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“No! That’s bullshit! We’d be up shit creek if you weren’t—”
“Kara. So was Steeev.”
The ice drove deeper as his meaning penetrated my thick skull. Non-essential to Katashi. “Oh. Damn.” I stood and joined him at the rail. “You think you’re next.”
“Knocking out security is a sound plan,” he said. Clinical. Detached. “With Steeev, they didn’t have a body to deal with. No need to worry about police involvement. I believe the only reason they haven’t taken me out yet is because the right opportunity hasn’t presented itself. It makes sense to give you everything I know while I’m still alive and kicking.”
I placed my hand on his shoulder. “You could go to the demon realm.”
He turned to face me. Moonlight lit his features in shades of grey like a charcoal drawing. “I’m staying.”
The words rose on my tongue to argue, to tell him to go where he’d be safe. His eyes met mine, and I swallowed my words. He knew his business. He’d put his life on the line for assholes like Farouche and taken a bullet to the chest for Paul. He’d take one for Jill, or any of us.
“Damn glad to have you.” To hell with Katashi and his crew. They didn’t have half the heart of my posse.
Chapter 27
Idris and Pellini were already gone by the time I woke up, but a note in Pellini’s handwriting by the coffeemaker informed anyone who cared that the coffee had been made at 6:30 a.m. I certainly cared because, even though I was no kind of coffee snob, I disliked stale coffee as much as the next sane person. As it was barely 7:15, the coffee was still good and drinkable, and all was right with the world, at least for a few minutes.
Bryce came into the kitchen before I finished my first cup, poured one for himself then plopped into an empty chair. “I take it there’ve been no reports of them killing each other yet?”
“Yet,” I said, sipping my coffee. “The day is young.”
He chuckled. “They’ll be all right. Idris would never admit it in a million years, but I have a feeling he has a lot of respect for Vince.” At my disbelieving look he went on, “Yesterday was a turning point for them. Vince has a lot of issues, but he keeps his head in a crisis. I think deep down Idris appreciates that.”
I had to nod in agreement. “I’ve worked in the same department with Pellini for years, but never worked with him on a case. This is the first time I’ve really seen him in action.”
Bryce’s mouth twitched. “And Idris really likes his silly dog. After you went to bed, he came out and threw the tennis ball for Sammy.” He took a sip of coffee. “Not sure, but I might have heard him laugh.”
“Now you’re talking crazy. That dog can’t laugh.”
“I’m sure you’re right,” Bryce said with a smile. “It was late.” He glanced at the clock. “Gimme ten minutes, and then I’ll head out to the nexus and check in with Seretis.”
“Enough time for another cup,” I said and headed to the coffeemaker to get started on that.
• • •
Bryce sat crosslegged in the middle of the nexus, eyes closed and mouth tight in concentration as he reached between the worlds to Seretis. I sat in a similar pose a couple of feet away and watched him. Sammy lounged in the grass, his eyes on us as if to be sure he wouldn’t miss it if one of us threw a stick for him. Eilahn lay curled in her nest like a cat, recharging. Fuzzykins slept draped over her hip, and I unobtrusively slipped my phone from my pocket and took a picture of them. They were too damn cute.
After several minutes Bryce’s face relaxed, and a smile touched his mouth. “The connection is stronger.”
I ignored the dull ache of my lost link to Mzatal. “That’s awesome,” I said, tone chipper. “Strong enough to talk to him?”
“Working on it,” Bryce replied. “He knows I want to.”
The concrete slab leeched the warmth from my butt, and I tried without success to keep from fidgeting. It felt like several minutes to my impatient internal clock before Bryce spoke again, though it was probably closer to thirty seconds. “He’s in Rhyzkahl’s realm.”
“Why the hell is he there?” I asked in surprise.
Another few seconds of silence and then, “There was an anomaly. It’s settled now.”
“Oh, crap.” I winced. “Yeah, Rhyzkahl can’t fix those in his current condition.” Anomalies were rifts in the dimensional fabric, remnants from the cataclysm that had nearly destroyed the demon realm. They couldn’t be ignored since they caused a lot of damage and destabilization if not dealt with promptly.
“All the lords and demahnk were there,” Bryce continued, frowning. “It was bad.”
“Does that mean you’re talking to Seretis?” I asked, leaning forward.
He gave a shrug and nod. “It’s not like thinking words to each other, but yeah.”
