“Torin,” Meg surmised.
The demon smiled, showing his jagged teeth. “Yes, the pretender is terrified of the warrior king. He should be even more frightened now. The philosopher king has a bit of the warrior’s rage since the bonding. He could prove even more formidable than his twin.”
“Beck isn’t sure he even wants the throne anymore,” Meg said, remembering the bond they shared. Her warrior husband was tired of fighting.
The demon studied her shrewdly. “I doubt he’ll have a choice when the time comes. As for you, Mr. Dellacourt, your choices are just beginning. There’s a whole world open and ripe for the plucking. I think you’ve made the first choice that will take you on the road to greatness.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Dante said. There was an odd look on his face. If Meg hadn’t known better, she would have sworn he looked guilty.
“Don’t listen to him, Dante,” Meg said, grasping his hand in her own. He was shaking slightly. “He’s a demon. I don’t think they’re known for their honesty.”
“On the contrary, Your Highness,” the Planeswalker said with an offended air. “I never lie when the truth is so deliciously awful. But Mr. Dellacourt’s future is neither here nor there. It is your future that is at risk. I am looking forward to seeing if you can save those boys of yours.”
“They’re in danger?” Meg asked the question, but she knew the answer. They would have been weakened without her to bridge their minds. They had been in danger the minute she was taken from them.
“Oh, yes,” the demon said smoothly, as though he were discussing some juicy gossip. “The hag managed to catch one of them with her spell, but the intellectual half evaded her. I’m afraid she didn’t ask the right questions. She asked for a spell that would shift the warrior’s magic. She assumed it would shift into her. That was a mistake.”
“Cian absorbed it,” Meg realized. “Then he was strong enough to run with Beck?”
“Oh, yes, Your Highness, King Cian was able to flee with his brother on his back. His own poor body, however, could not handle the strain of both their powers. He had to find safe haven. Both he and the warrior are currently in a fugue state. They sleep, waiting for the one who can set them to rights.”
Tears pooled in Meg’s eyes. “I have to get to them.”
The demon nodded sagely. “Yes, I suspect you do. The hag was getting close to breaking through the barriers to their haven when I moved through yesterday. If you could kill her, Your Highness, I would be grateful. She signed her soul over to me, you see. As she should live a very long time, I doubt she was worried she would have to pay up. I could use her skills on the Hell plane.”
Meg wouldn’t do it to help the demon. She had her own reasons for killing the hag. And she wouldn’t feel an ounce of regret when the demon dragged the bitch to hell. “I promise I’ll kill her the minute I get the chance. I have a plan, you see.”
Her plan was currently in a shoulder holster under the sweater she wore.
“Excellent,” the demon said.
There was the slightest feeling of air moving through the warehouse, followed by a quiet pop. The demon’s eyes widened. His body seemed to swell. “Ah, the veil is open. It’s time to go, Your Highness. Now, now, I see the suspicion in your eyes. You found this place yourself. I am merely offering to travel with you. The door is in an unusual space. It might take you a moment to find it, and then it would be closed again. You would have to come back tomorrow night.”
“I’m not signing a contract,” Meg stated firmly.
“And I am not asking for one,” the demon replied. “I believe you will kill the hag. I am helping you entirely for my own selfish purposes, dear.”
Meg turned to Dante, who handed her the duffel bag. She settled it on her back and hugged him. “Good luck, Dante.”
“You, too, Meggie.” His hands tightened around her waist, and then he backed away. “I hope everything works out for you. Look me up if you ever come back this way.”
Meg leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. She would miss this version of Dante, but it was time to go home. She followed the demon up the stairs, aware that Dante watched her the entire way. The stairs creaked and shook under her weight.
“Hurry, dear,” the demon called from the darkness above. “You don’t want to miss it.”
Meg braced herself and took the final step. The demon looked out over the railing. He pointed to a spot just below them. “There it is.”
No wonder it was so hard to find. It was in the middle of the air. She would have to jump. If she missed, she would break her legs at best and her neck at worst. The demon gracefully leapt onto the railing. “Just follow me.”
He jumped from the railing, feet first, and disappeared completely.
“It’ll be all right, Meg,” Dante said from below her. “It’s fate, right?”
“Yes.” She climbed on the railing. It shook and rattled under her weight. There was nothing stable about it. Moonlight filtered in from a window above, illuminating the ragged warehouse. Her hands were shaking as she made the mistake of looking down.
There was another popping sound, and Meg knew her time was running out. The door would close, and she would have to wait another full day before it opened again. She couldn’t risk it.
Meg closed her eyes and took a leap of faith.
Dante watched Meg disappear through the veil. A piece of him was very sorry to see her go. She had been lovely, and he had liked her spirit. If she had stayed, he might have been able to love her.
Still, as he pulled the vampire computer from his jacket, she hadn’t left him with nothing to show for his efforts. He stared down at the computer. He’d slipped it out of the duffel bag when he’d gallantly taken it from Meg. He just hadn’t been able to let her take it with her. It was his because he’d been smart enough to steal it. And she would find another one. He had plans for this one.
When Meg had suggested he go with her, Dante hadn’t told her no because he was afraid of going to another plane. He wasn’t afraid of visiting other places. It just seemed silly to waste time when this plane was so ripe for the conquering.
Why, Dante asked himself, should he settle for being a little fish on a bunch of planes when he could be a shark on this one?
The computer in his hands was his ticket to the big time.
Dante Dellacourt left the building, his mind racing with plans.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Meg hit the ground with a great thud and promptly landed on her ass.
The demon shrugged over her. “Not the most graceful of landings, Your Highness, but it will do.” He walked on without offering to lend a hand. “Good luck.”
Meg scrambled up and looked around her. She was in the forest. The door closed roughly six feet above her. No wonder it was hard to find. It would be even harder on this side of the door since there was no handy set of stairs to climb up. Meg wiped water off her face. It was raining. She looked up the path. It looked like the rain got worse up ahead.
The demon seemed to have disappeared again, and she was alone in the forest with no sense of direction. She ran for the shelter of a thick tree. It was less wet beneath the tree’s wide canopy, and Meg tried to pull out her computer. She went through the bag three times before admitting the truth.
“Bastard.” It was obvious that the human version of Dante had helped himself to a souvenir of her visit. That damn computer would have been helpful.
She heard rushing water to her left and knew she was in luck. The village had been built to take advantage of the river. She could follow it, and she would be able to see houses and docks when she got close.