Devoured By Darkness (19 page)

There was a rustle in the undergrowth as Levet sidled to stand at his side.

“Tane, do you truly think it wise to taunt the Sylvermyst with the hexed arrows?”

The bronze gaze dipped to the tiny gargoyle, his lips pulling into a mocking smile.

“Is that your wingman?” He shifted his attention back to Tane. “Pathetic even for a leech.”

“Hey!” Levet protested.

Tane, on the other hand, couldn’t argue.

It really was pathetic.

Instead he narrowed his gaze. “Wingman? You don’t speak like a fairy who has been banished from this world for centuries.”

“I’ll admit my cable service was shitty in hell, but…”

“No,” Tane growled. “You’re lying.”

“Probably. I’m evil, after all,” the fey taunted. “It’s what we do.”

“I don’t need an owner’s manual for evil.” The fey’s smile widened. “No, I don’t suppose you do, vampire.”

Tane paused. Did the bastard have a sense of humor or a death wish?

Either way he was setting off alarms that Tane wasn’t willing to ignore.

“Who are you?”

“Isn’t it enough to know I’m the man who is going to kill you?”

Tane lifted a brow. “Are you scared to give me your name or embarrassed?”

There was a moment of hesitation before the creature shrugged.

“Ariyal,” he revealed, his gaze flicking dismissively over Tane. “And you are the infamous Tane. Scourge of rogue vampires around the world. Now that we have the introductions out of the way, tell me where the child is.”

Tane’s question was answered.

A death wish.

Now that was cleared up, he wanted to know how the fey had discovered he was a Charon.

“Where have you been hiding?”

“Now, now. Don’t be rude, leech,” Ariyal drawled. “I asked my question first.”

“You sure the hell haven’t been sharing a dimension with the Dark Lord.”

The bronze eyes glittered, a prickling pressure filling the air.

“Did you miss the story about the overly curious cat?” he asked smoothly. “He got his head chopped off.”

“Damn.” Tane came to a sudden decision. Ariyal annoyed the hell out of him, but he wasn’t stupid enough to underestimate him. When he realized the babe was long gone he was going to release whatever magic he was keeping leashed. Tane didn’t want to be around when that happened. “Levet.”

“Oui?”

“Can you hide our scents long enough for us to escape?”

“I thought you would never ask,” the gargoyle muttered. He waved a hand toward the Sylvermyst. “What about Tinker Bell?”

Ariyal glanced toward Levet, smiling with a cruel anticipation.

“Oh, I’m going to enjoy grinding you into dust.” “He’s coming with us,” Tane muttered. Levet squeaked in dismay. “Are you
complètement fou?”

Was he completely mad? A question for later.

Moving with a speed not even a fey on steroids could track, Tane halted directly before Ariyal, knocking the crossbow out ofhis hand.

“Arrogant bast …”

The fey’s furious words were brought to a sharp end as Tane’s fist connected with his chin.

There was a satisfying crunch as Tane felt the man’s jaw shatter beneath the impact of his blow. Then, catching the fey’s limp body before it hit the ground, Tane slung him over his shoulder and turned toward the wide-eyed gargoyle.

“Let’s go.”

It all started out so well.

Laylah entered the mists without problem, even carrying the child.

It had taken a minute or two to shake off the draining dizziness that always plagued her after a shift into the corridor between worlds, and another few minutes to determine a direction.

She could go anywhere.

She could disappear with her child and never be found.

But even as the thought fluttered through her mind, she deliberately focused on Chicago and Styx’s elegant lair.

For years she’d believed that she’d managed to disappear, but she wasn’t nearly so clever as she’d thought. The Commission had always known about her, and God only knew who else.

Besides, the only true means of keeping the baby safe was to kill off those who hunted him. Bloodthirsty, but true.

And the vampires were her best bet.

She was busy convincing herself that her decision had nothing to do with Tane when she felt an archway forming in the mists.

On instant alert, she clutched the baby tightly in her arms, backing away from the shimmering veil that was growing at a rapid rate.

Shit.

This was something she’d always feared when she shadow walked.

Either something was about to enter the mists with her or …

It turned out to be the “or” as the veil swelled forward and wrapped around her, sucking her into another dimension.

She screamed as she was yanked from the mists and tumbling through the veil to land with painful force on her back.

Black flecks danced before her eyes as the air was slammed from her lungs. Gods. It felt like she’d landed on a brick wall.

Holding the baby in a death grip, she sucked in a deep breath and took stock of her surroundings.

It didn’t feel like hell. Or even a foreign dimension, she slowly concluded.

