Secrets of the Demon (Kara Gillian 3)

Lida stood as Adam came to a stop before the little group. “You’re soaking wet!” he panted. “Are you all right?” He yanked his jacket off with shaking hands and hurriedly draped it around her shoulders, then turned to us, expression a mix of stark fear and naked relief. “What happened? Did you catch him? Who the hell was it?” He scrubbed a hand over his face as he swung back to Lida. “God almighty. I can’t believe this happened. I can’t believe you were thrown in the river. I never thought it would go this far. You could have died!”

“Adam!” Lida said, voice abruptly firm and hard. “I’m fine. It’s cool.” She flicked a glance toward Michael and I could clearly see the warning in her eyes that she didn’t want Adam to say anything that would upset her brother—who already looked as if he was about to start crying again.

“Agent Kristoff can give you further details,” I said in a lowered voice to Adam while Lida sat and put her arms around her brother again. “But her attacker fell into the river when he was attempting to throw her in. We were able to get Ms. Moran out, but we’ve yet to locate the other party.”

Adam’s face was a mask of worry as he looked to the river and then back to us. “So you didn’t see him? You don’t know who it was?”

“No, sir. Our primary concern was Ms. Moran’s safety.”

He blew out his breath, then gave a firm nod. “Yes. Yes, absolutely.” He looked down at Lida. “You need to go to the hospital and get checked out.”

I could see a flash of annoyance in her eyes as Michael tensed again. “Are you hurt?” her brother asked, eyes widening.

She gave him a smile and shook her head. “No, I’m fine. It’s just procedure to make sure.”

“That’s right,” Zack said, crouching by her brother and laying a hand on his. “She’s not hurt at all, but that river water is pretty nasty and we don’t want her getting sick. Right?”

The tension left Michael and he nodded. “Right. She can’t get sick because then she can’t sing.”

Lida smiled back at Zack in relief, and once again I could see a quick flash of a normal nineteen-year-old. “And, it can wait until we get back to Beaulac,” she insisted.

“That should be fine,” Zack said.

“Detective Knight will want to get statements from all of you before you go,” I said. “If you could all go and wait for him by his vehicle, that would speed things along.” I gestured toward Knight’s car. “Once that’s taken care of, then you should be able to take her to get checked out.” At this point all I wanted was to get them all away.

“Roger’s not here,” Michael said, frowning again.

“It’s all right, Michael. Roger’s probably making sure no one messes with our equipment.” Lida grimaced. “At least I hope he is.”

“He is,” Trey said. “I told him to watch everything.”

I gave Zack yet another questioning look. “Roger’s also their tech guy,” he said aloud with a mock-withering look as if to say, How can you not know everything there is to know about this band?

Somehow I managed to not roll my eyes. It took a few more minutes of reassurances, but finally Adam led his clients away. I let out a deep sigh of relief and headed back over to the shadow where Skalz waited. Even though I couldn’t see the demon, I could feel it there.

“Skalz, you said there was something you wished to discuss?”

The demon coiled out of the shadow with a chittering hiss. It turned its glowing red gaze upon me and I fought the automatic desire to shudder. “Yes,” it said. “You are in need of a guardian. I would be honored to be considered.”

Gooseflesh rippled along my arms. “Wait. What?”

It shifted, darkness oozing through darkness. “The arrangement that Lord Rhyzkahl has with you is an enviable one.”

The gooseflesh continued its track down my spine and I could feel the hair on the back of my neck stand up. In exchange for Rhyzkahl’s aid in defeating a soul-devouring threat, I’d sworn an oath to summon him to this sphere at least once a month. “Are there some who envy it?”

“There are some who would seek to remove Lord Rhyzkahl’s advantage.”

Okay, now I was getting freaked out. “Remove how?” It came out in more of a squeak than I’d intended.

It shifted again, black wings rustling like roaches skittering across a stone floor. “I do not know what means would be employed. I merely know that there has been . . . discussion.”

Great. I’m the hot topic of conversation in the demon realm. I took a deep breath to settle the cold tightness in my stomach. “And you think I could use protection.”

The demon turned its head to look off to my right. I followed its gaze and saw Zack standing silently about a dozen feet away from me, expression troubled.

Skalz turned its lava-red eyes back to me. “Yes. I would be willing to negotiate terms to serve as your guardian.” Demons never did anything for free—not even submitting to being summoned. The offerings could vary widely depending on the demon and the task, but there was always a price to be paid.

“I’ll have to think about it,” I said. I’d definitely be thinking. And worrying. And fretting.