Vengeance of the Demon: Demon Novels, Book Seven (Kara Gillian 7) Read Free Page A

I rested a gentle kiss on Zack’s cheek then sank to sit beside him. “You ever let any light in?”
    “Not lately. It hurts too much.”
    A lighter rasped, and Sonny lit a fat jar candle on the coffee table. “This is all he can tolerate. Sorry, Kara.”
    “I don’t mind,” I said. “Candlelight’s fine.” Usually that was true, but in this case it only emphasized Zack’s pale, gaunt face—so unlike the robust surfer dude I’d known. My hope that he’d soon be ready to rejoin the posse dribbled away. I felt as if I was visiting a hospice patient rather than someone in recovery. “I won’t stay long, but I wanted to see you.”
    “I’m not ready,” he said with such sorrow and understatement it tore my heart out.
    “It’s okay,” I murmured, throat tight as I took his hand. It was so cold it seemed to pull the heat from mine. “You take all the time you need. Everything’s okay.” I abandoned all thought of updating him on the overall situation. His universe had collapsed to near nothing, and I felt as though I could scatter him to oblivion with a puff of breath.
    He dropped his head back against the sofa and closed his eyes. “I’m sorry.”
    I squeezed his hand, willed him to take my warmth if it would ease him. “What about Jill? Maybe she could help you to—”
    “No!” His eyes flew open, wild and desperate. “Kara, I cannot.
No
.”
    “But she loves you—” I intended to add
and needs you as much as you need her
, but the panic that flashed across his face stopped me.
    “No. Please, Kara,” Zack said, breathing unsteadily. Desperation bled through the words. “Trust me. It’s not her. But I can’t. Please don’t bring her here. I
cannot
see her as I am now.”
    Was it because of the baby? I didn’t dare ask him, though. He looked as if any more stress would shatter him. Damn good thing I
hadn’t
brought Jill over—as I’d seriously considered doing. “Zack,” I said gently. “It’s okay. I trust you.” A tiny amount of the tension eased from his grasp. “What about the Demahnk Council? Can’t they help?”
    “They won’t.” He paused and flipped me the bird with an unsteady hand. “They can’t.”
    The middle finger was his signal that we’d ventured into territory he couldn’t talk about. He was bound by agreement and mandate to both the Council and unnamed ones he obliquely referred to as “the others.” Apparently, breaking his bond with Rhyzkahl hadn’t negated his other contracts. “What about the demahnk who aren’t on the Council? Surely I can rally at least a—”
    “Kara. The demahnk
are
the Council.”
    I shook my head, confused. “Wait. Are you saying that every demahnk is a Council member?”
    “All but one, now,” he murmured. “The other ten remain united.”
    I sat in stunned silence. Only eleven Elder syraza in the whole of the demon realm and Earth? I fished through my memory for anything that contradicted his information and came up with nothing. I’d assumed the Council was comprised of a handful of the eldest demahnk, never guessing that there were less than a dozen demahnk in total. Questions rose, but as I opened my mouth to ask, Zack flipped me the bird again. I swallowed my questions back. Obviously that tidbit of information was all he could give me, and I wasn’t going to push the issue while he was so weak. “Rest, Zack.”
    He focused on me with effort, pain he couldn’t hide reflected in his eyes. “What of . . . Rhyzkahl?”
    In those three words, Zack managed to express profound grief and frustration. Considering Rhyzkahl’s betrayal and torture of me, I was inclined to do a happy dance to celebrate the lord’s downfall. But Zack had been ptarl bound to Rhyzkahl, as his chief advisor and advocate, for
millennia
. His concern outweighed my anger.
    “I haven’t heard anything new,” I said gently. “When I left the demon realm he was cloistered within his palace. According to Mzatal, he’s debilitated to the