Circle of the Moon (Soulwood #4 )- Faith Hunter Page 0,161

take on a blood-witch and a master vampire alone.

I said, “The other reason I called? I know where Jason is. A house on Roseberry Road, under a hedge of protection, with a lot of vampires. Probably the rogue vampires and Godfrey. We know what he’s calling. He has to be stopped—now. We can storm the place while most of the vampires are asleep. Call the witch council and get your permission.”

Not that we needed it. If I could get close to Jason, inside his magical defenses, I could feed him to the earth. I had his blood.

“Later,” T. Laine said, disconnecting.

I still didn’t have an answer to my question What did Jason really want? Another possibility, half-seen from my communion with the land, crawled up from the dark and rooty recesses of my mind. I dialed Ayatas FireWind. He sounded alert and reserved, as always. “What can I do for you, Ingram?”

I told him what I had learned about Jason’s location and magical protections, and asked, “Do you know a lot about demons?”

“Too much.” The words sounded tired and beaten.

“In Spook School, I learned that when a witch calls a demon, they contact the demon, make a bargain, and slit the throat of the sacrifice. The blood frees the demon into the circle with the sacrifice and seals the bargain with the blood. When the demon drinks or absorbs the blood, the demon is then free. And that gives the witch rule over the demon and his powers for a specified time period. Yes?”

“More or less. Though the bargain Jason negotiated required a blood sacrifice to even contact the demon,” Ayatas said, his tone pedantic, impassive. “That contact and bargain was what you saw in the review working cast by Kent.”

“Who will be the sacrifice that gives the demon freedom?”

“Vampire prisoners dedicated to that purpose and Rick LaFleur.”

“What happens if Jason dies now? Before he frees the demon?”

“It would be a half finished summoning. Anyone could take over and free him, and the agreed upon bargain would no longer be in play. It’s what demons hope for in the first place—getting free, having access to the earth and the humans in it, unrestricted by bargains.”

“And if Jason is dead and the demon is still trapped in the circle?” I asked.

He hesitated, a slight hitch in tone. “There may be those in our government and military who think they can control a demon, can rewrite the bargain if Jason is gone and the demon is still trapped in the circle.”

“So we have to finish this in the next twenty-four hours, and tie up all the loose ends.”

“I fear so.”

“And if we take Jason out after the possession?” I asked.

“It will be difficult to kill Jason with the tools we have on hand once he’s possessed by the demon. That’s usually part of the bargain. Magical protection from attack for the duration of the contract.”

Tools we have on hand. That was an interesting phrase. I took a slow breath and said, “I know where Jason is. And our timeline window is small. We have to take him out today. In the ninety minutes between new-moonset and sunset. Do containment vessels have a size maximum?”

There was a short, sharp silence on the other end of the connection as FireWind processed my question. “You think it’s a Major Power.”

“Yes. When I read the land, I got a good look at the ring on the demon’s hand. The red stone was embossed with a rune. T. Laine says it’s Gebo in opposition.”

The reserved, unemotional FireWind took a hissing breath.

“We have its calling name, based on the initials B.K.L. I think it’s huge and powerful and tied to the magma working its way up through the earth’s crust,” I said.

“Hmmm. There are hot springs and other signs of geological activity in the Appalachians. In answer to your question, yes, containment vessels do have a maximum suppression and restraint assessment, but no one knows how to measure demonic energy, so PsyLED labs haven’t tried the systems with anything larger than your garden-variety flesh-eating imp.”

“So we can’t contain it, and we can’t kill it, and Jason is under the magical protection of a powerful hedge of thorns until he lets it drop to free the demon. And we have to act before sunset and the vamps rise.”

“Yes. But until the bargain is completed, the demon’s power is fundamentally and effectively limited.” I could almost hear the frown in his voice when he added, “We thought Rick was being