Devoured By Darkness (13 page)

Not that he’d been thinking the room would be lined with the heads of his enemies and decorated with medieval torture devises. But the polished mahogany furniture and delicate Persian carpet seemed way too civilized for the most powerful vampire in the world.

On the plus side, the vast estate on the outskirts of Chicago was wrapped in a dozen spells and hexes with an entire horde of vampires patrolling the grounds.

Nothing and nobody was coming in or out without Styx’s say so.

For the moment Laylah was safe.

So why the hell was he pacing the pansy-ass carpet while battling the crazy impulse to tear through the monstrous house in search of the female?

Dammit. He’d encouraged Darcy to cart the reluctant Laylah off to enjoy a hot bath and dinner. He had business to discuss with Styx that was best done in private.

But now that they were alone in the study that was lead-lined and heavily shrouded in a cloaking spell, Tane couldn’t concentrate on anything other than the fact he couldn’t sense Laylah.

Even with her amulet on he’d been able to feel their strange connection. As if a part of her had burrowed someplace deep inside him.

He instantly jerked away from the unnerving thought. Nope. Not going there.

“Damn Tane, I feel like I’m standing in the middle of an electrical storm,” Styx growled, breaking into his dangerous thoughts.

With a grimace Tane turned to watch the large vampire scrub a hand over the back of his neck. Christ. He hadn’t realized his powers had been leaking.

“Sorry.”

Styx leaned against the reinforced desk, folding his arms over his chest.

“It wouldn’t be so disturbing if it didn’t border on pleasure,” he complained. “Even if I wasn’t mated, you’re not my type.”

“Right back at you, chief.”

Styx snorted, his fixed stare making Tane twitch. “I can hazard a guess at what your type is,” he at last said. “Don’t go there.”

“Pretty.”

Tane’s brows snapped together. “Gorgeous.”

“Spunky.”

“A pain-in-the-ass.”

There was a deliberate pause. “Forbidden.”

A cold dread settled in Tane’s gut. “Is the Commission aware of her presence?”

Styx’s expression tightened with concern. “Not from me, but that’s not to say they haven’t heard rumors of a half-breed. They won’t be pleased to discover a vampire has helped to keep her hidden from them.”

“I understand the risk.” “I doubt that.”

Tane narrowed his gaze. “Just what are you implying?”

“Your mind is clouded.”

“Ridiculous.”

“Trust me, Tane, I recognize a vampire whose judgment is being compromised by his obsession for a certain female.”

Tane had long ago learned to leash his hot temper. Nothing good happened when he let his anger control him. But, having his companion laying bare his uncharacteristic weakness was setting his teeth on edge.

“My judgment is not open for discussion.”

Styx straightened from the desk, moving with blinding speed to pin Tane against the towering bookcase.

“I decide what’s open for discussion, Charon,” he growled. “Don’t ever forget that.”

Intent on their private power play, neither vampire noticed the door being opened. Not until a strange sizzle filled the air. With synchronized curses, both males whirled toward the door. The sizzle was the same sensation that warned of a lightning strike.

And vampires and lightning didn’t mix.

Indifferent to the danger, Laylah stormed forward, her power making the lights flicker.

“What are you doing?” she demanded, facing the King of Vampires without fear.

Tane growled in appreciation, his gaze lingering on the soft flush that stained her ivory skin and the fire burning in her dark eyes.

She’d never been so beautiful.

A fiery warrior who charged to the rescue.

His
rescue.

Astonishing.

He was feared, hated, and occasionally desired. But never, ever protected.

Not surprisingly Styx shot him a disbelieving glance before the scent of burnt wiring had him crossing to his desk.

“Damn, that computer was brand new.” He scowled at Tane, not hesitating to hold him responsible. “Her power isn’t nearly so fun as yours.”

Laylah blushed, but she refused to back down.

Typical.

“Why were you hurting Tane?”

Styx tossed the computer in the trash, his expression unreadable as he studied the bristling female.

“I need answers, Jinn,” he said slowly. “If I can’t get them from you then I’ll get them from Tane. Whether he’s willing or not.”

Tane waited for Laylah to tell the Anasso to go to hell.

What did she care if he got a bully-beat down?

She’d threatened to do it herself on more than one occasion.

Instead she folded her arms over her chest and glowered at Styx.

“Fine. What do you want to know?”

“Tell me what you know of your past.”

Tane clenched his hands. With Laylah in the room he could once again feel the connection between them. A double-edged sword as it turned out. While his fierce impulse to make sure she was unharmed had eased, he was acutely aware of her pain at Styx’s demand.

