“You already know the answer to that,” I said with a scowl.
“I do,” he said. “In this, you are not foolish.” He stroked Paul’s head as though he were a dog at his side, a gesture that left me chilled and unsettled.
“Paul,” I said, “are you all right?”
He lifted his gaze to Kadir. “You may speak,” the lord told him.
Ugh!
Paul leaned against Kadir’s leg and brought his eyes to mine. “I’m good,” he said. “Not dying anymore.”
My concern spiked higher at the submissive move. “Not dying is good, unless the alternative is worse.” I drifted closer. “Paul, you need to give me some kind of reassurance.”
“No,” Kadir said and stroked Paul’s head again. “He does not. All that is required is that you learn to symmetrize a valve.”
Paul rested his head against Kadir’s thigh and gave me a smile, but didn’t speak again.
Impotent rage settled into my gut. Kadir had saved Paul’s life, but at what cost? I didn’t want to think of what he’d done to Paul to force such subservience. “Paul, is there anything you want me to tell Bryce?”
Kadir sparkled brighter then began to disintegrate, even as Paul grew fully transparent. “You may tell Bryce Taggart that this one thrives.”
“Wait!” I called out. “How am I supposed to learn to symmetrize a valve?” Kadir worked potency in a disturbing way, unlike any other lord or arcane practitioner I’d ever encountered. No way could I figure it out on my own.
Pellini, still shimmery, spoke up. “It’s too late. He won’t stop now.”
An instant later I slammed into my body as if I’d dropped from a height. Heart pounding, I sucked in a breath. My limbs felt heavy and awkward, but the sensation passed before I could panic. I need to go find Pellini! No sooner had the thought formed than sleep overtook me again.
I woke to an urgent knock on my door and weak sunlight filtering through my curtains.
“Kara,” Bryce called from the hallway. “We have a situation.”
I rolled out of bed and yanked open the door. “What’s wrong?”
“Pellini got past me while I was in the bathroom,” he said. “He’s on the nexus, and Idris just went out to confront him.” With that, he strode off toward the back of the house. I started to follow then double-checked what I was wearing. A tank top and undies. No bra. I grabbed a pair of running shorts and tugged them on as I hurried after Bryce, but I couldn’t shake the feeling I’d forgotten something important. Not the bra. Something else.
No time to stop and rack my brain. With Pellini on the nexus and an already suspicious Idris on the way there, bloodshed would soon follow. I flew out the back door, across the porch and down the steps to see Pellini at the center of the nexus, his back to the house. Idris prowled around the edge of the concrete slab like a predator seeking a way to reach its prey.
“Pellini!” Idris yelled. “Come out of there now!”
“What happened?” I asked as I slid to a stop on the dewy grass beside Idris. Déjà vu. I’d stood in this same spot a few days ago when Szerain commandeered the nexus. “What did he do?”
Idris spun toward me, face flushed in anger. “This!” He thrust his hand toward Pellini and struck a veil of transparent potency. Iridescent waves rippled away from the point of impact. “I can’t get through. I’ve never seen anything like it.”
I suppressed a groan. “Pellini, what are you doing?” I called out.
Pellini ignored us and turned in a slow circle at the center. Bryce descended the steps, gun in hand, and watched everything carefully.
Idris glared at me. “Happy now?” Once again he tried to penetrate the obstructing veil, this time with a punch so hard and fast I wondered if he’d backed it with potency. Pretty incredible feat if he had. The veil shimmered dark purple and green, but remained intact. He made an inarticulate sound deep in his throat. “We should’ve locked him down!”
“I don’t need an I-told-you-so right now, okay?” I hated that he might have been right. “Give it a minute. He hasn’t hurt anything.”
Pellini continued to turn, waving his hands in front of him as if playing invisible bongo drums in slow motion. Where his hands passed, tangled strands of glowing chartreuse potency coalesced in the air. A moment later a ring of the weird-yet-familiar potency floated around him.
Idris let out a strangled cry of frustration. “What is that?”
“I’ve seen it before,” I said. “When I helped stabilize Paul in the demon realm.” No way was I going to mention Kadir to the already livid Idris. Not yet. My gaze lingered on the strands of potency. I’d seen it elsewhere too, hadn’t I? Once again, the feeling I’d forgotten something important passed through me.
Pellini cupped a section of the ring between his hands, then withdrew them to reveal a strange floating sigil.