danger should be limited. If you get other people involved, the demon's out of the bottle; they'll be acting on their own, inviting danger you can't limit. Not just to you or to them, but to Maya as well if Ms. Devlin decides her game has become troublesome.

You don't have time for caution, not really... But at least this approach gives you a better picture of the danger before you start courting danger.

"Pardon me," You say, approaching the circulation desk, "I read in the newspaper that Ms. Devlin had donated several demonology texts to the library. I was wondering where they were kept."

You wonder for a moment who the woman at the desk is; a fairly attractive woman who seems to be in her late thirties, it doesn't seem likely that she's a student. Which would normally suggest she's either an employee or faculty, except that you're pretty sure that checking out and returning books were supposed to be handled by **** labor... Er, rather, part-time student jobs.

"Finally!" The woman in question exclaims with a loud sigh, "The notice went out months ago, you know, but you're the first to show an iota of curiosity about those books. I was starting to wonder if I'd come to the least curious university in the country."

"Well, we were on break..." You reply uncertainly, "And I don't think many students read our newspaper?"

"Hey, it made the local news as well!" The woman groused, "But yeah, they're here. First, I have some disclaimers for you to sign, though."

You blink with a bit of surprise at that. You'd expected that you'd be able to just... Go and look at them. It's not as though the books on, say, potentially explosive chemical reactions were restricted.

Then again, you don't know really know what Ms. Devlin donated. Maybe they were considered old and valuable in their own right? This could be a preservation thing instead...

"First, by Ms. Devlin's insistence, you're entitled to check out the books she donated - it's encouraged if you intend to use them, even," The woman says, "But as rare and valuable books, the Dean has promised dire consequences upon anyone who would lose or damage expensive university property, including, quote, 'multi-million dollar lawsuits'. You can hold on to them for up to a week, but if someone else wants to take a look at them, you might be called upon to return them early, depending on each of your needs."

...That seemed straightforward enough, if weird, but...

"I don't think I necessarily need to check out the originals," You hedge, "There should be an imaged copy at least, right? I could just take that instead."

"Oh, Darkness, no," The woman waves off, "That's just begging for someone to screw you up. Only use a copy if you need to, or if you've personally verified that they're identical. Demonology is a cutthroat field - they make members of our doctorate program in English look cordial by comparison."

...Okay, that sounded pretty bad. Borrowing a rare text for a couple of days would probably be fine, right? If you're lucky, maybe you won't even need to take it out of the library. Checking the form in front you, you sign that you acknowledge the value of the books, and the Dean's personal interest in protecting them.

"Second, you acknowledge that demonology and diabolism are untested fields filled with unknown dangers, and that this university does not promise any form of safety for 'reckless personal experimentation' with the contents of the books," The woman continues, "Any consequences for misusing or using the knowledge within, ranging from legal to permanent disability to ****, are entirely your own fault, and the university disavows any claim of responsibility for 'the results of your own folly'. The Dean would also like to personally note, 'you were warned, so take this seriously, you muppet'."

...Right, this was starting to sound a bit more dodgy. Still... It's not like you were planning on using the books, not like the university evidently feared. But it was definitely a weird type of liability disclaimer.

You sign it anyway.

"And lastly, the university strictly condemns anything that would endanger human life on campus, the destruction of university property, or the desecration of university grounds, and will prosecute any such offenders to the full extent of the law," She finishes, "And the Dean would like to add that she's 'entirely willing to consider extralegal options if any of you idiots let a demon loose in her school because you couldn't be bothered to doublecheck the wards'."

...Right. You sign anyway, because you might as well see this through regardless.

"...But the books do work, right?" You ask, concerned at the implications.

"Oh, definitely," The woman answered, "I checked them myself, at the Dean's request. I disagree with a fair amount of what's in them, but that's a difference of approach; like using the Mazini method instead of the Fairchild. 90% of the time they'll get you to the same place, and the remaining 10%, you have bigger problems to care about. The contents themselves are fine and will work - there are no demon tails or idiotic edgelord ramblings included."

...Uh. What? Were you really having this conversation?

"Demon tails?" You ask, unable to stem your confusion before moving to more salient questions, "And, um, just... ...Who are you exactly? I feel like I might have made some poor assumptions here..."

"Leanna Meyers," She answers, adjusting her glasses, "Special assistant to the Dean, except that's not a paid position. So I'm here instead, working the circulation desk. Honestly not the worst thing I've been asked to do, even if it feels like a waste... But at least it lets me see who here's interested in Professor Devlin's books."

