According to Kehlirik, Rhyzkahl had given his oath that I could safely summon him. And the chances of Kehlirik lying about that were somewhere between none and none. Not with the demonic sense of honor in play. The demonkind could be vicious and dangerous and devious, but they did not lie. Instead, they were deeply skilled at telling truth in a way that would have you believe what they wished.
Screw it. If I was going to do this thing, I might as well make it worth my while. As long as I had a demonic lord at my disposal, I would see what information I could wring out of him.
I had two bodies stripped of essence. I’d start with that. I pulled the paper closer and began to write.
1) Could another summoner be using an ilius to consume essences? And why?
2) And if not an ilius, then what the hell is doing it?
3) Whatever is doing it, how can I stop it from happening again?
I paused, pen on the paper, throat suddenly tight. My next question had nothing to do with the two bodies.
4) Is there any way to recover essence?
This one was all about my aunt. If there wasn’t a way to recover an essence that had been pulled away, then there was no point in keeping my aunt’s body alive any longer.
That wasn’t something I wanted to dwell on at the moment. I took a steadying breath and kept writing. I had some questions that I was fairly certain Rhyzkahl knew the answers to. I wasn’t sure if I would have the nerve to ask him, but I went ahead and wrote them anyway.
5) What the fuck is a kiraknikahl?
6) Why did Kehlirik react with such hostility toward Ryan?
I looked down at the list, then folded it carefully.
I was going to summon the demonic lord.
I WAS USUALLY nervous before summonings. There was a considerable amount of danger involved—especially in higher-level summonings—and so it was prudent to be overly cautious and meticulous.
The last time I’d prepared to summon a demonic lord, I’d been scared out of my mind—pretty damn certain that my chances of surviving the ritual were slim. But this time I had his word, albeit via Kehlirik, that there would be no reprisals upon me for summoning him.
A demon’s word was inviolate.
But I was scared shitless anyway. There were plenty of dangers other than the demon itself. I stood at the edge of the diagram, suddenly wishing that I’d had more to eat at lunch and had taken the opportunity to nap earlier. The moon was a day past full, which wouldn’t be an issue with any summoning below eighth or ninth level, but this was a demonic lord. Yet Kehlirik had stated that the moon would be full enough, so I could only hope that Rhyzkahl’s willingness to be summoned would offset the slight reduction in potency.
I took a deep breath, forcing my thoughts into the proper mind-set, and began to chant, shaping my will. The portal wouldn’t open at first and I sought to focus harder, but it was like trying not to think of a pink elephant. The crack formed and began to widen, but I felt sluggish, as if I were swimming through tar. I took another deep breath, seeking that point of my will that would shape the portal to my desire. Slowly, agonizingly, it widened farther, an arcane wind picking up and swirling throughout the room as I sucked air harshly between my teeth. My muscles trembled with the unexpected difficulty I was having with this portal. I hadn’t even named the demon yet, but I wondered if the difficulty was because of who I intended to summon, what I intended to summon. The words and the chants were minor aspects of the ritual, and I had shaped the portal from the beginning with Rhyzkahl in my mind. I’m psyching myself out. That’s a sure way to get killed.
The wind swirled higher as unexpected pain wrapped through me. I bit back a whimper, then gritted my teeth and forced the name out.
“Rhyzkahl.”
The wind died down and the light-filled portal snapped closed. I wanted to sag and drop to my knees, but I didn’t dare show the weakness. My vision cleared and, to my aching relief, I could see the crouched figure in front of me. I held the bindings, trembling, though I knew that if I’d actually brought Rhyzkahl through, they’d be useless. At this point I was hoping and praying to any gods who would pay attention to me that it was Rhyzkahl. He’d given his word not to harm me, but if another demon had somehow come through, I was dead meat. I’d been tired to begin with, and this ritual had been far more draining than I’d expected. Stupid, I railed at myself. Stupid and complacent. Nice way to end up dead.