Fury of the Demon

Chapter 28

Mzatal was still deeply involved on the mini-nexus when we returned home, and I decided to have Eilahn tell him about my encounter with Farouche while I summoned Steeev.

Paul and Bryce weren’t in the common areas when I returned to the house. I scrawled “do not disturb” on a sticky note and slapped it on the basement door, then poured a big glass of tunjen and headed down. It felt both weird and good to perform a summoning in the middle of the day with utter confidence. A year ago—hell, a few months ago—I would’ve balked at the mere idea due to the lack of lunar influence and the extra difficulty that posed. Training with Mzatal had stripped all that nonsense away, and I’d learned how to adapt and compensate for different summoning conditions.

I set the tunjen aside and got to work. The storage diagram was nicely topped off, and it took only about fifteen minutes to change the existing ritual diagram to the parameters for a syraza. I checked and rechecked the sigils, bindings, and power flows, tapped the storage diagram, and began.

I spoke the name “Steeev” as the invocation to call the syraza, confident and calm. I knew I had a successful summoning. It felt right. Only once did I encounter a shift in the currents of power as I formed the portal, but I smoothly adjusted the anchors and dealt with the shift with no further issues, and silently thanked the hundreds of hours of practice Mzatal had insisted I do.

The syraza arrived with a jolting pull in the potency flows. I grounded and anchored the power, then looked up to see him, kneeling and breathing hard, in the center of the diagram.

“Steeev,” I said, “I apologize for summoning you without warning.”

He lifted his head. “Is . . .” He paused as though testing his ability to speak. “Is there a problem with the qaztahl?”

“No!” I said quickly. “No, Mzatal is well.” Of course that would be his first assumption, especially since, according to Zack, Steeev had never been summoned before. “I need a favor from you,” I continued, “but I want to discuss it with you first since it’s a big one. Would you like tunjen?”

Steeev blinked several times, still trying to get his bearings. “Tunjen. Yes.” He attempted to rise then apparently thought better of it. “What favor, Kara Gillian?” he asked as he sank back into a kneel-sit. “When my body moves where my mind wills, perhaps I will be able to accommodate.” He chimed in laughter. “Unless I am forever in the swirling state.”

I retrieved the glass of tunjen I’d brought downstairs and pressed it into his hand. “It fades, I promise,” I assured him with a smile, then crouched before him. “Here’s the favor. I need protection for a dear friend of mine. She’s Zakaar’s lover too, and carries his child.”

Steeev drained the cup then looked at me, head angled slightly to one side. “Jill Faciane. Zakaar does not protect her?”

“He does as much as he can, but he also has a duty to Szerain.” I took a few minutes to explain our current situation, including the body dump and the threat to Jill. “I’d rather she be overprotected than have something happen to her.”

Steeev stretched his wings wide, then folded them and stood. “Mzatal has agreed to this?” He put on a syraza version of a scowl, tucked his hands behind his back and lifted his chin in a surprisingly excellent mimicry of Mzatal. “Or does he protest?”

I laughed. “He has agreed to this.”

The syraza let his Mzatal impression go, chimed softly. “For what span of time?” He took a deep breath, then stiffened and curled his lips back. “What is that smell?”

I let out a cough of laughter at his reaction. “The span of time would be at least until the baby is born. A month or two,” I said. “The unpleasant smell is likely hydrocarbons, and the savory smell is gumbo. Crawfish gumbo. It’s pretty good.”

“It has been long since I have seen a human babe.” He bared his teeth in a syraza smile, chiming with amusement. “Noisy and smelly and ear-pulling.”

“They do grow out of that—most of the time.” My amusement faded. Now came the tricky part. “Here’s the deal,” I said, all seriousness now. “I haven’t yet talked to Jill about you, or about having a guardian at all. First, because I know her, and if I asked before she met you, it’d be too easy for her to say No.” I paused, inclined my head to him. “And second, I didn’t want to bring it up with her until I knew your decision.”

“The decision cannot be made without her agreement,” he stated. “That said, I am not opposed and, in not being opposed, am indeed willing—if she is willing—to accept guardianship.” He tilted his head, peered at me. “On the condition that she is at least marginally pleasant.”

“I’ll let you be the judge of that,” I said, relieved. I gestured grandly to the raggedy basement stairs. “Come upstairs and see my demesne.”

“Lead on, Kara Gillian,” he announced with a teeth-baring smile. “I will wobble and teeter along behind.”

“You can lean on me if you wish,” I offered.

He gave a snort-chime. “The great guardian arrives, leaning heavily upon the summoner. It does not serve. No, no. Not at all.”

“Then you’d best stop your whining,” I advised with a grin as I led the way.

Steeev followed, chime-muttering. Once upstairs, I gave him a quick rundown of the layout of the house and property. “Jill likes her privacy, so she’s staying in a mobile home at the side of the house,” I explained as we entered the kitchen.

Bryce was at the table—papers and notes in front of him that I figured were probably stuff for his surveillance camera proposal. He glanced up as we entered, blinked in surprise at the sight of a syraza.

Steeev chimed. “Fair greetings, Bryyyce.”

