“Good, because it doesn’t look like you would put up much of one.” I kept my hand on the sword, but I let it rest at my side.
“Kelsey, what are you doing?” Quinn stalked out to join us.
The demon managed to look surprised. “You are the king’s partner.” His eyes closed briefly and when he opened them, there was relief there. “Then he is aware and he is working on the problem. The old gods know my people are not.”
“You’re talking about the incidents?” Quinn was a cool customer who knew when not to give up too much. “What do you call them?”
“The convergence,” the demon replied. “Something is wrong, Your Grace. Something is affecting the outer planes. The walls are breaking down. I cannot get to the Summerlands. I am not allowed there. Something has happened to the goddess.”
“The goddess?” Quinn asked.
“I was going to ask about the Summerlands.” The asshole who’d hit me with an arrow had mentioned them. I’d never heard the term and wondered if it had anything to do with Summer.
“It’s the Fae version of Heaven,” Quinn replied. “Are you referring to Danu?”
I did know that one. “That’s a Fae god.”
The demon shook its head. “No. Not Danu. And the Summerlands aren’t what you think, though I’ve heard them called a paradise. It is the center of the outer planes. It holds us all together and the goddess…the stability of our planes flows from her. We are breaking apart. There’s no energy left.”
“No energy?” I still wasn’t completely sure about how these demons worked. I knew they were a specialized form, like the satans who judged contracts.
“The Planeswalkers gain energy from walking the different planes.” Dean proved he’d listened in class way better than I had. “Something about going through the doorways gives them energy. And they make money by kidnapping women.”
“Only those who can serve as consorts and companions, and there are men on Fae planes who work too.” The demon managed to sound a bit prim. “And we have a job to do as well. The Fae goddess stabilizes the veil, but we’re the reasons they open and close. But the veil is unstable now. It’s starting to break down. We must find a way to the Summerlands. I’m seeking a pure Fae. There is one close.”
Bris was suddenly the man talking. Or rather the god. “I am Fae, demon. How can I help?”
The demon shook his head. “You are not pure. You are not flesh.”
“He’s talking about Summer,” Dean said.
“Pure Fae magic,” the demon wheezed. “I feel it. That is what we need. I cannot…I cannot breathe. I have nothing left. Too long with no energy. We must find the magic or the outer planes will be destroyed.”
The demon passed out on the ground.
“What the hell do we do?” I didn’t normally have demons pass out at my feet, though there was that one time I told Eddie I didn’t care whether or not the oven cleaner was organic. But Eddie is my butler and he takes shit way too seriously. “Is he dead?”
He sounded male. I’m never totally sure about demons, but it feels wrong to always use it. He’d had a rough day. If I got to talk to him again, I would ask about his preferred pronouns. It never hurts to be polite.
“No,” Dean said. “I think he’s in a fugue state. If we could get some energy into him, he might be able to answer more questions. I have many.”
“Have you killed the demon?” Erna stood at the barrier.
“He knows what’s happening with the convergence. We can’t kill him,” Dean said, setting his shoulders. “I’m taking him out to the barn. He’ll be fine there.”
“We can’t keep a demon.” Erna sounded shocked at the very thought.
“We need to find a way to get him to talk,” Dean argued. “He said something about the Summerlands, and I think he’s after Summer.”
“I wouldn’t say after her,” I corrected. I didn’t think the demon wanted to hurt Summer. He seemed too desperate. “I think he wanted to find her. He seemed to think she could help with that weird shit that happened to us. I take it that wasn’t an isolated incident?”
Dean shook his head. “No. It’s been happening for several months, and it’s getting steadily worse. If he has any kind of an explanation, we need to talk to him.”
“Summer can’t do anything.” Erna moved in, staring down at the demon. “She’s got