“Okay,” Ryan drawled. “And what could our Symbol Man have offered this demon in exchange for his help?”

I dragged a hand through my hair. “Power, of some sort. Certainly not here in this sphere, because that would be worthless to a demon below the level of a lord, but most likely a chance at power in the sphere of the demons.”

“Ah. Sort of like the Klingon method of promotion.”

I stared at him blankly. “The what?”

Ryan’s eyes went wide. “You can’t be serious. As over the edge as you are, you don’t watch Star Trek?”

I scowled. “I’m not over the edge, and I do so watch Star Trek. Did. A couple of times.”

Ryan rolled his eyes dramatically. “And here I thought you were my perfect match.” He grinned at me while I struggled for a response. “The Klingon method of promotion,” he continued, “is where you kill your superior to get their job.”

“Oh. Right.” Funny. He didn’t look like a nerd. “Okay, yes, that might be it in a way, though a reyza can’t actually become a lord. It would be like a panther trying to become a tiger. But it could be one of the lord’s generals. Or, more likely, it’s a rival general working for his own lord to bring down this other lord. My aunt tells me that the power struggles in that sphere are constant and devious.”

Ryan frowned. “Is there a way to find out who the demon is?”

I started to tell him that there wasn’t, then paused. There was a way, but, holy shit, it was risky.

“Kara? What is it?”

“Well,” I said, “I can’t tell, but another higher demon—or a more powerful being than that—could probably read the traces on the body and be able to identify it.” I thought about Rhyzkahl’s statement about his mark on me.

“So you could summon a demon and ask it?”

“Er, well, not exactly.” I glanced up at the sky, even though I knew perfectly well that the moon was still a few days away from full. “Higher demons almost always need to be summoned on a full moon, plus there would be the problem of having the body nearby so that it could be examined. That’s in addition to the basic problem of being able to summon and control a higher demon in the first place.”

“Well, that sucks.”

“Actually … I think I know a way to do it.” I bit my lip. “I mean, I can’t summon a reyza, but I might be able to get some information.”

He lifted an eyebrow. “Call your Demonic Lord?”

“Not call him,” I said. “I’m not that foolish. But, um, maybe I can get him to come to my dreams again.”

“You do realize you’re talking about taking a nap in the same room as the body?” he pointed out.

I grimaced. Maybe there was another way?

“How do you know it will work?” Ryan asked.

“I don’t. But I’ve asked him questions before. That’s how I found out about the runes on the other victim.”

“Okay, so other than napping in a morgue, it’s pretty risk-free, right? There’s not much he can do to you in your dreams that you can’t just wake up from.”

“Right. Sure,” I said in what I hoped was a convincing manner. Only problem was, it wasn’t true. Promises could be made, debts could be earned, patronages formed. Summoners had to abide by the same code that the demons were held to, or else they could not be trusted. Dreams might not be physical, but they still held great peril. Well, not physical most of the time, I thought as I flexed my healed shoulder.

“I think,” I continued after a moment, “that I might not have to be in the same room as the body if I’m trying to speak to the lord in my dreams.”

“That would make things a hell of a lot easier,” Ryan said dryly.

I gave a halfhearted shrug as I watched the sheriff’s office crimes-scene techs swarm over the area, taking measurements and photographing the body and its surroundings. It would be interesting to see what explanation was put forward for the tracks by the body.

“Well, I’m not certain it’ll work,” I said, “but I’m going to have to sleep at some point anyway, and he made a comment last time about being in control of the reality …”

“So he can whiz you there dream-speed or something.”

“I guess. I hope.” I rubbed at my eyes. “There’s still so much I don’t know. I feel like I’m fumbling along most of the time.”

He gripped me by my shoulders and turned me toward him. “Hey, don’t fail me now. You’ve brought us this far.”

I mustered a wan smile. “I won’t fail you. We’re close. I know it.”

“The killer is resorting to taunting you, which means he’s definitely going to slip up soon.”

I resisted the urge to slump. “I sure hope so.”

He gave my shoulders a squeeze, then released me. “Come on, I’m taking you to bed,” he said, grinning wickedly.

“Jeez, don’t say that too loud,” I said, smiling despite myself. “People will start talking.”

CHAPTER 22

Ryan pulled into my driveway right behind me, getting out of his car just as I was exiting mine.

“I do hope you realize that I’m not leaving your house tonight,” Ryan said before I could say a word. “Not until you’ve woken up from your encounter with this Demonic Lord.”

I allowed my protest to die unvoiced. “I can’t see that there’s going to be a problem. I mean, he’s helped me twice now, and I think he’s going to keep being cool to me since he wants me to call him. But, yeah, having you nearby is probably a good idea.”

He gave me a quick grin. “I’m going to have to start leaving a change of clothes and a toothbrush at your place if this keeps up.”

I smiled and quickly turned away, feeling an unfamiliar flush rising. What the hell was wrong with me? It wasn’t as if I’d never spent the night with a man. Hell, I’d had boyfriends. Okay, not too many, but still. I’d just never had a guy as … everything … as Ryan pay this much attention to me. Smart, good-looking, witty, charming …

Stop being stupid. He’s just working on the case. That’s all this is. He thinks of you as a partner. I jammed the key into the lock of the back door and entered the kitchen.

“So explain something to me,” he said as he followed me in and closed the door.

“Explain what?” I asked as I opened the fridge and peered at the available offerings. I honestly couldn’t remember the last time I’d eaten.

“The whole good-and-evil thing with regard to the demons. I always had the impression that all demons were evil.”

I grabbed a brick of cheddar. “Well, yeah, because that’s what they say in Sunday school.” I closed the refrigerator door with my hip, then snagged crackers and a knife. “But, see, these demons are not the demons of the religious mythos.”

He watched me as I set the cheese and crackers on a plate and placed it on the table. “Then what are they?”

“They’re other-planar creatures,” I said, as I carved a slab of cheese from the brick and piled it onto a cracker. I gestured at the plate with a help yourself motion as I took an undainty bite.

He looked doubtfully at my exceedingly plebeian hors d’oeuvres. “Do you always buy your cheese in five-pound bricks?”

“It’s only two pounds,” I replied after a few seconds of chewing. “It was cheap. And I like cheese.”

“But … cheddar? Mild?” He looked pained.

I glared at him and defiantly cut another piece. “It was cheap. Do you have a problem with my cheese?”

“Absolutely not,” he said, giving a mock shudder. “So. Other-planar creatures? Explain, please?”

I set the knife down and held my hands up in front of me, one above the other. “Think different dimensions. Spheres. Planes of existence. Whatever you want to call it. We live in one, and they live in another. These two planes often converge in such a way that a person with the ability to open a portal between them can summon a creature from their world to ours.”

“And how do people know if they have the ability?”