“Nope. New construction,” she said. “He and the kids had only moved into it a few months earlier. Big two-story house with a huge yard. Mike and Ben had a debris removal business that was really taking off, thanks to a couple of big hurricanes and the need to clean up demolished houses. Those two grew up dirt poor, and Mike wanted to give the kids the kind of house he’d always dreamed of living in.” She gave a sad little smile. “The builder was blamed for the collapse, but no one could ever prove fault.”
The bell rang over the door as a couple entered the shop, and Tessa patted my hand. “Lemme scoot and take care of them.”
“That’s all right, I need to run anyway.” I stood and gave her a quick hug. “Thanks, Aunt Tessa.”
She gave me a return squeeze, then turned to greet the customers. I watched her for a moment, smiling. No matter what else was fucked up in my life, Tessa was still the same person she used to be in all the ways that mattered.
Chapter 26
The pinch of my stomach reminded me that I hadn’t eaten much of my lunch, and so, before driving home, I veered through the drive-thru of the coffee shop and ordered a muffin and a hot chocolate. There was a small part of me that both hoped and dreaded that Ryan would be at my house, waiting for me, but my driveway was silent and empty.
I pushed aside the desire to dissolve into angsty moping and headed inside, locking the door behind me. I dropped my bag by my desk, but paused after I did so, gaze lingering on my computer. Rhyzkahl had been on there. I knew he was up to something.
I dug the instructions from Brad out of my bag, then fired up my computer. Finding the Internet history was shockingly easy, but unfortunately the results didn’t make a whole lot of sense. Six different searches in Google Earth for various locations in south Louisiana. One was in Leland Park. One was the Beaulac Police Department. Yet another was in Slidell in the middle of a subdivision.
I puzzled over the locations for several minutes, then sent it all to my printer. I knew that Rhyzkahl wanted more access to this sphere for a reason—not simply because he enjoyed my sparkling personality. As soon as things calmed down a bit, I needed to dig into the why a lot harder. And how did he know how to use a computer?
What if Rhyzkahl is behind this summoning thing, trying to make me feel threatened so that I’ll call him more often? A sour taste filled my mouth as I pondered that possibility. I wanted badly to believe that the demonic lord wouldn’t be that sneaky, but unfortunately I knew too well that the sense of honor that demons lived by was not one that prohibited devious shit like that.
I continued on down to my basement, oddly unsettled at the turn of my thoughts. Despite my knowledge of the deviousness of demons, I still had a hard time wrapping my head around the idea that Rhyzkahl would try and manipulate me like that. As much as I tried not to, I was growing to really like the demonic lord. But I’ve been known to be colossally naive before.
I crouched by the storage diagram. Rhyzkahl knew perfectly well that I had the ability to summon him at any time of the month. Could he be counting on that? Give me a bit of a scare so that I’d call him to me, thus giving him more opportunity to do whatever it was he was up to?
I shook my head. Either way, I needed to have power at my disposal. Even though I couldn’t really measure the amount of potency the diagram contained, I could tell that it wasn’t quite enough for a summoning, and I had no driving urge to risk running out of juice in the middle of opening a portal. I liked my molecules in their current configuration, thank you very much.
For the next twenty minutes I gradually siphoned power into the diagram, only stopping when I began to feel shaky and nauseated. Still not enough to risk a summoning of a demonic lord, but it was getting there. After I ate something I might be able to do a bit more, but still I knew that I wouldn’t be doing any summonings tonight.
Tomorrow then. But even as I thought it I discarded it. No, I needed to try to call him to my dreams tonight. I could still ask him if he was involved in these attempted summonings, and even if I couldn’t be guaranteed a straight answer from him, I could at least let him know it was happening.
I returned upstairs, unsettled at my decision. Unfortunately there really wasn’t an easy answer. Calling him to my dreams was still risky because he had too much control over the setting and circumstance.
