Secrets of the Demon

Great. I’m the hot topic of conversation in the demon realm. I took a deep breath to settle the cold tightness in my stomach. “And you think I could use protection.”

The demon turned its head to look off to my right. I followed its gaze and saw Zack standing silently about a dozen feet away from me, expression troubled.

Skalz turned its lava-red eyes back to me. “Yes. I would be willing to negotiate terms to serve as your guardian.” Demons never did anything for free—not even submitting to being summoned. The offerings could vary widely depending on the demon and the task, but there was always a price to be paid.

“I’ll have to think about it,” I said. I’d definitely be thinking. And worrying. And fretting.

It lowered its head and I took a deep breath to begin the dismissal chant. At this point I didn’t give a shit if anyone saw us or not. I simply wanted to dismiss the demon and get back to Beaulac. A sharp wind rose as I pulled potency to open the portal, swirling the musty stench of the river around me along with an acrid odor of sulfur. A thin slit of light formed behind Skalz, widening to perfectly silhouette the demon. Barely half a heartbeat later, a ripping crack echoed across the water and both the light and the demon were gone.

I bent over and put my hands on my knees, taking deep breaths until the brief spate of dizziness passed. Dismissals were a hundred times easier than summonings, but they still took effort. I felt a gentle hand on my back and I straightened to see Zack looking at me with worry.

“It’s all right,” I said with a reassuring smile. “I just needed to catch my breath.”

But his expression didn’t ease. “The demonic lord has put you at risk,” he said, voice heavy with anger. “He should be the one to provide protection. You shouldn’t have to negotiate terms.”

“It’s all right,” I said again, though I wasn’t as convinced of it this time. “I . . . I’ll talk to him.”

Zack’s eyes dropped to my left forearm and I fought the urge to hide my arm behind my back. Rhyzkahl had left his Mark upon me there, an arcane tattoo visible only in othersight, as a reminder of our bargain. I tensed, waiting for Zack to say something about my arrangement with the demonic lord, but he remained silent. Finally he sighed and nodded, lifting his eyes back up to mine.

“He worries about you,” he said quietly. “We both do.”

I knew he was referring to Ryan, and a lump threatened to take up residence in my throat. “I know. And I appreciate it.” I took a steadying breath and forced a smile. “But right now we need to figure out who attacked your new girlfriend.”

He gave a soft snort of laughter. “Hardly. She’s practically a zygote,” he said, allowing me to change the subject. “But I do like her music. You think she’d sign a CD for me?”

I rolled my eyes as we started back toward the bar. “Zack, I think she’d sign your ass if you smiled at her.”

He grinned. “And mar this perfection? I think not.”

Chapter 4

By the time we gathered witness statements and dealt with the club owner it was nearly four A.M. At this point I was insanely glad that we’d driven to New Orleans in the same car—and not mine—because I was feeling too muddle-headed and fatigued to drive back to Beaulac. Ryan had obtained an SUV, since it had been necessary to transport Skalz from my summoning chamber to New Orleans. I’d taped black paper to the inside of the windows in the back and crossed my fingers that we wouldn’t get involved in any accidents. Skalz had not seemed to care. He’d curled up in the back like a giant, nightmarish cat and had remained quiescent for the duration of the drive.

I was also glad that the three of us were in the car together, because it kept Zack from tattling to Ryan about what the zhurn had said before I’d dismissed it. I knew Zack would tell Ryan soon enough, but right now I was too tired to deal with his reaction. Hopefully, it would also save me from having to be anywhere near Ryan when he found out that there were some in the demon realm who might not be pleased me with me. I’d seen him angry and upset before. It wasn’t pretty. Therefore, as a defensive measure, I closed my eyes and pretended to sleep.

And what would Ryan say when he found out? He sure as hell wasn’t a fan of Rhyzkahl—he’d made that quite clear on several occasions, though he’d also failed to explain how he could possibly know enough about Rhyzkahl to form an opinion of him. But there was more to Ryan than met the eye. The demons seemed to know him, and the reyza Kehlirik not only recognized him, but had reacted to him with open hostility. And shortly after that Ryan and I had been attacked by a kzak, a creature from the demon realm used as a weapon or assassin.

Though we never had learned which of us that attack had been meant for.

Kehlirik had called Ryan a kiraknikahl, or oathbreaker. The creatures I summoned, though known as demons, were not creatures from “hell,” nor were they inherently evil in any way. Instead, they lived within a complex social structure—they were utterly self-serving, yet they subscribed fully to a complex code of honor. Demons could be devious and calculating, but honor was key to every interaction and exchange, and breaking an oath was a damn big deal.

Yet I had absolutely no idea what kind of oath Ryan had broken—whether the demonkind had been involved, or if it had been related to something else entirely. And even though I was fairly sure that Rhyzkahl knew something about Ryan, so far I’d been unable to get the demonic lord to give me a straight answer. Rhyzkahl was obligated to answer two questions a month for me, but I had to be very careful as to how I asked the questions. I’d discovered that if Rhyzkahl didn’t want to answer a question he would find a way to answer it while still evading it, and I’d wasted several questions that way.

Of course that was another source of tension between Ryan and me. In order to save Ryan from having his essence devoured, I’d struck a bargain with Rhyzkahl: I’d sworn to be his summoner—agreeing to summon him once a month for the next three years—and in return he would answer two questions for me to the best of his ability.

It had been three months since we’d struck that deal, and I was still waiting for the other shoe to drop. Rhyzkahl had some reason for wanting access to this sphere. I knew that. He hadn’t pushed so hard for the bargain simply because he wanted to see the sights. But in the three summonings since then he’d done very little upon being summoned.

Well . . . other than the crazy sex.

I kept my eyes screwed shut, glad that it was dark in the car because I could feel myself flushing at the memories. Holy shit, but the demonic lord was skilled.

He stroked the back of his fingers across my cheek. “It has been long, dear one.”

I leaned into the caress without thinking. “You are too impatient.”

A smile curved his mouth. “What, do you not believe that I ache for your presence?”

I let out a bark of laughter. “You ache for what I can do for you.”

He withdrew his hand. “You are skilled and clever, I will not deny that.”

I waited a couple of heartbeats, then laughed again. “See, that’s where you were supposed to add, ‘But the sight of you fills my heart with joy’ or some sappy crap like that.”

“Is that what you wish to hear?” he asked, lifting an eyebrow.

I shook my head, grinning. “No, because I’d know you were full of shit. That’s not your style.”

A low chuckle escaped him. “You are more perceptive than most. You appreciate directness.” He lowered his head slightly. “Then I will remind you that it has been long . . . twenty-six days since you last summoned me.”

I jerked awake. Shit. Not only had I actually fallen asleep, but Rhyzkahl had seen fit to use the link he had to my dreams to remind me of my duty to him. I scowled. I didn’t need the reminder. I had it circled on my calendar for each month—the last day I could summon him and be within the terms of the agreement.