Then leave. You being here puts Sam in danger.
The demon ignored me, calm on the outside, but on the inside, the rage was palpable. It was barely able to refrain from lunging at Heckle again.
Heckle adjusted his shirt. “Now then. The task is simple. Recover the Brim Stone and bring it to me.”
“Brim Stone,” Sam repeated. She tapped the side of her chin and chewed on the corner of her lip, while at the same time stealing a glance at the still-frozen carnivus. “Why does that sound familiar?”
“Because it’s the stone that enabled Malphi to tap in to the Gray line’s magic.”
“Wait.” Sam’s eyes grew wide. “If it’s the stone Malphi had, and Malphi is dead, then who has the stone?”
Heckle pinned her with a pitying frown.
Sonofabitch…
She blew a stray hair from her face and rolled her eyes. “You’ve gotta be shitting me…”
“I wish I were.” He sighed. “I’m afraid a grievous oversight on my part allowed Malphi’s stone to fall into the enemy’s hands.”
Sam’s eyes widened, and she opened her mouth, but Azi wasn’t interested in anything she had to say. Suspicion swelled, and the demon focused on Heckle. “And what do you want with the stone?”
“As you can see…” Heckle hitched a thumb over his shoulder at the carnivus. “Something is just a bit off.”
He was right. Azi’s memories swirled, and I knew that carnivi, like most other creatures that inhabited hell, were unable to cross to this plane. At least, not on their own. “How did it come to be here?”
“You can thank Zenak,” Heckle said. He flicked a finger at the beast, frowning. “And there’s plenty more where that came from. I’ve gotten reports from all over Harlow. These things have been running rampant around town for the last few days.”
Sam snorted. “I call bullshit. If that’s true, how did we not know? I work in a bar for crap’s sake. If there are rabid dog-beasts the size of Toyotas running around, people are gonna talk.”
Heckle rolled his eyes and fixed his gaze on me. “You’ve been a bit preoccupied lately…”
Asshole has a point…
Azi ignored me. “And you believe this is Zenak’s doing?” My muscles tensed, my body’s natural reaction to the apprehension the demon felt. I still hadn’t gotten used to it, the way my body betrayed me by reacting to the whims and desires of another. “That my enemy has stolen the stone and is using it to call forth an army?”
“I’m afraid it is, indeed, now in Zenak’s possession. While one half of the stone doesn’t give the demon access to all of his inherent abilities, it does give a dangerous edge. It can’t travel home, but it appears that it can call reinforcements.”
“Wait—half?” Tendrils of worry rose from Sam’s shoulders, polluting the red. Her pulse increased, heartbeat racing. “He doesn’t have the whole thing?”
Heckle shook his head. “Sadie only had half the stone in her possession. I don’t know what became of the remaining part. You’ll have to find it, though. It’s far too dangerous to leave it floating around.”
She frowned. “But if Zenak has an advantage with just half the stone, why hasn’t it come for us yet?”
“It’s not immediately clear what Zenak’s plans are. But knowing what we do—that it wants to destroy Azirak and control Sam—I believe getting to the other half of the stone before it does will benefit us all.”
Azi bristled, and I felt a mix of anger and concern from the demon. “And the half of the stone that Zenak already possesses? What of that?”
Heckle stepped back and folded his arms. With a confident nod he said, “Once you retrieve the stone—both halves—I will dispose of them.”
That wasn’t going to happen. I didn’t know why, but the stone was important to the demon. Azi had no intention of handing either half over to Heckle.
“Zenak has brought over the carnivi—and I assure you, there are more roaming the streets of Harlow as we speak. It is feasible that it has brought others as well. The Tracker, perhaps?”
The shift in Azi’s mood was violent. My body tensed, limbs itching to tear into something—anything. “I see,” came the demon’s deceptively calm response. “I suppose that escalates things.”
Heckle, seemingly satisfied, gave a short nod. “In the meantime, I suggest you deal with this.” He took two steps backward, melding into the darkness. A moment later, the previously frozen carnivus leaped from the shadows.
Chapter Two
Sam