In fact …

Scrabbling to her feet, Laylah glanced around the familiar countryside, her heart sinking.

Dammit. She’d gone less than twenty miles from where she’d started. And worse, she wasn’t alone.

Whirling around, she was prepared for anything.

Oracles, mages, a full-bred Jinn. Something powerful enough to yank her from the mists.

Instead her gaze landed on a slender man with surferboy good looks who she easily recognized.

“Holy crap. Caine?” she breathed in shock, her gaze skimming the abandoned gas station and empty pumps before returning to the cur. “What the hell did you do to me?”

He held up his hands, his slender face and blue eyes revealing a grim maturity that hadn’t been there only a few days ago.

He grimaced, walking toward her. “Don’t blame me.”

Laylah froze, the air charged with the electric pulse of her energy. “Wait.”

Caine halted on a dime. He’d known her long enough to realize bad things happened when she was threatened. He lifted his slender hands in a gesture of peace. “What is it?”

“Stay right there,” she warned. “Who are you?”

“Who am I? Are you tripping?” His brows snapped together. “You just said my name.”

“I know what I said, but there’s something wrong with you.”

His sharp laugh echoed through the darkness. “I can’t argue with that. You want the long list or short?”

“I want to know why you smell like a pureblood.”

He shoved his hands into the pockets of his faded jeans. “Believe it or not a demented demon lord, who had been sucking the magic from Weres for centuries, slammed through me on his way back to hell, killing me in the process before I was mysteriously resurrected as a pureblooded Were.”

Laylah blinked, struggling to process the clipped words.

Good … lord. Had his bizarre visions actually come true?

Unbelievable.

She had a thousand questions, but Caine’s rigid lack of emotion warned he wasn’t ready to discuss his mind-blowing experience.

She could relate.

She wasn’t much into sharing.

“I believe you,” she said. “No one could make up that story.”

“I actually have a witness.”

He waved a hand and a female Were who had been hidden in a nearby Jeep slowly approached.

Laylah was momentarily disconcerted. She looked like Harley and Darcy, only with longer hair and lighter eyes.

“Gods, not another one,” she muttered. “How many are there?”

The woman studied her with an unconcealed curiosity that might have been rude if Laylah hadn’t sensed the remarkable innocence of her heart.

“If you refer to my sisters there are four of us in total.” She tilted her head to the side, her pale hair shimmering in the moonlight. “At least, that was what I was told.”

“This is Cassandra.” Caine moved to place a protective arm around the Were’s shoulders. “Cassie, this is Laylah.”

Laylah flashed a strained smile. Now wasn’t the time for chitchat.

She didn’t have a clue what had yanked her from the mists, but she did know she wasn’t near far enough from her aunt and the attacking Sylvermysts.

“Well, it’s great to meet you, Cassie, but I’m kind of in a hurry.”

“Wait.” Without warning, Cassie reached out to grasp her upper arm, her grip astonishingly strong. “You’re meant to be here.”

Laylah’s eyes narrowed in anger. Obviously the Were had wanted her at this godforsaken gas station in the middle of nowhere.

“Are you the one who pulled me out of the mists?”

“Easy, Laylah,” Caine growled. “Cassie is just the messenger.”

“For my aunt?”

“Aunt?” Caine looked genuinely confused. “Where the hell did you get an aunt?” “I ordered her off eBay,” Laylah snapped, tugging away from the Were. She didn’t trust either one of them. “Who sent you?” “Fate,” Cassie murmured.

A flash of lightning struck the steel pole that supported the rusting sign in the shape of a hamburger.

With an awkward movement, Caine pushed himself between Laylah and his companion.

“Dammit, Laylah, don’t wig out, she really does mean fate.”

She grit her teeth. “Caine, I’m not in the mood to be jerked around. Tell me what’s going on or I swear I’ll fry you.”

“She’s …” He hesitated before the words were seemingly ripped from his lips. “A prophet.” Prophet?

Well, that was a conversation ender.

Laylah sucked in a startled breath, her powers faltering.

“She sees the future?”

“Only in glimpses,” Caine warily admitted, clearly driven by a primitive need to protect the beautiful Were. A dangerous position.

If she truly were a prophet then she would be considered a holy grail among the demon world.

“I thought they were extinct,” she said.

“Most people thought the same of Jinn mongrels,” Caine pointed out dryly.

Laylah grimaced.

Couldn’t argue with that.

She turned toward the Were who possessed such an eerie resemblance to Harley.

“So if you’re not completely out of your mind, why has some mystical fate brought me here?”

She shrugged. “I don’t have a clue.”

