Free Daniel Taylor and the Scepter of Power by Monica Davis Page B

her stomach, then her cheek. Obron was giving her his own energy! When Marla realizing what was happening, her mind reacted immediately. Like a vampire out for blood, her consciousness rushed toward Obron’s energy and sucked even more out of him.
    Why was her father helping her? Was it because he felt something for her, or just out of pure self-interest? Marla sensed no emotion from him. Obron had sealed off his mind.
    The holes in her cheek closed and stopped burning. Marla suddenly felt hale and hearty.
    When Obron took his hands away, she sat up.
    Mike beamed at her, but Marla couldn’t stop staring at her father. Had the Oracle been wrong? Was she not about to die, after all?
    Soon you will leave this life … That’s what the Oracle had prophesized to Ilaria.
    Marla was confused. So many thoughts were swirling through her mind. “Why did you do that?” Her pulse drummed in her temples. Her father had actually saved her!
    “I might still need you,” Obron replied coolly.
    Of course — how could she have imagined that he might feel anything like fatherly love for her.
    Mike handed her the black sweater that she had been lying on. She hastily pulled it on and fell into Mike’s arms.
    “I was so worried about you,” Mike whispered.
    “And I about you.” Marla sighed in relief.
    Metistakles was dead; she could scarcely believe it. “I love you,” she whispered, kissing Mike on the lips.
    A derisive snort echoed through the room. “History repeats itself,” Obron said. “A watcher, just like your mother!”
    Marla was taken aback. Obron could sense that Mike was a watcher, even though he possessed no magical abilities? She herself had never sensed anything! But she wasn’t nearly as strong and powerful as other demons.
    Obron pulled Mike away from her. “I won’t tolerate a watcher in our midst!”
    “Please, father!” Marla stepped protectively in front of Mike. “I’ll take him to the surface! He has no magic that can hurt you!”
    “Everything that he has heard and seen down here, or that he has learned from you — it’s too much! He works for the Guild, our sworn enemies!”
    “I-I don’t know anything,” Mike stammered, “and I’m no one! In the Guild’s eyes, I barely exist!”
    Obron pushed Marla aside and grabbed Mike by the collar. “You’re lying!”
    Marla’s heart was breaking. “Father, please! Let him go!”
    Mike pressed his hands to his head, and Marla knew that Obron was forcibly looking for information in his mind. The demon suddenly let go of him, a smile softening his stern features. Marla had never seen Obron smile this way!
    “Hmmm … Why didn’t you just say right away that you were on our side?”
    “What?” Marla didn’t understand anything anymore. “What are you talking about, Father?”
    “For all intents and purposes, your human friend is working for Xandros.”
    Her chest tightened. Whatever Obron had seen in Mike’s mind — it must have been the truth. Marla cursed her underdeveloped abilities. She could communicate mentally, but she couldn’t delve any deeper into people’s heads. For other demons, she acted merely as a sort of transmitter. They had first penetrated Silvan’s mind through her consciousness.
    Obron circled Mike like a wolf with does its prey. “Your beloved boyfriend is the nephew of a high-ranking Guild member who has defected. He entrusted Mike with an important task, even though he possesses almost no magic.”
    “Almost?” Mike spoke up. “So I do have powers?”
    Obron grinned. “Just one. It’s sleeping deep within you.”
    Marla swallowed hard; she felt dizzy. “Is that true, Mike? You’re working for …”
    He didn’t look her in the eyes as he nodded.
    It felt as though she had been struck by lightning. She supposed should be happy that Mike was somehow on her side, but instead the betrayal hit her like a poisoned arrow. She shook her head sadly.
    Obron’s laughter was triumphant. “They’ve been looking for