“No. Such can be forged in any human, even ones without arcane talent,” he said with the authority of experience. “In the days when humans lived in the demon realm, I often linked with them. In this manner, I learned much of humanity.” His expression remained free of guilt, unlike when he’d spoken of forming the link to me from Rhyzkahl. Probably because he’d known Rhyzkahl was up to no good.
“Since my arcane loss won’t affect the dream link, what should I do if it happens again? Is it dangerous?”
“The danger to you is not physical,” he said, yet his tone grew serious. “The danger lies in what you choose to share with Rhyzkahl within the dream connection. It is quite real for him.”
“I punched him in the face,” I said with a crooked smile. “I’d be happy to share that with him again.”
Bryce let out a bark of laughter, but Seretis remained somber as he spoke. “It is up to you to initiate the dream visit. It will not simply happen.”
“But I didn’t this last time,” I said, frowning.
“In that instance, it was initiated by the one who forged the link.” Seretis shifted, uneasy. “When did you visit Rhyzkahl’s dream?”
I had to think about that one. “Thursday night. Um, four nights ago. I’m not sure of the time. Late.”
Seretis dropped to one knee and placed his hands flat on the nexus, closed his eyes. I resumed my seat on the quilt and mulled over the implications of everything he’d revealed. Someone hooked up a dream link to Rhyzkahl where I held the reins. Which meant that Someone had a secret agenda. And I doubted it was simply because Rhyzkahl needed to be socked in the face.
Seretis lifted his head. “There are echoes of Szerain here.”
I yanked my wandering thoughts back into place. “Szerain used the nexus on Thursday around midday. He was looking for someone or something that had him scared shitless.” I peered at Seretis. “You have any clue on that?”
His mouth pulled into a frown of concentration. “More recent activity distorts Szerain’s residuals.” He adjusted the position of his hands as if fine-tuning his reception.
“Damn,” I said. “Must be from Idris. He uses the nexus a lot. Or Pellini.”
Seretis remained in deep concentration. “Not Idris or Vincent Pellini,” he murmured as he continued to assess. “Demahnk.”
“Szerain took Zack away on Friday,” I said, puzzled. “I guess he might have come back here and—”
“Not Zakaar,” Seretis said, face ashen. “Xharbek.”
“Are you fucking kidding me?” Xharbek, Szerain’s ptarl, so deep in hiding that even the other demahnk didn’t know his whereabouts. “He’s on Earth?” I asked. “That’s good, right? Szerain needs stability.”
“Szerain used the nexus to seek Xharbek.” Seretis lifted his hands and rubbed them together as though washing them. “Not long after, Xharbek used it to seek Szerain.”
The implication crashed through me. “Szerain said that when I disrupted his ritual, it was like sending up a beacon.” I gulped. “He was scared shitless. Of Xharbek.” Szerain was free of his prison, and Xharbek probably wanted to rectify that.
Seretis sucked in a sharp breath and squeezed his eyes shut as agony contorted his features. Bryce let out a curse and shot me a look of frustration and impotent rage that I understood too damn well. We both knew what this was: One of the knifing headaches the lords got when their thoughts strayed into forbidden territory. So, was it anathema to think there might be reason to fear any of the demahnk? It sure as hell fit with my developing theory that the demahnk—a.k.a. the Demahnk Council—were the ones doing the controlling.
Seretis cried out and clutched his head. Bryce put a hand on Seretis’s shoulder, helpless to do more to ease him. An idea for a distraction blinked on in my head, and I surged to my feet. “Sammy!” I shouted, hoping the goofy dog was within earshot. “Sammy! Here, boy!”
To my relief, frantic barks sounded from within the house. “Jill, let him out!” I yelled. Seconds later the back door flew open, and Sammy streaked toward us. He bounded onto the slab then bowled Seretis over in a flurry of enthusiastic face licking and tail wagging. Bryce received a solid tail thwack to the side of the head before he could scramble up and out of the way. Cringing, I watched in trepidation. “Slobber-trampled to death” as a headache cure wasn’t quite how I’d envisioned this going, but my concern eased as a laugh burst from Seretis.
The lord rolled into a fetal position and protected his face with his forearms, still laughing and making inarticulate noises of mock-distress. Bryce grinned at me and gave me two thumbs up. I managed a weak smile in response. That could have ended in disaster. Gee, Mzatal, sorry but Seretis can’t come help y’all with your world falling apart. You see, a dog jumped on him and cracked his skull on the nexus.
Seretis disentangled enough from Happy Dog to sit up. I crouched beside them and scratched Sammy’s ears. “You’re the best dog ever,” I told him. Sammy responded with a big, wet slurp across my face then plopped down next to Seretis and rolled to his back in a clear bid for a belly rub. Seretis obliged with a smile, but after a moment it dissolved.