With Lizzy comfortably settled into his hand, Damien turned to the generals. “I don’t suppose that’s enough of a demonstration that I’m an acceptable bearer?”

They all exchanged looks before General Taos and Admiral McAllen separated themselves from the group. “I need to see more,” the admiral said.

“As do I,” General Taos said.

“All right, but if we’re going to do this we’d better go outside.” Damien strode past the generals and toward the doors. Under his breath he muttered, “Any ideas what we can do to convince them we’ll be a good team?”

Perhaps a soul force construct? Something bigger than anything they’ve ever seen? I recommend a dragon.

That might work. “How do I use your power?”

When you draw power from your core I’ll add my power to the stream then you shape the combined energy just like you would your regular power.

That sounded simple enough. Of course talking about a thing and doing it were totally different. Well, if this was what he had to do to convince the generals then he’d do it.

The little group left the keep and walked across the yard. The students had stopped their drills and everyone turned to stare at the generals. It wasn’t every day that four of the most powerful men in the kingdom gathered in one place. When they were a good fifteen paces from the keep Damien stopped.

“What are you going to do?” General Kord asked.

Damien grinned. “I don’t want to spoil the surprise.”

One of the champions standing behind the generals snorted. Damien moved a little ways away from his audience and raised Lizzy over his head. Since he was going more for show than effect why not have a little fun?

Gray fire blazed around her. Damien drew power from his core. The moment he did a second stream of power entered the flow. Far faster than he expected a golden sphere streaked with gray the size of a small house appeared above his head. He shaped the sphere into a dragon, adding power constantly.

By the time the construct actually looked like he wanted it to the dragon’s wings blocked out the sun and it towered over the keep. He and Lizzy still had power left, but from the shocked muttering behind him he figured he’d made his point. Just to be sure Damien had the dragon throw its head skyward and breathe gray flames.

“Is that sufficient, gentlemen?” Damien asked.

Everyone stared at the dragon, seeming unable to speak. Damien absorbed the construct, separating his power from Lizzy’s as he went. When the dragon had vanished the four generals were gaping at him.

“I never dreamed such a thing could be done,” General Taos said, all traces of his previous disdain gone. “With such power at his disposal, why would the king even need armies?”

Damien had no answer for that and the general didn’t seem to expect one. General Kord scratched his beard. “I vote we let Damien keep the sword.”

The others quickly concurred, whether because they really thought the idea a good one or because they feared what he might do if they tried to take Lizzy away from him Damien didn’t know. The only thing that mattered was that they were together again.

The generals dismissed Damien and he flew back toward the capital. When he was well out of sight of The Citadel he found a small clearing in the Great Green, landed, conjured a chair, and settled in. The moment he was comfortable Lizzy brought him into her world.

Damien’s psychic image had barely solidified when she wrapped her arms and wings around him and started crying.

He’d never seen her so upset. Damien stroked her hair as they drifted through the night sky. When she got herself under control Lizzy moved a few feet away. She looked amazing as always, with her black hair and wings and flawless figure.

“I’m so sorry, Damien. I couldn’t save him. I gave Fredric all the power he could hold, but it wasn’t enough. The demon was too strong and by the time we realized it, it was too late to escape.”

“It’s not your fault,” Damien said. “I know you did everything possible. Some things are simply beyond anyone’s control.”

They embraced again and when they finally came up for air Lizzy said, “I knew you’d understand.”

“Can you show it to me? The demon I mean.”

“Why?”

“Jen means to kill it and I have to help her. If this thing defeated you and Dad together then she doesn’t stand a chance on her own. Not to mention leaving such a dangerous creature to wander around is just asking for trouble.”

Lizzy frowned, but a moment later an insubstantial black figure appeared a few feet from them. The creature’s glowing red eyes were the only distinct feature on it. Damien flew around the illusion, trying to get a better look. He’d seen something like this before, in the books he read when they were looking for clues about Connor. What was it?

His eyebrows shot up. “It’s a smoke demon!”

Lizzy flew up behind him and rested her head on his shoulder. “I’ve never heard of such a thing.” Her breath tickled his ear.

“They’re insanely difficult to create. According to a book I read in the library at The Tower, a warlock has to fuse a demon’s essence to the tiny particles drifting in a cloud of smoke. Its form renders it immune to any sort of physical attack. Outside of an actual demon lord, the two of you couldn’t have come up against a more difficult opponent. It’s almost like someone intended for you to fail.”

She flew around in front of him. “Do you think someone tricked that farmer into telling us about the demon?”

“Maybe, or maybe he was a willing participant in setting the trap. Either way, after we deal with the demon we have to have a chat with the good farmer.”