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“More than I ever been in my whole life, ma’am. And I know in my heart that you got what it takes to get your part done. I’ll be home afore you know it.”
My throat tightened, but I managed a nod.
The air vibrated in a now-familiar resonance. Suarez and Bryce stepped back as Dekkak emerged from the sinkhole-rift with a person-shaped object gripped in one clawed hand, and the horde swarming around her. Slugthing followed, its color shifting in rapid patterns of deep blue and near fluorescent pink.
Cold dismay swept over me. Instead of Elinor, Dekkak held the broken body of a tactical-geared agent. The imperator hissed through her teeth and tossed the body to land on the nexus, crumpled against the trunk of the grove tree.
Sickened, I forced my gaze away. I’d grieve and cry and wallow later. For now I scanned the demons, anxiety rising as the arcane sinkhole snapped shut with no sign of Elinor. No no no no no! If Dekkak hadn’t retrieved Elinor, I’d caused a lot of people to get hurt or killed for nothing.
A heartbeat before I freaked completely the fuck out, Slugthing opened its maw and barfed a slime-covered Elinor out to flop bonelessly on the grass just beyond Rhyzkahl’s orbit.
I raced to her and cleared her nose and mouth with shaking hands. An instant later Giovanni was at my side, damn near tearing her away from me to cradle her close.
“Elinor.” Tears streamed down his face as he held her to him. “God is in his heaven, and I have my Elinor back.”
She was breathing, but I wasn’t surprised that she remained unconscious. My aunt Tessa had stayed in a coma for weeks after she lost her essence to the Symbol Man’s ritual.
Unfortunately, I hadn’t warned Giovanni. His distress rose as Elinor’s eyes failed to flutter open to see the face of her beloved.
“Why won’t she wake up?” Giovanni demanded of Dekkak.
Her lips curled back as she hissed at the puny human who dared address her.
I cleared my throat. “Elinor is okay. Trust me?”
Giovanni didn’t seem the least bit convinced, but he gave me the barest of nods.
Dekkak flicked her wing and, as one, her mutant demons bounded, flew, and slithered into the rift. “I have fulfilled my end of the bargain, summoner,” she growled, deep and malevolent.
I expected her to add Now it’s your turn or something along those lines, but apparently she didn’t feel I needed the reminder. She was right, too. No way would I forget an onus of that magnitude, but at the moment I was happy to see the ugly ass end of those demons.
Dekkak turned her attention to Suarez. “Divest yourself of clothing and weapons.”
Suarez obligingly unholstered both of his handguns and set them on the grass then pulled a backup piece from his right ankle and a knife from his left. His body armor followed, then he stripped off his shirt, surprising me with the unbelievable amount of hair that covered his body, a bizarre contrast to his egg-smooth bald head. The only spot that wasn’t covered in fur was an eight inch wide shaved circle on his back where yet another pistol and holster were duct-taped between his shoulder blades.
I smothered a laugh that I knew would be incredibly inappropriate considering the horrendous circumstances, but Suarez merely caught my eye and gave me a broad wink. He unlaced his boots and tossed them aside, but when he dr
opped his pants to reveal the knives strapped to each thigh, I wasn’t the only one who gave in to laughter.
“For the love of god, Suarez,” Bryce said, a ghost of a smile rippling his stoic mask. “If you’re carrying more armament up your ass, fucking wait until you’re in the rift to pull it out.”
Suarez stepped out of his pants then grabbed Bryce in a fierce hug. Terror flashed across Suarez’s face, almost too quickly to see before he buried it under a wide, though shaky, grin. “Only weapon I got up there is from them burritos Tandon cooked up for lunch, and I’m savin’ it ’til we get there.”
“That’s my man,” Bryce said, though his voice cracked on the last word.
Suarez stepped back and turned to me. “It’s been a real honor to work for you, Miss Kara.”
“You still work for me, Suarez,” I said fiercely then spoiled it by sniffling. “I expect a full report when I see you again.”
“Will do, ma’am,” he said with an echo of my sniffle. He took one last look at everybody, dropped his boxers to reveal an ass with more hair than I thought was humanly possible, then walked head high to the imperator.
“Reporting as ordered, Miss Dekkak.”
The imperator gestured to the rift as if inviting Suarez to take a dip in a pool.
Comprehension broke over his face. He shot Bryce an I’m-so-fucked-but-fuck-if-they’ll-beat-me smile, shrugged fatalistically, then sauntered to the lip of the rift. He stood there a moment, staring down into the shifting magenta light, then called out, “Later, y’all!” and took a step forward and tumbled out of sight.
Dekkak bellowed and leaped after him then was gone.
