Realm Walker (21 page)

Chapter Twenty-Two

Michael took the blade he was playing with, sliced a neat line through the layers of Juliana’s bandage and peeled it off. He tossed it aside.

“Go kill the camera at the end of the hallway,” she told him.

He jogged to stand underneath it, jumped up and pulled it off the wall. He used his knife to slice through the wires.

She dropped her chin to her chest and took a deep breath before looking back up at him. “When I said ‘kill the camera’ I didn’t mean it literally. There’s a button on the control panel.”

He glanced at it, shrugged and threw the camera over his shoulder. She couldn’t imagine why her headache kept getting worse.

“Just make sure we’re not disturbed,” she told him. He leaned against the door.

She dipped her finger into her wound, wincing at the pain. Using her blood, she sketched an image on the floor of the hallway.

“What are you doing?” the demon asked, turning its head from side to side in an attempt to get a better view.

She ignored it and continued to draw until she had a rough representation of a rowan tree. It was a good thing the power behind the image depended on her intentions rather than her artistic ability. The rowan tree was a symbol of power for the fae. It featured in many of their myths and was even thought to have played a part in the creation of the first fae. It was a sacred symbol and she was using it to call one of the higher gods of the dark fae.

She flung a few droplets of blood across the image. “By blood I call blood. Aeron Rowantree, I summon thee.”

The air over the image began to simmer and then take shape. The man that stood in front of her was slightly taller than she was, but sported her raven hair and green eyes. He was all angles and edges, only his hair broke up the hardness. It was pulled back into a loose ponytail though on occasion he left it to flow in soft waves around his shoulders. He smiled when he saw her. “You have summoned me. What is it you desire?”

She lifted her chin to indicate the cell behind him. He turned and waved a hand through the air, freezing the demon and its host in place. “Why are you in my daughter’s mate?”

A peek at Michael showed his eyes widen briefly and his jaw set at the statement. Juliana rose to her feet when she realized her father had control of the demon. “I thought you couldn’t control demons that didn’t belong to you.”

“Yes, well...” Her father shifted on his feet.

She narrowed her eyes. “I thought you didn’t like demons. That you didn’t keep any because you didn’t have a use for them.” She’d summoned him hoping only that he would be able to identify who it belonged to.

“That might not have been the whole truth.” He held up his hands in surrender. “I didn’t see the point in telling you. You seemed to dislike them so much and it wasn’t like I thought you were ever going to meet one.”

Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath and struggled to retain her hold on her temper. “Did it tell you why it’s here?” she asked finally, knowing he could communicate with his minions telepathically.

He shook his head. “Not really. It appears to be beyond reason with fear.” His gaze fell on her arm and the symbol on which he still stood. “Did it hurt you?”

“Take care of the door before we get into this, would you?” she gestured to the end of the hall where Michael still stood.

Her dad absently waved a hand in that direction.

Michael jerked upright. “Hey, watch it.”

Aeron arched a brow in response. “I would think one as old as you would know to get out of the way when a god is casting spells.”

She waved her arm in front of them, reminding them of what they’d been discussing. “It didn’t do this, but it would have killed me if I hadn’t killed its host at the time. I guess now I understand why it kept telling me its master would kill it if it hurt me.”

Her father frowned and rubbed his chin with his hand. “You asked me not to tell anyone of our connection, as you feared the information getting into the wrong hands and I have not. I merely instructed my people to leave you and yours alone. I told them you were under my protection.”

“Gods, Dad. Why don’t you just give Pandora a box and tell her not to open it?”

His frown turned into a scowl. “I thought we’d agreed never to discuss that.”

“If you didn’t want it brought up, you shouldn’t have told me.”

“Yes, so you keep reminding me.”

“Can you fix this?” Michael interrupted.

Her father turned his scowl on her friend. “Yes, Michael. I can fix this.”

Michael wisely said nothing. As much as Aeron liked him, he wouldn’t tolerate disrespect from anyone.

“Someone summoned it to kill me,” she said.

