Page 62 of The Demon Prince's Accidental Mate
“Even among all the people?” she asked.
I stood up straight. “Do I look like a demon right now? He can move among us, too. We’ll have to be quick. Make your questions short and to the point.”
“I’ll do my best,” she said.
I gripped her shoulder, giving it a squeeze of assurance. “It’ll be all right. Trust me.”
“I do.” But the nerves were still there.
Who could blame her? It was what she’d waited for, a chance to finally talk with her mother and discover what had happened. Why, and how, had she gotten involved with demons? Even I was curious. Astaroth was a cruel lord, like any demon, but he wasn’t known for venturing to Earth to kidnap women.
“I’m going to have to go about this the quick and dirty way,” I said. “There isn’t really the space to set up a proper ritual.”
Lily’s head came up sharply, betraying just how on edge she was about the whole thing.
“What does that mean? What are you going to do?”
I grimaced. “I’m basically going to create an entrance to the Underworld like it’s a sack, reach in, and bring an imp back. Then you’re going to use your blood and wish to call upon your mother's spirit.”
“M-my blood?”
“A pinprick,” I assured her. “Pressed to its forehead. Then think of your mother in terms of the woman who birthed you. She of your blood, that sort of thing.”
“Okay.” Lily was almost as white as a sheet.
I paused, taking her by both shoulders. “Are you sure you’re up for this? We can do it another time. But I need you to have it all together.”
As she took several deep breaths, color returned to her face. She stood straighter, and the trembling of nerves faded as Lily gained control of herself, pushing the nervousness of the situation to the side. It wasn’t gone, but it was no longer in the driver's seat.
“I’m ready,” she said evenly, meeting my eyes without wavering.
“Yes, I do believe you are,” I agreed.
Using my magic, I drew several runes in the air, each golden symbol shimmering from the heat pouring off it. Once I finished the last one, I spoke several words of magic and then spun all three runes like a top, setting them swirling around a common center.
They continued to slice through the air in the middle of our hotel room until it turned golden-yellow. Grunting, I plunged my hand through the portal as it solidified and grabbed the first imp I could find. My fingers clamped over its head, and I yanked the squirming thing back through, where I held it up to Lily.
She hesitated at the sight of the tiny red-bodied demonette, but only for a moment. Then she bit her cheek and swiped at it with a finger, which came away red.
After I nodded that it was enough, she took her finger and pressed it to the imp's forehead, closing her eyes as she conjured ideas of her mother, the matriarch of her blood, and whatever else she could come up with.
The imp shivered as the magic imprinted on it, and I waited, still holding it by the head. Without a protective circle, nothing kept the imp contained, so my grip remained firm. They might be small, but unchecked, they could cause large amounts of chaos.
Lily cracked one eye, looking up at me. “What now?” she whispered as we waited, the seconds ticking by.
“Now her spirit should inhabit the imp,” I said, twisting the creature toward me, looking into its glossy black eyes, trying to determine if human intelligence was filling it or not.
Pure rage stared back at me. Nope, no human yet.
“It was pretty quick last time,” Lily said, still whispering. “Why isn’t it working? Did I do something wrong?”
“No,” I said, shaking my head. “It should have worked. She should be here.”
“Well, I don’t think she is,” Lily said as the imp twisted and turned, trying to win its way free.
“I’m beginning to think you’re right,” I said, fingers tightening until the creature whimpered in pain and subsided in its struggles.
“Can spirits do that? Are they allowed to refuse a summons like this?”
