“And now that you’re here?”
I rolled my head back and forth across the edge of the chair. I didn’t want to admit it. Cahal didn’t make me say it, though he probably knew.
“Why are you angry?” he asked, and this was probably the first time in all the time I’d known him that he’d tried fishing information out of me, like a psychiatrist.
It was the first time I’d needed it.
“I’ve hardly spent any time here,” I said, and lo and behold, a bit of wetness slipped from the corner of my eye. Fatigue, it had to be fatigue. I downed the rest of the demon whiskey. “And the weird demons who wait on us annoy me, but…” I blew out a breath, then finally admitted it: “I do like it here, Cahal. I can’t even totally describe why. Not really. I could create that garden in the Brink, but it wouldn’t be the same. I could move to a place with gothic spires and greenery to get this view, but I wouldn’t bother. It’s not what I’m seeing, it’s the feeling plus what I’m seeing. Something down here just…makes me feel like I belong somehow.”
“You do belong.”
I blinked my eyes open and lifted my head so I could look at him. “What’s that now?”
“You do belong here. Of course you do. Your magic sings down here. Your display with the roof a moment ago will delight Lucifer to no end. Your power has increased tenfold in just one day of intense practice. You are overtired, but you are glowing in a way that makes you incredibly lovely in a way I haven’t seen before, even with Durant. The part of you that came from the Underworld is singing now that you’re here. You should embrace it.”
“Right…but…” I narrowed my eyes. “I’m confused. Aren’t you the guy who is supposed to keep me grounded? I need to be trying to get out of this place. Not…”
“Yes, you are confused. For now. And maybe that’s a good thing. It is only the first day, and you are very tired, as I said. Give it more time.”
“I may not have more time. Which brings me to the next issue. Penny’s here.”
He flinched, and I grinned, leaning my head back against the chair. He had history with Penny, having tried to guard her during our battle with the Mages’ Guild. Her unpredictable habits had put him off-kilter. Now he got antsy every time she might show up and ruin his controlled bubble, which was pretty much every time she used her magic around him.
“Here…where?” he asked.
“I’m not positive. But my training with Lucifer was interrupted by a very urgent issue that he had to see to immediately. Whatever the problem was, it was widespread. The…woman—demon didn’t say we were under attack or anything, but it definitely seemed urgent.”
Cahal didn’t respond for a long time, probably mulling everything over, before he finally asked me to repeat what I’d heard, word for word. I was amazed it was all in there, like I’d been running a tape recorder. My vampire-boosted memory still astounded me. I loved it.
“If it was an attack, it doesn’t seem like the elves,” he said. “They could push back Lucifer’s magic and, with adequate time, rip it apart in places, but it wouldn’t result in something large in scope. Not unless it was a full-scale attack. Her message didn’t make it sound like that at all.”
“So…Penny, then.”
“With the godly power—”
“That’s a sensitive subject with Lucifer, by the way.”
“I know. With that power, in addition to being a natural dual-mage, in addition to her unprecedented unpredictability”—I chuckled—“I agree that it could certainly be her. It could also be…another entity.”
I frowned. “What other entity?”
His face closed down, but his eyes sparked. I had no idea what that meant. “Maybe nothing. Get some sleep. We’ll get up early to discuss everything. You will need your wits about you tomorrow. This show will not go unnoticed.” He stood.
“You mean the door? The roof?”
“The flux of power. The last heir tried, when in an incredible rage. After he’d trained for some time. He didn’t have the same effect. Not even close. You are not as you seem, Reagan Somerset. Not at all. Your mix of power is unique in a way I didn’t properly realize until now. I knew in theory, sure, but I had no idea it would amount to…this. Tomorrow, Lucifer will realize what I have, and your hopes of escaping will dwindle. The battle for your soul will start tomorrow.”
Nine
A knock sounded outside my rooms the next morning, whoever it was needing to use the frame, since my pseudo-door—my magic—wasn’t solid. I felt the strength of magic before I heard, Knock, knock…
With that magic, it could only be one person.
I squished the urge to grin. I snuffed out the excitement churning in my gut. But I couldn’t help looking forward to what was to come, good or bad. My magic was a churning, boiling, aching thing inside of me, and I wanted to let it flourish. I wanted to cause havoc, to ruin things, to paint the sky in fire. And then I wanted to sit down and create something beautiful.