I dug something easy and microwaveable out of the freezer and set it to nuke as I pulled the envelope with Roger’s financial information out of my bag. I poured a glass of wine, then sat at the kitchen table as I painstakingly made my way through the account summaries. Seriously boring shit, but my time working in white collar crimes had me fairly used to it.
Roger clearly made a decent living as a trainer, though he wasn’t rich by any stretch. But he had modest savings and a fairly strong credit score.
Yeah, yeah. This wasn’t what I wanted to know. I flipped through until I found his investment portfolio. All one page of it. There was only one investment. Puzzled, I skimmed through the rest of the information in the envelope to be sure I hadn’t missed anything. But, no, there it was:
Fifteen thousand dollars worth of stock in Lake Pearl Bank.
What the hell? Why would Vic loan Roger money and then put it all into one investment? And had he done the same with the money he’d loaned Adam?
I relocated to my computer and stuck the CD with the info from Vic Kerry’s computer in. But I couldn’t find any reference to Roger or Adam or loans for fifteen thousand dollars. I did find information about vacation destinations and new cars, as well as a number of links to dating websites. Vic Kerry had definitely craved a better life for himself, and I was fairly sure he’d used Roger and Adam in his quest, but I couldn’t make the whole thing click together.
I could feel an answer tickling at the back of my head, but I couldn’t get it to behave and come out and play nice. Screw this. It was already late enough that I was going to be short on sleep. Too much had happened today for me to think straight.
I returned to the basement to pull a smidge more power into the diagram, then hauled my sorry, tired ass back up to my bedroom. Between the wine and the working with the arcane, I was asleep a heartbeat after my head hit the pillow, barely remembering as my eyes closed to dream of Rhyzkahl.
Chapter 27
I rested my hands on the stone of the battlement as I looked out over the deep canyon. A chill breeze teased my hair but I didn’t want to go back inside. Morning mist shrouded the bottom of the abyss and I knew it would be hours yet before the sun would clear the high ridge and burn it off. A waterfall tumbled down the cliffs, descending into the depths with a muted roar.
I know this place. I looked up, oddly certain that I would see winged demons cavorting in the morning air, but the sky was empty of anything but a few small birds.
I took a deep breath, the crisp air tasting of green and mountains and snow. I’m dreaming this, and ... I’m aware that I’m dreaming. That was a first.
Familiarity tickled at me. I’d been here before. Or rather, I’d dreamed this before, in sendings that Rhyzkahl had controlled. Is this part of the demon realm? I’d been to the demon realm once—albeit for only a couple of minutes—but even though my visit had been brief I couldn’t shake the feeling that this was a different place. Maybe it was the light, or the air ...
Frowning, I turned, familiarity continuing to tug annoyingly at me. I was on one tower of a massive fortress or keep that looked as if it had been carved out of the mountain. A dozen feet behind me a brass door set in a low stone structure stood ajar a few inches. To my right and left the battlements curved around and out of sight behind the structure. Greg’s comic, I abruptly realized. It looked the same. Greg Cerise had been with my aunt when she’d first encountered Rhyzkahl—during the horrific slaughter of the summoners. He’d later gone on to create a rich and amazing graphic novel set in an amazing and fantastical setting. I’d read it from cover to cover, so surely this was simply my imagination creating an interesting dream-locale ...
No. It goes deeper than that. I knew this place. Beyond the brass door were wide stairs going down. At the base of the stairs was a hallway and if I turned right—
I startled and let out a squawk at a touch on my shoulder. Heart pounding, I spun to see Rhyzkahl holding a fur-lined cloak. He calmly draped it over my shoulders even as I tried to make sense of what was going on. I was wearing a dress, I abruptly realized. A floor-length gown with an empire waist, slit sleeves, and a deep neckline, in a dark purple fabric that felt a bit like silk but somehow more luxurious. I dress up in my dreams for Rhyzkahl, I thought with an illogical twist of guilt.
“This is a dream, right?” I said, pulling the cloak close around me.
“It is,” he replied. “You called to me.”
