I didn't stop getting dressed, though his question rocked me. "What do you mean by that?"
Kurlog rose to his knees, hands on his hips. "What else could I mean?"
My shoulder twinged, and I gritted my teeth against ethereal pain. I decided this was going to get annoying. Sex with the warrior - the former Chaos Lord - had at least put it from my mind for a while. "You're saying Steven's an agent of Chaos?"
"Not just an agent. Full on Lord, with all the powers, and" - he chuckled - "responsibilities that come with that title." Kurlog stood up, relaxed and smiling. "He told you his name was Steven?"
I felt better now that I was dressed, and tried to relax. "That's the name the people I rescued him from were calling him. It's possible it's not his real name."
"Of course it's not his real name." Kurlog was stretching, muscles playing under scarred skin. "No Chaos Lord gives his real name, and they keep changing their given names."
"So what's wrong with Steven as a name?" I subtly looked around for an exit, using all my senses in the hunt for an escape. Maybe following the strange voice in my head hadn't been such a good idea.
"Nothing. It's just so...well, so mundane."
"You mean human?" There were no doors, no windows, not even a chimney. I damned Chaos magic, and wondered what Steven was up to. Was he trying to find me, or had he moved on?
"That too." The warrior tied hi kilt back on, then shook his hair back over his shoulders. "So, now that I've gotten a taste of your delights, shall we get you back to your little boyfriend."
I suddenly felt cheap and tawdry, like I'd been some desert traded around the table. "He's not my boyfriend," I snapped petulantly.
Kurlog tipped his head, quirking an eyebrow. "Really?" He stayed quiet for a moment. "If you insist."
The warrior held out a hand, and I reluctantly came to take it. Steven wasn't coming here to get me, and I couldn't get out on my own. Kurlog disconcerted me, but I'd been fine with him until I knew he was a Chaos Lord. Pushing aside pyschological qualms, I took his hand. "So you know where Steven is?"
Kurlog held my hand, pulling me close. Energy stirred around us, and my shoulder ached in response. Definitely annoying. "I've known where the two of you have been ever since you first arrived. It's my stretch of Between, and I know where everyone is at all times."
"So what's Steven been up to?" We were travelling, dimensional walls brushing against us, the stir of magic making me a little quesy.
"Fighting off the humans."
"Did you send help?" We must have been close to our destination, because I felt gravity and solid mass again.
"No. Why would I?"
I bit my lip, wanting to curse the Chaos Lord out. But he was technically a Gray Lord, which technically made him my boss. So I forced myself to remain civil. "Because I just rescued him from a bad place, and we came here by accident, and I don't think he knows who he is." Not that I knew exactly who I was.
Whatever Kurlog might have said was cut off by our arrival. We were on the street I'd left from, though it was hard to tell beneath signs of battle and devastation. Builings smoldered, the asphalt was cracked, lights out. Bodies lay broken everywhere, the smell of burnt meat stinging my nostrils.
I stepped away from the tall warrior, stunned, looking for Steven. How much trouble would I be in if I lost the guy I was supposed to rescue? "What the hell happened?" My voice was low, but shrill. I couldn't comprehend what I was seeing.
Kurlog was chagrined, and shuffled around with his hands limp at his sides. "Guess I got a little distracted by you."
Spinning, I couldn't restrain myself. "Gee, you think?"
Before our argument could continue, a dragon roared overhead.
