But now isn’t the time to think like that, I told myself sternly. Now was the time for confidence in the ritual, total faith that it would be simply a matter of time before Tessa was back to normal. And then get her to explain about the damn portal. And get her to give me some damn guidance.
I sketched the final portion, cautiously crabbing around the complex diagram. I winced as I stood up, and it wasn’t all from the creak of my knees from crouching for so long. Was I depending too much on my aunt? But where else was I going to get the training I still needed?
Rhyzkahl, my thoughts whispered to me, sending an odd ripple of gooseflesh across my skin. I shuddered, rubbing my arms at the thought of being tied to him any more than I already was. I didn’t—couldn’t trust him. He was ancient and powerful and well skilled at lying without ever saying an untrue word.
Worry about that shit later, I railed at my psyche. Focus!
I took a deep breath and began to channel potency. After what was probably half an hour, I finally released the power, feeling it slide away into the diagram. I watched the diagram, nearly weeping in relief as it began to resonate. A heartbeat later, the resonance abruptly shifted into a hum—inaudible and powerful at the same time. I held my breath as the hum settled into a soft pulse, a sensation tickling over me that reminded me of everything that was Tessa.
It’s calling and reminding her who she is. Reminding her where she belongs.
I made my way over to the cold fireplace and collapsed into the chair. There was nothing more I could do now. Rhyzkahl had warned me that it could take a long time, but I had no idea how much time Tessa had. She was already declining. A knot of grief threatened to twist my insides. It was doubtful that her body would last more than a few weeks longer.
I tipped my head back, staring up at the rafters of the basement. It was only slightly more than a week ago that I’d summoned Rhyzkahl—but it felt like a year. I still had no idea whether I would summon him again. I turned my head with a sigh and looked over at the little circle with the remnants of my aunt’s items. I knew what she would say—that I’d be a complete fool to even consider it. But I had almost three weeks to make up my mind—and that was only if I decided to call him this next full moon.
The access to knowledge was unspeakably tempting, though I could well guess that there’d be limits on it. He would dole out his information as he saw fit in order to keep me wanting more.
I pushed up from the chair. At this point, anything was better than nothing. I had a feeling I’d be needing answers for a long time.
I looked over at the diagram containing the “beacon” for Tessa’s essence, feeling and seeing the thrum of power even without shifting fully into othersight. My eyes traveled over the twined wards. Now that they were active and complete, it wasn’t as confusing, and I could begin to see how they worked. I had basically channeled potency into the first diagram, and now the wards were slowly releasing it into the other circle to create this beacon.
My heart skipped a beat as I looked at the diagram, an odd new thought skimming through my head. If this diagram was actually storing potency, could that be done at other times as well? I could feel my breath quicken as I considered the implications of that possibility. Holy shit. This would mean that it’s possible to store potency without resorting to death magic. The Symbol Man had tortured and murdered his victims in order to amass enormous amounts of power—enough to summon and bind a demonic lord. The restrictions of the phase of the moon had always chafed at me but never enough to be willing to resort to such hideous methods. Summonings required a smooth and consistent flow of potency, and fluctuations or hiccups could prove disastrous when opening a portal. But if there was a way to gradually bleed power off into a diagram and then pull it back out for use … I reached for the back of the chair, the unspeakable elation nearly overwhelming.
“Holy shit,” I whispered. Could it really work without the blood of innocent victims? I wouldn’t have to worry about the phase of the moon at all. I could store potency in dribs and drabs throughout the month and then use that stored power at any time. Day, night, half-moon, no moon. Not only that, but it would be easier to summon the higher-level demons. Summonings were exhausting. The creation of the diagram was taxing enough, plus the effort of forming the wards, and then adding summoning on top required a huge amount of effort and concentration. The main reason higher-level demons were summoned only by very experienced summoners was that you had to be highly skilled in the forming of the portal to have strength left over to control the demon.