I gave an unsteady nod. “Right. It’s just ...” I looked around again. “You’ve brought me here before in dreams, but, I know this place. Why?”
He remained silent for several heartbeats, expression betraying nothing. “This place was a favorite of mine once,” he finally said. His face could have been carved from marble. “I prefer this locale to your bedroom.”
“But—”
“You called to me,” he repeated, cutting me off. “You have only done so once before, and thus I assume that this time your need is dire.”
I hugged the cloak closer around me. “Some strange things have been happening. I think that someone is trying to summon me.”
The rage that flashed through his eyes was unmistakable. So much for my theory that he was responsible. “Explain,” he said, lips curling back from his teeth.
I did so, describing both incidents, though I left Zack out of it. I had no idea whether Rhyzkahl knew that Zack wasn’t human, but I wasn’t about to clue him in if he didn’t. I was beginning to learn the value of information and discretion when it came to dealing with demons.
Rhyzkahl turned away when I finished and strode to the stone wall. I expected him to lean against it and look out over the canyon or something like that, but instead he crossed his arms over his chest and looked skyward. The light wind rippled his hair, and for a brief instant I found myself struck with the urge to step forward, wrap my arms around him from behind, and bury my face in that silken fall.
I shook my head sharply. No, that wasn’t something I could ever see myself actually doing. Not to him. That sort of gesture implied a level of affection that we simply didn’t have.
Did we?
“As soon as you are able, summon a syraza by the name of Eilahn,” he said, voice breaking into my jumbled thoughts. He turned, ancient eyes piercing me. “This demon will serve as your guardian.”
The near-savage look on his face stilled any protest I might have made. “Okay,” I said meekly.
“I will deal with the matter as best I can in my own realm, but such issues are complicated.” The anger in his expression retreated. “I regret that I have placed you in such a position, but I have good reasons.”
“And you can’t tell me those reasons?” I said, annoyance crowding out the confusion.
“To do so would imperil all I am seeking to do,” he replied cryptically. “Summon Eilahn. The syraza will serve—” He jerked his head up abruptly as if an alarm had sounded, though I couldn’t sense anything out of the ordinary.
“You have been careless,” he hissed. “You will destroy yourself through carelessness!”
“What?”
“You are in dire threat. Wake up!” Rhyzkahl’s face was contorted in fury and ... worry? But before I could fully process his words his hand came up to backhand me hard. I cried out as sharp pain exploded in the side of my face and I went crashing to the stone—
I let out a shocked yelp and sat upright in my bed, heart pounding. My bedroom was dark but enough moonlight filtered through the blinds that I could see it was empty. I put my hand to my face as I struggled to breathe normally. What the fuck? My cheek tingled oddly, though there was no pain—
I froze at a dull thump of sound in the hallway, cold shock knifing through me. There’s someone in my house.
Moving as silently as possible, I slid off the bed on the side away from the door, then tugged the nightstand drawer open and retrieved my gun. I stayed crouched behind the bed as I strained to hear any breath of noise over the mad pounding of my heart. How can someone be in here? I have wards and aversions. Nothing living could possibly get through.
The dull thump repeated itself, and with it a sickly familiar wash of arcane resonance. Footsteps. Slow and steady. Something heavy. Nothing living. Fuck. Careless is right. The thought sent a dark chill through me as I curled both hands around the butt of the gun. I wasn’t exactly in a fantastic hiding place, but I had no idea what sort of intelligence the golem had, or how hard it was to destroy. But I did know how strong it was. Strong enough to squeeze someone’s neck into a pulp. And I’d seen how fast it could be.
I heard the steps pause outside my door. Shit. I scanned the room quickly in an effort to find more weapons, but the desperately needed submachine guns failed to materialize. However, there was a window. It would be moronic to stay and fight. I shot to my feet and tugged at the window, almost shocked when it slid open with the barest whisper of effort. Ha! If this had been the movies it would have stayed stuck until the monster was in the room with me! I popped the screen out and shimmied out the window, then hopped down to the ground and ran in a low crouch toward my car. Rounding the corner of the house, I could hear a low thumping from the direction of my bedroom. Okay, it’s going to be following me out real soon now. But my car was right in front of me. I grinned and resisted the urge to slide across the hood in another movie move, and instead ran to the door properly and slid in behind the wheel, glad that I was in the terrible habit of forgetting to lock it at night.
