Page 90 of Demon Unleashed

Samson nodded slowly. “And that of your child, too, I presume.”

“Who told you?” Enya’s gaze wandered to Grayson.

“For a change, it’s not Grayson’s fault. He told me nothing. But my hearing is as good as his. I heard the baby’s heartbeat when we traveled here in the portal. I had to hold your arm, remember?”

Enya nodded. “The baby is Zoltan’s.” She reached for Zoltan’s hand and squeezed it.

Samson ran a hand through his raven-black hair. “Well, I guess if the Council of Nine approved this undertaking, who am I to contradict them?”

There was a silence that lasted just a second too long.

“Yeah, sure, of course,” Manus said. “We should get this show on the road.”

But Samson had already caught on. “Are you guys shitting me? You didn’t run this by the council?”

Enya gave a one-shouldered shrug. “They would never go for it. It was hard enough to convince my compound mates. So if you want to blame somebody, blame me. But I would do it again. What are you gonna do now?”

Samson sighed and looked at Amaury and Quinn. Both nodded. “We do what we came here to do: destroy the vortex circles. We’ll deal with the fallout later.” Then he looked straight at Zoltan. “And don’t think I’ll hesitate to kill you should you betray us.”

“I wouldn’t expect anything else,” Zoltan said. And for some reason, that threat made him respect Samson.

~ ~ ~

Shortly later, everything was ready. Zoltan and Enya stood outside in the alley in front of the invisible compound—a revelation that Zoltan didn’t really have time to appreciate—while several of the others stood farther afield.

Enya looked up at him. “The moment of truth.”

Zoltan nodded and made a circular movement with his free hand. When he felt the draw of the vortex he was casting, a sigh of relief left his chest. “I’ve still got it,” he murmured to Enya.

She looked over her shoulder. “I’ll come and get you as soon as I can. Be ready.”

He took her hand. “Time to go.” Their eyes met. Trust shone in Enya’s blue eyes, even though he could feel her trepidation about returning to the Underworld.

He pulled her close to him and stepped into the swirling mass of the vortex. Enya gripped him tightly, and he understood. The pregnancy caused her to feel dizzy. “Almost there.”

She didn’t answer, only held on to him.

We’re here, he thought, knowing Enya could read his thoughts while inside the vortex. Showtime.

Zoltan stepped out of the vortex, Enya still holding on to his arm, but now she was invisible. Which was a good thing, because two demons were standing guard at the vortex circle. Both cast him a stunned look, their mouths dropping open.

“Oh Great One,” the shorter of the two managed to say. “We were told you, uh…”

“You were told what?” Zoltan growled, immediately assuming his usual role, so his subjects wouldn’t think that anything was amiss.

Shorty didn’t answer. His companion, a demon with a full head of blond hair, cleared his throat. “Uhm, what Jeff is saying… uhm, is that after the prisoner escaped, we should assume you were killed.”

Zoltan went toe to toe with the man. “Is that right?”

The demon began to tremble. “He said—”

“Who? Who spread lies about my supposed demise, huh?” Zoltan pulled his dagger. “Whoever answers first gets to live.”

“Oh Great One.” This came from the entrance to one of the tunnels.

Zoltan snapped his head to the approaching demon. It was just his bad luck that Yannick was showing up now. Somehow Zoltan had to distract Yannick so he and Enya could get away. Zoltan couldn’t afford Yannick asking any questions. “Yannick? What is going on here?”

Yannick approached and motioned to the two demon guards. “Get back to work. You know what to do.” Then he addressed Zoltan. “Oh Great One, we thought you were lost. We found the dog Silvana said was with you when the prisoner escaped. We assumed…” He shook his head. “Vintoq said…”