Still he kept his trap shut. As much as he might want to protect Laylah, he understood that the only means to keep her safe was to discover the truth of the child she sheltered.

“The first memories I have are of living on a farm in Australia with my foster mother,” she grudgingly revealed.

“A demon?”

“Witch.”

Styx narrowed his gaze at her clipped tone. “She was unkind to you?”

Tane edged closer as he sensed the sadness settle in Laylah’s heart.

“No, she loved me as if I truly was her daughter,” she said, her voice so soft it could barely be heard. “But if what I learned in London is true, then everything she said to me was a lie.”

Styx perched on the edge of the desk. “The most dangerous creature in the world is a mother protecting her cub. She will lie, cheat, kill, and even die if necessary. Wouldn’t you do the same?”

She frowned, as if considering Styx’s blunt words. At last she gave a nod, a portion of her betrayal seeming to ease.

“I suppose.”

“What happened to her?”

“One day I was collecting the herbs that Sadira used in her spells of illusion when I heard her scream.” Her very lack of emotion revealed the depth of her wounds. Any healing was a long way off. “I rushed back to our house but I was too late. She was …” She was forced to halt and clear her throat. “She was lying on the porch with her throat sliced open.”

“Dead?”

Laylah shuddered. “I’ve always assumed she was, there was so much blood, but I was captured by the mage before I could reach her.”

Styx shot Tane a warning glare as he instinctively stepped toward Laylah.

Reluctantly Tane came to a halt. They were at the mercy of the Anasso. For whatever reason, he was willing to at least listen to Laylah, but Tane didn’t fool himself. The moment Styx decided that she posed a danger to his vampires she would be sacrificed to the Oracles. No fuss. No muss.

“Victor said the wizard goes by the name Sergei,” Styx said.

Anger replaced her painful memories. “He never told me his name.” “What did he do to you?” “Styx,” Tane growled.

A sharp pain lashed through Tane as Styx punished him for his interference.

Just a tiny taste of what could be.

“The truth is all that will save her, Tane,” the king warned. Then, he snapped his attention back to Laylah.

“Well?”

Laylah stiffened, but she stubbornly refused to cower beneath the chilling gaze.

“I don’t know exactly how the mage knocked me out, but when I woke up I was locked in a cell in northern Siberia.”

“Siberia?” Tane echoed in surprise. “That’s a little remote, isn’t it?”

“Actually, it confirms what Victor has discovered about the mage,” Styx answered.

“Victor already has intel on the bastard?” Tane was impressed. “That was quick.”

“Victor is nothing if not efficient.”

Efficient?

Yeah. He was also a brutal, ruthless, stone-cold killer. It was no wonder the info superhighway had a direct route to his desk.

“What did he learn?”

“Sergei Krakov made his first appearance as a mystic in the royal court of Peter the Great.” Styx’s voice held the contempt all vampires held toward magic-users. “He provided himself with a life of luxury by producing a few minor ‘miracles’ and acting as a spiritual advisor, but from what Victor could uncover his true interest was in the ancient prophecies. His library is said to rival Jagr’s.”

“That’s saying something,” Tane murmured. It was rumored the ancient Goth’s library had over twenty thousand books and scrolls.

“The mage is convinced he’s destined to lead the world into a new era,” Styx continued with a grimace. “Whatever the hell that means.”

Tane rolled his eyes. Every half baked tyrant claimed to possess the ability to lead the world into a new era.

Laylah, however, pressed a hand to her chest, the scent of her fear spiking the air.

“The baby,” she breathed. “He and my bat-shit crazy aunt think they can use the child to reincarnate the Dark Lord.”

Styx nodded, clearly having been given a blow by blow account of Laylah’s encounter with Marika from Victor.

“Where did the child come from?”

“I’m not entirely certain.” She lifted a hand as Styx’s eyes flashed with frustration. “Chill.”

Styx arched a brow. “Chill?”

“You have that look that says you’re planning to lecture me on keeping secrets … yadda, yadda, yadda.”

“I never lecture,” Styx tried to deny, only to backtrack at Tane’s sharp burst of laughter. “I may
encourage
others to see things from my point of view.”

“Well don’t bother with your encouragements,” Laylah said. “I spent my time with the mage either locked in a cell or so tightly wrapped in spells I could barely sense my surroundings.”

“There must be something you remember,” Styx prompted.

“I remember the mage entering the cell one morning and then the world went black.” She rubbed her hands over her bare arms, as if she were suddenly cold. “When I woke up I was in a dark, frozen cave.”

