Fury of the Demon

I set my hand on his shoulder. “What’s up?”

Mzatal’s frown deepened as he continued to work, and I noted the frays smoothing. “Tampering,” he said. “The primary node has been touched from the demon realm side.”

“Touched?” My eyes narrowed. “You mean something’s been pushed through it?”

“Nothing has come through this one recently,” he told me. “I feel Rhyzkahl’s resonance, and there is a distortion I do not understand. You see the damage. There has been stress on the structure.” He passed his hands over the valve once more then stood and took my hand. “The man approaches.” He paused, his eyes distant. “He is alone.”

Mzatal and I quickly moved into the underbrush to crouch not far off the trail. Though Mzatal’s initial proposal had been to simply net So

Within minutes, I heard the whisper of shoes on damp pine needles, and I peered between the leaves toward the sound. A Hispanic-featured man about five-foot-ten of medium build made his way down the path toward us. I recognized him as one of Farouche’s gunmen, though instead of a suit he had on jeans and a navy blue t-shirt. If I hadn’t known what to look for, I’d have missed the slight bulge of his shirt where an inside-the-waistband holster held his gun.

His face broke into a cautious smile as he came within sight of Bryce and Paul, but as he came abreast of us he faltered and stopped. His eyes flicked left and right in wary alarm, and he slipped his hand under his shirt to rest on his gun.

Mzatal’s aura, I realized with a silent curse. So

Bryce stood. “So

At Bryce’s words, a wild fear lit So

In two quick strides I crashed through the brush and onto the trail to block his retreat. “Wait. Please.” I held my hands out to show they were empty. “We’re here with Bryce and Paul to help you.”

So

Bryce moved toward us slowly. “So

“Bryce, goddammit,” So

“It’s not what you think,” Bryce said, voice and ma

Hope flared on So

Shit. This was going to require a lot more than talk. So

Even as I thought it, Mzatal moved toward him. So

He stared up at Mzatal, eyes wild and panicked. Mzatal crouched smoothly and clamped his hands around So

“I will clear enough of the fear for him to productively interact,” Mzatal told me, then focused his full attention on the man in his grasp.

Step one accomplished, and no one got shot, I thought with relief as I picked up the dropped gun and handed it off to Bryce. He checked it, tucked it into his waistband and stood silently, watching Mzatal work. Paul stood near the table, naked worry on his face, his tablet clutched to his chest like a security blanket. I kept an eye on the trail toward the parking lot in case any nature lovers decided to wander our way. This would be an interesting tableau to explain.

Mzatal finally straightened and stepped back. So

“Come on, So

He blinked, looked from me to Bryce, then back to my hand. After a moment’s hesitation, he took it and stood. “What the hell?”

I gave him a reassuring smile. “Lord Mzatal cleared some of the abnormal fear Farouche instilled in you,” I told him. “I’m Kara Gillian. It’s good to finally meet you.”

“She’s not kidding,” Bryce added. “I’m free of him. Really free. You can be, too.”

“I don’t get it,” So

I hooked a thumb toward the picnic table. “How about we sit down and talk. There’s a lot we need to cover.”

“Talk. Yeah. Okay.” He moved toward the table with me as though in a weird dream, gave a flickering smile to Paul. “Hey, kid. Ugly as ever.”

Paul gri

Bryce followed. “All I’m asking is that you listen to what Kara has to say,” he said to So

So

So

“Then we’ll make that happen,” I assured him. “First, Lord Mzatal has to finish clearing the hold that Farouche has on you. Once that’s done, we can talk more.”

A flicker of fear touched So

“It’s true,” Paul confirmed with an emphatic nod.

So

“Just relax,” I said.

Mzatal moved behind So

“Blackmail,” Paul told me with a wink.

I smiled, even more pleased about the decision to get So

After another few minutes, Mzatal stepped back, and So