The shaman had fled as soon as Lilith had been eliminated. He’d been helping her with the magic involved in opening the barrier to Earth. I’d never seen or met the man, but King Rian had banished him from the castle and Kingsmore.
My father scoffed. “The shaman is a coward. And of course,I’mnot draining light. Do you take me for a fool?”
It was clear he wasn’t going to tell me who he was working with, which pissed me off because he’d dragged meinto this whole mess with the promise of a place on the council.
“Why?”
“Once I take the throne, I’ll need protection. Lilith proved that a phantom form only applies to dream demons.” He walked toward the door and paused. “Dinner is being served in the dining room. I have a special treat for you.”
I didn’t like the sound of that.
The door clicked shut, and I sat down on the edge of the bed, still weak from whatever poison had been inside me.
Kage appeared and handed me a glass of water. He backed up several steps and kept his eyes glued to the floor as he spoke. “N-Nico and Amari are in your f-f-father’s d-d-dungeon.” He cleared his throat and clenched and unclenched his hands at his sides. “S-Sammy’s b-brother, T-T-Taylor?—”
“Taylor? Taylor Luna?” I jumped to my feet, immediately regretting it as my head spun and water sloshed onto my hand. “He’s dead!”
Or I’d assumed he was. I’d also looked for him but came up empty.
He shook his head vigorously and finally looked at me. “He’s h-helping your f-father.”
Confusion washed over me, and I sat back down heavily. I took a big gulp of water and wished it were blood. “Is he here?”
Another shake of the head. He chewed on his lip, and I watched closely for a drop of blood to appear. I bet his blood was full of magic, and a few drops would help heal me.
I shook my head.
He freed his lip from his teeth, and I almost groaned in disappointment when there was no blood. “He’s the one m-m-making v-vacants.”
“How is he controlling them?” From everything we knewof the demons, devoid of even a speck of light, they were the Earth equivalent of zombies—mindless, hollow shells that moved without purpose or awareness.
Until they got hungry.
“Where’s Sammy?” His voice was getting stronger and smoother the more he spoke to me.
“Earth.”
His eyes went wide. “H-h-how?”
“She found some angel feathers that had dried blood on them. That’s how we got out of the dungeon in the castle.” I rubbed my chin and then quickly dropped my hand, realizing I must look exactly like my father.
When Lilith was using angel blood, she had to apply a certain type of magic to it to get demons to Earth. Samara’s hand glowed when she brought us back to Inferna. Did that mean she’d come into her magic? It would certainly explain her hair.
“Your f-f-father told Nico she was d-d-dead.”
“He did what?” I ran my hand down my face. I might not have liked the squirrel, but I knew how much he loved Samara and how scared he was of losing her. It was hard not to respect that.
Kage’s chin trembled. “We have to g-g-get him out of th-there. Your father took some of his b-b-blood.”
Blood.
Nico’s blood.
My fangs extended, and I hissed as I fought to keep them concealed. They dug into the soft skin of my mouth, and I was forced to expose them.
Kage made a desperate-sounding whimper and disappeared immediately.
Great. Whatever progress I’d made with him completely vanished in an instant.