“Great. Then fate’s out of luck …”

“No,” Cassie hastily interrupted. “It’s the child.” Laylah’s gut twisted in fear. “What about him?” “He’s in danger.”

Laylah frowned. That was the prophecy?

“Not really a newsflash. Why do you think I was trying to get away? If you hadn’t interfered …”

Caine’s growl trickled through the air. “Careful, Jinn.”

Cassie waved aside her champion, her expression troubled as she touched Laylah’s arm, insanely indifferent to the danger of being so close to the stasis spell that surrounded the baby.

“Don’t be blinded by the obvious threats. There are more than you suspect.”

“Perfect,” Laylah muttered, then she jerked back in alarm when the crazy Were placed a hand directly over the spell surrounding the baby. “Hey. What are you doing?”

The woman’s eyes flared with a blinding white light. “The Gemini.”

Laylah stepped back, cradling the child tight against her chest. Hidden threats? Gemini?

It was the sort of babble that she would expect from a fake prophet, not the real deal.

“I don’t know what that means.”

“The alpha and the omega.” Cassie shrugged, her eyes returning to normal. “To find the end you must return to the beginning.”

A cold prickle filled the air, sharply reminding Laylah she already had enough known enemies to worry about without adding mysterious ones.

“Okay. I really need to be on my way.”

Cassie shook her head. “Not yet.”

Caine spun toward the empty fields, catching the unmistakable scent of vampire the same moment as Laylah.

“Cassie, someone’s coming.”

“Tane,” Laylah breathed, relief slamming through her that he was safe.

Caine lifted his brows in surprise. “A friend of yours?”

“He’s not alone,” Cassie said, thankfully diverting Laylah from the need of explaining her complicated relationship with Tane.

“That damned gargoyle,” Caine muttered, his head tilted back as he sniffed the air. “And … what?”

“Darkness,” Cassie breathed.

Caine swore. “We’re out of here.”

Cassie lifted a restraining hand as Caine reached to toss her over his shoulder.

“No, Caine. I must speak with the vampire.”

Laylah might have admired the tiny woman’s ability to tame the once rebellious cur if she hadn’t been consumed with the sight of the infuriated vampire who was barreling toward her with a strange fey tossed over his shoulder and a gargoyle on his heels.

It wasn’t a sight you ran across every day.

“Damn you, Laylah, you’re supposed to be …”

“Don’t start with me, He-man,” she warned, wisely shifting backward as Tane tossed aside the unconscious fey and glared toward Caine. Two alphas in the same space was never, ever a good thing. “It wasn’t my choice to be here.”

Tane moved to stand directly between Laylah and Caine, his frigid power lashing through the air.

“I thought I caught the stench of dog.”

Caine’s eyes glowed with the inner light of a pureblood. “You want a piece of me, bloodsucker?”

Laylah grabbed Tane’s arm. “No, Tane. We don’t have time for a pissing contest.”

With a blithe disregard for life and limb, Levet waddled between the two predators, studying Caine with a puzzled expression.

“Hey, I know you.” He rubbed his stub of a nose.
“Mon Dieu,
what have you done to yourself?”

Tane scowled. “What’s going on?”

Laylah and Cassie shared a glance of mutual female exasperation.

“Long story short, this is Caine who had a run-in with a demon lord who transformed him into a pureblood,” Laylah said.

Tane stiffened. “The cur who held you captive?”

“She was never my prisoner,” Caine snapped, as if offended by the accusation.

“Please, we have little time.” Cassie stepped forward, belatedly capturing Tane’s attention.

“God … damn,” he muttered in shock.

Levet was equally astonished. “The last of Darcy’s sisters.”

Tane nodded. “Styx must be told.”

“No fucking way …”

“Caine.” Cassie hastily halted Caine with a hand to his chest. She glanced toward Laylah, as if hoping for a little “women versus men” cooperation. “I am only here to deliver a warning.”

Tane predictably ignored what he didn’t want to hear. “I’ll take you to your sister and you can deliver all the warnings you want.”

Caine’s scent was musky as his wolf prowled to the surface.

“Touch her and die, vampire.”

“Tane, you must listen to her,” Laylah commanded. “She’s a prophet.”

Dead silence greeted her little announcement.

Even Levet was speechless.

Nothing less than a miracle.

At last, Tane shook his head. “Impossible.”

“Cassie, you’re wasting your time,” Caine snapped, firmly scooping her into his arms and heading for the Jeep. “A vampire’s ego is too bloated to listen to advice, no matter who’s offering it.”

Cassie didn’t struggle, but she did pop her head over Caine’s shoulder.