Bryce’s expression cleared, and he chuckled. “Steeev. You’re the only one who drawls my name out like that. Good to see you again.”

“Steeev will be sticking around for a while as Jill’s guardian,” I told Bryce. “That is, if we can get it through her stubborn head that she needs one.”

Bryce looked from me to Steeev then back to me. “I get it. Like Eilahn.” He nodded. “Jill needs that, especially now.”

“We’re about to let her know she’s always wanted one,” I said, then continued out to the back porch.

I caught a streak of blue near the woods out of the corner of my eye, accompanied by a shrill chirrup-whistle. Jekki. Beside me, Steeev returned the greeting with a melodic trumpeting, and an instant later I heard a piercing whoop that I recognized as Eilahn’s. Good thing I didn’t have any close neighbors. They’d be wondering about the weird wildlife.

I glanced back at Steeev as I stepped off the porch and started toward Jill’s place. “Okay, here’s the plan. You’re going to be so charming, she can’t refuse.”

He bared his teeth. “I thought you said this would be a challenge.”

I laughed. “Forgive me. I forgot who I was dealing with.”

We crossed the grass and climbed the steps to the redwood deck. Zack had moved damn quickly to make the place as nice as possible. “Yo, chick!” I called out as I knocked on the door. “Got someone here I want you to meet.”

A few seconds later Jill opened the door. “Who?” she asked, then her eyes widened as she looked past me. “Oh. That’s who.”

I stepped aside to give her a better view. “Jill, this is Steeev. He’s a syraza, like Eilahn.” I turned my attention to the demon. “Steeev, I would like you to meet my very dear friend, Jill.”

Jill stepped out onto the deck. “Nice to meet you, Steve,” she said with a polite smile paired with a questioning look in her eyes.

“It’s Steeev,” I corrected.

She gave me a slightly perplexed look. “Right, Steve.”

I shook my head, thoroughly enjoying this. “No, y’gotta draw it out more. Steeev.”

Jill’s mouth thinned into a flat line as she swept a gaze over Steeev, then narrowed her eyes at me. “Is this some kind of insider summoner joke?”

“Nope,” I said with a laugh. “But it is fun. His name is Steeev. There’s a bit of an extra ‘e’ sound in there.”

It was obvious she still didn’t completely believe me. She regarded Steeev as he stood by the top of the steps, radiating as much innocence as a demon could. “Is this true?” she asked. “You’re a demon named Steeev?” The dubious look on her face told me she was ready to receive the punch line.

Steeev bared his teeth in a syraza smile and took a step closer. “Unless my name has been changed in the space of the last few heartbeats, I am indeed a demon—a syraza—by the name of Steeev.”

“I’ll be damned,” she said, then offered him a wry smile. “It’s very nice to meet you, Steeeeeeev.”

I burst out laughing. “Okay, babe. That’s a bit of overkill on the eeeeeeee.”

She joined me in the laughter. “Make up your mind!”

And with that the two of us descended into ridiculous and hysterical laughter, no doubt fueled by the stress and weirdness and everything else going on. It took a few minutes for us to regain something akin to composure, not helped at all by the fact that whenever one of us started to find some control the other one would make a silly eeeeeee sound and we’d go off again—all while Steeev looked on in bemused tolerance. Or maybe he was trying to come up with some way to sneak back to the demon realm. Anything was possible.

When we finally got our breath back, I cleared my throat. “Jill, I summoned Steeev for a reason. It has to do with you, and I really hope you’ll agree to it.”

Realization immediately dawned in her eyes. My Jill wasn’t a dumb chick by a long shot. But even as she opened her mouth to protest, Steeev stepped forward.

“She will,” he said to me, then brought his gaze to Jill. “You will, will you not? Your Kara Gillian friend believes you need protection.” He tilted his head. “Do you need protection? You seem quite capable to me, so I am certain I would need to do little more than watch, and most assuredly would not be a nuisance.” He shook his head. “Not much of a nuisance.”

He paused barely long enough for Jill to begin a response, then folded down onto one knee and took her hand between his. I watched in amusement and more than a little awe as he blinked up at her in the hitherto unheard of syraza equivalent of puppy dog eyes. “Jill Faciane, only you can prevent my return to the demon realm, utterly rejected, steeped in shame.”

Jill gaped at him, but it took her only a second to pick up the humor. She fought to hold back a laugh, with only partial success. “I am seriously having the weirdest day ever,” she muttered.

“As am I,” Steeev said, still kneeling before her. “I was very inoffensively trouncing Safar in a game of kessa, and whoosh! Dragged to Earth.”

“Dragged to Earth to be my bodyguard?” She turned an accusing glare on me.

I twisted the toe of my shoe on the deck and whistled innocently. “Only if you agree to it.”

Steeev gazed up at her. “You do, do you not?”

A scowly-disgruntled expression began to form on her face, but then it shifted to a wince. She laid a hand on her belly, sighed. “Ah, jeez, bean.”

I masked a smile. The bean wanted Steeev around. Yay, bean!

