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“When next you see Rhyzkahl,” Mzatal said, “tell him Kara Gillian is under agreement with me and has my full protection.” He paused. “Tell him also that I know what he has done to Xhan.”
Vahl grimaced, nodded. I didn’t have to read him to know that he wasn’t keen on making that report.
“And, Vahl,” Mzatal continued, but in a much less scary tone, “that report need not be in his presence. It was an arduous conclave. Perhaps a few days rest here.” The potency eased in Mzatal. “There is the potential for discussions of mutual interest.”
Relief coupled with uncertainty crossed Vahl’s face. “I will send him a sigil,” he finally replied. “And I am honored to accept your invitation.”
Well, the next few days will certainly be interesting, I thought to myself.
Mzatal and Vahl exchanged slight nods, then Vahl turned and left. I let out a breath and turned in Mzatal’s arms, sliding arms around him and leaning my head against his chest. “Thank you.”
Mzatal put his other arm around me and released the power he’d been holding. “There is no need for thanks,” he replied softly. “It is what had to be done.”
I tilted my head to look into his face. “No. I mean it. Thank you for being so here for me. I don’t think I could get through this without your help.”
A smile touched the corners of his mouth. “I will ever be here for you, Kara Gillian.”
The truth of his statement made me feel warm all over. I gave him a light squeeze. “I’m starving. Are you starving? I think we should eat food that’s terribly bad for us.”
One silky eyebrow lifted. “I promised you ice cream.”
I gri
He slipped an arm around my waist and led me inside. “Come then. The faas will prepare a feast of that which is bad for us.”
Chapter 32
The next week was a flurry of training with little time to do anything extra but eat and grab what sleep we could. However, I managed to get halfway through the first ring of the shikvihr without blasting the crap out of myself, and only had one teeny little incident where I accidentally set all of my notes and papers on fire. Fortunately I was on the balcony at the time, and the faas were quick with water to douse the small blaze.
And that, boys and girls, is why you should never sigil in bed, I thought with a low laugh as I cleaned up the mess.
Mzatal attended to my training as much as possible; there were many hours, however, during which he remained in closed-door meetings with Vahl. Fortunately, I was at a point where the best thing I could do was practice practice practice what I’d already learned. Idris would have helped, but the boy wonder was tied up with some sort of from-scratch development of a new interlinking diagram method that he and Mzatal had brainstormed. Thankfully, Gestamar stayed close by to help me in case I had questions. Or maybe he stuck close by in case I tried to set the place on fire again. Either was possible.
“Tomorrow is the full moon on Earth,” Gestamar abruptly said, startling me enough that I lost control of the sigil I was crafting. He quickly flicked a claw and dispelled it before it could do more than deliver a light sting.
I gave him a somewhat sour look. “Okay. But we don’t have to worry about phases of the moon here, do we? I mean, there’s shitloads of available potency.”
The tip of his tail twitched. “Dahn, but demons will be summoned to earth from here, and I am often among those summoned.”
“Because you’re so awesome?” I gri
“Kri,” he replied with a proud lift of his chin. “But this is not why I tell you of the full moon.” His eyes met mine as he folded his wings in close. “Jekki and the zhurn Bezik are also oft-summoned, and we have agreed to carry letters for you and do what we can to have them safely delivered to your loved ones.”
For the longest moment I could only stare at him while I processed this. “Thank you,” I finally managed. He was offering me a chance to personally let Tessa and the others know I was safe and sound. Mzatal’s communication with Earth was shot to hell with Katashi’s defection, and he wouldn’t have a solid back-up system in effect for at least a couple of months. He did have some sort of verbal arrangement in place to get word to my people in case any of his demons were summoned, but, by his own admission, it was unreliable at best, especially since the communication skills of many of the demons weren’t the greatest. A physical letter made it all feel real, as if I could touch the folks back home.
“I…wow.” I swiped at my eyes, which had somehow become a bit moist. “Thank you,” I repeated.
Gestamar gave a gentle rumble. “Go and write three copies of a letter.” He paused. “And best not to set them on fire.”
“Will I ever live that down?” I asked with a laugh.
The reyza snorted. “Dahn. Demons have long memories and are easily amused.”
It took me most of the rest of the day to write a letter to Tessa, primarily because I had no idea how to explain every thing. I finally gave up and kept it short and simple, telling her I was all right and would be home as soon as possible. I didn’t want to go into any of the other stuff in a letter, and the most important thing was to let her know I was alive and reasonably safe.
There was no sign of Mzatal that night or the next morning, but around mid-afternoon Jekki handed me a trifold parchment with Mzatal’s seal in wax on it. The elegant, handwritten note simply said to please go to the atrium for the evening tone. Please.
An actual written invitation? Weird.
I turned to ask Jekki what it was all about, but forgot my question entirely at the sight of the faas laying clothing out upon the bed.
“This wear!” the faas burbled, pointing to what looked like flowing pants and shirt in a rich maroon. “Tonight. Bathe now and hair Faruk do.”
My eyebrows lifted as my bafflement increased, but I knew better than to defy Jekki’s directive. I cleaned up, allowed Faruk to do my hair in a complex braid complete with gold and silver strands woven through, do
Idris stood watching the begi
“Hey, Idris,” I said, “do you know what this is about?”
“No clue,” he replied with a smile. “It’s a first for me.”
“Maybe we’re being fired,” I said, “for being simply awful.”
Idris laughed along with me. “Somehow I don’t think that would come with a fancy invite. Did the faas dress you too?”
Gri
A soft scrape of sound alerted us, and we turned to see Mzatal step into the atrium, wearing the dark Armani suit, white shirt, and a deep red tie. His braid hung over his shoulder wound with extra strands of silver cord, and he looked sharp as all hell.
“This way,” he said with an enigmatic smile. He turned and headed down stairs I’d yet to explore. With a glance at Idris, I followed, curious and puzzled. After a couple of turns of the spiral stair, we stepped out into a room dancing with light and color. As everywhere else, a wall of glass faced the sea and sunset, but here, the waterfall cascaded before it, spectacular rays of the setting sun streaming through.
Then came the bewildering part.
Mzatal strode to the head of a dining table elaborately laid with crystal, silver, and fine china. He glanced at us and gestured to the chairs on each side of the table. Gestamar came in behind us and moved to crouch near Mzatal.
Idris slid a look at me, and I gave him a what-the-fucking-fuck look right back. I moved to a chair, pulled it out, and sank into it, utterly mystified. Idris sat across from me with a look on his face that mirrored how I felt. I got that we’d apparently been invited to a meal, but that in itself was weird. I’d eaten plenty of times around Mzatal, but apart from wine and tunjen, I rarely saw him eat, and had certainly never shared a meal with him