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He snorted. “Yeah, I’m sure they’d looooooove me there.” The demons called him kiraknikahl, oathbreaker. That meant most demons looked upon him with varying degrees of animosity. Eilahn had settled into tolerant-but-not-too-tolerant, only allowing that much latitude because we were around him all the time. I still didn’t have the full story of what happened and what oath he broke, though it seemed that some of the bans against even speaking of it had been eased.
“Right now I’m just worried about Mzatal,” I said, totally ducking having to make a reply to his comment.
“What’s wrong with the fuc—I mean, what’s wrong with him?”
I shot him a sour look. “He’s away from his power base, he did a major healing, and he laid a huge smackdown on one of Katashi’s men.”
“He’s fading,” Ryan said with a slow nod, eyes growing distant. “Shows he shouldn’t fucking be here.” His breath quickened, and his face twisted in agitation. “He shouldn’t be here!”
“Hey, where’s Zack?” I asked a little too loudly as I recognized an agitated Szerain coming through.
The distraction worked. Ryan blinked and looked over at me. “Uh, he must still be out front. Jill called when we pulled up, and they sort of got into it.” He winced, shook his head. “There’ve been some pretty rocky times in these last few months.”
Dismay wound through me. “Shit. Why?” I asked. “They were so into each other.”
He leaned back against the counter and tucked his thumbs into the front pockets of his pants. “He’s not spending as much time with her as he used to,” he explained. “She’s not happy about it, and he doesn’t want to talk about it.” His face twisted in frustration. “I’m hoping he isn’t done with her. In all the time I’ve known him, he’s never been in a serious relationship.” He snorted. “Or even a not-serious relationship. Just some short flings. Nothing stable. Nothing until Jill.”
“He’s about to be a baby-daddy,” I muttered. “He’d better not be done with her.” Yet I knew the situation was way more complicated than simply his losing interest. Not that I could share those complications with Ryan. You see, your partner is actually a demon, and he’s ditching his baby-mama to deal with your alter ego. “The whole thing sucks,” I said.
“It’s weird,” Ryan said. “It’s not like he’s afraid of having a kid. I could sort of get it if that was the problem. Doesn’t seem to be, though.”
“Maybe every now and then you could push him to spend time with her?” I suggested.
“I’ve tried that,” he replied, mouth twisting sourly. “Sometimes it works. Usually not.”
“I’ll talk to Jill,” I said with a sigh, then lifted the tray. “Lemme go feed our guest.”
“Thatcher still unconscious?”
“Yeah, and I think he’ll stay out until he gets to the demon realm with Mzatal,” I said. “He’s in pretty bad shape.”
Ryan winced. “Zack told me he took a .45 in the back that pretty much blew out his chest.”
I started to say something about how Thatcher would have been dead in minutes, but I clamped down on it in time. No way would I be able to explain how Mzatal got there so quickly without mentioning Zack’s teleport ability. Best to let him assume Mzatal had gone to the warehouse with me. “The bullet nicked Paul’s arm too,” I said, glossing over the details of how Thatcher survived. “Speaking of, I’d better go feed him!” I hurried off down the hall before Ryan could ask any more questions.
Paul was still sitting on the stool by the bed. He looked up as I entered, and a faint smile touched his mouth as he saw the loaded tray.
“Thanks. I didn’t realize how hungry I was.” He tried for a smile and failed. “I’d made a deal with Bryce. If he took me to the warehouse, I’d let him stop at Hamburger Haven for a double bacon combo.”
I set the tray on the dresser. “When y’all get back we’ll see if we can make a Hamburger Haven run.”
Desperate hope lit his eyes. “You think he’ll really be able to eat one by then?”
“He won’t come back until he’s good as new,” I promised. “And I know Mzatal will take excellent care of him.” I paused as I heard Ryan call my name from the kitchen. “Eat up,” I told Paul. “Holler if you need anything.”
He nodded, and I returned to the kitchen. Ryan stood in front of the window, looking out at the back yard.
“You bellowed?” I asked cheerfully.
“You should probably check on him,” he said, with a not-quite-Ryan undertone in his voice.
I didn’t waste time with questions. I ran out to the back and slid to a stop, dropped to my knees beside Mzatal where he lay prone on the confluence point. “Boss?” I placed a hand on his back. He felt cold, and his aura was so faint I could barely detect it. “Mzatal?”
He drew a deep slow breath. “Here . . . zharkat.”
“You doing all right?” I asked, even though I felt that he wasn’t.
“No,” he murmured. “The confluence is but slowing the drain. I am fading.”
