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After a moment, my sister pul ed back. Kim was in a stupor, and Menol y said, "Sleep. Sleep until you are commanded to wake. Do not resist--open your mind, and slumber." Her voice was so hypnotic it made me want to sleep, but I shook my head and caught Kim as her knees buckled. We laid her out on the sofa.
"Do you need privacy?" I asked Vanzir.
"It would probably help. I'l let you know when I'm done. It shouldn't be too long." He flushed, and I remembered how much he loved to feed and how he did his best to avoid it. Life force was addictive, and Vanzir was a demon who didn't real y like himself or what he did.
As we escorted Carter into the kitchen, Menol y opted to stay and guard Vanzir, just in case anything went awry.
I placed Iris's wand on the table. It looked forlorn, and I winced, hanging my head. "I can't stand that she's in danger. I can't stand that they may have her."
"I can't believe that Kim is a traitor." Camil e leaned over and pul ed Iris's wand to her. "I hope we're wrong. I hope Iris is just hiding someplace where she can't hear us. Carter, how did Kim fool you?"
He blushed, staring at his hands on the table. "Again, my apologies. I thought Kim was happy. I thought . . ." With a shrug, the demon leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table. "I came home today and found Kim listening to a tape. She didn't expect me til later, and she had al sorts of documents lined up on the desk--private, confidential documents. Not only about you but about other members of the Demon Underground here . . . the demons who al hope Shadow Wing wil fail. When she saw me, she tried to hide everything, but despite my brace, I'm quick, and I'm powerful. I stayed her, and once I looked through the reports, it was obvious she was spying on my clients and me. I wasn't sure who for first, but then . . . then I found this in her purse."
He tossed a necklace on the table. A gold snake. "That's the symbol of Stacia's troops--the golden serpent. Only her most trusted confidants wear them, her spies and cronies. I recognized it from al the research I've done on her. Kim's been a spy for her since . . . wel . . . I don't know how long. But long enough to muck things up for you."
"We talked about the ley line that ran through Harold Young's house into the graveyard in front of her--after you bought the land. Stacia must know we're the ones who broke her spel ." I moaned, rubbing my head. "You tel us every time you've got a new sighting, but by the time we get there, she's gone.
Kim's been warning her."
"No wonder we haven't been able to get to the bitch!" Morio grumbled, slamming his fist on the table.
"What are you going to do with Kim after we've got our information?" Camil e caught Carter's gaze.
He met her eyes, unblinking. "Traitors are worse than enemies. There is only one punishment for treason. It can be quick, or it can be drawn out. I have no taste for torture, but I'm sure that if I told Stacia that Kim confessed she'd been spying, the Bonecrusher would love to have her little stool pigeon back.
But there's an old adage among my mother's people: Do not leave your enemy alive. They will return to bite you. Kim is now one of the enemy. If I let her go, she'l come back to haunt us. As much as this whole affair pains me, I'm afraid I'l have to put her to death."
The words were cold but true. If we left her alive, she'd be so angry we found out that she'd do her best to run back to Stacia and do her best to help them against us. "How . . ." I wasn't sure how to ask what I wanted to ask.
Carter gave me a cold smile. "I have many powers from both my father, Hyperion, and my mother. Don't forget, I am of the Demonkin as wel . I'l give her better than she deserves--a quick and painless end. But make no mistake: Kim has chosen her fate."
As Morio took Maggie on his lap, there was a shimmer in the kitchen. I pul ed out my dagger, jumping to my feet, but Arial, who was padding around in her spirit shape, growled a warning.
No, don't attack.
"Arial says don't attack." I lowered my blade, waiting to see what was coming through. The men stood at the ready, waiting. As the shimmer grew brighter, a low sepia-toned mist spil ed out from its center, and then, a bril iant light flashed as two figures stepped out of the roiling smoke.
Out of the mist stepped a man, a wave of energy rocking the kitchen. He stopped, his gaze fastened on me.
Shade.
And behind him raced a much shorter figure. Iris. As they materialized in the room, Arial quietly slipped away, brushing me with her astral tail. I smiled, content that I knew how to contact her now.
Iris gave one long cry of joy and threw herself into Camil e's arms.
Smoky let out a low growl as he faced Shade, but I pushed past him. First, before anything, I yanked Iris into my own embrace and kissed her forehead.
"Thank the gods you're alive--we were terrified Stacia got hold of you. What happened? Where did you come from?"
I found her when I showed up, looking for you." Shade's voice, honey on peaches, washed over me, and I turned, sliding into his arms as if it were the most natural thing in the world. "I felt you put on my ring."
In a louder voice so everyone could hear, he said, "I came as soon as I could. I had no idea I'd show up in the middle of an invasion. Your friend was running from one of the beasts in the woods. I caught her up and shifted over to the shadow realm before she could be mauled by that mockery of a life-form."
"You're Shade," Camil e said, stepping forward. "Delilah's new . . . her . . ." She stopped, blushing. "Welcome, and please, don't mind some of us who happen to be a bit churlish." She gave Smoky a long look. "We came home to find Iris missing and demons rampaging through the place. It's been one hel of a night, and we're suspicious about everything and everyone."
The others gathered in, greeting him and hugging Iris as I stood back, wondering how this was going to play out.
Smoky and Shade circled each other warily, eyeing one another like two male lions. Camil e looked at me, then grabbed my hand and dragged me into the center between them.