"Demon tails are shorthand for the petty tricks and traps that haunt the field," She continues, "So named for the infamous beginner-killer. 'Grab a demon's tail, and it is powerless; it will grant any single boon in return for freedom'. Except it's complete rubbish that will just anger a demon, while probably putting you past any of your protections. It gets repeated a lot, though, because demons are deceptive assholes, and diabolists love to sabotage their potential competition."

You nod, slowly. That did make sense... Just... Not who Ms. Meyers was, or why she was here.

"Sorry, so..." You start, hesitating, "Are you, like, the new research librarian in charge of demonology or something, except you're at the circulation desk for some reason?... I'm really confused as to what being a 'special assistant' entails here, or why you're the one doing the drudge work."

"As if," Ms. Meyers answered, rolling her eyes, "The actual research librarian doesn't know how to keep personal and professional interests separate, if you get my drift. I wouldn't recommend relying on her for much, not without a word or two from Professor Devlin. As for myself, certain donors just wanted to make certain that things were running smoothly down here, and decided I should be on hand to smooth over any hiccups."

A pin drops in your mind as you recall Elizabeth's description of Maya's report, and you put two and two together.

"Oh, you're a demon worshipper," You say, eyes widening as your mouth runs ahead of your brain.

"That's putting things a bit crudely, Taylor," She says, looking down at you from behind her glasses, "But it is true that I was inducted a couple of years ago, and have specialized knowledge in the field not generally known to self-taught demonologists."

"But wait, then why the swipe at..." You half-ask about the research librarian, before trailing off.

"Because I don't care about Professor Devlin either way," Ms. Meyers replies, "I wish her well, I suppose, but I don't know what she's doing, nor do I want to know. I'm just here to clean up any mess if things go pear-shaped. She's pretty high profile for a demon, which makes her a useful asset or potential problem for my bosses. So long as things continue staying quiet, that's perfectly fine by me."

...Or in other words, she's not an enemy now, but she definitely would be if you pursued the "get Devlin fired" plan. Unless Ms. Devlin publicly self-destructed, in which case maybe she'd be part of the clean-up? Her attitude was a bit... Weird.

"So you don't, um, worship?..." You trail off, a bit unclear as to the proper language here.

"Professor Devlin?" Ms. Meyers finishes, eyebrow raised, "Well, I do respect her as a model to emulate, I suppose. Decades of work, to be rewarded with ascension to a higher power! And at a relatively young age, to boot. It's what any sane demonologist or diabolist should want, I would think."

"But as far as demons go..." She shakes her head, "She's pretty low in the hierarchy. Good with mortals, when she's not power-tripping or letting her instincts run wild, but the fact that she can be pretty competent isn't the same as raw power. And raw power is generally what a demonologist is looking for; someone who can break reality in two for the right price."

You're a bit tempted to ask more questions, but it seemed... Like a less-than-great idea. Demon worshippers weren't exactly a secret anymore, but you probably already knew more about Ms. Meyers and her role than was wise. You didn't want to be a loose end.

"Generally, it'd take a Prince or Princess to merit actual worship from us," She goes on, noticing your implied question, "And even then, we're demonologists, not diabolists. We play the field, at least until things settle down a bit more. Most of us, at least. Having a couple of people around who are properly pledged make for useful liaisons, at least until they start undermining each other."

"Speaking of, a word of advice for you..." She continues, folding her hands together, "The books you're checking out are useful. They go into detail about what demons are, what they can do, and how you should speak to them. You should read them cover to cover. But I would recommend not summoning any actual demons. Would you like to know why?"

You freeze for a second, wondering what the answer she was looking for was here. The truth was right out, since Ms. Meyers seemed under the impression that you were a fledgling demon-something, rather than a borderline-Fanatic.

"Because demons are not toys," You settle on answering, "As the capstone to a complicated skill, there are many different steps that an amateur may fumble, any one of which could have dire consequences. Working alone, there would be nobody to prevent the situation from degrading past hope of recovery. Instead, I should hone my knowledge, and use that foundation to find other like-minded people to work with."

"A good answer," Ms. Meyers nods approvingly, "I knew I was right to peg you as a sensible one. But no, not quite - while your concerns are very much accurate, you won't get anywhere without taking a few risks, and having summoned a demon or two is necessary for anyone to take you seriously. Maybe you could start up a college coven or something that way, but working with other beginners is as likely to harm as to help."

"No, there's a much more immediate issue," She continues, "The only demons you could get in touch with right now are weak, lazy, or exceedingly powerful. Powerful demons are far too dangerous for a novice to deal with; lazy demons won't answer your call at all; and weak demons are barely worth the cost of summoning."

