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The pair headed straight for our table without a second’s hesitation, and I gave Eilahn a narrow-eyed glare. “You called the others?”
“I did,” she answered serenely as she quickly inscribed the anti-eavesdropping sigil on the table. “You have many tribulations at the moment and require the assistance of those you call friend. And I knew you would not ask them for that assistance.”
I frowned. She was right. It seemed more than a little selfish to call people up and say, “Hey, I have a problem, can you drop everything and help me?” But that’s what friends DO, moron, I chided myself. I was still getting used to the whole dynamic, obviously.
“Hiya, chick,” Jill said. Her tone was bright, but her expression was fierce.
“Hiya, yourself,” I said. “I hear my roommate’s been tattling on me.”
Jill gave a shrug and a grin. “Nah, she just said you were buying breakfast.”
“Sure. What the hell,” I said with a laugh. “At least it’s pancakes and not steaks. Is Ryan coming as well?”
“Right behind us,” Zack said with a jerk of his head toward the door. True to his word, the man in question entered as if on cue.
Ryan paused as soon as he entered and did a scan of the interior. I could see him mentally cataloguing the occupants and exits—possibly not even aware he was doing so. Maybe that was why it was so hard for me to wrap my head around the “he’s a demonic lord” idea. Other than a couple of rare breaks in the façade, he was every inch the federal agent. And his personal history was insanely complete as well. Could I be wrong?
No, I knew what I’d seen. And Eilahn had definitely shouted the name “Szerain.” I also knew, logically, that I should be as wary of him as I was of Rhyzkahl. Maybe it was easier to trust him because he never—well, almost never—acted like a demonic lord? Dear Santa, I thought, what I want for Christmas is for all this crap to make sense.
Ryan headed to our table and slid into the empty chair beside me, positioning himself so that he still had a good view of the room and the entrance. “Morning,” he said, almost as an afterthought.
“We should order,” Eilahn instructed. “And then Kara can fill you all in.”
Ryan gave me a questioning look. “Is it the usual? Life in danger, world ending, nasty magic creatures ru
Laughing, I nodded. “That about covers it!”
Breakfast was duly ordered and much coffee consumed, then I filled them in on everything I knew—the deaths, my co
A silence fell after I finished.
“Goddamn, I’m glad we ate first,” Zack finally said. A laugh swept the table, nicely breaking the tension.
Jill leaned her elbows on the table and propped her chin in her hands. “You suspect that the victims were given something that gave ’em temporary magic? Or whatever the fuck it is you do,” she added with a wink at me.
Grimacing, I rubbed my temples. “I think their sensitivity is being increased, and somehow they’re drawn to the resonance these portals have.”
“And then when they actually find one it overloads their brains?” she asked.
“That’s the working hypothesis,” I said. “As far as I know, none of those people had any sort of arcane skill, or if so, only a trickle.”
“Is there a drug that can do that?” Ryan asked. To my surprise he looked over to Eilahn for an answer.
The demon pursed her lips, frowning. “I have heard of such—compounds that can open the cha
Zack tensed, and alarm flashed quickly across his face. He quickly schooled his features, but his eyes flicked toward Ryan then away. I had the impression he had something to say but didn’t dare.
Ryan doesn’t know Zack is a demon, I reminded myself. If Zack revealed knowledge of that world it would give him away. In other words, I needed to find a way to get him to spill what he knew. Not an easy task since Zack was oathbound against talking about much demon stuff.
“Use of these compounds is generally proscribed,” Eilahn continued, “due to the unpredictable and dangerous side effects.”
“Would stuff like that show up on a tox screen?” Jill asked.
“Doubtful,” Eilahn said, forehead puckering. “Most of the ingredients used can only be found in the demon realm.”
“Yeah, Doc’s in a tizzy,” I said. “He can’t figure out what’s causing these strokes.”
“Poor guy.” Jill grimaced. “It’s not like you can clue him in that it’s something out of this world.”
“No kidding!” I said. “He already thinks I’m weird enough.”
“Is Kara in danger of having a stroke?” Ryan asked Eilahn, face dark and serious.
“It is my suspicion that Kara is being affected by a different substance than the others,” Eilahn stated. “She already has extensive arcane skills.”
I noticed that Eilahn didn’t answer Ryan’s question. “Well, that’s cheery,” I said. “But if the others were used to find portals, that means I was tagged to find something as well. Plus,” I lifted my arm and shoved my sleeve back, “I’m only experiencing side effects when I’m not wearing this thing.”
Jill leaned forward to snag the maple syrup. “And you think this graa attacked these other victims as well? Wouldn’t they have freaked the hell out?”
“Demons are fast,” Eilahn answered. “All it had to do was scratch them. It’s quite possible they never saw it, especially if it was dark.”
“Hang on.” I yanked my phone out of my bag, then thumbed in a text to my aunt. Can you pls ask Carl if stroke vics had any weird scratches on bodies?
“Let’s make sure there’s really a co
Frowning, I texted a reply: is that yes they had scratches or yes you can ask him?
I scowled at the phone as I waited.
yes to both. Vics had deep scratches. I’ll have Carl let me into morgue so I can check if from demon.
I related the exchange to the others.
“Your aunt rocks,” Jill said. “She’s weird and scary, but she rocks.” She tilted her head. “Kinda like you.”
“Thanks,” I said drily.
Jill gri
I sat back. “Right. That doesn’t make sense to me either.”
“Someone who wants to fuck with her,” Ryan said. “Get her off balance. Maybe someone with an ax to grind.”
Jill let out a bark of laughter. “Oh, god, if we have to track down everyone Kara has ever pissed off, we’re screwed.”
“Bitch,” I said and stuck my tongue out at her for good measure.
“You know it!” she said, eyes sparkling with humor.
“I have to say, though, it really is the perfect setup.” I grimaced. “Drug me with something that makes me do irrational shit, right when people around me start dying.”
Eilahn pursed her lips. “And it would have appeared far worse if not for the fact that most of your ‘irrational shit’ has been controlled by the cuff.”
I nodded. “But still, if they’re going after me—another summoner,” I said, musing, “—they have to figure the payoff is worth the risk.”
“Or they’re desperate enough to risk it,” Ryan added.
I tugged my hands through my hair as an uncomfortable thought occurred to me. I slid my eyes to Eilahn. “Are you able to assess for summoning ability?”
“That is not one of my skills,” she said, spreading her hands in apology.
Zack eyed me. “You have a suspect?”
I shifted in my chair, uncertain. “I’ll be shocked if he turns out to be a summoner, but…well, this ex-boyfriend of mine, Roman Hatch, lost his job at ESPN earlier this spring. He arrived here in town shortly before the first murder. In fact he found the body.”