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“Something or someone is consuming essence. When it started, the essences were taken as the victims were dying, but now it seems as if the essences are being ripped out, killing the victims. Have you ever heard of someone being able to do that?”
He was silent and still for a number of heartbeats, eyes dark upon me. “We call those creatures who feed on essence saran,” he finally said. “Essence potency is addictive. One who has the ability to utilize it will quickly grow to depend on it, will crave it more.”
“You mean it’s going to get worse?”
“I cannot say. These creatures are rare,” he continued, “no doubt because they are usually slain as soon as the ability is discovered.”
I frowned. “But what is it? Is it a human doing this?”
“It is indeed possible,” he replied, expression inscrutable.
“How?”
He lifted an eyebrow at me. “How is it that you are able to open a portal between our two worlds?”
That gave me pause. I’d been born with the ability and supposedly inherited it from my grandmother. “So it’s an arcane skill that this person is born with?”
“In a manner of speaking,” he said, sounding almost bored. “There are many humans with the ability to shape and manipulate potency. Some can open portals. Some can draw power from essence. A rare few are little more than parasites. You are all descended from the same source.”
This was something I’d never heard before. I knew that there were other people with the ability to shape arcane power, even if they weren’t able to open a portal, but I’d never heard this idea that every arcane practitioner shared some sort of great-great-grandpappy. So what was that original source? I wanted to ask him more about that, but I could already see that he was getting annoyed with the questions, and I wasn’t sure how much more he would put up with. With regret, I wrenched my thoughts back to my original track.
“How is this person getting stronger?”
“Exposure to sufficient potency. Or perhaps consumption of another essence-eater.” He lifted a shoulder in an elegant shrug. “There are any number of ways.”
I shoved my fingers through my hair. “Okay, so how can I stop them?”
His eyes narrowed. “I dislike the thought of you pursuing one with this ability.”
“Well, it’s my job,” I retorted. “And people are dying.”
His mouth tightened. “Ah, yes, your duty to protect and serve.” I could hear the sneer in his voice, his disdain not for what I did but for whom I chose to protect and serve. Then he inclined his head. “Yet I understand that this is a matter of honor for you.”
“Yes. I swore an oath.” Which was true, though I’d never really thought about it on this level. I’d been sworn in as an officer after graduating from the academy, and like everyone else I’d raised my right hand and done the I-state-your-name business and never thought twice about it, except that it was one of those things you had to do to be a cop. But for demonkind, an oath was serious, and honor was paramount.
But any hopes that he would be more inclined to help me due to it being a matter of honor were dashed when he turned away and strode toward the diagram. He was making a point. He had no need to be in the diagram to return to his own realm. Well, I guess now I knew whether he was pissed or pleased. But then again, it wasn’t his matter of honor, it was mine.
“Rhyzkahl,” I said, following him. “Please. How can I stop this killer?”
He spun to face me, lip curled in a snarl. “You can do nothing to stop this creature, save destroy it, and soon, before it grows too strong to be destroyed by any means that you possess.”
I opened my mouth to ask how to track it down and destroy it, but he jerked his hand up to silence me. “I will answer no more questions for you until you agree to my terms,” he growled. Then, with a shimmer of potency, he was gone.
Chapter 26
It was a good thing that I’d slept so well before the summoning, because I sure as shit wasn’t able to sleep after Rhyzkahl departed.
I stared at the ceiling in my bedroom, alternating between angst and anger at myself. Woo, boy, I sure showed Ryan, didn’t I? I showed him that I could call the demonic lord. I showed him that I could sleep with whomever—or whatever—I wanted. Too bad I was left feeling like shit now.
Rhyzkahl was an excellent lover, there was no denying that. He knew all the right moves, could read my desires, gave me what I wanted when I wanted it—whether I knew it or not. He did all of the right “afterglow” things too, like holding me, stroking my hair, and murmuring sweet nothings.
But he didn’t mean any of them. He was a demon, and anything he did for me was only part of some bigger plan.
Then, to really cap the night off, I’d managed to piss him off by not yet agreeing to be his summoner.
And why the fuck did I feel like I’d cheated on Ryan? That was the most insane part of it all. Ryan and I were most certainly not in anything remotely resembling a relationship. We’d never slept together, had never even come close to kissing. Was I feeling guilty only because Ryan had come out so vehemently against me having a relationship with Rhyzkahl? Though, again, that wasn’t exactly a relationship either.
I sighed. Okay, so I really couldn’t summon Rhyzkahl again unless I was willing to give him the commitment he wanted, but I had the storage diagram now. I could call any demon I wanted, whenever I wanted. I didn’t need the help of the demonic lord.
