“I know what you’re talking about,” I said. Cedric would know if I crossed into his territory simply because he could sense me when I was close enough. Jerome, so long as he was my supervisor, knew where I was at all times and if I was hurt. He was always aware of me, always tied to me. “Our . . . powers . . . are transmitted from Hell, through Jerome, to us.”

“Right,” Hugh said. I waited for more, but that seemed to be all he had to say.

“Right what? Why are our abilities gone?”

A bit of the normal Hugh exasperation glinted in his eyes. “Because Jerome is gone.”

“Jerome’s gone all the time,” Peter said. “We can never get a hold of him. We can’t get a hold of him now.”

Hugh shook his head. “You aren’t getting it. When I say gone, I don’t mean hiding from us at a bar. I mean gone. Vanished. Disappeared. Might as well not exist for all intents and purposes. No one knows where he is. Not our side, not the other side. He. Is. Gone.”

Dead silence hung around us for what felt like an eternity. And that was saying something.

Peter’s voice was hard to hear when he finally spoke. “And as long as he’s gone . . .”

“. . . then so are our abilities,” I finished.

Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Cody asked the obvious question.

“So . . . if he’s gone . . . how did that happen?”

Hugh rubbed his eyes. “He was summoned.”

“Oh, shit,” said Peter. His fun-in-the-sun joy disappeared. He looked as grim as Hugh and me. “That changes everything.”

I glanced between him and Hugh, feeling as naïve as Cody. “What’s that mean exactly? I’ve heard of summoning, but that’s about it. I don’t know any specifics. I don’t know anyone it’s happened to.”

Peter nodded. “Me either, but I know what it is. Basically, a powerful human calls and binds a demon to his or her will. That human can then imprison and control the demon.”

“Like Marlowe’s Dr. Faustus.”

We all turned to stare at Cody. Citing highbrow literary references was usually my thing, not his.

“What?” he asked, looking uncomfortable under our scrutiny. “I had to read it in high school.”

I looked back at Peter. “Okay, we’re immortal, and we could never even scratch a demon. How could a human control one?”

“Humans who use magic wield a different kind of power than immortals. Besides, from what I’ve heard, those who summon demons often have help,” explained Peter. He glanced at Hugh for confirmation.

“From another demon,” the imp said.

“Whoa. Let’s go back to the part about controlling demons. What exactly is this human making Jerome do?” asked Cody.

“Probably nothing,” said Hugh. “Or else someone would have found him by now. My guess is he’s just being hidden.”