His face darkened in fury. “Who?”

“I’m guessing Raoul, but I don’t know for sure.”

He pressed himself against the bars and laid a hand on top of Thomas’s head. She’d seen him do it before to shuffle through someone’s memories. After several long moments, he turned back to her with a sigh. “The spell that summoned him prevents him from revealing who it was. It also prevents him from leaving your realm even if we do manage to get him out of your mate.”

Michael leaned forward, cocking his head to the side. “Are you telling me that no matter what we do, we are stuck with a first-level demon in this realm?”

Her father shook his head. “There are two ways to return him to my lands. Only one is a viable option, but even it seems unlikely.”

When he said nothing further, she piped up. “Well, what are they?”

His mouth drawn in a tight line, deep furrows of worry creased his brow. “The first is that it completes the task for which it was summoned.”

“Yeah, I’m not okay with that. What’s option two?” she asked.

“If we knew the spell that summoned it, we may be able to discover the unbinding spell to release it from the summoning. There are hundreds of spells that could have been used.”

Her mouth curled into a satisfied smile. For once, something was going her way. “I not only know the spell. I have the whole book.”

She dialed James’s direct number at the Apocryphan.

“I need your help,” she said when he answered.

“What’s going on?”

“We found the demon, but we need the spell that summoned it. Can you send the book through a portal?”

“No. If you’re going to work with that book, you’re going to need my help.”

She glanced at her dad and Thomas who was still frozen. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“That’s the only way you’re getting the book without filling out the forms.”

Curse it. That would take days. “All right. But just you. No one else. Let me know when you’re ready and I’ll send you a portal.” She snapped the phone shut.

Of course, he had his own portal mages, but they wouldn’t be able to open one in the Agency without authorization. Since her father was already in the building, he didn’t have that problem. That and the fact he’s a god.

Fifteen minutes later, the phone rang. “Where are you at?”

“My office. I can be out front in five minutes.”

“Not necessary. Is Sara there?” She didn’t want her getting a glimpse of what was going on down here. She could be pissed at Juliana later for keeping her out of the way, but she wasn’t going to risk her getting hurt. Because if she knew her brother was demon-ridden, she would get involved whether anyone liked it or not.

“Not at the moment, but you can’t open a portal in the Apocryphan. No one can,” he answered.

Juliana nodded to her father and he waved his hand through the air. A portal opened just down the hall from them. James stepped through and it snapped shut behind him. He clutched the book to his chest as his eyes darted between them.

“James, this is my father Aeron Rowantree. Dad, this is James.”

James turned his gaze on her. “How did you do that? Your father? What...” He snapped his head back to her dad. “Did she say Rowantree? As in...”

Her dad smiled. “The dark fae god of death? Yes, that would be me.”

James blinked a few times, then turned back to her. “This explains so much.”

She frowned and held out her hands. “Book, please.”

“You’ll get blood on it.”

“Then give it to me,” her father said. James hesitated but a moment before giving him the book.

“Why isn’t Thomas moving?” James asked. “And why is he in the cell?”

“He’s our host,” Michael said.

James paled. “You can’t be serious.”

Her father flipped through the book and found the summoning spell. He rubbed the back of his hand against his chin as he read. “This translation is incorrect.”

“I know, but it obviously didn’t affect the spell,” she said with a shrug. “Is there a counter in the book or do we have to write one?”

“Only one way to find out,” he sat on the floor with the book in his lap and she sat beside him. They started to scan through the spells one at a time.

“You acted like you didn’t know why you could read that,” James said.

She shrugged. “What do you want me to do, James? Run around announcing to everyone I meet that my father is a god? While I’m at it, why don’t I just tell everyone Thomas and I are United? Then I can paint the target in neon colors and add flashing lights.”

“Don’t take it personal,” Michael said from where he leaned against the bars of the cell. “She keeps secrets from everyone. And gets pissy when we don’t like it.”

She dropped her head forward for a moment. “I don’t have time for this. If you can’t focus on saving Thomas, get out.”