“Vampire, you must not kill your prisoner.”

Tane glanced toward the forgotten fey lying on the ground. “Why not?”

“You will have need of him.”

“I will have need of him? Wait.” Tane clenched his hands as Caine settled Cassie in the passenger seat and then leaped behind the wheel, taking off in a cloud of dust. “This mystical future shit is pissing me off, “ he muttered.

Laylah parted her lips to demand an explanation of why Tane was carrying around an unconscious Sylvermyst, when all three of them froze in alarm.

The scent of herbs carried on the breeze, and something much worse.

A deranged vampire.

“Umm …” Levet cleared his throat. “Can you be pissed off somewhere far away from here?”

Tane glanced toward the horizon. “Damn. It’s too close to dawn to make it to my lair.”

“Hand over the Sylvermyst and I will consider offering you shelter.”

The female voice came without warning, nearly making Laylah jump out of her shoes. Tane, on the other hand, had his dagger flying toward the gas station and the sword pulled from the scabbard he’d strapped to his back.

With the calm arrogance only a vampire could claim, the woman snatched the dagger from midair and stepped out of the decrepit building.

“Hunter,” Tane rasped in a low tone.

“Hunter?” Laylah questioned, not sure whether she should be relieved or screaming in horror.

“They’re vampires who are born with the rare ability to wrap themselves in such deep shadows that no one can detect their presence,” he explained. “Traditionally they hire themselves out to hunt down demons who don’t want to be found. Very exclusive and very expensive.”

Laylah wondered if Tane was mistaken.

The female looked like a fashion model with the exotic beauty that only a mixture of races could achieve.

Tall and slender, her glossy black hair that hinted at her Asian ancestry was contained in a tight braid that hung down her back. There was also a touch of the East in her faintly slanted eyes, although they were a dark shade of blue that revealed a European heritage. Her skin was as pale as alabaster and her lips a lush shade of pink.

She was drop-dead gorgeous.

Of course, she was dressed in black spandex from head to foot that gave off a whole
Mission Impossible
vibe and the sawed-off shotgun holstered at her side did warn she might not be just another pretty face.

Twirling the dagger, she approached with a bold nonchalance that Laylah could only envy.

“You must be Jaelyn,” Tane said.

“And you must be Tane, the Charon,” the female drawled.

Laylah frowned. “Are the two of you acquainted?”

“No, but I recognize her skills. What do you want with the Sylvermyst?”

The vampire glanced toward the unconscious fey. “I’ve been tracking him for days.”

“Why?”

She smiled, flashing her fangs. Nope, no fashion model. “Not your biz.”

Tane narrowed his gaze. “Considering he’s currently my prisoner, I’d say it’s very much my biz.”

“Ah, but I’m the one with the solarproof digs.”

Laylah reluctantly stepped into the fray. What choice did she have? Tane was just stubborn enough to ignore the offer of shelter because he was annoyed by the vampire’s attitude.

“Tane, we don’t have much time to debate the issue.”

He slid a smoldering glance in her direction, his expression softening as he took in the weariness she couldn’t hide.

She was discovering that being pulled out of the mists, no matter what the cause, was more draining than actually walking through them.

He returned his attention to Jaelyn.

“Your lair is secure?”

The indigo eyes narrowed. “I’m the wrong vampire to insult, Charon.”

Laylah swallowed a sigh. Did all vampires have anger management issues?

Levet tugged on her pant leg. “I assume that means it’s secure?”

Laylah grimaced. “I’m thinking we want to stay out of the family squabble.”

Levet shuddered with ready revulsion. “Oui, there is nothing more dangerous than families.”

Laylah glanced toward the distant fields where her aunt had brought an evil army to search for her.

“No shit.”

Tane didn’t like putting his trust in a vampire he knew only for her reputation of being overly aggressive with a short fuse.

Especially not when Laylah was with him.

But with the sun less than a half an hour from rising and Marika and her Sylvermysts on their trail, he didn’t have a lot of choice.

Allowing Jaelyn to lead them to a small town settled between a patchwork of farms, Tane wrapped himself in shadows as they moved across the small park in the center of town. Country folk tended to be up early and the last thing he needed was someone to spot him carrying the still unconscious Sylvermyst.

The hunter at last waved them into a crumbling brick building on the corner of the downtown square. Entering, Tane realized that it had once been a local bank, but now the teller windows were shuttered and the tile floor was covered in dust.

They passed through the narrow lobby and moved down a short flight of stairs that led to the bank vault below.

Laylah briefly faltered, perhaps fearing they were all expected to squeeze into the small space for the next twelve hours.

