Night Call (Book 2): Demon Dei (33 page)

Matt nodded, but said, “I meant from the other person who has summoned and bound her.”

“A bonding can only be broken by a second summoner of greater power. Or the original summoner must command the demon free of his or her control.”

“And a demon can have two summoners at once?”

“No. Only one person may summon a demon at a time. Should someone try to summon me presently, I will not answer their call. Unless they happen to be stronger than you. Then their summons will break yours and you will have no control of me anymore.”

“But Amaya…” Matt trailed off as he sagged forward.

Erin rushed over and caught him before he hit the floor. He was clammy and shaky, eyes unfocused.

“You’re going into shock,” Erin whispered. “I have to get you out of here.”

“Not yet,” he said. “Just give me a moment.”

Asmodeus flexed his wings. “Your strength is waning.”

“Watch him,” Kermit said from his corner, clearly meaning the Demon Lord. “He’ll test Matt’s strength. Try to break free.”

“Damn you, Afzal,” Asmodeus spat.

Before Erin could think the situation through, Asmodeus’ wings slammed out to their full width. The very tip of one caught Erin across her body. She fell backwards, away from Matt.

Matt gurgled a scream and Asmodeus laughed.

“You are strong, Night Caller, but undisciplined. You threw too much power into the circle. There is very little left to keep me bound.”

Asmodeus pulled his wings in tight, lowered his head and stared at Matt intently. Matt tried to glare back, but he could barely breathe. Sweat glazed his face and his hands were clenched so hard his knuckles were white.

Even as Matt faded, Asmodeus glowed. A blue light grew from his body, intensifying around his head and hands.

Erin knew the moment Matt lost. She almost heard the breaking of the bonds between him and the demon. Something wild and primitive roared through the room.

“This was not what I thought would happen,” Asmodeus said into the deathly silence that followed. “I did not think you would have the temerity to actually summon me. You were only supposed to find
Amaymon’s summoner for me, Night Caller. Had you concentrated on that, all of this trouble—” He gestured to Matt’s weakened state. “—could have been avoided. Now I suppose I will have to find another way to discover Geraldine’s murderer.”

The Demon Lord spun around to leave. His eyes narrowed as he saw Erin standing in the doorway. She’d crawled around him during his speech, her mind fixated on one thought only.

“Move,” Asmodeus said. “Or I will leave through you.”

“No.” Erin planted her feet. “Let’s deal.”

Between Erin speaking and me waking up, a lot of shit had obviously gone down.

The first thing I noticed was the demon, the girly one. Amaya, Lila, Princess of Lies, whatever the hell you wanted to call her. She was lying parallel to me, curled up on her side, looking about as miserable as a wet Persian cat. Her sapphire eyes stared at me but I wasn’t sure she saw me.

The second thing I noticed was that my back didn’t hurt so much anymore. There was a faint itchiness about it but no deep, muscle tearing, brain splitting pain. Fuck it, I still ached like I’d gone up against half a dozen vampires with a toothpick, but I wasn’t in much true pain. Of course, with burns, that’s not great news. Either my nerves were shrivelled and dying, or…

I pushed myself up on my arms. It was a shaky effort, but I got there. The demon’s gaze followed me so I guess she was with it after all. I sat up and very gingerly reached over my shoulder to touch my back.

“He healed you,” Amaya said softly.

My fingers found smooth skin. I looked at my arms. No wounds from the exploded door. Pokes at my face revealed similar results there. Curious, I stretched out my left leg and prodded my knee through my seen-much-better-days pants. Damn. Still wonky.

“She only asked that he heal the most immediate threats to your health. He could probably mend your knee, if you bound and commanded him. Or paid him enough.”

There was no one else in the room. Just us two.

Paid him enough.

Let’s deal.

Fuck!

I was on my feet and running before too many more thoughts clunked together in my head. The garage was a mess. Broken cat carriers, the smudged remains of the circle, cooled shards of metal, Kermit poking at dead imps.

“Where?” I demanded, not even sure of what I was asking.

Kermit, thankfully, seemed to know. He pointed.

She sat in the middle of the dark road, cross-legged like she’d simply reached an arbitrary spot and crumpled down.

At least Asmodeus didn’t have her.

I approached her slowly, my legs weak from more than physical exhaustion. She didn’t move, didn’t acknowledge me, just looked at her hands resting in her lap.

I sat down beside her.              “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

Not the response I had been expecting.

“You didn’t have to—”

“I did have to. I don’t think you understand how badly you were hurt. Your whole back was raw. Even if there hadn’t been any nerve damage, it was the sort of burn that wasn’t going to heal very well.”

“But I would have healed.”

