More red magic flickers around Evain’s hands. “I only sense remnants. Whatever was here should be gone already.”
“I guess we’ll see.” Leth draws his sword and points to the traces of footsteps angling from another direction of the forest, heading into the cave. Light snow obscures the number and details, but the signs of disturbance remain.
A mote of red light spins into being above Evain’s head. The shadows at his heels seem to deepen, ready to coalesce into sharp edges at a moment’s notice. Evain gestures, and Leth leads the way to the entrance of the cave. The red light illuminates the dark stone around him.
As he reaches the threshold, the smell hits him first. It’s an assault on his senses, triggering a deep, instinctive revulsion. All Leth’s willpower keeps him moving forward, instead of folding in half and emptying his stomach.
Then the shadows clear from the cave, and the sight is worse than the smell.
“Radiant fucking shit.” Evain’s voice echoes against the cold stone. There’s no point in keeping quiet; the only person in the cave can’t hear them anymore.
Remnants of a man scatter like broken pottery across the stone floor. White bone pierces through bruised and frozen skin. Shock rattles Leth, and he can’t decide whether it’s better or worse that the dead man’s face is pulped beyond recognition.
Blood spills across the floor in a deliberate pattern. Even through his shock, even though portions are smeared and uneven, Leth recognizes a mage’s array.
?
CHAPTER TWENTY
EVAIN
The mote of light wavers.
Evain lacks the instinctive human response to death. While he likes humans—he likes some of them impossibly much—without a personal connection, the broken corpse doesn’t fill him with nausea or horror. But the bloody array slices deep into his every fear.
Very few demons require blood sacrifice to summon. Evain doesn’t want to run intoanyof them.
“It’s a summoning array,” Leth says, with the iron calm that means he’s locking his distress deep inside. Hand still tight on his sword, he takes a shallow breath and steps forward to inspect the array. “Sacrifice, trade, runes of binding. Someone wanted a contract.”
“Don’t touch it,” Evain snaps.
Leth covers his nose. “I wasn’t going to touch it.”
“The summoning failed. Either the runes were wrong, or the power was insufficient.” Evain swallows hard, tasting the frozen blood scent at the back of his throat. “Or the sacrifice was insufficient.”
“How can we be sure it failed?” Leth pivots to watch the entrance to the cave.
Evain laughs darkly. “We would know if it succeeded.” The mote of light shivers again, but Evain can still make out some of the runes. Hunger. Ravenous hunger. “The bones would be gnawed clean of flesh.”
Leth looks up at him finally, lips pressed thin together. “Do you know what demon this was for?”
“Not by name,” Evain says. “It’s a hunger demon. Let’s just say there’s a reason they’re rarely summoned.”
Even in the dark winds of the demonic realm, devourers are monsters. Their hunger is boundless. Insatiable. If properly harnessed, they’re a powerful tool. If improperly harnessed… Evain can’t imagine a lasting contract that wouldn’t twist the mage beyond recognition. He takes a deep breath, trying to mimic Leth’s habit for calming down. It doesn’t work. The bloody array keeps his attention. “We need to go.”
Leth shakes his head and sheathes his sword. “I want to lay him to rest.”
“No.”
Evain only realizes he’s grabbed Leth’s shoulder when Leth tries to pull away—and Evain’s hand tightens instinctively. Leth’s eyes widen in the wavering red light, and he’s tense under Evain’s touch.
But even like this, desire flares from Leth’s heart to his.
Evain closes his eyes. Breathes. Unlocks his fingers from Leth’s shoulder. “Outside. I can’t think in here.”
Leth touches his own shoulder. He takes one last look at the shattered corpse before heading for the entrance. Outside, in daylight clear and sharp as ice, he asks, “What’s wrong?”
Fear still claws into Evain, but he can talk through it now without snapping at Leth. “This is beyond both of us. We need to rejoin the others. Any of the paladins. This demon isn’t something you and I can handle on our own.”