She frowns for a moment, as she looks you over.

"Well, if you were born to wealth, perhaps enough weak demons might get you somewhere..." She digresses, "But you don't look or sound like an idiot, so your parents would likely have bought your way into a better school in that case. And probably everything else weak demons could have gotten you, for that matter."

"Sorry, but why are those my only options at the moment?" You interject, as curious for the answer as you were to get away from the topic of your family.

"I was getting to that!" Ms. Meyers continues, her smile suggesting she wasn't really upset at all, "It's because all of the ambitious and reasonably powerful demons are already on Earth, or making plans to get here. The truly powerful can't get here yet, but that's all the more reason why the ambitious want to strike their claim now. And unfortunately, those are exactly the kind of demons you need to make a bargain worth your time."

"So really, the only reason you should bother summoning a demon is to prove that you can... Something that only matters if you have someone to show off to," She finishes, "If you're studying demonology, I'm guessing it's for something that succubae can't provide, right? But Professor Devlin is still a demon, with all of the connections that offers. You can ambush her as she's leaving class, so that she can't twist your lust too badly, and offer her a finder's fee for hooking you up with the kind of demon who can fulfill your bargain. As a fledgling, she's a bit soul-obsessed at the moment, but I imagine she's still practical enough to accept a lesser deal."

...This wasn't at all what you were aiming for, but you were still curious...

"What sort of currency would she accept?" You ask cautiously.

"Sins done in her name, most likely," Ms. Meyer said, thinking for a moment, "That, or more prosaic services. Careful with those, though; almost every demon will seek to ensnare you into their lasting service. Always remember why you're dealing with a demon, or you'll just find yourself mindlessly following their agenda. Not a bad deal if you wanted to be a diabolist, I suppose, but any kind of lasting devotion should really be decided on your terms, not just because you thought it was safe to go down on a succubus."

"Study her books carefully, though, because this will depend a lot on what she's willing to agree to," Ms. Meyers cautioned, "Professor Devlin was a mortal, but that won't make her any less touchy about protocol - if anything, she might be more demanding because she feels a need to be taken seriously. If you're unlucky, she might demand the souls of others or one of the infernal currencies. If she asks for a shard of your soul, do not give it to her - it's definitely not worth it just for a finder's fee."

"Probably service, then..." You give a frustrated sigh, "A friend of mine is tied up with her, and both of the things she's asked for have involved me."

"Really, now?" Ms. Meyers gave an interested hmm, "This could be useful for both of us, then. A prospective demonologist like yourself will probably take several years of study before we'd consider inducting you into our order... But if you join us now as an outsider, then with my help, you can probably cut that down to a year or two. You'd need to do work for us in return, of course; namely, keeping an eye on Professor Devlin to make my work a bit easier, while I follow up on the rest of the Dean's headaches."

"She has a lot of those, then?" You ask, curious.

"She's fine with demons, but she's not one of us," Ms. Meyers shrugged, "She's had some trouble adjusting to the new normal, and wants me to smooth over some of the rough patches. The latest is a series of sexual assaults she suspects to be demon related."

...You're not entirely sure whether to be happy that the Dean is sort-of on your side here, or gloomy that she's deeper in bed with demons than you'd suspected.

Still, you can't help but be surprised that you're... Actually considering her offer.

Frankly, being a demon worshipper was one of the last things you were interested in, doubly so having dealt with Ms. Devlin. Getting a demon to do all of your dirty work for you, while you pushed all of the costs onto others... It was pretty antithetical to your worldview. And from the frank way that Ms. Meyers' spoke, you're pretty sure you weren't going to be working with the happily-adjusting-to-Earth demons.

Except, clashing agendas aside, she was exactly what you were looking for; someone who knew exactly what Ms. Devlin was, and how to deal with her. No, she probably wasn't interested in helping Maya on her own... But she could tell you what to do to help Maya, and she probably wouldn't give a damn so long as it didn't complicate her job.

And while you weren't exactly interested in diving into demonology... Ms. Meyers' words also implied that you might not have much of a choice, with demons treating your home as the next big gold rush. Having an expert's advice could prove a crucial advantage, and even if you weren't really interested in the topic... You'd always enjoyed mastering new skills, right? And it did sound like mastering demonology was a bona fide skill of its own, not just a "cut open a cat over a pentagram" kind of deal.

And lastly... Ms. Meyers' offer came pretty quickly, suspiciously so... But she also sounded pretty cool? If you were ever going to become a full-fledged "demonologist", whatever that may be, this would probably be your only chance to work with someone who wasn't a total creep. Or at least, not a blatant one.