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Vanzir turned a paler shade of white. “Crap.” He let out a long sigh and leaned back in his chair. “You’re lucky it was Chase’s finger he cut off, and not something more personal. Karvanak is a cold-hearted bastard. He’s offering a trade for the spirit seal, am I right?”
“Yeah . . .” I wasn’t sure quite how to tell him that he was on the menu, too.
“You won’t get him back that way,” Vanzir said, resting his elbows on the table and staring at the fingertip. “Even if you give Karvanak the seal, he’ll carve Chase up in little bites and eat him. He talks a good game and specializes in the double cross.”
“Do you think he’ll kill Chase before we get there?”
“Not before he realizes you aren’t going to hand over the seal. Let’s put it this way: Karvanak keeps his options open till he’s sewn up a deal. Then he gets rid of the evidence. Chase might not come back totally intact, but he’ll be kept alive until the RÄksasa realizes you either don’t have the seal or aren’t going to give it to him.” Vanzir shrugged. “Don’t ever underestimate him. He didn’t get promoted to general for being stupid.”
“There’s something else,” I said, not wanting to tell him. But sometimes, like with pulling a bad tooth, it’s better to just get it over with. “Karvanak also wants you back.”
That bought an immediate response. Vanzir jerked up, his eyes wide. “No! You can’t—” He fell silent, then looked around at us, anxiously tapping his fingers on the table. “Are you going to hand me over to him?”
For the first time, his voice didn’t grate on my nerves, and for the first time, I saw the raw fear on his face. He might be a demon, but he really was terrified of his own kind.
“No,” I whispered. “No, we won’t. For one thing, you know too much about our operations. For another, trading life for life? No. If you were our prisoner, if you were here under duress, we might. But you made the choice to switch sides, and we don’t rat out our allies.” The words stuck on my tongue like stray fur, but I had to reassure him. Maybe I didn’t like him, but he’d fought by our side.
I looked over at Camille and Menolly. They both nodded. For once we were all on the same page. “But we have to find out where he is. Since Mordred burned down the rug shop, Karvanak’s gone into hiding, and we need to know where.”
Vanzir crossed to the kitchen window and stared out into the yard.
I followed him and tentatively reached out to put my hand on his shoulder. “Don’t worry,” I said. “We aren’t going to turn you over to Karvanak.”
“Of course you aren’t. I know too much,” he said gruffly, shrugging my hand away. “Your lover’s being held by one of Shadow Wing’s most ruthless generals. At least, one that he dares send Earthside. There are far worse back in the Subterranean Realms.”
He whirled around, his gaze locking with mine. “Do you know what it’s like now, living in the Subterranean Realms? Life there was pretty good for a while, until Shadow Wing seized control. Now it’s a desperate place. There are thousands of demons down there who would love to come Earthside if only to get away from him.”
“Then why are they fighting for him? Why don’t they band together and fight against him?” I couldn’t understand the reasoning.
Vanzir snorted, leaning on the windowsill. He stared bleakly out into the yard. “Some do—and I know a few. But understand that Shadow Wing is a Soul Eater. He can control the masses because he can swallow any soul standing in his way, be it demon, human, or Fae. He rules with fire and fear, and there are thousands who kneel to him only to keep their heads.” He folded his arms across his chest, rubbing his shoulders as if he were freezing. “There’s something else.”
“What? Tell us now. If you hold out on us—” Menolly swooped down, landing on his other side.
“I’m not holding out on you. I wasn’t sure if my imagination was running amok or if what I thought was real, was. Not until I did some scrying this morning. And I’m still not sure I’m right. But if I am, then we have to do more than keep the spirit seals away from him. We have to hunt him down and destroy him.” Vanzir was so pale I thought he was going to pass out.
“Tell us,” I said. “Tell us what you think is going on.”
He scuffed his boot on the Persian rug and turned around, sitting on the sill, looking for all the world like a young David Bowie. “The breakdown in the grid that’s allowing new portals to open spontaneously? I think Shadow Wing’s discovered a way to use what’s happening. My gut tells me he’s doing more than trying to rip open the seals. Shadow Wing is fucking crazy. He’s not just power hungry. He’s mad.”
“How so?” The room was so quiet that I could hear every creak, every movement, every shift people made in their chairs.
Vanzir took a deep breath, then let it out slowly. “I think he means to unmake the worlds. Shadow Wing the Unraveller, he calls himself now. I think he’s out to do more than conquer. I think he’s out to totally annihilate.”
“Motherfucking son of a bitch,” Menolly said. She seldom showed fear, but she was showing it now and but good. Her eyes were bloodred and her fangs had extended. “What makes you think so?”
“I know a few rogue demons who’ve managed to escape and cross over,” he said. “For the most part they lie low, keep their noses clean, and try to fly under the radar. They don’t want anything to do with Karvanak and his cronies. Or with Shadow Wing and this war. We talk a little. And no, they don’t know about the Subjugation Ritual. They think I’m just hiding out from Karvanak.”
“Why don’t you get your butt back over to the table? Delilah’s tired and needs to sit down,” Smoky said abruptly in that disobey-and-you’re-toast tone that he had.
Vanzir gave him a withering look but promptly returned to the table.
I slumped in my chair, and even Menolly slowly floated down from the ceiling and sat beside me, scooting in next to Zach. She gave Vanzir a narrow look. “So what are your buddies saying? And I suggest you give us a list of their names. We’ll want to keep them under surveillance.”
“Bring me a paper,” Vanzir said quietly. He couldn’t refuse. “You won’t kill them, will you?”
“Only if they turn out to be a problem. If they are, as you say, keeping their noses clean, we’ll leave them alone. For now. But if they show any sign of being under Shadow Wing’s control, then they can kiss their asses good-bye. And you will keep your mouth shut about the fact that we know about them.”
Her eyes were glowing as she planted her hands on the table and leaned toward him. “You hear me, demon boy? If I even think one of them is going to slip, he’ll be staring down at the tip of my fangs.”
