“Avnas,” the demon in handcuffs corrected archly.
“What are you doing here, Uncle? And how the hell did you even get into Ordinary?” Bathin glowered at the unicorn. “It was you, wasn’t it, Mother?”
Her horsey mouth fell open. “How dare you accuse me of such a thing? I followed all the stupid rules this time. Why would I risk my own neck to bring someone like him here?”
“Oh, don’t play the innocent. It’s never fit you well. I know he lov—”
“—loves to be spoken about as if he isn’t even in the room,” Amy said too loudly. “May I please turn so I can explain myself?”
Myra threw me a look. I frowned.
We had Bathin on our side if things went sideways. I was relieved to know we actually had one demon—and not just any demon, the Prince of the Underworld—on our side.
“I’ll stab you again,” Xtelle said as if she were ordering dressing on the side. “Make any move, Avnas, and I will stab you hard. And not in the ass this time.”
He cleared his throat. “So noted, my Queen.”
Xtelle’s head raised, and she did a mincey little trot in place. “Better,” she said.
“We’re not going to take off the cuffs,” I said.
Myra slipped her hand in her pocket. Whatever kind of root vegetable she had in there was locked and loaded.
“Turn around, Amy,” I said. “Slowly.
He smoothly stood, showing his hands locked behind his back didn’t make any difference for his balance.
His smile was brief and almost apologetic. If getting stabbed in the butt by a demon unicorn was causing him pain, it didn’t show.
Then I remembered his hands. The scars. The missing joints.
This was a creature used to enduring pain. A lot of pain.
“How did you get into Ordinary?” Myra asked.
He nodded toward me. “Her soul.”
Bathin growled, angry.
“Oh, you didn’t leave many marks, my Prince. For that I would like to commend you. But I was there, on the beach. I saw it just before you cut it away from your hold. I knew I could leave my own mark. Claim just enough to get my foot in the door, if you will.”
“You’ve had a part of her soul for all this time?” Myra asked.
“No. I marked her soul then. I have only just come to collect.”
“The mark makes it easy for him to find her,” Bathin explained, moving closer to Myra, shifting his huge bulk so that he was slightly in front of her, pushing himself between her and Amy.
“No matter where he is, no matter where she is, he can access her. Dreams?” Bathin guessed.
“No,” Avnas said. “Her subconscious.”
Bathin crossed his arms over his chest and glowered at his uncle. He looked like a mountain, an entire range, the world itself. “Talk.”
Myra’s color had gone up a little. I caught her eye, thinking she was angry her boyfriend had just taken over our arrest. But that was not anger in her eyes. It was another kind of heat all together.
I mouthed the words, “So hot.” She blushed, then turned her attention back to Amy.
“What spell did you cast?” she asked.
