“But only one of them is the Scythe of Nen.”

I blew out my breath. “Okay, what does it look like?”

“I have never seen it myself, but from what I’ve gathered, it’s a small dagger with a curved blade. The scabbard is ornately carved with cavorting demons.”

I felt my lip curl up. “Cavorting?”

“Unfortunately, yes. You’ll know it when you see it.”

I added a stomach roll to my lip curl. “That’s something to look forward to.”

“As to size, the entire weapon is no larger than my hand.”

“So it could be hidden literally anywhere. Wonderful. I’m on an island with probably five virgins and thousands of daggers. Needle, haystack. Need I say more? Those aren’t my kind of odds.”

“They could be better,” my father agreed.

“And to liven things up, a demon horde is looking for the same thing, and they don’t need a virgin.” I had a really bad thought. “Or do they?”

“Do you believe that they are close to finding the Scythe?”

“Doesn’t look like it. We’ve got demons popping up all over the island, and the demon queen herself wants to have a heart-to-heart chat with me, if she has a heart,” I muttered. “She thinks I know where the Scythe is but just won’t tell her.”

My father winced. “When you wake up, you may want to have Paladin Eiliesor take steps to protect the island’s virgins.”

“Demons can sense that sort of thing?”

“They can. Some claim that virginity even attracts them.”

I groaned inwardly. I might not beat the demons to the Scythe, but I suddenly thought I knew where I could find a virgin. “I won’t be searching haystacks. I think I know someone.”

“You don’t sound happy about it.”

“And neither will he.”

I really needed to sit down. In my next dream, there would be a chair. Too much had happened since I rolled out of bed this morning, and none of it had been good. I wasn’t the only one in danger; I could handle it if I were. Okay, at least I could handle it better. But because of me, because of the Saghred, some of the people I cared for the most were about to be at the mercy and whims of men who had no business wielding that kind of power. Overwhelmed pretty much covered how I felt. And scared. Definitely scared.

“Raine?”

“I’m scared, Dad.”

He gently laid his hands on my shoulders. I didn’t know if I was imagining it-this was a dream after all-but his hands felt warm and strong.

“Scared sounds like the right thing to be,” he said softly.

“You’re in a bad situation-”

“It’s my friends-”

“Your good friends.”

I nodded once and took a little breath. It shook just like the rest of me. “My very good friends.”

“You fear for them.”

“More than for me.”

“Sarad Nukpana is a threat to you, a very real threat. But know this, daughter. I am a very real threat to Sarad Nukpana. There are others like me, and he knows it.”

I remembered what I’d seen the last time I was in the Saghred. Shadowy figures just waiting for Sarad Nukpana to give the word. “There are others like him-and worse.”

“Makes life interesting.” Eamaliel grinned. “Or whatever it is we have in the Saghred.”

“I want to get you out.”

“No.” His gray eyes were like twin thunderclouds.

“What do you mean, no?”

“If you find the Scythe of Nen and try to release me, others will follow-others who should not be loose in the world. I am still a Guardian, and I still guard the Saghred from those who would abuse its power. I do the same thing, only now from the inside. As to Sarad Nukpana, leave him to me.” Those gray eyes went from grim to sparkling. “Or the demon king.”

“What about the demon king?” I asked.

“What about him?” My father’s expression was the very picture of innocence.

“You’re smiling,” I said.

“Am I? I wasn’t aware of it.”

“If it’s something good, tell me. I could use a laugh.”

“The demon king has an unspoken rule. We stay away from him; he doesn’t eat us. We feel it’s a fine arrangement.”

I felt myself begin to smile along with him. “Let me guess. Nukpana’s the new kid on the block, and no one’s told him anything.”

My father grinned from ear to ear. “We thought we’d let it be a surprise.”

I woke up in the same place where I’d fallen asleep. I loved it when that happened.

What I didn’t love, and couldn’t believe, was that Piaras had actually gone to class this morning. I didn’t care that the four Guardians who’d become the kid’s new shadows could squash flat anything that Sarad Nukpana tried. And even worse, Mychael had to leave the citadel only an hour ago to deal with what Vegard called a sizable demon outbreak in the center city. Sora, her faculty, and the grad students hadn’t been able to find the Hellgate.

And my loyal Guardian bodyguard had let me sleep through every last bit of it.

“Why didn’t you wake me up?”

“The boss ordered me not to.”

I stifled a growl-and some four-letter expressions of my displeasure-and strapped on my weapons. There was no use starting an argument. It wouldn’t change the fact that Piaras was somewhere on campus, Mychael was somewhere in the center city, and demons were all over the freaking place.

I armed myself as fast as my sleep-induced grogginess would let me, which wasn’t nearly fast enough for me. Then I was out the door and down the corridor. I was almost running, and Vegard kept up. He was getting used to it.

“Sizable meaning a lot of demons?” I asked. “Or one really big one?” I had a flashback to the big, yellow, and ultimately squishy demon that’d virtually taken apart watcher headquarters, and hoped nothing like that was rampaging through the city right now.

“Sizable as in more than one.”

That didn’t make me feel better about anything. I told Vegard some of what Sarad Nukpana had told me and all of what my father said about the Scythe of Nen and the only way to find it.

I’d never seen the big Guardian look so completely baffled. “Virgins?”

“Yeah, virgins. You know, people who haven’t had sex yet.”

“I know what they are, ma’am.”

“You just don’t know any here.”

He barked with laughter. “In the citadel? Hell, no.”

“I mean on the island.”

“Well… I guess some of the students could possibly-”

I waved my hand, cutting him off. “That’s what I figured. We’re going to see one of them now. I think. I hope.”

“Which one?”

I told him.

Vegard chuckled. “No real surprise there. Though he’s not gonna like why you need him to help.”

I’d come to that uncomfortable conclusion all by myself. For teenage boys, virginity didn’t exactly give them bragging rights. It was more like a disease they wanted to cure as soon as possible.

I’d rather fight demons with Mychael.

“Mychael probably doesn’t have time for this now, but Dad said that the demons might be looking to get themselves a virgin guide, too.”

Vegard swore. “Though how many students could that apply to, realistically speaking?”

“One student in demon claws would be enough,” I told him.

“I’ll send a runner to the boss.”

Or I could tell Mychael myself. Right now.

I really trusted Vegard, trusted him with my life, but the fewer people who knew about my bond with Mychael and Tam, the better. And it would be safer for Vegard. If Carnades went into inquisition mode, I’d rather Vegard not end up on his list of interrogation subjects. Though after carrying me out of watcher headquarters yesterday, Vegard was probably the first name on Carnades’s list.

“What is it, ma’am?”

“Can you contact him?” I asked. “With mindspeak?” Mychael had contacted his men that way last night as backup for Piaras. Hopefully Vegard could do the same thing.

“Normally I could, ma’am. But for some reason there’s too much distortion. It’s the same way all over the city. Must have something to do with the demons. Everyone is having to use runners.”