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Her eyes bored into mine. “Tell me,” she said in a soft command that even Mzatal himself would hesitate to disobey.
“I don’t know much,” I said as I took an empty chair. “But I felt Ashava, clear and strong. She’s alive and, as far as I can tell, safe.”
Jill’s tension melted away, and the spell was broken. “Is she scared?” she asked then let out a small laugh. “No, of course she isn’t scared. She’s tough, and she has her sire with her.”
I held back a smile at her use of “sire.” She’d been spending way too much time in ancient tomes. “I only had a sense of her for a second, but she didn’t seem distressed.”
Giovanni flicked his eyes toward Jill—checking whether it was safe to speak—before locking his intense gaze on me. “You are saying that Elinor is on Earth because Szerain is here, and she is entrapped in Vsuhl?”
“No, I’m saying she’s here in an actual body.” I held up my hand as exultant joy flooded Giovanni’s face. “That’s the good news,” I said. “But there’s bad news, too—namely that she’s in the high security medical ward at the Federal Command Center. Xharbek’s turf. I have no idea how she escaped Szerain’s essence blade, but I suspect she came through at the same time you did. Xharbek must have sensed when she appeared on Earth and scooped her right up.”
“Pawn or hostage?” Bryce asked.
“Could be either. Or both,” I said. “Or Xharbek might want her for something else entirely.” I took a deep breath. “On the plus side, I don’t think he knows that I know he has her.” A razor-slim advantage, but I’d take it.
Giovanni was ready to charge to her rescue on the power of his undying love—which, I had to admit, had served him pretty well so far. Yet as I detailed the levels of security that stood in his way, he sank back into his seat.
“I will not abandon her to leeches and blackguards!” he insisted.
“I couldn’t agree more, and we will find a way to rescue her.” I paused. “But I have to warn you, I don’t know what condition she’s in.”
“She is alive. It is enough.”
“Yes, but that doesn’t mean she’s . . .” Crap. I didn’t want to crush the poor dude’s spirits by telling him flat out that she might not be mentally whole. But the truth was, her essence had been trapped in an arcane knife for a few hundred years, not to mention having a chunk of it stuck onto mine. There was no telling what mental or emotional condition she’d be in.
“I understand,” he said quietly. “She may not be the same Elinor I knew before. But she will ever be my Elinor, and I will do all I can to bring her home to me.”
“As will we. Plus, as much as I want to reunite you two, I have a personal stake in this. I’m hoping that, once she’s physically here, I can find a way to stop the waking dreams.” I gave the group a brief recap of the last few dreams, including the most recent one where Elinor interrupted my attempt to reach Szerain through Vsuhl. “She’s interfering when I encounter people or situations that trigger her.”
Pellini glowered. “It’s getting worse. And more dangerous.”
Bryce tapped the table. “Do you have any thoughts on how to spring her from Fed Central?”
“Possibly,” I said. “Dr. Patel is the head of the medical ward and a hardcore A.C. Gillian fan. She might give me access.” But then I cursed under my breath. “No, that won’t work. I guarantee Xharbek has manipulated the staff to keep me out and/or to alert him. And even if Dr. Patel could get me past the multiple levels of security, that doesn’t help me steal Elinor out from under Xharbek’s nose.”
“We’ll need to take a less subtle approach,” Pellini said then flicked a glance at Bryce. “Would a frontal assault stand a chance?”
Bryce stood and moved behind his chair. “To get through the Feds’ security without inflicting significant casualties—while going up against highly trained agents who would not be averse to inflicting casualties—we’d need a crack team of a dozen or more operatives, all of whom would have to be willing to risk federal prison or worse.”
I raked a hand through my hair. “Yeah, I don’t see us assembling a hotshot team to storm the place.”
“Mzatal is badass,” Jill said. “Could he pull it off?”
“If Xharbek wasn’t Elinor’s captor, I’d say yes,” I said. “But he and the other demahnk control the lords with those spiking headaches that zap them for simply thinking about taboo subjects. I’m sure that asshole wouldn’t hesitate to use pain to stop Mzatal.”
Bryce pulled up recent DIRT updates. “Doesn’t mean you can’t consult him. I’ll find his last location.”
“Do that,” I said. “I also might be able to pass a message via Mzatal to Helori and see if he’d be willing to simply teleport her out of there.” I frowned. “Only problem is that I don’t know if Helori would act so directly against another demahnk.” My gut told me No, but it was still worth pursuing.
“What about summoning one of the reyzas you know?” Pellini suggested. “Aerial assault, arcane ability, and pretty damn strong.”
I shook my head. “Too much risk of the reyza getting killed, and with only twenty percent of Earth-killed demons returning alive to the demon realm, dying could well be permanent.” I exhaled. “Besides, I’m not sure even Gestamar would be able to get through all the security . . .” I trailed off, pulse thumping erratically. “Is there any footage online of the Siberia incursion?”
Pellini pulled his laptop to him. “There isn’t much. Civilian video from a distance. Let me see if I can—” His eyes widened. “Sweet Jesus. That’s not a demon. That’s a goddamn T-rex!” He stared at me in shock. “Hang on, are you thinking of summoning that?”
“Not that particular one,” I said. “Mzatal dispatched him with an essence blade, which means he’s dead-dead. He didn’t discorporeate, so he can’t possibly return. But there’s got to be more like him back home.”
“Don’t you need to know a demon’s name for a summoning?” Pellini asked.
