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I grinned and settled down to eat. There were some things I liked about being in the demon realm, and I could definitely get used to nonstop room service. And not having to clean up or do laundry. Yeah, that pretty well rocked.
A tingle at the back of my neck told me that the grove was activated, which meant someone was arriving. More lords. Curious, I quickly yanked on pants and a sweater, grabbed my mug of chak and stepped onto the balcony. This was how I preferred to deal with any other demonic lords, at least for now: three stories up and far out of reach.
A reyza, a kehza, and a pair of faas emerged from the tree tunnel, followed by a dark-skinned lord, bald, with a goatee and no mustache. Gold glinted from his earlobes, and a chain of red-blood gems the size of my thumbnail hung around his neck. Flowing robes of gold and blue swirled about his feet as he walked up the path toward the palace. The grove resonated with calm spiced with a hint of…adventure?
I continued to watch with naked interest until the lord passed out of sight through the main entry below and to the right of my balcony.
Tucking my bare feet underneath me, I sat on the chaise. I’d barely made myself comfortable when I heard the door. A heartbeat later I felt Rhyzkahl’s presence. Good. One way or another I was going to get some answers and get my doubts sorted out.
Rhyzkahl’s gaze went to me as he stepped out onto the balcony. “You slept deeply.”
The look I gave him was uncertain. “Well, you kinda sucked the life out of me.”
“I did,” he said. “A last resort.” He sat beside me on the couch, not quite touching me. His eyes searched my face, assessing. “You are much recovered, though still disturbed.”
My mouth twisted. “Yesterday was disturbing on a number of levels.” I said. “I didn’t know you could do that with the mark. That’s pretty frightening.”
Rhyzkahl reached out and laid his palm over the mark. “There is a deep connection with the mark, even damaged as it is by Mzatal’s interference.”
I gave him a wary look. “Could you kill me with it?”
“No,” he replied without hesitation. “The mark is not woven for such.”
That was certainly a relief, but I wasn’t quite ready to fully relax. “Are there any other features I don’t yet know about that might still bite me in the ass?” I asked, cocking an eyebrow at him.
“No.” He traced his fingers along the mark, sending a light shiver through me, though it wasn’t completely unpleasant. “I anchored the disrupted strand upon your arrival, but it must be removed and reworked to repair the damage.”
Still uneasy, I pulled away from him, stood, and moved to the railing. The grove’s trees moved in hypnotic undulations in the low wind. My tension slipped away as I gently touched the grove. I couldn’t go out to it, but it was still there for me. The deep calm stole through me like the warmth from a fire, and I exhaled a soft sigh of comfort.
He moved up behind me, put his hands on my shoulders.
“I want to go home,” I told him. I knew I sounded like a broken record, but, well, too bad.
“This I know,” he said, giving my shoulders a light squeeze before gently turning me to face him. “It is of your disposition I came to speak.” He smiled down at me. “A solution has arisen.”
I held back the burst of hope, still cautious. “What sort of solution?”
“It is fortuitous that this is the time of the conclave,” he said, taking my hands in his. “There are debts to be paid and agreements to fulfill. With the cooperation of another lord, I can and will prepare a ritual to send you home. I have made arrangements, and it will take place two days hence.”
“And I’ll go home?” I asked. “That’s it? You’ll send me home?”
He squeezed my hands. “Yes, I will send you home,” he assured me. “You were not brought here by my will. Had it been my desire to do so, I could have taken you at any time.”
“You mean, when I summoned you, if you’d wanted to take me back you could have?”
“Yes,” he said. “You, dear one, summoned a demonic lord.”
“Well, duh,” I said. “You were willing.” But I realized it made sense that he could bring me back at any time. After all, he’d brought me back with him when I’d been bleeding out and dying. I exhaled in relief. “Home. Wow. Thank you. I miss home so much.” I chuckled softly. “And coffee. I really miss coffee.” Then my smile slipped, and I narrowed my eyes at him. “What did that creepy lord mean about payment?”
A flash of what might have been annoyance lit his eyes for an instant before it was gone. “You experienced Kadir,” he said. “You felt him. He chooses words to elicit fear and unease. He cares nothing for the truth.”
I peered at him. “So all that stuff about you giving me to him in payment was bullshit?” I asked. “And what would it be payment for, anyway?”
Rhyzkahl shook his head. “The qaztahl have had millennia to forge agreements great and small,” he said. “Favors and payments are always owed, but you are not slated as payment to Kadir.” He scowled as if the mere thought was repulsive. “You have my oath on this.”
“Good.” I allowed myself to relax a bit. “He’s a bad monkey, that one.”
“What is the meaning of ‘bad monkey’?” he asked with a frown.
