“The truth is, nephew, that while I could certainly bleed you dry and use your essence to power the ritual, doing so would create instabilities in the gateway network.Your willing participation would ensure the portals remain stable for centuries.Your unwilling sacrifice would give us perhaps a decade…if even that much…before the whole thing collapsed.”
Caleb’s lip curled.“A decade’s not enough time?”
“Not for what we have planned.”Vinea’s smile turned predatory again.“You see, this isn’t just about creating escape routes for the entities currently trapped below.It’s about establishing a permanent foothold in this reality, one that will allow us to reshape it according to our vision.”
The reality Vinea had just described made Caleb’s stomach churn.No simple invasion, but a complete transformation of reality itself.
And he would be the key to making it all possible.
“The choice is yours,” Vinea continued.“If you’re a willing participant, your friends will live to see the new world we’ll create.If you refuse, they’ll die knowing they failed to save the very plane they sought to protect.”
Caleb tested his bonds again, but the mystical cables still held firm.Whatever they were made of, they were specifically designed to contain someone with his particular abilities.He could feel his demon blood responding to the supernatural energy in the room, but every time he tried to channel it, the cables seemed to absorb the power and turn it back on him.
“I need time to think,” he said at length, since he knew he had to give the demon lord some sort of reply.
“Time is the one thing we don’t have,” Vinea replied.“The celestial alignment will reach its peak in less than forty-eight hours.After that, we’ll have to wait another three hundred years for conditions to be optimal again.”
“Then I guess you’ll have to wait,” Caleb said, meeting the demon lord’s black stare without flinching.“I’m not agreeing to anything until I know exactly what you’re planning.”
Vinea studied him for a long moment, and Caleb had the uncomfortable feeling that he was seeing far more than just his physical form.At last, the demon lord nodded.
“Very well.I suppose a few hours won’t make much difference.”He gestured again, and two figures materialized from the shadows at the edges of the chapel — lesser demons, from the look of them, but still powerful enough.“Take our guest to the holding area.Make sure he’s comfortable, but don’t let him out of your sight.”
As the demons moved to flank him, Caleb caught another glimpse of that predatory smile.
“Oh, and nephew?”Vinea called out as the pair of demons began to escort Caleb toward a door that definitely hadn’t existed during his previous visits.“Don’t even think about attempting to escape.”
Like he would do anything so stupid when he knew the demon lord would retaliate the second he tried anything funny.
The holding area turned out to be a small room that had probably once been used for storage, now furnished with a single chair and nothing else.The demons shoved him down onto the chair and took up positions on either side of the door, their red eyes fixed on him with predatory patience.
Caleb leaned back and tried to look relaxed, even as his mind raced, considering first one possibility, then another.Vinea was powerful, no question about that, but he was also arrogant.And arrogant people made mistakes.
They also tended to underestimate their opponents.
The demon lord thought he had Caleb trapped, and physically, that was probably true.But he’d made one crucial error — he’d assumed that Caleb’s only connection to the outside world was through conventional means.
Vinea didn’t know anything about the psychic bond that Caleb and Delia shared.It was far from reliable, true, but he still hoped it was strong enough that if he concentrated hard, he would be able to sense her emotions across the city.And if he could sense how she felt….
Caleb closed his eyes and reached out with his mind, feeling for the familiar warmth that was uniquely Delia’s.At first, there was nothing but the oppressive supernatural energy of the chapel, pressing on him like a physical weight.But then, faint as a whisper, he felt her.
She was afraid, but also angry, filled with a sort of furious resolve.And she was moving through the city, although he got the sense her destination was elsewhere, someplace south of where he was being held.
Delia,he thought, putting all his concentration behind the mental call.Can you hear me?
For a moment, nothing.Then, so faint he almost missed it, came her response.
Caleb?Where are you?
Angel’s Dream.But it’s a trap.Don’t come here directly.
I’m not.A hesitation, and then she added,But mostly because I knew there wasn’t anything I could do.Are you hurt?
Not yet.But Vinea’s planning something big.Citywide portal network.He needs my blood to stabilize it.
A pause, and when her mental voice came back, it was laced with steel.
We’ll figure out a way to stop him.
