Fire Within - By Ally Shields Page 0,75

him to let himself in and, when the door closed again, motioned him to silence with a raised finger. He looked at the circle drawn in ashes, nodded, and dropped gracefully into a chair at her oak table.

Ari returned her attention to the ritual and determinedly shut him out. The magic required total concentration. She lit the four candles and spoke the words of invocation. When she was prepared, she focused on the water bowl, called the picture of a demon to mind, and repeated the spell three times, as she had seen Moriana do.

Take the image in my mind; Set it free to seek and find; What it finds, let me see; As I ask, so mote it be.

At the end of the first recitation, the water began to swirl and grow cloudy. By the end of the second, an image formed across its shimmering surface. During the third repetition, an overview of Olde Town appeared, pinpointing a pulsing red light.

Gotcha.

The image zoomed closer; the tops of buildings appeared. Then, without warning, the red light winked out. Ari gasped. “No!”

Andreas leaped to his feet, hovering near the circle’s edge, ready to break it if necessary. Ari shook her head to let him know she was in no danger. She continued the ritual. Whatever had happened, the fault wasn’t with the scrying ceremony. Ari still had to thank the goddess. The spell had worked, but somehow the demon had concealed itself.

She said the final words, opened the circle, and turned on a lamp.

“What happened?” Andreas demanded.

“I’m not sure. I had him located somewhere in Olde Town. Then, he was gone.”

“Gone. To where?”

Ari lifted her shoulders. “He just disappeared. Like he winked out. Demons can move fast, like you can, but nobody moves that far, that fast. Not to get completely out of my scrying range. He should have showed up somewhere else.” Ari was stumped. Maybe she had done something wrong after all. She let her mind run over the elements of the ritual, finding nothing wrong in its execution.

“Interesting.” Andreas walked to the bay window and stood, looking out at the night sky. “What if the image changed? Would that explain what you saw?”

“Have you seen something like this before?”

“Perhaps. When I was new to vampirism.” His thoughts seemed far away, his voice pensive. “I was in France. A creature was terrorizing the villagers. There one instant, gone the next.” He turned to face her, his eyes dark as ink. “Your demon may be an image changer. Not an ordinary demon at all.”

“Image changer? Is that like a shape shifter?”

“In some ways. But it does not go through a metamorphosis like a werewolf. It merely assumes the outward appearance of another being.”

“And since my scrying spell was based on his image, the picture in my mind, I lost him when he changed!” Ari exclaimed. “He must have recognized the magical probe. Damn, that means the creature knows we’re looking for it. So how did you kill it?” She’d unconsciously switched to “it” but demons could be any sex or every sex.

“I did not kill him. I was only a nestling at the time and too self-absorbed with my new circumstances to make the effort.” He gave his characteristic shrug. “Besides, I would have been seriously outmatched.”

Ever pragmatic. “Could this be the same demon? Hunting you?”

“That was a long time ago. I am sure it paid no attention to an inexperienced vampire. I did nothing to draw its attention. What reason would it have to hunt me, then or now?”

“You tell me. Some demon is after you.” Ari bit back the urge to accuse him of keeping secrets again. This was hardly the time for another fight.

“I wish I knew the answer, Arianna, but I do not.” He cocked his head as if he knew what she’d been thinking. “I am quite certain I have had no dealings with any demon, except the occasional halfling. And this is no halfling. This is an assassin working for someone. Although I have no idea who that would be.”

“It’s strange an assassin would hire such worthless help.” Ari related the day’s events in detail, including the interview with Philby, ending with the demon’s threats to avoid capture. “Ryan and I thought it might have tried to distract us from the murders.”

“Possible, I suppose. Even for a demon, his actions seem erratic. I assume that, in itself, is a way of misleading us.” Andreas sounded more interested than alarmed.

“If the demon is trying to