A split second later my grin disappeared. “Shit,” I breathed. Yeah, I’d forgotten to lock it, but my keys were in my bag, which was inside the house. And this isn’t the movies, where the car keys are hidden under the visor or some crap like that.
I heard a sound of something heavy falling on the side on the house. It was out of the window, I realized. No time to think about this much more. I dove out of the car and took off toward the front steps at a hard sprint, seeing the hulking creature round the corner of the house as I reached the door. The jamb was shattered, but at that moment I could only be thrilled shitless that it was, since otherwise I’d have been locked out of my own house. And I wasn’t athletic enough to be able to leap back up through my open bedroom window. Barreling through the door, I snatched up my bag. I heard the clomping on the front steps and took off down the hallway to the back door. Please let there be only one! And please let this one be really stupid!
I reached the back door and glanced back in time to see a hulking humanoid creature fill the front doorway. This one seemed bigger than the one I’d seen at the concert, or maybe that was simply my terror talking. Its features were far from sophisticated—dull pits for eyes and crudely shaped features that would never be able to pass for a human. Its mouth opened in a silent snarl—far more unnerving than if it had actually been able to make sound. It started to run toward me, hands outstretched and crude thick fingers grasping in my direction. I had sixteen rounds in my Glock, and I didn’t think that would be anywhere near enough.
But I just needed to slow it down at this point. I took aim at its lower half and started firing as fast as I could pull the trigger. Dust flew from its legs as several rounds found their mark, and it stumbled against the wall, leaving an ugly dent in my drywall. I snarled and took better aim, this time concentrating my fire on one leg. The slide locked back on the Glock, telling me I was out of ammo. The thing took another step toward me, but the leg crumbled as the golem set weight on it and the creature tumbled to the floor.
My hopes that it would give up were dashed in the next instant as it pushed itself up and continued to clump toward me, this time on one knee and the other now-truncated leg.
I turned and yanked t
he back door open, then jumped down the back stairs. Let that slow it down! I prayed to whoever might want to listen to me. I ran around the house as I dug in the bag for the keys, vaguely relieved to hear the thumping continuing toward the back. At least it wasn’t smart enough to double back. The car door was still open and I threw my bag and myself into the car in one motion, yanking the keys out while I slammed the door and locked it with the other hand. I could see the creature shambling around the house as I jammed the key into the ignition. Even on its knees it was still damn near my height and moved more quickly than I was happy with.
The engine cranked first try, and I jammed it into drive and stomped on the accelerator. The golem was still coming at me, and I made a split-second decision—based on movie-influenced instinct—and aimed the car right at the thing.
The car struck the golem with an impact that felt like hitting a tree. And, just as if I’d struck a tree, the airbag exploded in my face, nearly knocking the wind out of me and completely obscuring my view.
“Shit!” I shrieked as I fought to get the bag down to where I could see. An acrid smell and a thin smoke filled the inside of the car; however, I could see a lump on the ground about ten feet in front of the car. It was down, at least. But a heartbeat later I could see the limbs move as it tried to right itself.
“Oh, no, you fucker!” Thankfully the car was still running, though it had an unpleasant rattle that hadn’t been there before. I threw the stupid car into reverse, nearly careening into an actual tree, then shoved it into drive—this time going around the slowly standing golem—spitting gravel and dust at it as I sped down my driveway. Glancing quickly in my rearview mirror, I could see it break into an ungainly lope, following my car. I reached the end of the driveway, gave the briefest of glances to make sure an oncoming car wasn’t about to plow into me, and then I hit the smooth asphalt and left my house and the golem far behind.
Secrets of the Demon Page 22
