Diana Rowland - Touch of the Demon

A thoughtful look came into his eyes for an instant, but then he gave me a reassuring smile. “I will help you learn to accommodate the grove flows,” he said. “It will be a powerful tool in our arsenal against Rhyzkahl and those who stand with him.”

“He’s not going to give up,” I said. “We need to get the damn beacon set for Szerain’s blade.” I thought back again to that last time on the beach. The discordance. I hadn’t trusted myself or Mzatal enough to push through and set the resonance properly. “I know I can do it now.”

“Yes, of this I have no doubt,” he replied, expression showing nothing but utter faith in me. He paused with an air about him as though deciding whether or not to continue, then drew a deep breath. “When I had you stand before the statue of Elinor,” Mzatal said quietly, “when you sank so deeply into her memories, you know that I came within a heartbeat of killing you.” He paused while my breath caught at the reminder of those moments of terror. “What would I have wrought had I slain you?” His expression briefly shadowed. “And what would have happened later had my focus not shifted to exploring your potential?”

“A world without me would suck, that’s for damn sure, and I’d be here haunting your ass,” I said with a touch of heat, but then shook my head. “Everything we do has consequences. Everything.” I looked up and met his gaze. “You had no right to do all the shit you did to me, but after going through what I’ve been through, and how we are now, I’m ready to live for this moment and the future.”

Mzatal exhaled, and his shoulders dropped a smidge as if a measure of tension unwound. “Everything has consequences,” he echoed, and I had the feeling the words touched far beyond the current topic. He shook his head as though to rid himself of whatever it was and gave me a smile.

“What made your focus shift?” I asked, watching his face for signs of anything he wasn’t speaking.

“With the Elinor memories, it was that you had the presence and will to extract yourself from them. Beyond that, I cannot tell you the precise instant, nor the trigger,” Mzatal said, closing his eyes and tipping his head back as though trying to recapture a distant moment. When he looked back to me, his expression held a measure of respect. “In a very short time, I came to know that you held a great love of life and possessed admirable tenacity. Both of these I acknowledged as highly desirable for a summoner, as well as useful for the retrieval of Vsuhl. But there was something…more.” He went quiet with brow furrowed, seeking words for the rest.

“I get it,” I said with a straight face. “You needed someone with devastating skills and mastery of the arcane in order to challenge Idris to move beyond the paltry efforts he’s shown thus far.”

Mzatal smiled. “This is a measure of your magic,” he said, eyes crinkling, “your ability to truly lift my spirits. It is a precious gift. And there was—is—a sense of potential beyond my known parameters. I did not, and do not, choose to lose it. Or you.”

I met his eyes with a serious gaze. “Mzatal, I promise you now that I will always be the person you can count on to bug the crap out of you and call you on your bullshit.”

“And I will hold you to that promise, Kara Gillian,” he said. Then, to my surprise, he let out a low laugh. “In reconsideration, perhaps I do know of two moments when I truly began to reassess everything about you.”

I cocked an eyebrow at him in question.

Smiling, he lifted his hand to his throat, middle finger extended. “When we were last at Szerain’s palace, after your injury, you touched the collar thus and said that you knew your place. I had no choice but to leave the room or laugh outright, completely dissolving my carefully maintained demeanor.”

I grinned. “And the other?”

“After I told you of Elinor’s energy signature. When you referred to it as,” his smile spread a bit wider, “‘Elinor’s magic kidney,’ again it was all I could do not to laugh.”

And here I’d thought he was a humorless fuck. “What can I say? I have a unique outlook.”

“One I would not trade for anything.”

I turned and leaned on the railing to look out at the sea. Distant clouds shrouded the horizon, and flying creatures swooped along the cliff edge. A breeze brought the taste of salt and warmth. Mzatal moved to stand next to me, hip grazing mine.

I flicked a glance his way. “So, when do we go back to finding this stupid knife?”

A hint of amusement curved his mouth. “Vsuhl is far more than a stupid knife.”

“I’m not going to call a knife by a name. Especially one as silly as ‘Vsuhl,’” I teased with a roll of my eyes, then raised an eyebrow at him. “Is there anything else you name?”

The amusement increased, and he raised an eyebrow right back at me. “I have names for many things. But to answer your question, we begin as soon as Idris prepares.” He shifted to drape an arm over my shoulders. “But for now, I wish to enjoy the view. And the company.”

Smiling, I slipped an arm around his waist and leaned in to him. “They’re both pretty damn nice.”

My favorite faas in the whole world crouched by the side of the bed with a mug of coffee cradled in his hands. I grinned and threw off the covers. “Oh, Jekki, if you weren’t already taken…”

Jekki tilted his head and gave me a confused burble. “Don’t mind me,” I said with a laugh as I pulled on a robe. “I’m punchy because I actually got a full night’s sleep. And here you are with coffee, ready and waiting!” The last couple of weeks had been psycho busy with training and ritual preparation, but thanks to a progress-halting snag yesterday, I had the luxury of much needed sleep. Okay, it kinda sucked that we’d run into a snag, but, damn, I actually felt halfway rested.

I glanced through the doorway to see Mzatal still sitting at the table in the outer chamber tracing sigils and making notes—exactly where he’d been when I went to bed. I snorted. “Let me guess. He’s been there all night and hasn’t eaten since, what, yesterday morning? The day before?”

“Ate bits, some, morning two days,” Jekki said, holding the coffee out to me.

I took the mug and sipped, then exhaled in pleasure. Jekki knew how to stay on my good side. “Right. Could you please bring a plate of fruit, some cheese, and a fresh jug of tunjen for him?” I asked. As Jekki turned to go, I added, “And a bowl of that honey custard stuff he likes.” If nothing else, maybe he’d eat that.

I followed the faas out into the main chamber. Mzatal glanced toward me with a faint smile as I set my coffee on the table and moved behind him, but then immediately returned his focus to the sigil before him.

I placed my hands on his shoulders and began to massage the tight muscles. “Take a break, Boss.”

Mzatal set the sigil spinning, then let out an exasperated sigh. “I still cannot determine the sequitur of this final series for the beacon, and we cannot proceed without it. All else is complete.” He scrubbed his hand over his face in a very rare gesture of frustration.

“Yeah, well, take a break and maybe it’ll come to you,” I said, continuing with the massage. “You sure as hell won’t figure it out when you’re tense and hungry and cranky.”

He exhaled a that-hurts-but-don’t-stop breath and dropped his head back to look up at me. “Tense, admittedly. Hungry, undeniably.” His expression turned doubtful with a hint of a smile. “Perhaps methodical, calculating, and focused. But cranky?”

I laughed. “Well, I rescind the cranky label for now, but only if you rest and eat,” I said. “I know you’re a big bad lord, but you still need food every once in a while.” I dug my thumbs into knotted muscles. “Cripes. How long have you been sitting here?”