“A cave?” Styx frowned. “Where?”

Laylah lifted a shoulder. “I think it was north of where we were staying, but I can’t say how far. I could probably find it if I shadow walked.”

Styx and Tane exchanged silent glances. No one would leave a child that was rumored to possess a part of the Dark Lord lying around a cave.

No matter how remote.

“Were there any markings in the cave?” Styx asked.

She shook her head. “No, nothing but the mist.”

Tane absently stroked the hilt of his dagger. “The same mist you used to take us to London?”

“In a way. When I enter the mists I sense a …” She halted, wrinkling her brow as she struggled for the right word. “Corridor. Like a highway at the edge of different worlds. This was more a bubble.”

“As if it was self-contained?” Styx demanded.

“Exactly,” Laylah agreed, clearly surprised by Styx’s accurate description.

Tane didn’t blame her.

Styx was so good at flexing his brawn that it was easy to forget he had a brain. He did it on purpose, of course. He liked for others to underestimate him. Tane turned toward Styx. “Do you know where it is?” “No, but I suspect I know
what
it is.” “Are you going to share?”

Styx shrugged. “I’ve only heard rumors, but it’s said that full-blooded Jinn are capable of creating small fissures between worlds to hide their treasures.”

Laylah pressed a hand to her churning stomach. She didn’t want to discuss the child. Especially not with a vampire who had yet to prove he wasn’t preparing to hand her over to the Oracles.

Still, she had to admit that she needed information if she were going to protect the baby.

“It would explain why they needed a Jinn mongrel,” Tane said, crossing his arms over his bare chest.

Styx nodded, his gaze never wavering from Laylah. Did the Anasso suspect she would disappear the moment she had the strength to shadow walk?

If he didn’t he was an idiot.

“Was there anything but the child in the mist?”

She forced herself to think back to her time in the cave. She remembered the cold. The sort of cold that made her lungs ache. And the sense of barren emptiness, as if they were a great distance from the nearest town.

Then the mage had shoved her forward and she had tumbled into the swirling mist.

At the time she’d been terrified. She’d only shadow walked a handful of times and she’d briefly thought he had shoved her through the corridor and into another world.

“No.” She shuddered, knowing that it probably would have been best if she’d left the baby where it had been hidden.

But how could she?

Even now she was convinced the child had reached out to touch her heart. Either that or she was a raving lunatic. A distinct possibility.

“Pity,” Styx murmured, his brow furrowed. “It would have been nice if we had a clue to who stashed the child in the fissure.”

“Surely it was a Jinn?” Tane challenged.

“Not necessarily.” Styx held Laylah’s gaze. “The Dark Lord …”

“The child is not evil,” she interrupted, her hands clenched at her side. “How can you be so certain?” “I just know.”

Styx didn’t roll his eyes, but then again, he looked far from convinced. Big shocker there.
“I just know “
wasn’t exactly a foolproof guarantee.

Thankfully he didn’t press.

“So you took the babe from the mists.” He picked up the previous thread of conversation. “Then what happened?”

“Sergei returned us to his home and locked me back in my cell with the child.”

Styx pushed from the desk, not seeming to notice how he towered over her.

At least she assumed the looming was unintentional. Who knew with vampires?

“After going to such an effort to get his hands on the babe why would he leave it with you?” he rasped.

Laylah hesitated before grudgingly revealing the truth. “Because he’s afraid of the stasis spell that’s wrapped around the baby. As far as I know I’m the only one who can touch it.”

Tane moved to stand next to Styx. Laylah’s breath tangled in her throat.

Talk about an overabundance of riches.

Even furious with the vampires for their interfering, she was female enough to appreciate the sight of two of the finest beefcakes to ever walk the earth.

The tall Aztec with his forbidding beauty and unnerving power. And the bronzed, honey-eyed hunk who made a woman think of hot, tropical nights and exotic sex.

Lots and lots and lots of sex.

Tane shot her a knowing glance, but he was smart enough to keep any smartass comments to himself. “It could have been a trigger,” he said instead. “Yes,” Styx agreed.

Laylah shook off her strange fascination. “What’s a trigger?”

“The most powerful demons can twist a spell to either recognize a specific person or a specific occurrence,” Tane explained. “It could be that the spell was woven to bind the child to the first person to enter the mists.”

Laylah had never heard of such a power, but then again, her foster mother had kept a lot of things hidden.

She thrust aside the memory of Sadira’s pretense as she attempted to teach Laylah magic. All along she knew that her powers were that of a gypsy, not a witch.

Later she would sort through her tangled emotions.