“In six months, maybe eight, sure. And how many demons could come into town in that time? How many vampires like Martínez or Veilchen? The ghoul was right. You’re needed to keep the bad things away.”

“Erin.” It was all I could think to say. Or rather, it was all I could say. I could think of a dozen other things but none of them would have been accepted very well.

“He didn’t ask for much,” she said.

But sometimes it was the littlest things that had the biggest consequences.

“Just a favour to be called in at a later date.”

“But that could be anything.”

Erin looked at me, her lips twisted into a bitter smile. “But not anything illegal. Those terms we’d worked out earlier.”

“Earlier?”

“He can heal William. Get rid of his tumours and make him perfectly healthy.”

A fist tightened around my heart. “Why didn’t you…?”

“Because, I guess, when it comes down to it, I got scared. Healing you, while important, was relatively minor. He said it himself. Anything more, like completely ridding my husband of the cancer, wouldn’t have given me room to negotiate as much as I did. If I’d asked him to heal William, Asmodeus could have demanded anything of me in return. Anything.”

“But William would be all right.”

“And how would I face him after that if the price of it was an innocent life? Or two lives? Five, a dozen. Is William’s life worth more than someone else’s?” She pulled in a deep breath. “What if I’d done it and William found out? He’d hate me.”

“Sweetheart,” I whispered and put my arm around her.

Erin flinched when my hand rested on her left shoulder.

“You’re hurt?”

“I don’t know.” She pulled back the neck of her top and bared her shoulder.

On the pale skin just under her collarbone was a dark bruise. She twisted to show me her shoulder blade. Four more.

“His mark,” she said. “His fingerprints. It will let other demons know I’m beholden to him.”

“Jesus Christ. Erin, this is too much. How could you do this?”

She straightened her top. “I told you why.”

“You don’t even like me.”

“I like demons, vampires and werewolves even less. And I’m starting to think I don’t want to get to know any more ghouls.”

Well, there wasn’t a lot I could say to that. Instead, I stood and offered her a hand. For a wonder, she took it and I helped her up.

Inside, Kermit was on guard duty over Amaya, though Asmodeus seemed to have been telling the truth about the properties of his hair. She could move, but it was as if great weights were attached to each of her limbs, including her wings. When Erin walked past her, Amaya flinched. I settled Erin on the blankets, looked at the tattered rags that was once my shirt and resigned myself to going topless for the rest of the night. At least it wasn’t winter.

“Time for some answers,” I announced. “Amaya.”

The demon hauled herself into a sitting position. “Yes?”

“Amaya of Nick and Amaya?”

“Yes.”

“As in Lila Reyes?”

“Yes.”

All too clearly I could remember the feel of her lips, the soft touch of her hands, the sweet way she had of leaning toward me, of looking me in eye when I spoke. Starting to think I shouldn’t have given Dr Campbell the flick. I could probably use some head shrinking when all this was done.

“That first day in the restaurant. Did you mean to take me somewhere private to kill me?”

She nodded.

“Why didn’t you?”

“If you recall, you’re the one who refused.”

I laughed. “Darling, you’re the succubus. I’m sure you didn’t bring your A game to the table in that regard.”

Amaya rolled her eyes. “I’m a succubus, yes, but it was human minds that decided we’re only interested in sex. It’s humans who are ruled by sex. The children of Asmodeus are designed to give humans what they want, either when we’re bound or in trade. It just so happens a lot of humans only ever want sex.”

“I’m human. I’m also a long way away from my last fulfilling sexual encounter. I think I might want some sex.”

“But at the time, what you wanted more was information on demons.”

She made sense. Didn’t mean I had to concur, though.

“And the second time we met?”

“Again, you wanted only what I could tell you, not what I could do to you. You surprised me, though. Even if people want something else, sex usually creeps in eventually.” Her tone turned ironic on the last words. “You, however. Totally focused on your goal.”

That was a surprise to me. I’d spent plenty of time thinking about sex with Lila.

“You’re very good at suppressing things,” Amaya continued. “I tried to touch your mind during the day. Completely closed. At night, you had this intense focus that wouldn’t allow anything else in. Then there’s other reasons you didn’t want to have sex with Lila.”

“Being?”

The demon smiled. “You’re not my summoner. I don’t have to answer that.”

“Why not that, when you’ve answered everything else?”

“A womanly prerogative?”

I snorted. “Don’t push it. I’ll let it go, for now. We’ve sorted out my wants. How about yours? Tell me, Amaya, what do you want?”

She stared at me. “I want to be free.”

I left the living room and went into the garage. Picked up my SAS knife and went back in.

