“Yes. Hidden inside, waiting.”
“You knew we were hoping to ambush your people.”
“Yes. Of course. It was obvious. I laid out a trap for you that would be very apparent, so you would lay a trap for me.”
“Which was the real trap.” Amaliya realized how foolish they had been. The Summoner loved to play games with people’s lives. He had easily maneuvered them into delivering him straight into their haven. “How did you open the portal? Oh, wait. Of course. The portal spell was inside Etzli, too.”
“See. You’re clever.” Bianca’s face proudly beamed at her.
“And somehow you were able to connect the portal here...” Amaliya pondered what she had seen when she had arrived. The dark red designs were significant. “Blood?”
“Santos and Etzli are related by blood.”
“So you formed a bridge through their blood.” Amaliya pressed a hand to her forehead. Of course. She had smelled blood when she exited the portal. It was Santos’ blood that had created the portal. “We were so stupid.”
“You’re children,” The Summoner said with a sigh. “Mere children.”
Guiding her through a set of doors, they entered into an enormous bedroom. It wasn’t furnished except for a massive bed covered in ivory silk bedding and an antique table in one corner. As soon as they stepped over the threshold, Amaliya’s head swam and her body sagged. The air throbbed with malevolent energy. The pulse of the magic surged against her body in potent waves. Feeling disoriented, she staggered as The Summoner drew her to the table. Resting on the surface was a length of red velvet with twelve gold rings sitting upon it in a glittering row.
“Oh, God,” Amaliya gasped.
“There is no god here other than you, me, and Bianca.” The Summoner’s voice was male, strong, and exactly like her nightmares.
Daring to look at him, she saw his true form transposed over Bianca’s. The double image wavered, but maintained itself. The doors to the room thumped shut as the light overhead fell dark.
The rings on the velvet glowed with hellfire. The illumination formed a sword with one piece of the hilt missing.
“Isn’t it lovely? The instrument that will bring this world to an end and begin a new one?” The Summoner stepped out of Bianca. The younger woman instantly slumped against Amaliya.
Catching the blonde girl, Amaliya supported her weight while she fought against the growing malaise in her limbs. The viscous atmosphere in the room was making it difficult to focus on anything other than the vibrating power of the rings. The phantasmal sword repulsed her.
The apparition of The Summoner approached the rings and held his ghostly hands over it. Gradually, his form grew in density until he appeared to once more be made of flesh and blood. With a sly smile, he turned toward Amaliya.
“This can’t be happening,” Amaliya said with disbelief.
The Summoner stood before the two women completely nude. He was breathtakingly handsome with his fair hair, blue eyes, finely etched features, and sculpted physique. Amaliya vividly remembered what his body had felt like when he’d fucked her in the blood of her first victims. It had been one of those most fulfilling and erotic experiences of her life. It disturbed her to no end that she had lost herself in blood and sex with the man who had killed her.
Amaliya dared to stretch out her hand and touch his chest. It didn’t quite feel like flesh, but it was solid. The sensation left her fingertips buzzing and the tingle spread through her limbs until it settled between her legs. He appeared to read her mind for he smiled lasciviously at her.
“It took some time to harness all the ectoplasm needed to form this temporary shell, but it suffices when I need it.” The Summoner rested his hands against her cheek and Bianca’s. “Doesn’t it, Bianca?”
The girl had tears in her eyes, but she nodded mutely.
Amaliya’s fingers closed over his wrist and she could feel the fine hairs on his skin tickling her palm. “How?”
“Do you think me weak?” The Summoner inclined his head near hers, his eyes narrowing. “Do you really believe you could keep me from returning?”
“Yes,” she answered truthfully. “I did.”
Chuckling, he shook his head with amusement.
Bianca’s slim body pressed tighter against Amaliya’s as the younger woman clung to her.
“Bianca has been witness to my greatness. You have much to learn.”
“Maybe, I do. I have like a bazillion questions to ask you. But let’s start with this one. If you want to fuck your pretty little things, why don’t you just take over someone else’s body? Why the big show?” She gestured toward his erection.
Her mockery clearly amused him. “I know from our history that you prefer my true form.”
Bianca squeezed Amaliya’s side as a warning. Amaliya ignored her. She rather enjoyed provoking The Summoner.
“It was okay. But maybe I’d rather you possessed Santos. He’s pretty hot.”
The Summoner arched an eyebrow. “Oh?” He ran his hand through the radiance of the rings. “It requires a completely subservient person and then I am trapped by their limitations. I don’t like to be limited.” His eyes shifted downward to his cock.
“Men! Why is it always about the size of your dicks?” Amaliya rolled her eyes.
Again, Bianca’s fingers dug into Amaliya’s waist. The fear in her eyes was growing.
Amaliya didn’t give a rat’s ass. There was the distinct possibility she was going to die and if she was going to meet her end, she was going to enjoy herself on the way out. That meant annoying the hell out of The Summoner.
“So why possess Bianca on a regular basis? She’s got tits and a pussy. Obviously, you’re limited there.” She pointedly looked at his penis, before raising her eyes to stare at him definitely.
The Summoner tilted his head and bestowed her with a bemused look. “Because I am connected to her. She’s my creation like you are. It’s easier for me to tuck myself inside her.” His smile broadened. “In more than one way.”
Amaliya dug her cigarette case out of her back pocket. It had a devil woman embossed on the lid, a gift from Cian. The thought of him hurt, so she pressed it away. Popping open the case, Amaliya drew a cigarette out. “So basically, this is all about you getting laid.”
“Do you think me so crass?” The Summoner asked, surprised.
“Fuckin’ absolutely.” Lighting her cigarette with the electric lighter she kept in the case, she inhaled the smoke, then slowly blew it in his direction. “You’re the one who flicked my bean as you killed me. You’re all sorts of kink. So is your reason for wanting me here so we can do the nasty?”
Bianca flinched.
“I want you here because you belong here with me,” The Summoner said calmly.
“Which is why you’re doing the big show?” Again she gestured at his fake physical form. Despite her bravado, she continued to struggle against the stupor threatening to drag her down into its embrace.
“He’s limited in this form, too,” Bianca dared to say. “And he can’t maintain it for long periods of time.”
“Ah, there you go. Telling secrets, Bianca.” The Summoner gave the blonde a sharp look. “What did I tell you about that?”
“She’s one of us,” Bianca answered, defiance in her eyes. “Isn’t she? So why not tell her?”
Stepping closer to the women, The Summoner towered over them, forcing them to look upward to meet his gaze. The penetrating blue eyes slid from one face then the other. “Yes, she is. Aren’t you, Amaliya?”
The lethargy slipping into her bones and muddling her mind frustrated her. It reminded of her being drunk, or feverish. The world was hazy and didn’t feel quite real.
“Amaliya, aren’t you?”