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“Damn…Michelle!” I began to grin. “You look amazing! Wow. I guess things have been okay for you here?”
“It’s been awesome,” she said with a warm smile as she arranged the cloak around her. “This may sound kinda lame, but thank you. I know you saved me.” She dropped her eyes to her hands and then brought them back up to mine. “Coming here saved my life. I know that.”
“You have no idea how glad I am to see you’re doing so well,” I said. “To be honest, I had no idea what really happened to you after the ritual.” I grimaced. “For the longest time I thought you were dead.”
“I would have been dead pretty damn soon if all that stuff hadn’t happened to me,” Michelle admitted. “God, I was such a mess.” She lifted a hand and brushed a strand of hair back from her face. “I know I’m not perfect now but…” She laughed and gestured to herself. “I never even dreamed I could be like this!”
“You look like a damn princess,” I said with total approval. “So, tell me what happened. Rhyzkahl took you back, but do you still live with him?” Surely I would have seen her before now, right?
She shook her head, curls bouncing. “Nope. I’m with Lord Vahl. I was a mess when I got here, and it was only a coupla days before Lord Rhyzkahl sent me to Lord Vahl, accompanied by a reyza.” She bit her lip prettily. “He’s taken real good care of me. Got my habit fixed up an’ everything. God, he treats me like a queen. Me!” She laughed. “It’s like a fairy tale.”
I peered at her. “You’re really okay?” I asked. “I mean, you’re not having to do anything you don’t want to, are you?” I narrowed my eyes. “Because if so, you let me know.” Yeah, I was totally in a position to lay down a warning to this Lord Vahl. Riiight.
Her smile widened. “Nope, nothing like that. There’s sex, y’know, but it’s all cool. I’ve never been forced or anything.” Her mouth twitched, and a faint flush crept across her face. “And the sex is damn good, too.”
“I’m really happy for you,” I said sincerely. “That’s the best news I’ve had in a while.”
“So what are you doing here?” Michelle asked, tilting her head. “Back on earth I had nooooo idea you were a summoner.” She laughed. “Or even that there was such a thing, ’cept on TV or something.”
“Yeah, I’m a summoner.” I leaned forward and rested my elbows on my knees. “In fact I’m Lord Rhyzkahl’s summoner, which, um, has made things kind of,” I paused, grimaced, “interesting. I was summoned here against my will, then got away from the lord who did that and came here.” I tugged a hand through my hair. “Honestly, I’m still trying to figure out what’s going on and what to do.”
Her smile slipped, and her forehead puckered in worry. “That sounds scary. I mean, the not knowing part.
“Yeah,” I agreed. “And I miss home.” Two days until Rhyzkahl could send me home. I could last two more days, right?
“Oh…oh! You must be ‘the girl’!” At my baffled look she continued. “Right before we left, Vahl said something about coming here because of the conclave and that Lord Rhyzkahl had gotten the girl back.” She shrugged. “No big deal, just realized that had to be you.”
I straightened, doing my best to make it seem casual instead of the somewhat startled reaction that it was. “I can’t imagine there’s anyone else it could be.” I gave her a look of oh-so-casual query. “Did he say anything else?”
“Not much,” she replied. “I asked him what girl, and he laughed and said, ‘One that Rhyzkahl really needs.’” She shrugged again. “I guess if you’re his sworn summoner that makes a lot of sense.”
“Yeah, I suppose so,” I replied. Really needs? For what? To summon him to Earth once a month?
An oddly familiar discordance, like a high-pitched mental whine, distracted me from my troubled musings. I cast my gaze around but didn’t see anything out of the ordinary. Still, I stood up, uneasy.
The shimmer repeated, and this time I remembered where I’d felt it before. “Michelle, I think you need to go find Lord Vahl.”
“Is something wrong?” Michelle asked.
“Not sure,” I lied. “Best to be safe and find your lord. I need to find Rhyzkahl.”
She gave a nervous nod. “Yeah…sure. Thanks, Kara.” She picked up her skirts and hurried off to the palace. I watched long enough to be sure she was heading back, then took off at a run down the other path.
Once inside, I stopped the first demon I encountered, a faas whose name I couldn’t remember. “Where’s Rhyzkahl?” I asked, panting for breath. “Something’s wrong.”
It peered at me. “Wrong what?”
“Anomaly,” I told it.
It let out a low squeak. “Rhyzzzzzkahl in plexus!”
“Okay. Where the hell is that?” I had no idea what it was either, but that would have to wait.
The demon took off running, and I hurried to follow. I quickly lost track of the various turnings, and ups and downs of stairs, but eventually the faas stopped at the end of a long hall in front of intricately carved double doors. Breathless, I thanked the faas, who dipped its head in acknowledgment before scurrying off. I raised my hand to pound on the door, but Rhyzkahl yanked it open before I could touch it. Behind him I caught a glimpse of shifting globes of light over a stone pedestal and basin much like the one in Szerain’s shrine. He leveled a frown at me as he stepped into the hall and grabbed my hand. “Come,” he said, closing the door and my view of whatever the orb stuff was.
“You feel it too?” I asked, trotting along as he moved quickly down the corridor.
“Not yet. Olihr notified me. He and the rest of the syraza—” He gave me a sharp look without breaking stride. “You can feel the anomaly?”
