The Trouble with Demons (Raine Benares #3)

The goblin’s dark eyes narrowed briefly, then he ignored Eamaliel, focusing all of his attention on me. Lucky me.

“You may find this difficult to believe, but I hope Carnades hasn’t taken you into custody,” Nukpana said. “His Majesty’s lawyers and my Khrynsani would be disappointed if you were snatched from their grasp.”

Sathrik Mal’Salin had sent lawyers to Mid to try to retrieve the Saghred and extradite me. When legal means didn’t work, he’d sent Khrynsani shamans and temple guards. So far the goblin king hadn’t gotten his hands on either me or the Saghred. The lawyers and Khrynsani were still on the island and still trying. I almost admired their tenacity.

“What can I say? I’m the most popular spellslinger in town.”

I felt rather than saw my father stand up. I didn’t blame him; I felt the same way. When a first-rate psychopath like Sarad Nukpana appeared in your bedroom, you didn’t want to be caught anywhere but on your feet. I was glad I hadn’t still been in bed when the goblin had slithered in. That would have gone way beyond creepy.

“You said you would stay away from her,” Eamaliel said with quiet menace.

Sarad Nukpana swung his long legs over the side of my bed. “I lied. Surely you didn’t expect me to actually keep my word.

You’re the man of honor, not me. Honor and morals are an inefficient, unproductive waste of my time. By the way, the board is still as you left it, should you want to resume our game.” He turned to me. “Your father stormed off in the middle of a match; it was his move, and I wasn’t even cheating. He may be a man of honor, but he can be rude.” His fangs flashed in a quick grin. “Perhaps there’s hope for him yet.”

I blinked at my father. “Game? You’re actually playing games with him?”

“What an appropriate choice of words,” Nukpana said.

“Your noble father plays games on many levels, little seeker. His powers of manipulation are admirable—and that says much coming from me.”

“Chess, Raine,” Eamaliel clarified. “And yes, it is a way to pass the time and to keep an eye on this one. At least I know that while he’s sitting across from me, he’s not plotting with his allies.”

Sarad Nukpana sighed dramatically. “He still doesn’t believe that my allies have all but evaporated. Literally.”

I could believe that. Almost. The last time I’d been in the Saghred, I’d seen filmy figures, some more solid than others, most wasted away to wraiths. I’d also seen some who appeared to be as solid as Sarad Nukpana.

“Unfortunately, their mental capacity evaporates with them,” the goblin was saying. “It’s difficult to scheme with yourself. I’m all alone.”

I was sure he wasn’t. “I’m sure you’re managing,” was what I said.

“Even the worst enemies when imprisoned together form a kind of camaraderie,” Nukpana said. “Your father and I have found some things in common. You, for one.”

“You’re wasting Raine’s time, Sarad,” Eamaliel warned.

“There’s all the time in the world inside the Saghred.”

“She’s not inside the Saghred.”

Nukpana smiled suggestively. “A goblin can dream, can’t he?”

“What happened at the watcher station wasn’t your fault,” my father assured me. “If you hadn’t acted as decisively as you did, innocent people would have died, and many more would have met the same fate if those demons had escaped.”

“Decisive. So that’s you call shoving one demon into a wine bottle and squashing another into a bloody pulp.”

“I call it beautiful,” Sarad Nukpana said.

Eamaliel shot him a dark look. “It was necessary.”

“But I used the Saghred for the big, yellow one,” I said. For the purple demon, I’d used Tam. Or Tam had used me.

“Because you had to,” my father was saying.

I snorted. “Yeah, I could use it, or I could get ripped apart from the inside by the rock or from the outside by a demon. Some choice.”

“That’s not what I meant. There was a need, and you acted.

You did the right thing, the only thing. Yes, the Saghred is a force of death and destruction. But those things aren’t inherently evil. War is death and destruction; war is not inherently evil. People who misuse power are evil.” He shot an accusing look at Sarad Nukpana. “You used your power for the greater good.”

And I had felt good using it. There, I’d admitted it. The Saghred’s full power had been terrifying, overwhelming, but it had also been intoxicating. And deep down, some dark part of me wanted to do it again.

“And she took a couple of giant steps closer to insanity,” Nukpana was saying. “Either that or being locked up for the rest of her life, or getting a dagger in the back, whichever comes first.”

“If I punched him, would my fist go through?” I asked Eamaliel.

