The elevator was just starting to move when I leaned over the edge of the platform rim and grabbed it with my power. Several demon guards, Rutorith among them, looked up at me with startled expressions. I was relieved to see Jabuticabron in their midst, his weary face none the less eager to see me.

As the platform came to a halt, I shoved the guards aside with power and slipped a shielding of magic around my former captain, pulling him toward me. Rutorith's hard-edged face ...