The Demon's Design by Christopher Nuttall

Author:Christopher Nuttall [Nuttall, Christopher]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fantasy, sorcerers, alternate world, Magic, New Adult, Magicians
Publisher: Twilight Times Books
Published: 2023-05-29T07:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty-One

“THERE WAS THIS… THIS PERSON,” Sykes managed. His voice was shaky. “He came to me, two days ago, and…”

He swallowed, hard. “He told me you’d be coming. He told me to take Cali and lie in wait for you. He told me I could do what I liked to you. He told me… he told me he was going to continue his spree until you arrived.”

Emily’s eyes narrowed. “His spree?”

“He’s a killer,” Sykes said. “He’s killing people on the streets and… he was doing it before he came to me.”

“Right,” Emily said, slowly. “When was the first murder?”

Brandon cleared his throat. “And where is Cali?”

“Five days ago, I think,” Sykes said. “It was… concerning.”

“I bet it was,” Frieda said, sourly. “If people are paying you for protection and you can’t protect them…”

Emily rubbed her forehead as she thought fast. Sykes insisted his visitor was a man, which meant it wasn’t Hilde. Unless she’d used an illusion spell… hardly impossible, even without a demon riding her, but… Emily cursed under her breath. She’d thought Master Landsman was the only one of his group to be possessed, yet if there’d been another… the demon, or whatever was behind the whole affair, had sent one of his servants to the Halfway House and another to Serpantha, trying to kidnap Cali and bury the trail before it was too late. And then the demon had gone on a murder spree… she shuddered. She’d seen enough horror in the last few days that she didn’t want to think about how bad the murder scenes must have been.

And still are, she thought, numbly. The demon is still out there.

“It told you I’d be coming,” she said. “What else did it tell you?”

Sykes grimaced. “A few other details,” he said. “Blackmail tips, mainly. It promised more if I cooperated.”

“I’m sure it did,” Emily said. She met his eyes. “Where is Cali?”

“In one of my safehouses,” Sykes said. “The… person… was clear she was not to be harmed, merely held prisoner.”

“Odd,” Emily said. Killing Cali and burning her body would have made it impossible to follow the trail any further. As far as she knew, the demon had no reason to keep Hilde’s mother alive… bait in a trap? Another trap? Or had Hilde managed to convince the demon to spare her mother, in exchange for her service? Emily didn’t dare assume anything any longer. “Very odd.”

She studied the broken man for a long moment. The spells should have made it impossible for him to lie. They should have made it very difficult for him to even realize he’d been enchanted, let alone throw off the spells or attack her. They were so strong she had very real qualms about using them, even on a man like Sykes. And yet, what if she were wrong? The demon could have primed him for the spells, taught him how to pretend to be enchanted… she cursed under her breath as she second-guessed herself. How did one outwit a creature that could see into the future?

“Take us to her,” Brandon said, sharply.

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