Mark of the Demon (Kara Gillian 1)

“Kara!” My aunt’s voice was a verbal slap. “Just tell me what happened.”

I groaned and dropped my head to the counter with a thunk. “I fucked him. Or, rather, he fucked me. Okay, we fucked each other. Fuck.”

My aunt was silent, and after a moment I dared to lift my head slightly and peer up at her through my bangs. Tessa was looking off into space, chewing her bottom lip.

“What did he say?” Tessa said after a moment.

“When—before, during, or after?”

Tessa gave a bark of laughter. “I can only imagine what was said during. ‘Oh, baby, yes yes yes!’ or something to that effect.”

I smiled ruefully. “Not quite, but I suppose it’s not that important.”

“So what did he say afterward, you impudent girl?”

I sat up again. “He said that he knew that my call had not been for him.”

Tessa’s frown deepened. “And then what?”

“Then he got dressed and said, ‘Kara Gillian, you may call me whenever you need me.’ And then he was gone.”

Tessa stood and took her cup to the sink and ran water in it, standing with her back to me. “I don’t know, sweet-ling. That sounds very … odd.”

I watched my aunt wash the cup. I could see her hands shaking as she dried it and set it in the drainer, and I realized with an abrupt shock that Tessa was deeply upset. That was why she was facing away, so that I wouldn’t see it.

“Yeah, it’s kinda freaky,” I said casually, giving my aunt time to recover. “I thought I was dead meat, then he seemed to change his mind. But it doesn’t make any difference now. I mean, well, obviously I’m not going to summon him again.” But he can come to my dreams….

Tessa turned, gripping the towel. “No, silly girl, you don’t get it. You don’t need to summon him now. You can just call him to you.”

I blinked at Tessa, dream visit forgotten. “Okay, yeah, I understand that, but …” I paused, then shook my head. “Okay, maybe I don’t understand. I can call him without doing a formal summoning ritual?” Is that what he was talking about? What was the big deal about that?

Tessa dried her hands briskly. “That’s what he said. Call him. Just call him, with intent. Saying his name like normal isn’t going to do it, which is a damn good thing, the way you’ve been throwing it around.” There was a touch of asperity in her voice, which was a curious relief. She was getting back to her regular self. “But he’s set some sort of connection to you now. I’ve heard of these things before, but only in the ancient literature.” She busied herself with hanging the towel back on its rack for a few seconds. “The only problem is, if you call him, you still don’t have any control over him. All that does is let him through.” She turned and gave me a look of deathly seriousness. “He’d be here in this sphere without restraint, without terms, without any bonds of honor controlling his actions. Don’t you even think of calling him, Kara.”

“I’m not!” I held up my hands. “Do you think I’m a moron?”

Tessa frowned at me. “Gimme a break, Kara. Of course I don’t. I just want to be sure you understand the danger.”

“I’m not going to call him,” I repeated with a sigh.

Tessa gave a short nod. “Good to hear, because the last thing this place needs is an unrestrained Rhyzkahl seeking to expand his power base. That would be worse than a Rhyzkahl summoned and controlled by an unscrupulous summoner.”

I frowned. “Wait. So he can be summoned—and controlled?”

Tessa plopped back onto the stool. “It’s possible, I suppose. But the amount of power and preparation needed would be incredible.”

An icky feeling began to form in the back of my head. But now wasn’t the time to tease it out and examine it. Instead, I picked up my cup and took it to the sink.

“Hey, do you think I could borrow that graphic novel that you showed me the other day?” I said as I washed and dried the cup. “I’m curious to see what kind of story it is.” And I wanted to see more of what this Greg person was like.

Tessa smiled, obviously relieved by the change in subject. “Sure thing, sweetling. I’ll go get them.”

Them? I didn’t have too much time to think on that, because in about ten seconds Tessa was back, with a stack of what looked like a dozen volumes.

“All right, this is the entire series, and please do take care of them because these are in good condition. That means don’t crack the spine, don’t spill anything on them, and don’t read them in the bathtub!”

I took the stack of comics from my aunt, resisting the urge to scowl. So much for my bathtub reading plans. “I’ll be careful. I promise.”

My aunt gave me a brisk nod. “You’ll love them.”