Jill narrowed her eyes at Steeev. “Please tell me you can do the changing-to-look-human thing like Eilahn and Zack.”

His features scrunched. “It is possible, yes. Perhaps. I have not done so before, but I do not shy from a challenge.”

Jill rolled her eyes, then gave a dramatic slump of defeat. “Okay, fine. If you can get human-looking, then I won’t send you back an utter disgrace.”

I silently sang the hallelujah chorus.

Steeev stood, her hand still clasped flat between his as he gazed down into her face. “Jill Faciane, this is not to be done under duress,” he said, all joking gone from his voice and manner. “It is wholly your choice and my choice. I offer my service in my willingness to work with you. If you choose not to accept, then I depart with no ill will. This is between us now. It has nothing to do with what others want.”

Jill stared up at him with a stunned look on her face as the sincerity of Steeev’s proposal permeated the air around us. She took a shaky breath. “I’ve . . . suddenly realized I don’t like being on edge all the time. So, yes, Steeev. I’d like it very much if you would stay and, um, be my bodyguard.”

“Guardian,” he gently corrected, then leaned down and touched his forehead to hers. “And so it is. I have Mzatal’s support and will forge the tie that binds me here and to you. It may feel bizarre, but no harm will come of it.”

She inhaled sharply, eyes widening in shock, but a few seconds later she relaxed into unfocused peace. Eilahn had connected to me like this, I remembered, though she’d told me that no words could have prepared me. Then again, Steeev’s words seemed to have worked pretty well.

The pair remained still, forehead to forehead for several minutes, while I sat on the steps and amused myself by looking at clouds. Finally the palpable intensity faded to nothing. Steeev straightened, exhaled. “I am delighted that part is complete,” he said with a baring of his teeth, his laughter like a cascade of bird song.

Jill swayed a bit and gave a weak laugh. “Oh my god. That was . . .” She trailed off, apparently deciding that words were inadequate or unnecessary. “What now, Steeev the Guardian Demon?”

“You require that I take on the form of a human, and so I shall,” he replied.

“Do you need privacy?” she asked tentatively.

Steeev chimed softly. “No, I require assistance.”

Jill shot me a baffled look heavily flavored with desperation, then fixed her gaze on Steeev. “What kind of assistance?”

“Mzatal already offers direct potency which will ease the transformation greatly,” he explained. “However, I also require guidance from you.”

“Wait,” Jill said, “you want me to pick what you’ll look like?”

He shifted his shoulders and wings in a shrug. “Not precisely. I will not choose a particular form as much as create a composite from what you bring forth. Guidance.”

“Jeez, the pressure.”

Steeev chimed in laughter. “As I have never adopted a human form, I would prefer to do it with your guidance so that I may not omit anything vital,” he said. “It will be an adventure, Jill Faciane!”

Jill rolled her eyes and grinned. “Okay, bring it. We can’t risk having you run around here without all your bits and pieces.”

He guided her to sit on the top step. “As I have not done this before, I know only what I have heard from others.” He knelt on the step below her feet. I cleared my throat to get his attention.

“Steeev, transforming leaves Eilahn pretty shaky. You might want to go down to the bottom of the steps.” I gave him a grin. “I’d hate for you to fall and mess up your new body.”

He inclined his head to me and moved to kneel on the grass. “Thank you, Kara Gillian,” he said, then looked up at Jill. “Now, call forth a vision of your ideal guardian so that I can feel it.”

I stifled my laughter as I watched Jill’s face contort in concentration, no doubt desperately trying not to think of Kevin Costner in The Bodyguard. A moment later she sucked in a gasp as Steeev began to shimmer and slowly change. As with Eilahn, it was nothing like the smooth CGI-worthy morph the demahnk Helori had demonstrated in the demon realm, but more as if reality flickered in and out. I watched, curiosity tickling. Zack was demahnk, yet his shift hadn’t been at all like Helori’s. Maybe it had to do with Zack being on Earth?

The flickering faded. A naked man knelt at the base of the steps, eyes squeezed shut and breath coming shakily. Steeev. Jill still had an unfocused look about her, so I ducked quickly inside, found a towel, and returned outside as Jill began to come out of her fog.

Jill blinked, then grabbed the edge of the step with both hands as if to keep from toppling over. “Whoa. That was . . . I don’t know what that was.” She let out a breathless laugh, then focused on Steeev. “Whoa. You look really good.”

“I have all my bits and pieces?” he asked, eyes still closed. His human voice was light, pleasant, and smooth.

She snorted. “Uh, yeah.”

I descended the steps, wrapped the towel around Steeev’s waist. “I’ll find some clothing for you.”

He opened his eyes. Nice golden-brown eyes set in an amiable, dark-skinned face. “I do not recall agreeing to clothing,” he said, his smile displaying even, white—but not too white—teeth.

“You’d definitely distract any attackers,” I said with a laugh. I returned to Jill, sat and wrapped my arm around her. “You okay, chick?”

She smiled. “Yeah. The bean’s going crazy, and I’m dizzy, but that’s it.” Her smile grew into a grin. “Holy shit! I have a demon guardian named Steeeeeeeeeeev.”