“Promise me you won’t kill me,” I said as I knelt in front of her.

Amaya moved her hands away from me. “I can’t. Tonight’s the deadline. You were supposed to summon me and break his binding.”

“And then set you free?”

“As well as helping me exorcise Asmodeus back to the demon realm.”

I glanced at Kermit. He shrugged. Turning back to Amaya, I asked, “So, you and the Lord of Lust aren’t working together?”

“Father and I have not agreed on anything in a very long time.”

“What’s he doing in this realm?”

Amaya shivered. “I don’t know exactly. It was something to do with Geraldine Davis. He gave her the means to do something she’d always wanted to do. I don’t know what the cost of it was, all I know is Lucifer didn’t like it, so he worked to get me here, to stop Asmodeus.”

Kermit hissed a short, sharp breath of shock. “The King doesn’t stir himself for small things.”

Amaya nodded in agreement. “Whatever Asmodeus is up to, he’s doing it without Lucifer’s blessing.”

In a strange twist of morality, I found myself agreeing with the King of Hell. I didn’t know Asmodeus’ ultimate goal, but what I did know was a woman had been murdered, a man was skating close to insanity, Erin had nearly died and a young man with untamed powers was running loose, summoning very dangerous demons.

“Why you?” Erin asked softly. “Why not another Demon Lord? Someone with the power to confront Asmodeus as an equal?”

A fleeting smile crossed Amaya’s face, and it wasn’t a happy expression. “Because I’m the only corporeal demon in this realm.”

“No. I don’t agree with that.” Erin seemed to come awake, throwing off the shock of what she’d done in order to save me. “Asmodeus can use the imps to create a body that has all the benefits of his corporeal one. Another Lord could have done the same thing.”

“You don’t send a nuclear bomb to do the job of a heat seeking missile.”

This time, all of us turned stunned expressions on Kermit. The ghoul crouched in a corner, picking at dry, flaking skin on his knees.

“Two Lords going at it wouldn’t leave much of this city standing. Demon society is a very strictly ordered thing. The Lords have complete control over their children, but mistakes happen and creatures like Amaymon are created.”

Amaya swallowed hard. “What do you mean? Mistakes happen?”

Kermit narrowed his eyes. “You know what I mean. You’re not like other demons. How many others do you know have defied their Lords? Lucifer chose you, not because you’re here, but because you’re the only one with a chance to oppose Asmodeus.”

“No.” Amaya scrambled backwards awkwardly, true fear in her eyes. She kept going until she hit a wall and couldn’t go any further. “I don’t have that strength. Lucifer can’t even control him.”

“Defy him, defeat him.” Kermit shrugged. “You had to do that much to get here in the first place.”

I held a hand up to stop Kermit from saying anything more. She was properly scared and I could see her starting to retreat from the world. I’d had some experience with life altering revelations, not the least of which was learning that by forming a link with Mercy I was promoting myself to something akin to a vampire Primal. My confused, scared reaction had nearly killed me. If Amaya didn’t snap out of this growing panic, she might not survive against Asmodeus. She needed a distraction, something to keep her thinking and moving. So I asked the first thing that popped into my head.

“What’s the deal with Nick?”

She started, her leaden wings jerking and then sluggishly curling around her trembling body. “I’m bound to him, as well.”

“But he didn’t summon you.”

“No. He’s strong enough to not need to perform a summoning. He bound me accidentally.”

“How does that work?”

Amaya sighed. “It’s a very rare thing, not only because demons can rarely cross the boundary between our realms. A powerful enough human can bind a demon by looking them in the eyes and commanding them. That’s how Nick caught me. I walked into his shark museum one night when he was having a function. I was lost and needed directions. When Nick tells the story, he says we just happened to look across the room at each other at the same instant, and it was love at first sight. That’s partly right. We happened to make eye contact, he said he wanted me, and I was bound.”

“Sucks to be you,” Erin muttered.

“Tell me about it,” Amaya said. “From that moment on, I had to give him everything he wanted from me. He wanted a chef for his expedition ship, so I became a chef. He wanted a girlfriend, so I became his girlfriend. I never left his side and I was deliriously happy to be there because he wanted me to be. Somewhere inside, though, I knew I wasn’t there by choice.”

Erin made a small, sympathetic sound.

“But when you were summoned here, it didn’t break the bond with Nick,” I said.

“Nick’s bond is entirely subconscious on his part. I’ve never experienced anything like it before. Because he’s not aware of it, neither am I, until I’m not under his direct influence. When I was summoned here the first time, I woke up, I guess. I realised what Nick had done to me. And when my summoner unbound me, that bond to Nick was still there. All he wanted was for me to come home.”