“Whatever the cause, it made the mage nuts,” she said. “I could hear his tantrum through the solid iron walls.”

A cold smile touched Styx’s mouth. “Is that when he let you go?”

“Are you kidding me?” Laylah scoffed. “The bastard never let me go. A few weeks after I found the baby Sergei suddenly got spooked.” She abruptly held up her hand as his lips parted with the predictable questions. “Don’t ask me why. We weren’t best buds who spent our nights braiding each others’ hair and sharing our intimate secrets. One night he came into the cell and knocked me out.” She shrugged. “I woke up in Rome.”

“Rome?” Styx lifted a brow. “He took a risk choosing a city so heavily populated by demons.”

She gave a sharp laugh as she remembered Sergei’s panicked flight from his lair.

“I think his choice was made in haste rather than a well thought out escape plan.” She shivered. “And I can’t say that I blame him if it was my charming Aunt Marika on his tail. That woman would make anyone flee in horror.”

Tane nodded in grim agreement, but Styx remained focused on his interrogation.

No doubt he was trained during the Spanish Inquisition.

“Did he have a private lair in Rome?”

Laylah shook her head. Her brief time in Rome hadn’t been any more pleasant than being held hostage in the Siberian lair. She’d traded an iron cell for a spellbound closet and silver shackles that had come close to driving her over the edge.

“No, we stayed with the local witches,” she said, her voice thick with remembered pain.

Styx’s expression tightened as Tane moved to place a protective arm around Laylah’s shoulders.

She didn’t know if he disapproved of Tane touching a nasty mongrel, or if he didn’t like public displays of affection.

And she didn’t care. It felt good to have a little support. “They allowed a forbidden demon into the coven?” the older vampire asked, indifferent to her feelings. Hey, what was new?

“Sergei was careful to keep me hidden in his private rooms. Besides they were terrified of him. If it wasn’t for Caine I would no doubt still be locked in that damned closet.”

Tane shot her a startled frown. “The cur rescued you?”

She wrinkled her nose. “I’m not sure if rescue is the proper word. Let’s say that we made a mutually beneficial bargain.”

Tane’s finger brushed her cheek, his touch comforting. “How did he find you?”

“One of the witches was his lover and she hoped to impress him with the ‘Jeannie in the Closet.’ Caine returned the next morning to offer me the chance to escape Sergei if I would agree to be his …” Her lips twisted as she remembered the handsome cur’s description. “Secret weapon.”

“Arrogant dog.” Tane growled.

She tilted back her head, startled by the raw fury that glowed in the honey eyes.

“I thought you didn’t know Caine?”

It was Styx who answered. “The vampires have yet to claim the pleasure, but I’m confident he will soon be my guest.”

Eek.

“Why do I suspect that’s not a good thing for Caine?” Laylah muttered.

“The dog held my mate’s sister as a prisoner.” Styx’s dark tone warned of pain for anyone stupid enough to hurt his mate. Ridiculously, Laylah briefly wondered what it must feel like to be loved by such an overwhelming demon. Darcy must feel … what? Cherished? Empowered? Smothered? Perhaps a combination of all three? “A crime he will eventually pay for,” Styx continued, unaware of her inane thoughts. “But for now I think we have more important matters to discuss. How did Caine manage to get you away from the mage?”

“Caine has a talent for creating pharmaceuticals,” she admitted. Over the years the cur had made a fortune off his ability to create designer drugs that humans craved. “He slipped Sergei a rophy in his orange juice and while he was knocked unconscious we slipped away.”

Styx looked surprised. “The mage was done in by a rophy?”

“Trust me, it was supercharged.”

Tane narrowed his eyes. “Did you stay with Caine in

Rome?”

“No, Caine sent me to his lair in America so his private witches could keep me hidden.” She smiled. When she’d arrived in Caine’s lair outside of St. Louis it had seemed almost paradise. Sure she had to live in an outbuilding that was heavily wrapped in disguise spells, and she often went years without speaking to another. But her rooms were comfortable enough, and best of all, she and the baby were safely hidden from the world.

Oh, and a wide screen TV and five hundred channels of free cable.

Not bad.

“I didn’t see him again until he arrived in St. Louis with a baby Were.” “Harley,” Styx said.

“Yes, but he refused to speak of where she came from or why he was so protective of her,” Laylah hastily informed him. Darcy had already spent the past hour grilling her on any information on how Caine had gotten his hands on Harley and if he’d said anything that involved Darcy’s other sisters. Apparently one of the quadruplets was still missing. “I’m sorry, I don’t know any more.”

