Touch of the Demon

simply looked nervous and unsettled. Mzatal took my arm as we entered the shadowed tunnel, no doubt to better sense if I should suddenly try and use the power again. I didn’t bother to tell him that I had no idea how I’d done it the first time. It didn’t matter. As soon as I stepped beneath the sheltering limbs a deep peace descended on me again, and I barely noticed his grip.

He stopped in the center of the grove and passed me over to Gestamar, who wrapped a clawed hand around my arm while the lord crouched and channeled power into the knob of wood in the center of the grove. I remained perfectly still, feeling as if the grove spoke to me in a language beyond words. My eyes slid to Mzatal as he completed the offering of potency and stood. He lifted a hand to initiate the transfer, and in that instant I knew— knew—the grove.

The grove shifted around us. We were in the remote location now, wherever that was. Mzatal took my arm again as he greeted the mehnta, but I stayed where I was. Silently, I touched the grove.

“Kara, come,” Mzatal said. “There is little time.” He began to move but I pulled back against his grip.

“Wait, please.” My heart pounded while I hoped to hell and back that the collar would shield my thoughts enough to keep him from realizing what I was about to do.

His grip tightened on my arm, eyes narrowing. “Kara…what—” He stopped as the grove began to activate, then cursed, face going intense as he literally dragged me toward the tree tunnel.

I dug my heels in. “No!” Now, I silently begged the grove. Take me now! Take me to Rhyzkahl!

He stopped as the power rose around us and pivoted to face me. “You will regret this,” he said through clenched teeth. “I will come for you.”

I opened my mouth to say something brilliant like, “Bite me, you lame-ass fuckbrain.”

But he was gone before I could even form the words.

Chapter 11

It took me a couple of seconds to realize that Mzatal hadn’t simply disappeared. “Holy fuckballs,” I breathed, then let out a shaky laugh. I did it. I used the grove. I escaped!

The distant bellow of a reyza came to me through the tree tunnel. Rhyzkahl’s demons knew I was here, or rather, they knew someone was here. Nighttime, I noted instantly. And damn near frigid. The trees of the grove gave off a soft bluish glow, and sigils that reminded me of stick-in-the-ground solar yard lights marked the path of the tree tunnel. Full of triumph and still pumped with adrenaline, I headed for the tunnel and the freedom of Rhyzkahl’s realm.

The grove thrummed with a tingle of activation as I reached the arch of trees. I glanced back, and my gut clenched at the sight of Mzatal appearing in the center of the clearing. His face contorted into a snarl of determination as his eyes met mine. My already thudding heart went into hyperdrive. Shit! I’d hoped he wouldn’t be able to follow so quickly. I broke into a run, heading for the night blackness at the far opening of the tree tunnel. Surely Mzatal wouldn’t dare pursue once I was out of the grove and on Rhyzkahl’s turf. Or would he? I had no real idea how the dynamics of the lords worked.

I cleared the arched trees, and an instant later a lasso of potency snaked around my right ankle. I yelped and went sprawling, clawing at the ground to try to pull away from him as I kicked and struggled against the damn lasso. So close…so close! I could see the lights of a palace ahead, and more reyza bellows filled the air.

I risked a glance back at Mzatal, heart dropping at the black anger on his face. He advanced quickly, keeping the potency rope taut. I continued to struggle, but I knew it was only a matter of seconds before he had me again. And I’ll never have another chance to escape after this.

Before Mzatal could reach me, a reyza landed beside me with a whoosh of air. He bellowed at Mzatal, and I breathed in relief when the lord stopped, though I would’ve been even more relieved if the reyza had made some sort of effort to disengage the lasso from my foot. The demon’s gaze dropped to me. A throbbing growl came from his throat.

I thrust my forearm up at him. “I’m Kara Gillian, sworn summoner of Rhyzkahl,” I gasped. “Help me, please!”

The demon took less than a second to assess the mark, then his eyes lifted to Mzatal. He bared his teeth and moved to stand over me protectively.

“Rhyzkahl’s marked one in Rhyzkahl’s domain,” the reyza snarled and pointed at the lasso. “She will not go with you, Mzatal.”

My pulse slammed as Mzatal continued to hold the lasso taut. The muscles of his jaw twitched, and the menace of his stare made me wonder if he would actually stop even now.

An eternity later he recalled the lasso with a sharp jerk of his hand. I finally remembered to breathe again

“I will retrieve you, Kara,” he told me, voice immersing me in threat and promise.

I scrabbled back, hardly daring to believe I was truly free from him. Mzatal didn’t move except to lift a hand, gaze locked on me. A cramp-like twinge wavered in my chest, then faded before I even had a chance to fully realize it was there.

Mzatal’s expression grew even darker. He clenched his raised hand so hard his knuckles went white. Taking a step back, he slowly lowered his fist, eyes on mine. “I will retrieve you,” he repeated.

I scrambled to my feet, mouth tight, then gave in to my inner twelve-year old and flipped him off.

He held my gaze for another few nervewracking heartbeats. With a final shake of his head, he turned and strode back down the tree tunnel, hands clenched into fists at his sides as potency that wound through my core like a visceral threat poured from him. It seemed odd to see him not walking with his hands clasped behind his back.

The reyza took hold of my upper arm, breath pluming in the chill air as he bellowed after the departing Mzatal. I waited until I felt the grove activate, taking the lord away, and only then let myself slump in relief. Crap, but that had been close.

The cold really hit me now that I could think about it. The light shirt and pants I’d put on this morning were great for the climate in Mzatal’s realm, but Rhyzkahl’s palace was either much further north, or in an entirely different hemisphere. Of course it didn’t take much for me to feel like I was freezing to death. I went to long sleeves anytime the temps dipped below sixty-five, and hat and gloves if they went below forty.

Right now I was seriously ready for hat and gloves. And coat. And boots. And a damn fire.

“Thank you,” I said to the reyza, willing my teeth not to chatter. “Will you take me to Rhyzkahl now?” I gently tugged at my arm in the hopes of getting him to release me.

A sigil similar to the message one I’d seen at Mzatal’s shimmered into existence in the air in front of the reyza. He touched it with a clawed finger, snorted, and dispersed it, then turned back to me with a soft hiss. To my shock, instead of releasing me, he pulled my arms behind me and bound them with a simple binding ward.

“Hey! Wait!” My heart pounded as I pulled futilely against the binding. “What’s going on?” This sure as hell wasn’t the reception I’d expected.

“I take you to await the will of Rhyzkahl,” the reyza stated, moving me forward and toward the palace with the relentless grip on my upper arm.

My mind whirled. “I don’t understand. Why am I bound if I’m his sworn summoner?”

He let out a snort. “Because he has commanded it.”

I swallowed hard. Had coming here been a colossal mistake? It wouldn’t be the first. I’d sure as hell made some huge ones in my life.

Forcing down the surge of panic, I did my best to pay attention to details around me. The cloudy night closed in as we left the soft glow of the grove area, and I couldn’t get a good sense of the layout other than that a massive palace rose ahead, marked by light seeping through windows and a pale blue luminescence to the stone itself.

The reyza moved me through the entrance. I had only the briefest look at a sumptuous and opulent entryway