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A low chuckle escaped him. “You are more perceptive than most. You appreciate directness.” He lowered his head slightly. “Then I will remind you that it has been long . . . twenty-six days since you last summoned me.”
I jerked awake. Shit. Not only had I actually fallen asleep, but Rhyzkahl had seen fit to use the link he had to my dreams to remind me of my duty to him. I scowled. I didn’t need the reminder. I had it circled on my calendar for each month—the last day I could summon him and be within the terms of the agreement.
“Nice nap?” Ryan asked from beside me.
I straightened, hoping I hadn’t done anything obnoxious like drool or snore. “Sorry. I’m kinda wiped out.” I glanced out the window, but it was still dark and I couldn’t make out any landmarks. “Where are we?”
“About half a mile from your driveway. And don’t feel bad. Zack slept the entire way as well.”
I glanced back to see the blond agent with his eyes closed and head tipped back. His breathing seemed deep and regular, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that he was completely alert.
Ryan blew his breath out. “I tell you, I’d have bet solid money that the threats Lida was receiving were pure bullshit.”
“I know what you mean,” I said with a weak laugh. “Shocked the shit out of me when that thing grabbed her.”
He slowed to make the turn in to my driveway. “Any ideas what it was?”
“It wasn’t a demon. I know that much. Skalz said it was an arcane construct.”
“What, like a golem or something?”
“Yeah, that sort of thing. Inanimate matter controlled by ‘magic’ or arcane power to be animate. Unfortunately, that’s about the extent of my knowledge.” I glanced at him. “Do you know anything about them?”
Ryan shook his head. “Only what I’ve read in stories or seen in movies. So, someone has to be controlling it, right?”
“I would imagine so, but I don’t really know how that works. I have a lot of research ahead of me.” Maybe it was a good thing I hadn’t yet summoned Rhyzkahl this month.
“I wonder if it’s someone in the band,” he said, mouth tightening slightly.
“You mean someone in the band who has it in for Lida?”
His shoulder lifted in a shrug. “I was thinking more along the lines of publicity stunt.”
I considered it for a moment and couldn’t find any reason to immediately discard it as a theory. “It’s possible,” I agreed, “though Lida sure looked terrified. Either she wasn’t in on it, or she’s one hell of an actress. But at this point anything’s possible. Until I find out more about how those things are created and controlled, we’re kinda in the dark.”
“I foresee more interviews with Lida and her band mates.”
I looked back at the supposedly sleeping Zack and chuckled. “Someone’s gonna hate that.”
“Sometimes our duty is tough,” Ryan replied, mouth twitching in amusement as he pulled to a stop in front of my house. I lived nearly half an hour from Beaulac city limits, in a single-story Acadian-style house in the middle of ten acres of woods. The house was several years overdue for repainting, and the driveway would probably need a fresh load of gravel on it before the year was out, but I owned it outright, which helped make it possible for me to live on a cop’s salary. But, more important, it sat on enough of a hill to allow me to have a basement—a rarity in south Louisiana—and that feature, coupled with the privacy the location afforded, made my house absolutely perfect for someone who enjoyed summoning demons in her spare time.
He shifted into park. “You’re going to summon tomorrow night?” He made it sound like a question, but I knew it wasn’t.
“I have to,” I said quietly.
“That’s cool.” He gave a curt nod. I knew he wasn’t cool with it, not in the slightest, but I had to give him points for at least pretending to be all right with it.
He glanced at the clock on the dashboard. “At least it’s a Sunday and you can catch up on some sleep.”>“It’s all right,” I said with a reassuring smile. “I just needed to catch my breath.”
But his expression didn’t ease. “The demonic lord has put you at risk,” he said, voice heavy with anger. “He should be the one to provide protection. You shouldn’t have to negotiate terms.”
“It’s all right,” I said again, though I wasn’t as convinced of it this time. “I . . . I’ll talk to him.”
Zack’s eyes dropped to my left forearm and I fought the urge to hide my arm behind my back. Rhyzkahl had left his Mark upon me there, an arcane tattoo visible only in othersight, as a reminder of our bargain. I tensed, waiting for Zack to say something about my arrangement with the demonic lord, but he remained silent. Finally he sighed and nodded, lifting his eyes back up to mine.
“He worries about you,” he said quietly. “We both do.”
I knew he was referring to Ryan, and a lump threatened to take up residence in my throat. “I know. And I appreciate it.” I took a steadying breath and forced a smile. “But right now we need to figure out who attacked your new girlfriend.”
