“Go on,” Marla said.
“You and I are, from this time forward, mortal enemies,” he said, almost sadly. “I regret that such a position must be taken, but I have no choice.”
It was all Marla could do to keep herself from gaping. “What? Why would you want to be my enemy? I just cut your apron strings!”
Ch’ang Hao regarded her with his cold eyes, and it was obvious that the face he wore was merely a convenience; he was not human at all. “There are few things so terrible as being enslaved. But being only half free is little better. I wear a suit of spikes, Marla Mason, and I am tormented. It is in your power to set me free, and yet you do not. You choose to leave me bound, in agony.”
“I don’t know you,” Marla said, striving to sound as cold as Ch’ang Hao did. “I can’t risk cutting you loose. I don’t know what you might do.”
“I understand,” Ch’ang Hao said. “Nevertheless, I do not forgive you for leaving me bound, and we must therefore be enemies. Had you chosen to set me entirely free, we might have been great friends. But you sought to make me another sort of slave, to your own will, and I will not forget that.”
“You’re like the genie in that story. He gets freed from his bottle, but he’s been imprisoned so long that he hates people, and he kills the man who released him, instead of giving him a wish.”
“You have extracted your wish from me,” Ch’ang Hao said. “And I will grant it when you call. Do not doubt that.”
“Fine.” She crossed her arms, trying not to let her discomfort show. Making an enemy of such a powerful being was probably one of the worst mistakes she’d ever made, but she dared not let him see how much it upset her. “Then here’s my wish. I wish you’d change your mind about us being enemies.”
“I am bound to perform a service for you,” Ch’ang Hao said. “I am not bound to forsake my dignity or my honor, and I will not. Call me when you have a true request to make.”
“And after that, you’ll try to kill me?”
“I doubt I could kill you, so long as I wear this harness. But I do not expect to be wearing it forever.” He turned to Rondeau. “It was a pleasure to meet you,” he said, and then left the room. Marla sat on the edge of the bed and put her head in her hands.
“He was nice, for an ancient demon,” Rondeau said. “Until he got to the part about killing you someday.”
“I’m pretty sure he was a snake god,” Marla said, staring down at the floor. “Or at least he used to be.” She sighed. “Let’s get some sleep. We have to meet Finch early tomorrow.” Maybe there was no reason to worry. It was possible Susan would cast her spell tonight, and then Marla wouldn’t have to worry about Ch’ang Hao anymore.
Rondeau went to his room next door, leaving Marla to undress, brush her teeth, and lay in bed, gazing up at the ceiling. She normally had no trouble falling asleep, but this business with Susan had shattered her calm, driven her across the continent, mixed her up in all manner of ugly business, and now, indirectly, made her an enemy of a snake god.
She’d had better days.
“Marla.” A low voice, from the direction of the bathroom. Marla sat up and activated her night-eyes.
Susan Wellstone stood in the doorway to the bathroom. “Don’t bother to get up,” she said. A faint silvery sheen surrounded her, like an aura of translucent sparkles.
Marla leaned back against the headboard. “Why would I? You’re here by astral projection. It’s not like I could bash your head open anyway.” Though there were other things she could do, if she could reach her dagger on the nightstand and then get to Susan. “What do you want?”
“Hamil has been calling me all day. I finally took his call, and he begged for your life.” Susan smiled, and even in this attenuated astral form, it was a dazzling smile. She was tall and coltish, her features stark but beautiful. “We were friends, once, long ago. Lovers, actually.”
“I’ve heard,” Marla said, looking past her to the silver astral cord that stretched from Susan’s back into the darkness, across psychic space, all the way to Susan’s body in Felport. If Marla could get her dagger and sever that astral cord before Susan could recall her spirit, her soul would be loosed from her body forever, and she would be as good as dead. That would solve one of Marla’s problems nicely.
“So for the sake of my past with Hamil, I’ve come to offer you a deal. I’m willing to let you live.”