Blood Trinity by Sherrilyn Kenyon, Dianna Love Page B

so she stroked it again. “Okay, that’s impressive, but the female Cresyl didn’t eat the human. She made the death look like a beast attack, but I doubt your master’s spell could have made her do that. Killing the human that way was clever. Had to be the Cresyl’s idea, right?”
    “No. My master’s.”
    That’s what she needed. If he’d tell
her
that, then Sen should be able to squeeze the same confession out of him. Plus the Birrn had said he was here looking for the Alterant, which confirmed someone was targeting her. Definitely not paranoid. “How’d you know to grab the two male witches to get me to come here?”
    The demon’s mouth opened, then he shook his head. “No more talking.”
    “But we’re getting to know each other. Who’s your boss?” She rocked back on her heels like a runner at the start line. Except she was preparing to go for his eyes instead of sprinting and hoped she hadn’t underestimated his power or overestimated hers.
    He bent his head back and bellowed an unearthlyhowl that slammed from wall to wall, echoing through the building. Birrn demons also liked to posture. When he faced her again, his eyes glowed, red embers with yellow centers. He raised his hands and murmured words she could barely hear.
    Time was up. She hoped that what she’d read about blinding a Birrn was more than some urban legend. She took three steps and leaped into the air.
    Something invisible grabbed her body in midair and held her ten feet off the ground.
    No one had told her a Birrn could do
this
.
    She better not find out Tzader and Quinn knew.
    Getting caught in the demon’s power wasn’t ideal, but she didn’t think he’d eat her if he was supposed to deliver her alive to someone else. If that happened, she’d meet his master … who wanted an Alterant for what?
    She hoped Parcheesi, but since she couldn’t play …
    The demon flipped her back and forth like he was shaking a toy. Then her body started floating toward him.
    Oh, come on. …
    She tried to use her telekinesis to drop a chunk of the ceiling on his head.
    For once nothing happened.
    She called to Tzader telepathically.
    No response.
    He had her powers blocked … This was bad.Very bad. The scent of burned rubber filled her nostrils. Could there not be one single demon who didn’t stink?
    The demon’s power was filling the warehouse, closing in on her.
    Not looking good for the home team.
    Her only hope was to distract him. “Oh, I see. You just don’t know
who
your master is. He won’t tell you, huh? Sucks to be you. And I hope you just made up the part about looking for an Alterant. Because I’m not one.”
    Her body stopped floating toward him.
    “Yes, you are.”
    “Nope. You got the wrong person. I’m just a witch. What’s your master going to say when you show up with a witch instead of an Alterant?”
    She’d stumped him to the point of being mute. Go back to the important detail of who was hunting her. “No one
important
is looking for an Alterant or word would be all over the city.” She tried to shrug, but she couldn’t move her shoulders. “You’re good at what you do. You should find a master you deserve, one with a higher rank on the food chain.”
    The demon had a puzzled look, as though trying to decide if telling her would win this game. “He’s powerful.”
    “So
you
say. But I’m betting he’s so insignificant I’ve never even heard of your master.”
    She might have pushed him too far with that. The pressure around her chest tightened until she could hardly breathe. Even if he didn’t mean to eat her he could crush her.
    Flames licked at the corner of the Birrn’s mouth, and his eyes flared solid red. “My master
is
powerful,” he said so low that she almost couldn’t hear him. “He is called—”
    Bright light erupted behind the demon on a loud blast.
    A bolt of power shot a hole through his middle, barely missing Evalle’s feet. The invisible binding that had held her body captive