Touch of the Demon (Kara Gillian 5)

“Qaztahl require far less sleep than humans,” he explained. “Usually only a night every ten days or so. Great potency drain or disruption also requires sleep for quickest restoration.” He glanced to the big comfy chair near the bed. “I slept there the night after your healing, and I’ve not required more.”

I gave a slow nod. When he woke me from the nightmare the other day, he’d been working in that chair, watching over me. “I feel guilty for putting you out of your bed,” I told him.

He gave my ankle a light squeeze and lifted his hand. “Such guilt is wasted,” he said as he stood. “Do try to eat more. You need it.” He poured more tunjen juice into my glass, then touched my shoulder briefly. “Sleep well, Kara.” With that he turned and departed.

I watched him go. He seemed to give an actual crap about me. But then again, so had Rhyzkahl. I sighed and ate a couple of pieces of fruit, then snuggled down under the covers. Mzatal needed me and wished to use me; he was quite clear on that point. It was his ultimate motives that I wasn’t too sure about.

I tried to push my doubts away, but even as tired as I was, it was a long time before I could sleep.

Chapter 29

I dreamed of coffee. A steaming cup of my favorite Café du Monde coffee with chicory, plenty of cream and sugar. There may have been donuts in the dream as well, but it was the rich scent of coffee that invaded my sleep and teased me with the promise of alertness and calories.

The dream evaporated as a mental touch from Mzatal nudged me from sleep. I groaned and pulled the pillow over my head, desperately trying to recapture the scent, the flavor of coffee—even if it was only dream coffee.

A heartbeat later I lifted my head. I still smelled the coffee. How the hell could I still be smelling coffee? I turned over and saw Mzatal sitting in his chair perusing a stack of papers. I held the sheet around me and sat up, blinking in disbelief at the steaming mug, cream and sugar on the side table. “Is that…coffee?”

Mzatal smiled. “Yes, real coffee.”

I stared at him. “You got me coffee?”

“Yes,” he said as he set his papers aside. “You have been craving it since the morning after I first summoned you.”

“Thanks! Wow.” I shifted so I could reach it and quickly loaded it up with cream and sugar. I held it close, took a sip, and damn near let out a moan of ecstasy. Okay, maybe I did make a bit of an O-face. “Holy shit, that’s good,” I breathed.

Mzatal’s smile widened, watching me. “Excellent.”

I settled back against the pillows, making sure the sheet was securely tucked around me. I cradled the coffee like the precious thing it was and sipped. “No, really. Holy shit, I’ve missed this.”

“Yes, I know,” he said, eyes crinkling in amusement. “It is why I acquired it.”

In that moment, my heart melted just a teensy bit. I also realized with relief that I was only a little sore from yesterday’s exertions. “Keep this up and I may start to like you.”

Mzatal shook his head. “Perhaps suspend your opinion until after today’s training.”

I actually chuckled. “More stairs? Or do you have something worse in mind?”

He regarded me for a moment. “We will be summoning Katashi this evening.”

Well, that would no doubt be interesting, especially considering the whole question of whether Jesral had been in contact with Katashi. “‘We.’ Does that mean you want me there with you?”

Mzatal raised an eyebrow. “Absolutely. And you will assist Idris in preparation, which will introduce you to the nuances of summonings from here.”

I nodded and sipped delicious coffee. “Speaking of Idris. Um, has he ever had a girlfriend?”>“Yeah, he did at first for me,” Idris replied with a shrug. “I pretty much do it on my own now, though he’ll still come up with stuff sometimes.”

“You look like you’re in pretty good shape.” My legs didn’t want to move, but I trudged on. I didn’t want to lose what little momentum I had.

“I wasn’t when I got here,” he said. “I mean, I wasn’t a slug or anything since Katashi kept me moving, but it really took off once I came to the demon realm.” He peered anxiously at me. “You wanna sit down for a bit? There’s a bench up ahead, and the sunset’s gonna be awesome.”

Even as wiped out as I was, I still had enough perception to know that sitting down with Idris and watching the sunset would probably send the wrong message. “No. Thanks. If I stop, I’ll never get moving again. I just want to get back and collapse.”

“Um, yeah. Sure,” he said, visibly losing a little of his spring and looking crestfallen. “It’s not much farther.”

“Thanks,” I said. I really wished he would go on without me, but I couldn’t come up with a damned thing to say that wouldn’t hurt his feelings.

Idris continued at my side, almost saying something several times, then, thankfully, not. Once we reached the atrium, he finally showed signs of going his own way. “I, uh, guess I’ll see you in the morning,” he said.

“Yeah. Thanks for walking with me.” I gave him a tired smile. “See ya, Idris,” I said as I turned for the stairs. More goddamn stairs. Yay.