“It would. I’ve tried.”

“Too bad.”

“There were mages like Carnades in my time,” my father said. “Men who were absolutely convinced that their beliefs were right and just. Going through a self-righteous life wearing blinders will do that. They can’t accept that the world isn’t only black and white—there are many shades of gray.”

I thought of Tam and what we’d done. “Tam,” I murmured. Sarad Nukpana pulled his legs up to sit cross-legged on my bed, a grin of eager anticipation on his face. “Ah yes, Tamnais Nathrach.” He rubbed his hands together. “Finally things are going to get interesting. What the two of you did was very naughty. It must have felt delicious. Tell me, just how good was it?”

My father looked like he wanted to knock Nukpana off the other side of my bed and through the wall. It wouldn’t work, but that didn’t stop him from entertaining the idea. I was thinking along the same lines myself.

“Tamnais Nathrach tries to be a good man,” Eamaliel said quietly. “But his past begins to catch up with him. His training and the instincts that feed his power may prove too much for him to resist in the end.”

“I want to help him.”

Nukpana chuckled. “You’re both going to need help.” “Shut up!” my father and I barked simultaneously.

The goblin lay back on my pillows with a smug and knowing smile.

I swallowed. “Carnades wants us both in prison and—”

“That’s not what I mean,” Eamaliel said. “How long have you known Tamnais Nathrach?”

“That’s important?”

“Very.”

“A little over two years.”

“Have you heard the term ‘umi’atsu’?”

“No. Should I?”

“Umi’atsu is a goblin word meaning ‘life twins,’ ” Nukpana interrupted. He raised his hands in mock defense when my father shot him a scathing look. “Eamaliel, who better to tell her about goblin magic than me?”

My father hesitated then nodded tightly.

The goblin graciously inclined his head and continued. “An umi’atsu is a bond conceived between two powerful mages—usually goblin mages—binding them first through their magic, then hearing, sight, and finally their minds and souls. After that, an umi’atsu bond can only be broken by death.” Nukpana looked entirely too happy about that last part. “Some consider it a magical marriage of sorts—body and soul become one, until death do you part, all that sentimental nonsense.”

Marriage? My mind seized onto that one word and locked up in panic.

“What does that have to do with Tam and me?” I dimly heard myself ask.

“Just everything.” Nukpana looked closely at me and smiled.

“Why, Raine, are you getting cold feet? It’s a trifle late for that, the ceremony’s over.”

“You’re saying that we’re . . .”

“Umi’atsu,” Nukpana finished helpfully. “Magically mated, if you will. Though in my opinion Tamnais could have selected a more romantic location than under the elven embassy.” Nukpana’s black eyes glittered. “And I didn’t even get you a gift.”

I desperately looked at my father.

“What he says is true,” Eamaliel told me. “Such a bond can only be formed if the two mages were emotionally close prior to the incident that caused the bonding. Obviously the two of you must have been very close.”

Tam and I were definitely close—he wanted to be even closer.

My father’s face didn’t have much of an expression. I couldn’t tell if he was pissed, but he sure as hell wasn’t the proud father of the bride.

Bride. Oh shit.

I thought, considered, and concluded in the span of a few seconds. What I thought wasn’t pretty, and my conclusion didn’t make me happy. “When Tam said that we weren’t separate anymore, he knew what had happened.” He’d probably wanted it to happen. And if I found out that he’d done it on purpose, once I got my hands around his throat, I was going from bride to widow.

Then I froze, unblinking. My heart tried to do flips in my chest, and questions tripped over each other in my mind. I’d just experienced something entirely too similar with Mychael. Could I be magically joined to both of them? Was it possible? Merely probable? And if so, was it illegal? Or just immoral? Maybe it was both, or neither.

I felt really woozy all of a sudden. Either there wasn’t any air in the room, or I’d completely forgotten how to breathe.

Nukpana was laughing. “Of course Tamnais knew. He was Queen Glicara Mal’Salin’s magical enforcer for five years. I’ve seen Tamnais Nathrach in action, little seeker. He knows only too well what goblin magic can do, especially the dark variety. He’s done enough of it himself.” The goblin leered. “And if something was enough fun, he would do it again.”

“Tam’s not like that anymore.” I said it but I wasn’t entirely sure. I stifled a growl. For his sake, he’d better not be.