I watched as he took note of us as well as the car out front. Then his eyes crinkled in a smile. “Two beautiful women on my doorstep. My lucky day.”
I flashed a grin. “I sure hope you think so after I ask you the big favor that I want to ask you.”
He gave a deep chuckle and stepped back. “Come on in. I’ll at least let you get warm before I dash your hopes.”
I caught a glimpse of Ryan’s frowning visage before Tracy closed the door. Eilahn set the carrier down and crouched by it. Fuzzykins hadn’t reacted yet. And if it turns out she loves him, does this mean he’s not a summoner or does it mean that she’s simply an ornery beast?
I did a quick scan of the house. Neat as the proverbial pin, and no weapons out in plain sight. The place was simple and ridiculously tasteful—somehow perfectly suiting a single man living alone. The walls of the living room were painted in a dark rust, but the hallway that led to the kitchen was a light tan, which helped keep the room from looking gloomy. A few bookcases lined one wall, and décor pieces like fossils and agates were interspersed with books, mostly non-fiction and classics. Though I did see one shelf of science fiction—Isaac Asimov, Robert Heinlein, Larry Niven, James S.A. Corey, to name a few. On the opposite wall a widescreen TV was mounted above a gas fireplace, though both were off now. A dark oak coffee table with a dish full of decorative stones of assorted colors was centered in front of a brown leather sofa. No pictures of any sort that I could see. If there was any possible way that this could turn out so that he was not our bad guy, I was totally going to invite him over to my house to help me decorate.
“Well, Eilahn and I are going out of town for a few days, and I was wondering if there’s any possible way you could cat-sit for me?” I flashed him a pleading grin as the demon pulled the cat out of the carrier.
Wary curiosity flickered in his expression. “Seriously?”
“Seriously!” I cheerfully lied. “Here, meet our cat!” I said as Eilahn thrust the feline into his face.
To my utter delight, Fuzzykins reacted as if she’d been confronted with a slavering Doberman. With a snarling yowl, she lashed out with all claws. Tracy yelped and backpedaled, only barely avoiding losing an eye.
Eilahn stooped and stuffed the cat back into the carrier in a swift and smooth move, while I pulled my gun from the holster in the small of my back and trained it on Tracy. He went still, eyes on the gun.
“Kara? What’s going on?”
“Cut the bullshit, Tracy,” I said. I wasn’t smiling now. “I know what you are.”
His eyes flicked from Eilahn to the cat and then back to me. “What I am?” he echoed. “What the hell are you talking about?”
“I’m talking about Raymond Bergeron,” I said, oddly pleased when he jerked in surprise at the name. “You’re not going to deny you’re a summoner, are you?”
He wilted and sank to the couch. “No,” he replied, voice unsteady. “I won’t deny that.” Then he buried his head in his hands. “You don’t understand.”
“I understand plenty,” I said, scowling. “Cuff him, Eilahn.”
The demon was grim-faced as she moved to him, handcuffs in hand. Tracy lifted his head and dropped his hands to the table, fingers closing on one of the rocks—
Eilahn realized it before I did. She dropped the handcuffs and shifted to dive at me, tackling me to the floor as Tracy flicked the rock in our direction. I fired, but the shot went wild. The rock hit the carpet and flared brightly, and even with the cuff I could feel the shock wave of power. Nausea slammed into me. I instantly lost what little food I had in my stomach, dimly aware that the syraza was beside me, pale and shaking as she struggled to get to her hands and knees. Whatever that rock had been, the cuff seemed to have shielded me from the worst of its effect, even if it had made me puke in reaction. I struggled to get control of my stomach as my hand curled tight around my gun.
I froze at the feel of a gun barrel against the side of my head. “Don’t, Kara,” Tracy said, voice utterly calm. “Let the gun go.”
My pulse slammed as I loosened my grip and pulled my hand back. I still had my backup piece in my ankle holster, but I knew I’d lose several precious seconds getting to it, and Tracy only needed to tighten his finger.
He kicked my gun under the couch. “I don’t know how you’re fighting the drug,” he said. “But it’s pissing me off. I want to finish this shit up.”
Where the hell were Ryan and Zack? Surely they’d heard the gunfire? “What shit?” I managed, fighting to get enough control of my gut that I could function.
He chuckled. “No, not playing that game. Just stop fucking around. Otherwise I’ll have to provide some extra incentive.”
“You need me alive to find it,” I said, lifting my head to stare down the barrel of his gun. Holy fuck, but pointed at me that thing looked big enough to crawl inside and take a nap in.
“I already know where it is,” he said, mouth curving into something resembling a smile. “But yes, I need you alive to make it work.” Then before I could even twitch, he shifted his aim to Eilahn. “But not her.” He fired twice, and I jerked in shock as the sound slammed through the room.
My ears rang as I scrabbled for my backup gun, but he turned and ran, and was out of the room before my gun even cleared the holster. I spun to Eilahn. Her eyes were wide as blood tracked down her chest from two neat little holes.
“Hang on, Eilahn.” I grabbed the couch throw and pressed it to her chest to try and stop the bleeding. “You’re gonna be fine. I’ll call an ambulance, and you’re gonna be fine!” I fumbled my phone out of my pocket but her hand seized my wrist.
“No. No time for that,” she rasped, and my gut clenched at the bubbles of blood in her mouth.
“No, no, no, it’s just blood,” I gabbled. “If it was fatal you’d be…you’d be leaving.”
She gave me a wavering smile. “It is coming. I can sense it. I am sorry I cannot protect you in what is to come.”
“I’ll summon you back,” I said fiercely. “You can’t get out of this that easily!”
She gave a small nod. “It will take time before I return to my world. But when I do, I will find you. You will not get rid of me so easily, my friend.” Her grip loosened on my wrist, and her arm dropped to her side.
“Stand back, Kara,” Eilahn whispered, then her head sagged to the floor. I looked down to see that the bleeding had stopped, and light was beginning to stream from the two punctures. I retreated a couple of feet, breathing raggedly as the light increased to near-blinding levels. A few seconds later a ripping crack filled the room, and she was gone—even the blood. Nothing left but a smell of sulfur and ozone and a faintly discolored patch on the carpet.
I don’t know how long I stood there, staring at that dark patch, but it was probably only seconds later that Ryan burst in, gun at the ready, gaze sweeping the room.
“He’s gone,” I said. I swallowed. “Eilahn’s gone too.”
A heartbeat later I heard the sound of splintering wood from the back door, and then Zack was there as well. His eyes went to the stain then widened. “Fucking hell.”
“What happened, Kara?” Ryan asked. “Are you all right?”
“What happened to you?” I demanded, rounding on him. “Didn’t you hear us? What happened? He shot her! She’s gone!” I was shouting, and the next thing I knew he’d holstered his gun and had grabbed me by the shoulders.
“We didn’t hear anything,” he said, face twisted in pain. “The signal grew garbled as soon as you went inside. Zack and I were coming up to the house to abort the mission when suddenly there was some kind of…surge that knocked us flat.” His hands squeezed my shoulders. “I’m sorry. We got here as soon as we could.”
I let out a shuddering breath. “He threw a rock…some kind of…fuck, like an arcane grenade. Made me puke, but she could barely move. He said he needed me alive, but not her.” I fell silent, and when I spoke again my voice shook with anger. “He shot her. Didn’t even hesitate.”