She had never been fussed over before, so why shouldn’t she enjoy it just a little?
“I suppose Styx does tend to be a bit bossy, but you can’t really blame him. He’s accustomed to giving orders.”
“I can blame him,” Levet swiftly corrected. “And I thought you did as well. You did run from him, didn’t you?”
Darcy shrugged. “Yes, well, like all men he is thick skulled enough that a woman must occasionally take strong measures to get her point across.”
“I’d say you managed that. According to Viper…” Levet’s words broke off as he tilted his head back to sniff the air. Then, without warning he was lunging forward. “Sacre bleu.”
More startled than frightened, Darcy instinctively backed away, her eyes widening as the small gargoyle grabbed her arm in a firm grip.
“What are you doing?” she demanded.
“You’re mated.” Levet shoved up the sleeve of her sweatshirt to reveal the crimson tattoo that stained her forearm. He gave another sniff of the air. “Or more precisely, Styx is mated. The ceremony is not yet completed.”
Jeez. Could she go one day without something sniffing at her?
“So it would seem,” she muttered.
Stepping back, Levet studied her with a curious expression. “You’re very calm about this. You do understand what’s happened?”
Darcy battled the urge to laugh hysterically.
Understand what’s happened?
Hell no.
Her life had been a blur of confusion since the moment that Salvatore had walked into the bar.
Vampires and werewolves and demons…
Oh my.
“Not entirely,” she admitted, with a rueful smile. “Styx claimed that it means he is somehow tied to me.”
“Somehow? There is no ‘somehow’ about it. He is most certainly bound to you for all eternity.” The gargoyle gave a slow shake of his head. “Mon Dieu. Who would have believed that the coldhearted bastard was even capable of mating a woman?”
Darcy sent her companion a withering glare. Or what she presumed was a withering glare. She had never been entirely certain, but it always seemed to work in romance novels.
“He is not coldhearted. In fact, he possesses the most generous, loyal heart of anyone I’ve ever met.”
Levet blinked in surprise at her fierce tone. “I will have to take your word for it, since he most certainly does not reveal it to the rest of us riffraff.”
“That’s only because he isn’t used to showing his feelings.”
“No shit,” Levet muttered.
Why did everyone persist in treating Styx like the Darth Vader of the demon world?
He devoted his entire life to protecting those demons he considered his responsibility without asking anything in return. They should be showering him with gratitude, for goodness sake.
“That doesn’t mean he doesn’t have them. Or that he can’t be hurt when he is constantly misunderstood.”
“Perhaps.” Levet appeared far from convinced, but he dismissed her arguments from his mind and allowed his attention to return to her arm. Suddenly he began to laugh.
Darcy frowned. “What’s so funny?”
“It just struck me that you have leashed the most powerful demon in the entire world. I do not know whether to congratulate you or offer my condolences.”
Ah.
Actually she didn’t know either.
So far she had alternated between sheer terror and a peaceful bliss.
Not the most comfortable of mood swings.
“Styx is hardly leashed,” she protested.
“Oh, but he is.” Levet’s smile became downright wicked. “And it’s so deliciously ironic. Female vampires have been attempting to lure Styx from his self-imposed celibacy from them for centuries. They will be gnashing their fangs in fury when they discover he is mated.”
“Great.” Darcy rolled her eyes. If Levet had dropped by to offer comfort, he was sucking big-time. “That’s all I need. A pack of angry vampires after me.”
“Oh no.” The delicate wings gave a sharp flutter, making the beautiful colors shimmer in the faint light. “There’s not a vampire alive or dead who would dare to harm the mate of their Anasso. They may wish you in hell, but they will fight to the death to protect you.”
Okay. That sounded better.
At least marginally better.
“Maybe, but as you said, the… ceremony is not complete,” she felt compelled to point out. “Nothing has been decided.”
Levet winkled his lumpy brow. “Maybe not for you, but it most certainly has been for Styx. That mark on your arm proves that he is bound to you for life. To the vampires you are now their queen.”
She wrapped her arms around her waist as a shiver raced down her spine.
Queen? Her?
Well, that was just… pathetic. For the entire vampire race.
With a shake of her head, she paced restlessly across the floor.
“This is all moving too fast,” she muttered. “Way, way too fast.”
“You don’t believe in love at first sight?”
She determinedly kept her face turned from the tiny gargoyle to hide her rueful expression. There was a time when she wouldn’t have believed in such nonsense. She hadn’t been certain true love existed at all.
