Touch of the Demon (Kara Gillian 5)

“And the other?” I asked. “Or is that something you’re not allowed to talk about?”

“He chose a guardianship, also because of Rhyzkahl’s actions.”

I tugged a hand through my hair, grimacing. “Zack is close to a friend of mine. Is she safe with him?” That he was one of the elder syraza eased much of my concern, but I really needed to hear it straight from Ilana.

She moved in close and laid her hand on my arm. “If this is one he has chosen to protect, she could not be safer. Zakaar is the most resolute of us all.”

I released a breath I hadn’t realized I was holding. “Thanks.” I still had plenty to worry about around my friends and family, but at least I could put Zakaar’s being a diabolical fiend on the back burner.

Mzatal entered, one hand behind his back and a document in the other. He wore all black today, a mid-thigh tunic-coat, pants, and boots. Strands of metallic gold woven through his complex braid were his only ornamentation.

“Afternoon, Boss,” I said, giving him a quick smile.

“Good afternoon, Kara,” he said, his eyes traveling over me in a quick assessment of who-knew-what as he moved close to Ilana. He held up the glyph-covered paper. “Today we will attempt the first ring of the beacon ritual at the nexus.”

“Cool.” I stepped in close. I’d done enough travel with Helori to know the drill. I felt no small relief that we were going to the beach this way, since I’d learned from Jekki and Faruk that the standard way down was by about a billion stairs along the cliff face.

A heartbeat later we arrived on a high beach of tumbled rock and black sand nestled in a curve of the cliffs just south of Mzatal’s palace. Ahead, more stairs led down to a lower sandy beach where I saw Idris kneeling in the light surf, splashing water over his head. I assumed he’d come down the cliff stairs, but why? About fifty yards to the right, the waterfall cascaded with a roar into a deep sea-pool. Off to the left stood a circular platform of basalt surrounded by eleven dark columns. Apart from color, it was a near match to the pavilion in Szerain’s courtyard. This was Mzatal’s nexus. He strode immediately toward it, glancing back at me with a jerk of his head to indicate I should follow. I did so. I didn’t have the faintest idea what I would need to do, but I was more than ready to do it.

I stepped up onto the stone next to Mzatal, then threw out my hands as a wave of vertigo struck. Whoa. It was like stepping into a slowly spinning vortex. Szerain’s nexus had felt like it was sleeping, but this baby was definitely awake.

Mzatal caught my arm and held it for the moment it took me to accustom myself to the energies. “This afternoon is about experimentation, determining the ideal configuration for the base ring of the beacon diagram,” he said, a bare hint of eagerness in his voice as though the task itself or the method excited him. “Come.”

I followed him to the center, mild uneasiness coiling through me, though I couldn’t put my finger on why.

He turned to face me. “I spent time in the plexus seeking any sign that Rhyzkahl has activated a ritual recently, but found none,” he said with a last glance at the paper he held before tucking it away in a pocket.

“That’s a good thing, right?”

“Yes. Very good. And as we progress, it will be our goal to minimize disruptions in the potency flow so that we do not alert him to our work until absolutely necessary. For now, Idris and I will monitor that aspect until you are ready.”

“Sounds good to me,” I said with a nod. I had no idea how to keep flows low-profile, but I was confident he’d teach me what I needed to know. Yeah, like I was confident Rhyzkahl would send me home? I shoved the thought aside. This was nothing like that. Right?

“As soon as possible, we will create the beacon here to locate Vsuhl,” he said. He turned a slow circle, his eyes traveling over the platform and the columns. “Now we must determine how best to integrate your unique energy signature into the calling. I have laid out the initial parameters.” He patted the pocket that held the paper.

I peered up at him. “And since that’s theory only, you want to know how it works in a live setting.” That made sense, though the part about integrating my signature spiked my uneasiness. Am I being as naïve about Mzatal as I was about Rhyzkahl? An insistent thread of doubt twisted through me.

“Yes,” he said with a nod and a quick smile. I had the feeling we were in his element, something he actually enjoyed. “We seek the bridge between theory and practical application.” He rapidly traced a line of eleven floaters in front of us. “What do you see as the commonality between these three sections?” he asked, indicating the sections, then glancing at me.

Damn. A test. I examined the series and, to my relief, found a small link. “Well, the lateral vectors correlate.”

His mouth drew into a tight line, and his brow furrowed. Crap. That obviously wasn’t the answer he was looking for. I had a feeling my answer was about as dumb as saying that the commonality between a group of typed words was that the ink was black. With a pass of his hand along the line, he ignited the sigils, then moved behind me. “This may help you to see more clearly. Pygah with your eyes closed and feel the series. Then open your eyes and see what correlations you find.”

I felt as if I’d been handed an exam I hadn’t studied for, and it must have shown.

Mzatal laid his hand briefly on my shoulder. “This is not a test, Kara. I know that I am missing an aspect, and I want to determine what you can see in order to fill that gap.”

Well, that was a new one. With a slight frown, I moved to the exact center of the line of sigils and followed Mzatal’s instructions, very aware of his presence behind me. I extended my senses and felt into the series, then opened my eyes, finding it more vibrantly clear now. I smiled, feeling not only the common harmony between the sections, but the delicate relationships between individual sigils. “It’s not really about the sections. Each sigil is connected to every other sigil, some doubly so.”

Mzatal stepped up beside me, clasped his hands behind his back, and squinted at the line. “Show me.”

I saw Idris watching a couple of feet from the edge of the platform, frowning slightly, hair dripping seawater.

Was this part of some strange game Mzatal was playing? Except it sure felt sincere. I traced several of the sigil strands with my index finger. “See? These are the doubles. And here are the singles,” I said, as I pointed them out. “They have a different resonance that feels…off.”

Mzatal narrowed his eyes, leaned in, and examined the series for at least a full minute, deeply absorbed. With a sudden intake of breath, he straightened, nodding. “Yes. Excellent.” He made some adjustments to the line. “And now?”

I’d followed the feel of what he did and was already trying to figure out how to say in words what I sensed. I gestured to the sigil on the end. “That one,” I said, shaking my head, “is the wrong, um, hue?” Damn it. That wasn’t right.