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“Undress now,” she said to Rasmus.

“Is that necessary?” he asked.

Her eyebrow arched again as he questioned her. “Either do it or wish you had. It doesn’t matter to me if you ruin your clothes.”

“Fine,” Rasmus said, stomping a good distance away from us.

“Is ittrulynecessary?” I asked in a whisper.

Lilith chuckled. “You two are the most unlikely pairing I’ve ever seen.”

I crossed my arms. “Well, I guess ya have a right to yer opinion. I feel that same way about the Wu Shaman and Conn.”

One of her minions motioned to Rasmus until he stood about thirteen feet away. This was the distance of her magickal reach while carrying the baby. When I inherited Conn, it was the first thing he explained to me. The female demon body splits its energies between growing the fetus and performing magick. The baby always won. A distance of thirteen feet was the maximum during later stages of pregnancy.

Smiling, Lilith rubbed her hands and chanted until a red glow surrounded her.“Infectum fieri.” Be undone, Lilith had commanded in the old language.

Conn and I watched the seal on the compulsion we found explode in the air in front of Rasmus’s man parts. His manhood withdrew as far as it could from the damage as he swore loudly. No one watching laughed at his pain. We all winced, even Lilith’s entourage.

“Poor bastard,” Conn said in sympathy.

All I could do was nod in agreement and hold my breath for the rest.

Lilith waited until he’d recovered enough to listen. “There are thirteen other compulsions and all of them are tied to your navel. They run in many directions and cover a variety of commands. It took thirteen separate demons to put them on you. Those calling themselves guardians obliterated all thirteen demons when they were finished because they still believe we die. All I did was seal the compulsions. The guardians let me live because they knew no demon dared break my seal. A blast of my power to your third energy center will free you from all demon holds, but the truth may harm you more than the compulsions did. This is all the warning I can give you, conflicted one. Are you certain you still wish to be released?”

“Yes, I’m certain,” Rasmus said.

Lilith formed an energy ball in her hands, the same way I did when wearing Conn’s mantle of protection. It was the energy I used in a fight.

Maybe the magick Conn taught me was demon magick. Maybe all magick was similar in nature. I knew an energy ball that size could easily mean the death of Rasmus.

Was this what his dream had been about? Was he going to die?

When the energy ball was the size of a grapefruit, instead of throwing it, Lilith passed it over to a demon that Conn whispered to me was her second-in-command.

Several others helped her back to the bench to sit while her second-in-command carried the ball of energy to Rasmus who stood a foot taller than him.

“Do whatever you have to,” Rasmus said.

The demon drew back and slammed the energy ball into those outstanding abs I’d admired so much. Rasmus screamed as the energy penetrated and spread through his center before spiraling up and outward.

Lilith’s second turned and ran.

Thirteen lines linked to compulsions lit up flowing from his navel to his feet, his head, his chest, and all places in between. I could have traced them with my finger.

His screaming made me take a step to go help him, but Conn held me back. “No. I feel danger. Let me go.”

Rasmus had one hand on his abs while the other grasped at air as he stumbled in a circle. Then a rumble started in the ground under his bare feet.

Conn halted mid-stride and then turned and ran back.“Everyone down!”he ordered.

I stared at Conn, not comprehending his command. He pulled me to ground as he went down himself. The demons all did the same. A huddle surrounded Lilith.

Rasmus screaming was all I heard until there was a loud ripping of flesh and bone. I peeked up to see the man I knew being pulled apart by magick until his body reformed itself into a different man—a different creature.

His eyes glowed blue as he looked down at his hands. His gaze swept around the field and landed on the demons, including a pregnant Lilith sitting on the bench.

His body drew in energy until he was charged up like a lightning bolt.