Crap. “A few more minutes, Skalz. My apologies.”
“I am in no rush, summoner,” the demon replied, voice crackling deeply. I couldn’t decide whether I preferred the mental voice or the spoken one. Both were incredibly unnerving. “I would discuss further matters with you before you return me to my sphere.” With that the demon slid back into the shadow and closed its eyes, disappearing completely into the blackness.
I couldn’t help but grimace. It never seemed to bode well when a demon had “matters” to discuss with me.
“Lida!” the keyboardist gasped, his face tear-streaked and contorted in anguish. Lida pulled away from Zack and nearly threw herself at the young man, but I realized she wasn’t seeking her own comfort.
“It’s okay, Michael,” she said, holding him close. “I’m all right. See? I’m just wet.” I gave Zack a questioning look and he silently mouthed her brother. Ah. Now his demeanor made a lot more sense.
“I . . . I should have done something—” Michael said, nearly hiccupping from his distress.
“Shh, no. Don’t think like that.” Lida spoke softly, reassurance thick in her voice as she tipped her head up to give her brother a comforting smile. She took him by the hand and led him to the bench, pushing him down to sit and then wrapping her arms around him again and pulling his head to her shoulder. “I’m all right.”
He seemed to calm as she held him and finally took a deep shuddering breath. “I’m sorry.”
“There’s nothing you could have done,” Lida said, then gestured toward Zack and me. “The cops did their job and protected me. You were playing your music. Everyone did what they’re best at.” She smiled at him and he lifted his head to return the smile, expression open and painfully innocent. He looked slightly older than Lida, but it was clear that she was his protector.
Zack stepped back and then glanced to me as I approached. “Did you finish?” he murmured when I reached him.
I shook my head. “No, but it’s not like anyone can see it.”
“I tried to get Michael to stay at the club,” the bass player was saying to Lida, apology in his eyes. “But he wouldn’t listen to me.”
“It’s all right, Trey,” she said, sparing him a glance and a shaky smile. “I can’t imagine any way you could have made him stay other than sitting on him.”
Michael made a snorting sound. “I’m too big for him to sit on.”
I had to silently agree with that. Michael was tall and thick, while Trey was lanky and lean.
Lida grinned at him. “Maybe Roger could have.” She glanced up at Zack. “Roger’s the drummer—total muscle-head,” she explained. “Personal trainer, competes in local bodybuilding—”
“I’m too big for Roger too,” Michael said with what looked almost like a pout. “I’m strong!”
“Of course, Michael,” Lida said tiredly, patting his shoulder as if he was a child.
I sent another questioning glance to Zack, but this time he simply mouthed later, confirming my suspicion that Michael was somehow more challenged than most.
Her manager huffed up to us at that point, looking as if he was about to have the coronary I’d predicted earlier for myself. Adam Taylor’s face was flushed and the front of his tailored white shirt was plastered to his torso with sweat, even though there was a touch of early October chill in the air. I had the feeling that he’d run those nine block as fast as he was able.
Before meeting him I’d expected her manager to be a weasely man with oily hair, perhaps with a weak chin and dark beady eyes. Instead, he was actually fairly good looking, and anything but oily and weasely. He was probably in his early fifties, a few inches taller than me, with ginger hair touched with gray at the temples—giving him that perfect “distinguished” look. He still didn’t come anywhere close to touching the demonic lord Rhyzkahl in the looks department, but then again, there probably weren’t any humans who could.
Lida stood as Adam came to a stop before the little group. “You’re soaking wet!” he panted. “Are you all right?” He yanked his jacket off with shaking hands and hurriedly draped it around her shoulders, then turned to us, expression a mix of stark fear and naked relief. “What happened? Did you catch him? Who the hell was it?” He scrubbed a hand over his face as he swung back to Lida. “God almighty. I can’t believe this happened. I can’t believe you were thrown in the river. I never thought it would go this far. You could have died!”
“Adam!” Lida said, voice abruptly firm and hard. “I’m fine. It’s cool.” She flicked a glance toward Michael and I could clearly see the warning in her eyes that she didn’t want Adam to say anything that would upset her brother—who already looked as if he was about to start crying again.
“Agent Kristoff can give you further details,” I said in a lowered voice to Adam while Lida sat and put her arms around her brother again. “But her attacker fell into the river when he was attempting to throw her in. We were able to get Ms. Moran out, but we’ve yet to locate the other party.”
