September Moon (Alexa O'Brien, Huntress #8)(82)

“Don’t enter the circle. And don’t speak to the demon I’m about to summon, even if he speaks to you.” Shya held out a hand and a dagger appeared, laid across his palm. It was the same blade he’d used to hack off a lock of my hair and bleed me while I lay paralyzed in my bed. I’d recognize the dragon etched into the blade anywhere.

Arys stood between Shya and me, keeping as safe a distance between us all as possible. I held tight to his hand, refusing to let him go. His presence was empowering, filling me with a sense of completeness I never knew I was missing until we were together.

My heart pounded when Shya began to chant. The language he used was unrecognizable. It sounded ancient, certainly not a language still in use. He tossed in a powdery substance, and the man tied in the center began to tremble. It soon became an uncontrollable shake.

Shya extended the dagger to me, hilt first. “If you don’t mind, Alexa. Just a few drops to invoke the summons.”

With eyebrows raised, I smiled nervously. “You’ve got to be kidding me. What’s the catch?”

“No catch. Not this time. You’re safe on this side of the circle. He’s the sacrifice.” Shya pointed at the bound man and continued to thrust the dagger at me. “I need mortal blood. Yours is guaranteed to get some attention. You have my word that you will be safe.”

This didn’t feel right. Everything in me resisted. I would not assist in sacrificing this man. “No,” I said with stubborn refusal. “I’m not helping you hurt anyone.”

“Don’t say I didn’t try to be nice about it,” Shya snapped. He shoved by Arys and grabbed my hand. Holding it out over the flames, he slid the blade over my palm. “Whatever you’re thinking, Arys, don’t even try it.”

Shya shook a few drops of my blood into the fire and released me. I jerked back, retreating from the pentagram, afraid to be too close. The scent of sulfur was immediate. I coughed as the thick odor irritated my lungs. Yellow smoke clouded the circle. It seemed to be contained, unable to seep beyond the border, but I still had to hold my breath against the sickening stench. When the smoke cleared, I almost dropped into a dead faint.

The demon standing inside the circle was easily one of the most horrific things I’d ever seen. It had a man’s body, well built with thick muscles that bulged and rippled. Black wings like Shya’s spread out from its back. However, it had the head of a goat atop that perfectly sculpted body. Blinking near black goat eyes at us, it looked us each over in turn. And then it spoke.

“Shya. I should have known. Only you would be fool enough to summon me.” The demon’s voice was low and gravelly. It sniffed in my direction and smiled. It was a strange looking thing.

“I need a favor, Saber,” Shya said, fearless. After all, he was the master of this situation. The goat demon was trapped, unable to do more than scrutinize us. “I need help finding the key to Lilah’s kingdom.”

The goat burst into laughter. It sounded very human, but coming out of that animal face, it was both ridiculous and scary.

“Still chasing that dream, are you? She rejected you. Is that why you still want what was hers? For spite?”

“Because it is mine by right. I served her endlessly. She was my queen, my everything. And she abandoned me. I deserve what she would never give me. Even if I have to take it myself, it will be mine. Help me, and I will allow you to reign with me.” There was genuine emotion in Shya’s tone, something I rarely heard. Lilah had broken his evil little heart.

Saber stared at Shya, wearing a mocking grin. I blinked several times, still unable to believe I was seeing a grinning goat. I’d be seeing that face in my nightmares.

“I have no desire to reign in Lilah’s kingdom whether she sits on the throne or not. Nor should you. Consider what will happen when she breaks free of the angels’ cage. She will return and make you suffer.”

Despite the scary face and creepy demon vibes, Saber was making sense. Shya was an idiot if he thought Lilah wouldn’t return to her throne the first chance she got. Although I hoped for my own sake that the angels wouldn’t make the same mistake twice.

“Then I suppose that is the risk I’m willing to take. Now, will you help me or not? You know of the scroll’s whereabouts, don’t you?” The calm Shya exuded seemed forced. He was desperate and trying hard to hide it.

“It’s just eating away at you, isn’t it? The need to have those who oppressed you grovel at your feet.” Saber crossed his arms over his beefy chest. Eyeing Shya up like he was a worm, the goat headed demon snickered. “No, I do not know where the scroll is, though I do know something about it that may be of use to you.”

“What is it? Tell me.” Shya’s snappy demand brought my gaze to him. So far this short interaction had been very enlightening. I was beginning to understand Shya’s motivations. It went much deeper than the need for power. He was also seeking vengeance.

I had witnessed Lilah talk to him as if he were dirt. She had basically told him he was worthless. Apparently demons had feelings too. I wondered if just maybe Shya had even been in love with Lilah. In my experience it was love that spawned the greatest revenge stories.

“You must promise me something first,” Saber said, and his creepy goat eyes landed on me. “I’ll tell you what I know, and you let me take the Hound.”