Styx studied her in silence, weighing the truth of her words.

“Tell me about the child,” he at last said abruptly. She swallowed a sigh. The King of Vampires was nothing if not relentless. Like Chinese water torture.

“There’s nothing to tell. The baby’s wrapped in a stasis spell that I can’t penetrate. I’m not even truly sure if it’s a boy or a girl.”

Tane tilted her chin back to study her with an unreadable expression.

“Are you sure it’s alive?”

Ah, he thought her loneliness had driven her to carrying around the magical equivalent of an empty shell.

She might have been insulted if there wasn’t a real possibility she would have gone stark raving mad without the baby to concentrate on instead of her miserable existence.

“I can sense its essence, but it’s not conscious,” she said, her tone firm enough to warn she wasn’t going to debate what she knew in her heart.

The child was alive and it belonged to her.

Styx stepped forward. “And it hasn’t altered over the years?”

“No.”

“Where is the child now?”

The abrupt question came without warning, but Laylah was prepared. Folding her arms over her chest, she met Styx’s dark gaze without flinching.

“Safely hidden.”

“You must …”

“No.”

“Perhaps it would be better if I spoke with Laylah in private,” Tane interrupted, wisely preventing Laylah from provoking the most dangerous demon on the face of the earth.

Tane waited until Styx had left the room and closed the door behind him before turning to meet Laylah’s mulish expression.

She lifted a hand and pointed a finger in his face. “Don’t even think it.” “Think what?”

“That just because you’ve gotten into my pants you can manipulate me.”

A flare of anger seared through him.
Gotten into her pants?

She made him sound like a frat boy anxious for an easy lay. The truth of the matter was that he’d had the most beautiful and powerful women in the world beg to share his bed.

But it wasn’t male pride that made him yank her hard against his body, or glare down at her wide eyes.

“Don’t ever dismiss what burns between us,” he rasped.

Her pulse hammered at the base of her throat, but she stubbornly refused to yield.

“Nothing burns between us. We had sex. End of story.”

He leaned down, scraping a fully extended fang down the line of her jugular, his gut twisting with a primitive need to taste the rich nectar of her blood.

“If I truly thought you believed that I would take you right here and prove just how wrong you are,” he said, his lips moving against the satin of her skin.

“Tane.” She shivered, the scent of her excitement teasing at his senses, but her hands lifted to press against his chest. “Stop.”

He pulled back to study the flush of arousal staining her cheeks with smug satisfaction.

“You belong to me.”

Her eyes flashed, but she was wise enough not to try and continue the ridiculous argument.

“I thought you wanted to discuss the baby?”

His lips twitched. “And I thought you didn’t.”

Without warning, she twisted out of his arms, shaking her head as she backed away.

“You’re not going to trick me.”

Ignoring the urge to tug her back into his embrace, Tane instead allowed his gaze to skim over her pale face and stiffly held body.

She was as beautiful as ever.

The crimson hair that shimmered like fire in the overhead light. The ivory features carved with a delicate perfection. The slender body that was a tantalizing combination of hard muscles and feminine curves.

But, his searching eyes didn’t miss the shadows in the dark eyes and the tension that hummed around her.

She was anxious to return to her child and suspicious he intended to halt her.

A well-founded suspicion, unfortunately.

Every damned demon in the world would soon be on the hunt for the latest, greatest hope to return the Dark Lord. Either for the glory of returning their god, or to destroy the potential threat.

Tane wouldn’t allow Laylah to be standing in the firing line.

“Trick you?” he said with a stab at innocence.

Her chin jutted, not buying his pretense for a minute. “I’m not handing over the child.”

He swore in frustration. He’d hoped to avoid an outright confrontation.

“What choice do you have, Laylah?” He planted his hands on his hips. “You aren’t a fool.”

“That’s open to debate.”

He ignored her muttered sidebar.

“You’ve been outed, my sweet. Far too many demons now know that there’s a mongrel Jinn on the loose with a child that has the potential to resurrect the Dark Lord.” He cupped her face in his hands, holding her gaze as he sought to make his point. No matter how ruthless he had to be. “There’s nowhere you can hide the baby that it will be safe.”

Fear flashed through her eyes before she was stubbornly hiding it behind her ready temper.

“If there’s nowhere safe then why would the vampires want to get involved? Or can I guess?” Her eyes narrowed. “As soon as I’m stupid enough to reveal where the baby is hidden you’ll turn the both of us over to the Commission. Tell me, Tane, do you get a bonus for a package deal?”

“You must have an addiction for playing with fire,” he warned, his voice soft.