“No,” her dad said. “We’re going to need them.” He turned the book so she could see the spell he found. They had to have a circle and four people just like the original spell. Of course they did. “Do we know what of yours they used for the summoning?”

“No, but as we’ve got all of me here, hopefully that will cover it. I’ll draw the circle. You translate the spell. Use the same translation as the original. We don’t want to screw anything up.” Really, she just didn’t want the word sacrifice showing up anywhere on the page. She was afraid James wouldn’t read the spell if he thought she might get hurt.

Her father nodded and mentally moved Thomas to the cot in the middle of the cell so he’d be out of her way. “Finished,” she said as soon as the circle and the symbols were complete.

“Give him the book,” she said to Aeron, pointing to James. “You’re the Summoner, James. Stand on the symbol at the back of the cell. Michael, you stand over there. You’re the Witness. Dad, you’re the Master, obviously. And I’m the Beacon.”

“Go ahead,” she told James as she took her place.

“Demon of the dark, we summon thee.” The moment he started talking, infusing his words with power, light shimmered around the perimeter of the circle. “We call you back from the task for which you were summoned.”

As he said the words, the demon sat up on the cot, no longer enthralled by her father. It looked only at her, ignoring the others.

“I, the Summoner, call you back and command your presence.”

The demon stood and walked to the edge of the circle directly in front of her. Trapped on the other side of the protective line, it extended Thomas’s fangs and his eyes turned black. It was obviously anticipating the sacrifice part much more than she was.

“The Witness observes, acknowledges the importance of the task and releases you from it,” James continued. She glanced around the circle. James’s attention was solely on the book. The other two were both looking between her and the demon. Aeron’s fists were clenched at his sides and Michael had drawn a lethal-looking blade.

“The Master requires no further duty from you in this realm and releases you to return to your own.”

She locked eyes with the demon. “And finally the Beacon,” James said. The demon curled its lip in disgust at the mistranslation. “The Beacon gives of herself to seal this spell, to confirm the sincerity of our words.”

She drew the knife on her right thigh and slashed it across her hand, wincing at the sharp pain. Eyes never leaving the demon, she squatted and laid her hand on the perimeter of the circle. She shot a thread of power into it and stood. “Blood and power are the only sacrifice you’re getting from me.”

The demon snarled.

“You have been released, Demon. Return to your realm and be gone.” James finished and shut the book. The demon just continued to stare at her and growl.

“What did we do wrong?” Michael asked.

“Nothing,” her father said. “It has been released from the task it was summoned for. It is powerful enough that it is not forced to answer our command to leave. It knows the fate that awaits it in my realm.”

The demon continued to ignore everyone but her.

Her father held out a hand. “Sword please.”

She put the knife away and drew the longer blade but held onto it. “Why?”

“Because the only way to assure the creature comes out without damaging your Mate’s mind is to use the sword. Once it is out, I will take control of it.”

She blinked. “You want to stab Thomas to chase the demon out? I don’t think so. Isn’t there any other way?”

“I can remove the demon from him without this step, but if the demon resists it could shred his mind. He would be a vegetable for the rest of his unnatural life.” His voice radiated with impatience and she felt like a schoolgirl failing a basic lesson. “Besides, he is Vampire. He will heal.”

It wasn’t that she didn’t trust her father, but he was a god of death. She wasn’t letting him anywhere near Thomas with an enchanted blade.

“Do you want me to do it?” Michael asked, evidently understanding her hesitation.

She shook her head. “No. I’ll do it. Everyone else get out.”

James started to protest but Michael steered him toward the door. Her father stopped next to her and put his hand on her shoulder. “I would do this for you, daughter. I know you care for him.”

She rewarded him with a small smile. “That’s why it’s got to be me. Besides as much as I might love my mate, I owe the demon.”

Once they’d all left the cell and shut the door behind them, she widened her stance. Sword ready, she nodded at her father. With a snap of his fingers, the summoning circle vanished and the demon leaped.