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I didn’t like where this was going.
“I think the demons have been waiting for a time when Iris would be alone and unable to protect herself,” he said.
“You mean, they were out to kill her?” Camille asked, thudding into the nearest chair.
“Not necessarily—” Smoky stopped as my cell phone rang, cutting him off.
I flipped open the phone. “Hello?”
A low voice, masculine and throaty, answered. “Is this Delilah D’Artigo?”
“Yes,” I said. Warning bells were ringing loud and clear in my gut. The energy coming through the line was so threatening that my hackles rose.
“Karvanak here. Shut the fuck up and listen. Your boyfriend’s life depends on your ability to follow instructions.”
Oh hell! They did have Chase. I hastily motioned to the others and held my finger to my lips, motioning for Camille to crowd next to the receiver so she could listen along with me.
“I’m here,” I said.
“Good girl,” he said. “Here’s how this is all going down. I know you have the fourth spirit seal, so don’t even bother lying about it. You hand over the seal and my renegade flunky to me. I hand over your boyfriend—relatively untouched—to you. Sound good?”
Shit, he thought we still had the seal. Of course. How would he, or any of the demons, know we were giving them to Queen Asteria? Shadow Wing probably thought we were gathering them to use for ourselves! I kept my mouth shut. I might be naïve sometimes, but I wasn’t stupid. Camille glanced at me, her jaw set.
“How long do we have to find it? We haven’t got the seal. Not yet.”
“Sure you do. But just on the off chance that you’ve somehow lost track of the gem, allow me to be generous. Reflect on what your detective means to you. And you should know, if you decide to back out of our little deal, your boyfriend takes a one-way trip back to the Subterranean Realms, and I’ll sell him into slavery.”
Taking a deep breath, I asked, “How do I know Chase is still alive?”
“A logical question. One I’d expect, so tell your sister—or that damned sprite you share your house with—to go look on the front porch. I’ll wait.”
I motioned to Camille. She headed for the front door. When she returned, her face was ashen, and her hand shook as she held out a small, open box. In the box was the last knuckle of a pinkie finger and a ring. It looked like the fingertip had been bitten off. The ring was Chase’s. I forced myself to swallow the bile that was rising.
“What the fuck did you do to him?”
“You like our little gift?” Karvanak laughed. “As a bonus, I’ll even let you talk to him.” There was a muffled sound as the phone changed hands, and then a familiar voice came on the other end.
“Delilah—Delilah—” Chase sounded both frantic and in pain.
“Chase! Oh great gods, are you all right? Your finger—” I wanted to ask him where he was, but Karvanak was smart. He’d kill Chase if he even suspected I was trying to cadge information out of him.
“Never mind my finger,” Chase said. “Listen. I’m sorry about everything. I love you.”
“I love you, too—” I said, breaking into tears. “We’ll save you. Just hang on. Do what they say. We’ll rescue you.”
“No! Don’t deal with them,” Chase said, his voice raspy and fearful. “You can’t let them have the seal—”
“Enough.” Karvanak was back on the line. “Use the tip of his finger for scrying if you want to know it’s his for sure. And meanwhile, think about this: There are a lot of demons who like to play with humans down in the Subterranean Realms. There’s always a great call for slaves there, and toys. And we’ve perfected the art of keeping our prisoners alive, even when they’d rather die.”
I kept my mouth shut. It wouldn’t help Chase at all if I showed how upset I was. “We need time—”
Karvanak laughed. “I thought you’d see it my way. I’m in a generous mood. You have thirty-six hours. Don’t expect any extensions, and don’t let the charge on your cell phone die. Both would be very, very bad ideas.”
As the line went dead, I closed my phone and looked at the others.
“You talked to Chase?” Camille asked.
I nodded.