Adam’s face was a mask of worry as he looked to the river and then back to us. “So you didn’t see him? You don’t know who it was?”
“No, sir. Our primary concern was Ms. Moran’s safety.”
He blew out his breath, then gave a firm nod. “Yes. Yes, absolutely.” He looked down at Lida. “You need to go to the hospital and get checked out.”
I could see a flash of annoyance in her eyes as Michael tensed again. “Are you hurt?” her brother asked, eyes widening.
She gave him a smile and shook her head. “No, I’m fine. It’s just procedure to make sure.”
“That’s right,” Zack said, crouching by her brother and laying a hand on his. “She’s not hurt at all, but that river water is pretty nasty and we don’t want her getting sick. Right?”
The tension left Michael and he nodded. “Right. She can’t get sick because then she can’t sing.”
Lida smiled back at Zack in relief, and once again I could see a quick flash of a normal nineteen-year-old. “And, it can wait until we get back to Beaulac,” she insisted.
“That should be fine,” Zack said.
“Detective Knight will want to get statements from all of you before you go,” I said. “If you could all go and wait for him by his vehicle, that would speed things along.” I gestured toward Knight’s car. “Once that’s taken care of, then you should be able to take her to get checked out.” At this point all I wanted was to get them all away.
“Roger’s not here,” Michael said, frowning again.
“It’s all right, Michael. Roger’s probably making sure no one messes with our equipment.” Lida grimaced. “At least I hope he is.”
“He is,” Trey said. “I told him to watch everything.”
I gave Zack yet another questioning look. “Roger’s also their tech guy,” he said aloud with a mock-withering look as if to say, How can you not know everything there is to know about this band?
Somehow I managed to not roll my eyes. It took a few more minutes of reassurances, but finally Adam led his clients away. I let out a deep sigh of relief and headed back over to the shadow where Skalz waited. Even though I couldn’t see the demon, I could feel it there.
“Skalz, you said there was something you wished to discuss?”
The demon coiled out of the shadow with a chittering hiss. It turned its glowing red gaze upon me and I fought the automatic desire to shudder. “Yes,” it said. “You are in need of a guardian. I would be honored to be considered.”
Gooseflesh rippled along my arms. “Wait. What?”
It shifted, darkness oozing through darkness. “The arrangement that Lord Rhyzkahl has with you is an enviable one.”
The gooseflesh continued its track down my spine and I could feel the hair on the back of my neck stand up. In exchange for Rhyzkahl’s aid in defeating a soul-devouring threat, I’d sworn an oath to summon him to this sphere at least once a month. “Are there some who envy it?”
“There are some who woul
d seek to remove Lord Rhyzkahl’s advantage.”
Okay, now I was getting freaked out. “Remove how?” It came out in more of a squeak than I’d intended.
It shifted again, black wings rustling like roaches skittering across a stone floor. “I do not know what means would be employed. I merely know that there has been . . . discussion.”
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 li
nk 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.
“Nice nap?” Ryan asked from beside me.
I straightened, hoping I hadn’t done anything obnoxious like drool or snore. “Sorry. I’m kinda wiped out.” I glanced out the window, but it was still dark and I couldn’t make out any landmarks. “Where are we?”
“About half a mile from your driveway. And don’t feel bad. Zack slept the entire way as well.”
I glanced back to see the blond agent with his eyes closed and head tipped back. His breathing seemed deep and regular, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that he was completely alert.
Ryan blew his breath out. “I tell you, I’d have bet solid money that the threats Lida was receiving were pure bullshit.”
“I know what you mean,” I said with a weak laugh. “Shocked the shit out of me when that thing grabbed her.”
He slowed to make the turn in to my driveway. “Any ideas what it was?”
“It wasn’t a demon. I know that much. Skalz said it was an arcane construct.”
“What, like a golem or something?”
“Yeah, that sort of thing. Inanimate matter controlled by ‘magic’ or arcane power to be animate. Unfortunately, that’s about the extent of my knowledge.” I glanced at him. “Do you know anything about them?”
Ryan shook his head. “Only what I’ve read in stories or seen in movies. So, someone has to be controlling it, right?”
“I would imagine so, but I don’t really know how that works. I have a lot of research ahead of me.” Maybe it was a good thing I hadn’t yet summoned Rhyzkahl this month.