do.'
'You probably know more about demon summoning than I do,' I pointed out.
'Depends,' he said. 'What do you know?'
'Pretty much what I already told you. Dante didn't have much more to offer than who he thought could do it. And those other losers didn't give up anything at all-except attitude.'
Carter flagged down a waitress and ordered a plate of panang curry and Thai iced coffee. Afterward, he tapped the table lightly with his finger, face drawn and thoughtful. 'I can tell you how it's done,' he said at last. 'But I can't do much more. This is your side's business, not ours. We're not supposed to interfere.'
'Dispensing information isn't the same as interfering,' I said.
He smiled. 'Depends on your definitions. And your people are great at finding loopholes and technicalities.'
'Yeah, but…Carter…' I sighed. 'I don't really have anyone else.'
Even if I'd had full succubus charisma going, I don't think it would have worked on him. But I still had some sort of Georgina charisma that he was susceptible to. He liked me and was concerned about my life, even if he had a funny way of showing it sometimes.
The Thai iced coffee appeared, and he paused to take a drink. 'Okay. Here's how it works. Basically, a demon gets summoned into an object, and with enough magic, the demon becomes bound to that and is trapped. You've heard stories about genies, right? Well, they're kind of variations on this principle. Humans who summon demons into objects can then occasionally release the demon and make them run errands.'
'But this one's keeping Jerome locked up.'
'Right. Which makes it harder. What makes it harder still is that if this human has any sense at all, they've got the object hidden in a place of power.' He took another sip and waited for me to process this.
I knew what he was talking about. The earth was covered in places of power-sacred sites, ley lines, magic- infused spots. Anyone sifting through mythology would come across countless references to them and the roles they'd played in human history. There was just one problem with it.
'There are dozens of those in Seattle,' I said slowly.
Carter nodded. 'Yup. And even if you find the right one, the power in that place is going to help mask the power coming from the bound demon. For you? Gonna be nearly impossible without your usual senses. You need another immortal to help, the stronger the better. Or possibly a human psychic.'
I groaned. 'But you can't help, and none of the demons will.' The panang curry arrived, and Carter devoured it with enthusiasm. 'Putting that aside, let's suppose I find this object, whatever it is. Then what?'
'Mmm, that's hard too,' he said. 'A greater immortal could just break it open.'
'But not me.' I was beginning to see how this worked, and it wasn't encouraging.
'No, not even if you were in your normal state. The summoner probably put a lock on it-a seal. That'll keep a lesser immortal out. The seal's used in the binding, then it's broken into two pieces that are kept separated for safekeeping. The practitioner most certainly keeps one. If he or she had a demon's help, I'm guessing the demon has the other. Or else the practitioner would hide it.'
'Do you think another demon was involved?'
He swallowed. 'Most definitely. If you can recover the pieces of the seal, though, then you could unlock the object and set Jerome free.'
When I'd first seen Carter standing over my table, I'd been filled with hope, convinced this miserable situation was going to resolve soon and we'd get Jerome back. Now? I was more pessimistic than before.
'So, let me get this straight. All I have to do is find this mystical object that Jerome's locked in, an object I have no way of even sensing. Once I have it, I then simply have to force the pieces of the lock away from the summoner and a demon .'
'Yup,' said Carter, licking his fork. 'That pretty much sums it up.'
'Fuck.'
'Yup.'
'Well, the info's good, but I can't do anything. I have no leads on any part of this, nowhere to start.'
His gray eyes twinkled. 'The seal has to be made of quartz.'
'Okay…'
'Hand-carved by human hands.'
I raised an eyebrow, curious as to where this was going.
'By someone familiar with magic and runes.' He looked at me expectantly.
'So?'
'How many people do you think that describes in the Seattle area?' He didn't wait for me to finish. 'Not many.'
Carter and his riddles. 'You're saying I should find who made the seal, in the hopes they can tell me who commissioned it.'
'Right. And they can also tell you what the seal's specifics are. It's almost always a disc about this big.' He used the fingers of one hand to make a circle about the size of a quarter. 'But the color and designs will be different and provide clues as to what kind of place it's been hidden in.'
'God, this is complicated.'
'You're trying to find a demon that's been captured and bound as part of a larger political power play, Georgina,' Carter said. 'What do you expect?'
'Fair point,' I murmured. 'I have one more question, though. It has nothing to do with the seal, though.'
'Shoot.'
'Why'd the stove at Greg's blow up?'
'Because of a gas leak.'
'One that came on out of nowhere?'
He shrugged. 'Compared to what we see every day? A lot stranger things happen.'
I eyed him for a moment, wondering if I should press him with my real question. He'd said he couldn't directly interfere in this, but Carter had saved my life once before. His showing up here now was awfully coincidental…Was it possible he'd been following me all day? Had he helped expedite the stove's incineration to save me? One might argue that touching Greg would have been direct interference…but harming the stove wouldn't be, if you wanted to use demon-worthy technicalities. And, in a typically angelic way, Carter hadn't actually denied his involvement.
I decided to let the matter go. If Carter was keeping his help a secret, there was a good reason. With a sigh, I glanced at the clock to my right. 'Well, I'm still technically on leave, so I should probably take advantage of that and hunt down this seal maker.'
'Good luck,' said Carter. 'But joking aside, I meant what I said earlier. You've got to be careful. At the very least, don't do this stuff alone.'
'You sure you can't break the rules and come with me, then?' I asked a bit wistfully.
'Nope, but why do you need me when there are plenty of other candidates?' With a grin, he nodded at something beyond me.
I glanced back and saw Seth standing at the take-out counter. I jerked my head back toward Carter.
'Hey! How'd-'
Carter was gone.
Just then, the waitress set down the bill, which included Carter's meal. 'Fucking angels,' I muttered, fumbling for my credit card.
Turning back around, I studied Seth, feeling my stomach twist in that usual way. As though sensing me, he suddenly turned and made eye contact. Surprise registered on his face, and then he held up his hand in a hang on a second kind of way.
A few agonizing minutes later, he walked over to my table holding a take-out bag.
'Hey,' I said.
'Hey.'
'Is that lunch?' I was suddenly embarrassed by the fact that I had two plates in front of me.
'Yeah, I'm actually heading home to work. The café at the store's too crowded and noisy.'
'I thought you could work through anything.'
