The mental image of his blood literally flowing through carved stone channels made Caleb fight hard against his gag reflex, but he managed to keep his expression neutral.“And then what?You bring through a few hundred demons and call it a successful invasion?”
“Oh, nephew.”Vinea’s burning eyes glittered with anticipation…and something else.
Scorn?Possibly.Good thing that Caleb didn’t give a rat’s ass what the demon lord thought of him.
“You’re still thinking far too small,” Vinea continued.“This isn’t about a few hundred demons.This is about opening the floodgates, allowing every entity that’s been trapped below to finally claim their rightful place in this reality.Demons, fallen angels, corrupted spirits, entities that predate your species by eons — all of them finally free to walk under an open sky.”
This description sent ice flooding through Caleb’s veins.He’d caught glimpses of some of the entities that lurked in Hell’s deepest circles, things so ancient and powerful that even regular demons gave them a wide berth.If creatures like that crossed over to Earth….
Well, it would make H.P.Lovecraft’s worst nightmare look like a walk in the park.
“How many are we talking about?”Caleb asked.He sounded steady enough, which could only be a good thing.Or maybe it was simply that his brain wouldn’t allow itself to absorb all the horrors that lay ahead if the ritual was successful.
“Hundreds of thousands,” Vinea replied with obvious satisfaction.“Perhaps millions, once word spreads that the barriers between planes have finally fallen.Your precious mortal civilization will adapt, or it will be swept aside.”
Millions.The casual way Vinea spoke of essentially ending human civilization made white-hot rage flare in Caleb’s chest, his demon blood responding with heat that made the air around him shimmer slightly.For just a moment, small flames danced between his fingers before he wrestled them back under control.
“I see the fire is still there,” the demon lord remarked.He looked pleased, although trying to assign human emotions to a being such as he was always problematic.“Excellent.That passion will make the ritual far more effective.”
Caleb flexed his fingers, feeling the bonds that held his powers in check respond to his emotional state.The mystical cables were sophisticated, but they weren’t perfect.And anger, he had begun to discover, seemed to create fluctuations in their effectiveness.
“When do we start?”he asked, figuring there wasn’t much point in delaying the inevitable.
“Soon.”Vinea gestured toward the western edge of the chamber, where Caleb could see the last dregs of sunset painting a mountain range in hues of blood and umber.“The alignment reaches its peak in approximately four hours.We’ll begin the preparatory phase as soon as the sun has finished setting, which is only a few moments from now.”
Four hours.That wasn’t much time for his team to mount a rescue, especially when they had no real idea where he was being held.Yes, they could always converge on Angel’s Dream, since that was where they thought the ritual would take place, but they would arrive there and find absolutely nothing.For all he knew, now that Vinea had removed him to this horror of a ritual chamber somewhere out in the desert, the demon lord would have allowed the wedding chapel to return to its usual state.
And sure, the psychic bond with Delia was still there, that gossamer-thin thread of connection that told him she was still alive and moving, but he couldn’t send clear messages through the supernatural static that filled this place.He couldn’t tell her that he’d been moved somewhere far outside the city.
Which meant he needed to be ready to trigger his sabotage on his own, without backup.
The thought should have been terrifying.Instead, Caleb found it oddly liberating.Having to act alone simplified things in a way.No one else to worry about, no one else to protect.Just him and a plan that had maybe a ten-percent chance of working on a good day.
He liked those odds better than he probably should have.
“There is one more thing,” Vinea said, his tone shifting to something that might have been regret if it had come from anyone else.“I’m afraid your lovely Ms.Dunne decided to involve herself in tonight’s activities.”
At once, Caleb straightened.His demon blood wanted to flare with fire again, but he somehow managed to hold it in check.“What do you mean?”
“She’s currently attempting to breach the defenses at Angel’s Dream,” the demon lord replied, obvious satisfaction glinting in his fiery eyes.“Walked right up to the front door, bless her brave little heart.I do so admire mortals who are willing to sacrifice themselves for love.”
No.No, no, no.Delia was supposed to be safe, supposed to be with her family at the wedding reception, as far from this nightmare as possible.The idea of her trapped in that supernatural maze, facing creatures that could snuff out her life without a second thought, made something primal and furious rise within him.
“You said you wouldn’t touch her if I cooperated,” he said, and this time he didn’t bother to hide the rage in his voice.
“I said she would be safe as long as you fulfilled your role,” Vinea corrected him, voice smooth as the basalt floor beneath their feet.“But when she chose to come looking for you, well…that rather changed the parameters of our agreement, didn’t it?”
Flames erupted from Caleb’s fists, white-hot fire that made the air around him shimmer.The bonds holding his powers strained, mystical cables smoking as supernatural heat met whatever materials they’d been crafted from.
“Easy, nephew,” Vinea said, although he sounded more amused than concerned.“Your anger is delicious, but you won’t be going anywhere.The chamber’s defenses will hold you here until the ritual begins.”
The casual dismissal of his fury made Caleb want to launch himself at the demon lord, bonds or no bonds.But beneath the rage, a cold part of his mind was calculating distances and angles, searching for weaknesses in the chamber’s defenses, looking for any advantage he could exploit.
The sabotage he’d woven into the ritual framework was still in place.And now, with his emotions running high, he could feel cracks forming in the mystical bonds that held his powers in check.
“I won’t let you hurt her,” Caleb said.
“You won’t have a choice,” Vinea replied.Then his reptilian features arranged themselves into something like concern.“Though I confess, I’m curious to see how she fares against the defenses.Her psychic abilities have grown remarkably in recent weeks.She might even survive long enough for you to say goodbye.”With that parting shot, the demon lord’s form began to shimmer and fade.“I must attend to our uninvited guest.Don’t worry — I’ll leave you with guards to keep you company.Wouldn’t want you getting lonely before the main event.”
