Diana Rowland - Blood of the Demon

Kehlirik crouched in the center of the truck, holding on to the straps that I’d provided for him. He peered at me as I opened the door. “Did you have any problems in here?” I asked him.

He blew his breath out in a snort. I’d never seen a reyza smile, but the expression on his face was one that I could have sworn was delight. “A unique experience. I am appreciative of the opportunity.”

I had to bite back the laugh. I didn’t want to offend him, so I kept my expression sober and merely inclined my head in acknowledgment. “I am pleased that it suited you.” I stepped aside and gestured into the garage. “If you would follow me, honored one?”

He released the straps and made a graceful leap into the garage. He apparently understood the need for secrecy. Which was good, because the last thing I needed was a neighbor seeing a ginormous winged beast going into my aunt’s house.

“C’mon, Fed Boy,” I said to Ryan as he climbed down from the truck. “Get your ass inside so I can close the door.”

He shut the door of the U-Haul and quickly moved inside the garage, while I punched the inside button to shut the garage door. As soon as it was closed, I flipped on the lights and led the way into the house, with the demon following.

Even though Tessa’s house was more than one hundred years old and in the tourist section of town, it was clear—to me, at least—that she was accustomed to having visitors of the demonic variety. The most telling feature was the broad staircase that led to the attic. At least twice as wide as normal and sturdily built, those stairs had been designed to make it easier for the demons she summoned in her attic to come down to her library. In fact, after I got the library wards cleared, I needed to get into that summoning chamber. Those wards didn’t appear to be quite as nasty, however, after my experience with the library wards, I wasn’t quite ready to take the chance.

I adored my own summoning chamber, but I wanted to have the option to use hers. After all, it had cost me close to a hundred dollars to rent the truck for one night, which only added to my annoyance. I was a cop. I wasn’t rich.

I entered the hallway, stopping a few yards away from the door to the library. I looked back at Kehlirik and gestured to the door. “I need to get into that room and have free access to everything within. I also need the wards restricting access to the summoning chamber in the attic cleared. Can you do that?”

Kehlirik narrowed his eyes as he moved slowly closer. He crouched, his gaze traveling over the frame, the door, and even the wall. I knew what he was looking at. To anyone without skill in the arcane, it was just a pretty white door set in a wall that was papered in an elegant flowered design in muted tones of rose and gold. However, to anyone with any skill in the arcane, the door and wall crackled and hissed with power, crawling with blue and purple wards that writhed and coiled malevolently. I grimaced. It hadn’t been so bad before I’d started dinking with the damn protections. Apparently I’d unwittingly triggered something nasty earlier, and now it looked like the level of protection had quintupled—like cutting off one head of a hydra.

Ryan let out a low whistle. “It looks worse now.”

The reyza pulled his attention away from the sinister energies to peer at me. “You have attempted to get through.”

It wasn’t a question, and I twitched a shoulder self-consciously. “Yes. Quite unsuccessfully, as you can see.”

“And you survived.” His nostrils flared. “I am surprised.”

My gut tightened. “It was … close.” I said, my mouth a bit dry at the memory. “I really didn’t think my aunt would put something so lethal in place.”

“She did not,” he replied, returning his focus to the door. Hands on knees, wings tucked along his back, he fell silent again.

My gaze traveled over the roiling potencies on the door. “Then who did?”

The reyza rumbled softly deep in his chest before speaking. “She summoned another to do so. This looks like Zhergalet’s work. He is merely a faas , but his skill with wards is unique and admired.”

“Oh, so my aunt subcontracted her alarm system,” I said with a relieved laugh. Kehlirik turned his head and blinked at me. “Sorry. I thought she’d done all of this work herself, and I was feeling pretty inadequate since I couldn’t even dream of doing anything this intricate. But now that I know she summoned someone to do it for her, I don’t feel so bad.”

Kehlirik looked back at the door, then stood, shifting his wings on his back and folding his arms across his chest. “It is an impressive piece of work. There is an underlayer of protections here that seems to be fairly standard. It would prevent the average human from entering and would prevent most from even recognizing that the door exists. Aversions,” he gestured with a clawed hand to a coil of purple energy, “to make one reluctant to be here.” But then he shook his head. “But those have been in place for years. Zhergalet placed deep protections on this door recently—perhaps three turnings of this world’s moon.”

Something my aunt had been working on three months ago? Then I went still. That was about the time that the Symbol Man murders had started again. Right about the time that I first encountered Rhyzkahl. Could that be why she wanted to close her library off? To keep me out? Or to keep out Rhyzkahl? Surely she trusted me more than that. I felt hollow but also incredibly confused. The wards in place were extreme and deadly. Why the fuck had she become so protective of this room three months ago?

I scrubbed at my face, disturbed on innumerable levels. “All right, can you get in?”

He was silent for several heartbeats, then gave a grave nod. “It will not be swift. It will take me until tomorrow night.” Then his gaze locked on mine, and his lips curled back from his wickedly sharp teeth. “Usually I would request renegotiation of terms or demand an admission of debt, but as you are the favored one of Rhyzkahl, I will grant this service as my gift to you.”

I quickly controlled the shocked expression that was surely on my face and produced a weak smile instead, thinking furiously. I didn’t know which lord Kehlirik served. I assumed he served one, since that was one of the best and easiest ways for demons to gain status—to serve a high-standing lord. And from what I knew of the demon realm, and from what my aunt had told me, Rhyzkahl was one of the highest of the lot.

But did Kehlirik serve Rhyzkahl, or was he trying to curry favor with him? Either way, I had no idea how risky it could be to accept such a gift. Few things were truly gifts among the demonkind. On the other hand, refusing a gift could definitely be construed as a major insult.

Shit. I needed that library available to me. I looked back at the reyza . “Honored Kehlirik, your gift is precious to me, and it will not be forgotten.” He inclined his head gravely as I controlled the urge to sigh. I had no idea if I’d just screwed up colossally by accepting it, but rejecting it seemed like a quick ticket to an insulted retaliation.

Whatever. I didn’t feel like worrying about it at that moment. I had plenty to worry about already. And normally I would have loved to stay and watch the demon work and perhaps learn some new techniques and skills, but, despite my earlier nap, fatigue dragged at me. Summonings of reyza were exhausting affairs. “Kehlirik, do you need me to stay here with you while you work?”

The demon shook his head, already beginning to tease layers of arcane energy apart. “No, summoner. But you will need to adjust the anchors holding me in this realm to permit me to stay through the day.”