[Corine Solomon 5] Agave Kiss Read Online Free PDF Page B

Internet . . . and acquired a social life that way.
    I covered my nausea with a question. “How long did it take you to figure out how to summon a lesser devil in order to get a few amenities?”
    “Ten years.”
    So ten years of solitary confinement; ten years of starvation. He must have been weak and desperate when he cast the spell. Whatever his sins of hubris, whatever he had done with Macleish’s wife, Booke didn’t deserve this. He’d long since served his time for his crimes.
    “I’m not okay with this,” I said then. “There has to be a way to get you out of this spell without all those years hitting you like a truck.”
    He shook his head. “If there is a way, Corine, I’ve not found it. And it isn’t as if I haven’t been looking.”
    “Yeah, I imagine so.” Curious, I went to the window, peering out into amorphous darkness. It wasn’t full night, nor were there any stars. Instead it was more of a charcoal mist, swirling endlessly.
    “Does this view ever change?”
    Booke offered a grim, weary smile. “Unfortunately not.”
    “I bet those were long years between the first time you made a deal with that lesser devil and when you discovered the Internet.”
    “You can’t imagine. I read the same books a thousand times. I paced. I talked to myself . . . and went a little mad.”
    “How did you discover . . .” I didn’t know quite how to put it. “Modern technology, a window to the outside world.”
    “Anzu. That’s the devil who keeps me connected. In making our deal, he agreed to keep me apprised of any changes in the modern world that could improve my standard of living.”
    “What did you promise him?” As I well knew, the Birsael were shrewd bargainers, ever alert for the opportunity to take advantage of a desperate human.
    Booke glanced away, unwilling to disclose that information. Which meant whatever it was, it was bad. What bargaining chips did you have when you were locked away with nothing but your shadow for company?
    But I let it go; there was no breaking a demon contract, once it was signed. “So he brought your first computer and you used that weakening spell to draw the gear over to your side?”
    “Exactly so.” He indicated the door to his office, and I followed him down the hall, studying the sigils etched into the wooden floor. “The barrier is thinnest here, which is what permits data to slip through.”
    “Which means emails and voice can penetrate, but not your physical form.”
    Sorrow lined his pale face. “Yes. It was a lifeline, often more than you know.”
    “I’m sorry. I had no idea.” Bile rose in my throat. I wished it was directly related to how he’d suffered. This had been coming on since yesterday, however. Trust me to come down with a stomach bug at the worst possible moment.
    “Why would you? I didn’t want pity. Though I won’t pretend to have enjoyed my imprisonment, it wasn’t unjust.”
    “I disagree,” I muttered. “It’s not illegal to sleep with somebody else’s wife. Immoral, yeah, bad judgment? Absolutely. But this is crazy.”
    “That’s what happens when you piss off a sorcerer.” For the first time, he showed a hint of the wry humor that had characterized my interactions with him.
    “Well, you outlived him,” I offered, like that could compensate for a lifetime trapped as he had been.
    “Corine,” he said gently. “I’m at peace. I don’t need comfort, though I appreciate the thought. I just want an end to this. That’s why I asked you to come. I thought you could unravel the spell, now that your mother’s magick is functioning.”
    Shit. “That might be a problem.”
    A frown furrowed his brow. “Why?”
    That was when I lost control of my stomach. Shame burned up my throat in a hot ball as I raced for the bathroom. I slammed the door behind me and hunched just in time, tears trickling from my eyes. What the hell is wrong with me? Comedians were always talking about how bad English food was, but