Page 87 of Birthright

“Don’t even look at her! As gatekeeper of the Underworld you don’t have the privilege to look upon such beauty and goodness. Having come from such evil seed, I’m surprised I’ve been blessed enough to belong to her. Why did you bring us here? I will not bargain with you.”

The Demon Lord actually looked down to avoid seeing me. I held tight to Jordan’s hand. “I respect your wishes, son. I have nothing to bargain. I have merely brought you here for a warning. I owe you that since you have never summoned me. I also offer a gift for the priestess.”

He held out his palm and a skull appeared in it. I recognized it immediately.

“You’re offering her a gift of death, Foras? It’s out of character for a Demon who is known for his superior logic.” Jordon tried to move me back behind him.

“Jordan, no,” I said, pushing past him. I stumbled as I took the few steps through the water to reach the edge of the creek. Foras made no move to come closer.

Jordan growled and grabbed my arm. “Keena.”

“It’s my mother’s skull. I lost it in the ocean on my way back from Thule.” I looked at the skull with the split in the forehead and felt the pain of her death pour over me again. I reached a timid finger out to touch it. “How did you get it?”

Foras leaned toward me just enough to let me take the skull, while Jordan tightened his grip so he could pull me away if necessary. Foras nodded slightly for me to take it. “Another of my gifts is the ability to find treasure and lost items. You lost it, I am simply returning it.”

“Thank you,” I said as I took it carefully off his huge hand. The skull looked impossibly small in it. He nodded again and glanced up.

“And the warning?” Jordan’s voice sounded wary.

Foras took his gaze from me and back to the ground. “The power she wields, especially when you are fuc—joined. It touches the ley and moves within it. I have felt it and recognized it as yours and that of the priestess. It is an intoxicating mix of power you two make.” He sounded joyful again but barely looked up to see Jordan’s expression. I saw pride in the face of the Demon Lord.

“I don’t need you to tell me that.”

The Demon Lord lowered his glance at Jordan’s words. That in itself showed a great respect to Jordan, but he didn’t relax a bit.

“I would imagine not, my son. But others feel it as well. They may be tempted to do as I have done but not have the same intentions. You must teach her to shield that power from the ley when you are joining. Her mind is far too open. She wields much power, but as she is a youngster, she is easy prey for other gatekeepers. I suspect she will be able to handle Karackos easily—but another Lord or gatekeeper may be more trouble.”

“You have proven that you mean no harm, Incubus,” Jordan said.

Foras raised his head. His silver eyes perfectly matched Jordan’s. My power reached for his unintentionally. I pulled it back but it was too late, he had felt it. His gaze met mine for just a split second and then flashed back to Jordan, trying to keep his word.

“Find her help, my boy, or she will be the wench of a Demon Lord not long after All Hallows’. The balance of power will not withstand such. If you have need of me, I would consider it an honor to teach the priestess to block out the mind of a Demon Lord.” He raised a hand and we went spinning back to the unreal state of being between things. I looked around to try to see anything specific, but there was nothing there to see, just hints of things, of places and feelings.

We found ourselves back in my room, Jordan holding tight to me and me clutching the skull to my chest. I shivered.

“It’s okay, Lover, we’ll figure this out too.”

“Um…how is that? I have two days until All Hallows’, the battle with Feldema, Nessum is still out there, Karackos, the Slaugh and now this. I’m running out of time and ideas.”

“I know,” he said, rubbing my head.

“One thing at a time, right?” That had become my mantra.

“Right.” Then he cringed. “Maybe we should take Foras up on his offer to help. It’s the quickest and easiest thing on the list.”

I turned back to him. “That’s not what you really want is it?”

He gave me that soft face I usually only saw after a long, wonderful session of tremendous sex. “We can’t just summon any of the Demon Lords for this. Some are the keepers of the gateways to Hell. None of them are to be trusted. I don’t know any other Demons with that kind of power whom I trust any more than Foras right now, do you?

“Point.”

“Let’s go to the well for this.”

“Now?” I’m not sure why I was shocked. Once Jordan made up his mind, he acted.

“We’ve got the banquet later, and tomorrow and All Hallows is full of other official functions. It’s now or never.”

We went to the well after changing and gathering my tool kit for ritual magic. Jordan had insisted on doing the summoning. That way, if Foras had ulterior motives for me, they would be useless. I instructed him on the ceremony of making and sealing the circle. His magic snapped in place a tight, glowing, yellowish bubble around the circle. The feel of his magic stirred mine.