He didn’t blame her.

Two vampires, a Sylvermyst, a gargoyle, and a half-breed Jinn shoved in a tiny, steel-lined vault … yeah, bad idea all the way around.

With a gentle pressure he urged her inside. No vampire had a lair without a few hidden doors.

To prove his point, Jaelyn brushed past them, shoving aside the shelves of safety deposit boxes to reveal a door cut into the steel. She paused, whispering soft words that released the hexes that guarded the entrance and the door sprung open, revealing a wooden staircase that led to the underground tunnels.

In silence they moved into the darkness below. Tane could feel the heavy weight of the approaching dawn, but it was his concern for Laylah that made him urge Jaelyn to a faster pace. The stubborn Jinn would rather collapse than ask for help, but he could sense she was barely able to put one foot in front of the other.

The short tunnel ended at another door that opened into a large room. Tane studied the leather seats scattered across the crimson carpet and the tools of S & M hung on the walls. Not that he gave a crap about the décor. His only interest was in potential dangers and, of course, the nearest exits.

Laylah, however, grimaced, seemingly relieved when Jaelyn led her into a private bedroom with a simple bed and armoire with an attached room she could use to lay the child.

Grudgingly handing the Sylvermyst over to his hostess, Tane shooed Levet away and, waiting for Laylah to make the babe comfortable in the attached room, he at last settled her on the wide bed and tugged the covers over her.

Then, leaning against the headboard, he made himself comfortable and closed his eyes.

He was old enough that he could rest and regain his strength while still remaining on full-alert.

Several hours passed before the sound of approaching footsteps had him off the bed and wrenching open the door.

He might be forced to accept Jaelyn’s hospitality, but he didn’t trust her near Laylah.

Actually, he wasn’t sure he trusted anyone near Laylah.

Wisely halting several feet from the door, Jaelyn lifted a hand in a gesture of peace.

“Easy, Charon,” she said, still dressed in the spandex although she’d replaced the shotgun with a Glock 18. “I’m no threat to your female.”

His lips twisted at his fierce rush to protect Laylah. Especially considering she could destroy this entire lair with a single thought.

“My female can take care of herself,” he said wryly.

Jaelyn rolled her eyes. “Yeah, she can, but I doubt you’re willing to give her the opportunity.”

“What do you want?”

“My prisoner is awake.”

“Your
prisoner?” He arched a brow. “Having trouble with your pronouns, Hunter?”

“My only trouble at the moment is you.” The female pointed a finger toward the ceiling protecting them from the late afternoon sun. “I held up my end of the bargain.”

Not sure what Jaelyn intended for the Sylvermyst, Tane turned to retrieve the sword he’d leaned against the wall near the door.

“Fine,” he said, “but I need to question him before you do any damage.”

She gave a lift of her shoulder, turning to walk down the narrow hallway.

“Come with me.”

Tane readily followed. “Are you going to tell me why you’ve been hunting the Sylvermyst?”

The vampire paused to tug open the trapdoor set in the center of the hallway. Tane smiled. The lead door had to weigh a ton, but Jaelyn had lifted it with ease.

A testament that the rumors of her innate powers weren’t inflated.

A pity she was still so young. He would have sponsored her in the battles of Durotriges, the gladiator-type games that were for the most elite of demon warriors. The few vampires who survived walked out with the mark of CuChulainn, a dragon-shaped tattoo that earned them the right to challenge for clan chief.

She lifted her head to stab him with an impatient glare. “I was hired by the Oracles, that’s all you get.”

Tane grimaced. It was more than he wanted.

He had enough trouble with Oracles without adding more.

Jaelyn could keep her damned reason for wanting the Sylvermyst to herself.

She disappeared through the hole and Tane was swiftly dropping into the darkness behind her. His feet had barely touched the hard floor when Jaelyn flicked a switch and he studied his surroundings.

He wasn’t entirely surprised to discover they were standing in the center of a dungeon. Where else did you keep a prisoner?

But he was a little startled by just how elaborate the dungeon was.

Ten cells lined the walls, each of them custom constructed to hold different species of demons. Some made of silver, some of iron, some of wood, and even one of solid gold. But it was the large room at the far side of the dungeon that captured his attention.

Had Jaelyn gone to a close-out sale for Torture-R-Us?

There were racks, branding irons, enormous pinchers, spiked clubs, and the always popular electric chair that did nasty things to a vampire. There were even a few devices that Tane didn’t recognize.

And in the air the scent of disinfectant hung like a cloud. As if someone spent a lot of time cleaning up gory messes.