Triplet

Melentha's gaze returned to him... and this time there was no mistaking the hesitation there. She was in a bind, and both she and her companion demon knew it. "I suppose we'd better talk about this, then, hadn't we? Come with me. You—" she looked at Danae—"will stay here."

Turning abruptly, she strode from the room. As if on unspoken signal, the ring of demons shifted position, sweeping inward to form two sides of an aisle between Ravagin and the door. "Okay,"

Ravagin said, turning back to Danae. "Try to relax—maybe get some sleep if you can."

She clung to his arm. "Wait—you can't go with her. She might—who knows what she'll do to you?"

Gently, he disengaged her hand. "If she'd decided to kill us, she wouldn't be wasting time with talk," he reassured her. "They've just finally realized they've bitten off more than they bargained for, and I think they're going to try and negotiate themselves out of the corner. So just kick back and free-float; I'll be back as soon as I can."

Without warning, her arms looped around his neck, pulling his head down for a brief but intense kiss. "Be careful," she whispered as she reluctantly let go.

"You bet. You, too."

Turning, he headed off between the lines of demons, trying to walk boldly despite the slight trembling of his knees. Beneath his tunic, his skin prickled at the spirits' close and deadly presence; deeper within him, his stomach was tight with the anticipation of the delicate negotiations facing him. And on his lips, he could feel the lingering impression of Danae's unexpected kiss.

Gritting his teeth, he concentrated on the memory of that kiss.

The door closed, and Danae was alone.

No; not quite alone. A single green figure floated in the air between her and the door.

For a long moment she eyed the ghastly shape, wondering what her chances were of dashing past it and out the door to freedom...

The demon gazed straight back at her. Swallowing hard, she turned away and stepped over to the window.

The demon didn't follow, nor did he try to stop her as she lifted the edge of the curtain and looked out. Not that that was any real surprise. The post line below was hard to see in the dim starlight, but the shadows the posts cast were clear and sharply defined. "Esporla-meenay," she called on sudden impulse, and was rewarded by a pair of flashes from the post line: one green, one red.

The red was new. "I see Melentha's added some dji

The demon at the door didn't respond. All right, Danae: calm down, stop babbling, and think, she berated herself. What do you know about spirithandling in general and demons in particular?

Precious little, she had to admit, and virtually nothing that looked like it might be of any use in getting her out of this mess. Even if she somehow managed to get past her watchdog, getting through the post line would take more skill than she possessed. Possibly more skill than even Ravagin possessed.

Gartanis.

Carefully, Danae turned her head. The demon was still there, was still watching her with inhuman stillness. Turning back to the window, she licked suddenly dry lips. This could be dangerous... but Melentha had surely given the demon instructions not to hurt her, at least not until she'd made a decision as to their disposition. All in all, a risk worth taking. "Haklarast," she murmured, as softly as possible.

The glow-fire of a sprite appeared before her. "I am here, as you summoned," it squeaked.

"Go to Besak, to a man named Gartanis—"

And the demon pounced.

It was over almost before it began. One instant the hazy glow was hovering in front of her; the next instant the demon's swooping dive had intersected it and it was gone. Quick and bloodless...

Leaving nothing but a horrible wail that rang in her ears long after it had faded from the room.

Knees shaking, Danae groped her way over to the bed and collapsed onto it. "You will have no communication outside this place," a deep voice told her.

She looked at the door, half expecting to see Melentha standing there. But it was only the watchdog demon. Ravagin had been right; they did all sound alike. "Go back to hell," she told him tiredly, closing her eyes.

"I do not accept commands from you," he said.

She glanced back at him, wondering if he was being sarcastic. But if he was, it didn't show.

Snap out of it, girl. Getting back to her feet with an effort, she walked over to the window again.

Posture affects attitude, her father had been fond of telling her, and she wasn't going to be able to work up much defiance while slouched back on a mattress.

For all the good defiance would do her. All right. The sprite incident had shown she would at least have time to do a simple invocation before the demon could interfere. Invoke the demogorgon again, see if it could or would help her? No; it took far too much time—and besides, the incense she needed was back in her own room. The manifold geas that she'd tried back in Coven? Melentha had even less reason to make her spirits subject to outside commands, but still—"Harkhonistrasmylikiheen!" she called. "Move aside."

The demon didn't budge. Well, that's twice now that hasn't worked, she thought bitterly. Still, she could hardly have expected Melentha to have left that big a loophole in her spirit protection ring.

Melentha was smart enough... but she was arrogant, too, and in Danae's experience arrogance usually led to carelessness. If she'd thought to close all the big loopholes, perhaps she'd accidentally left some of the little ones open.

Something simple, then. A dazzler or firebrat, perhaps? No; a demon couldn't care less about either of those. A doppelganger, then? It would depend on how demons perceived the physical universe, but it might be worth trying during a mad dash out of the house. At least it would slow down any of Melentha's human lackeys if any were around tonight.

Except that between her and that mad dash was the demon. And the post line. And no allies but Ravagin, who wasn't any better off than she was.

With a sigh, she leaned on the window sill and stared dejectedly outside... and so happened to be gazing directly at the post line when it flickered again with its red and green lights.

Danae caught her breath, biting down on her tongue to keep silent. Red and green flashes... the sign that someone had just done a spirit-detection. Ravagin? But he was closeted with Melentha somewhere. And there was no one else in the house who would be likely to do that spell just for the hell of it.

Which meant that there was someone prowling around outside the house. Looking for a way in.

Gartanis! Her heart started beating faster, even while her brain reminded her how unlikely that really was. More probably it was a bandit or group of same looking for nighttime booty.

But it almost didn't matter. Unexpected company of any sort would force a change in Melentha's careful arrangement, and if Coven was any indication, demons weren't very good at handling the unexpected.

It was time to try her best shot. Taking a deep breath, she turned back to the demon. "You realize, I hope, that Melentha will be furious with you if anything should happen to me," she told him.

"You will not be harmed," the demon replied.

"Glad you've got such faith." Behind her back, Danae's hands fumbled with the window's clasp.

"Because—haklarast!"

A sprite appeared between her and the demon. "I am here—" it began.

The demon shot over and engulfed it; and as that mournful wail split the air, Danae twisted around and shoved the window open.

It was a good five-meter drop down to the flagstones below, but she was counting on the demon to have faster reflexes than that. And she was right. Barely had she gotten one knee up on the sill when the view before her exploded with green light as the demon jumped into the window between her and freedom. The shock of its presence threw her backwards, reeling past the center of the room—