To her it was a myth just like vampires and werewolves. How could she accept something she had never seen for herself?
Now she believed.
In both demons and love.
But love at first sight?
Oh yes.
Unfortunately, she had yet to convince herself of happily ever afters.
Slowly turning, she regarded Levet with a faint smile. “I suppose I believe. What of you, Levet? Do gargoyles fall in love?”
Surprisingly, a wistful expression settled on the ugly features. “Oh yes. We are like most demons. We have one mate and it is for eternity.”
Darcy silently chastised herself as she sensed she had touched a nerve. Rats. She would never want to hurt the small demon. Not when she was certain he had spent a lifetime enduring insults and taunts.
“You said most demons,” she said softly, hoping to distract him while discovering more of the world she had been tossed into. “What of werewolves?”
As she hoped, the tiny face cleared and a smile returned to his lips. “Ah. I must admit you have me there.”
“No death til we part?”
“Centuries ago the purebloods did occasionally share a monogamous relationship, but to be blunt, they have become desperate for children.” He gave a goofy waggle of his brows. “Most Weres nowadays are notorious for their sexual appetites. Especially the females, who can have a dozen or more lovers at a time.”
“Ew.”
Levet shrugged at her shudder of distaste. “The fear of extinction is a powerful aphrodisiac, mignon, and producing a litter is far more important than true love.”
Darcy grimaced. Ick. She was no prude, but the thought of being expected to take on a dozen lovers was not at all what she wanted to hear.
Especially when she couldn’t imagine allowing any man besides Styx to touch her.
“Then Salvatore’s claim he intended to make me his consort was nothing more than a load of bull?”
Levet’s eyes widened. “He said that?”
“Yes.”
There was a pause before Levet was laughing with open delight. “Sacre bleu. No wonder Long Tooth was in such a tizzy. Vampires are a pain in the ass under the best of circumstances, but they become raving lunatics when they are first mated. And to have another male sniffing around—” he gave a dramatic shiver “—God help anything that crosses his path. He’ll kill first and ask questions later.”
Instinctively Darcy glanced toward the window. That strange unease was once again setting up shop in the pit of her stomach.
“I don’t care what his mood is. I don’t like the thought of him out there tracking some renegade vampire.”
Moving forward, Levet lightly patted her hand. His skin was rough and leathery, but his touch was a wel come comfort.
“It would take more than a mere vampire, renegade or not, to harm Styx.” He gave a flutter of his wings. “Trust me. I’ve seen him in action.”
Darcy forced herself to remember watching Styx practicing with his sword. She couldn’t deny that he had looked like sudden death in leather pants.
The image, however, did nothing to ease her concern.
“Maybe, but I have a bad feeling.”
Levet frowned. “You have premonitions?”
Darcy found herself moving to the window and pressing a hand to the cold panes.
“Like I said… I have a bad feeling.”
—
It had been a simple matter to follow the renegade vampire through the dark streets of Chicago. Desmond had left behind a trail of dead hellhounds, fairies, and two imps. It had been slightly more difficult to follow his scent through the suburbs and out of town to the farmhouse that was astonishingly close to Viper’s lair, that Styx had so recently been sharing with Darcy.
Slightly more difficult, but not difficult enough, Styx acknowledged as he knelt in the overgrown hedge that surrounded the shabby home.
Peering through the murky darkness, he studied the two-story house that had certainly seen better days. The white paint was peeling, the roof was sagging, and more shutters were missing than not. Even the windows had been cracked and busted from their frames.
It was not, however, the less than pristine condition of the home that troubled him. His own lair near the banks of the Mississippi River would never make the pages of Fine Living. Hell, it probably wouldn’t make the pages of “Barely Scraping By.”
What troubled him was the fact that he and Viper not only had managed to follow the clan chief without difficulty, but now had slipped close enough to the house to touch it without encountering one single guard.
Brooding on his simmering unease, Styx watched as Viper flowed through the deepest shadows and joined him in the hedge.
Styx waited until his companion was crouched beside him before breaking the heavy silence.
“The clan chief is within?”
“Yes.” Viper shrugged, his eyes glowing with the promise of coming violence. Once a warrior, always a warrior. “He’s barricaded in the basement with two other vampires.”
Styx frowned, his own bloodlust smothered by his sense that something was wrong.
“Just two?” he demanded.
“Yes, and neither powerful,” Viper confirmed.
Styx clenched his hands as he glared at the house. “I don’t like this.”
“What’s not to like?” Viper demanded, clearly anxious for a good fight. “By going to ground they’ve trapped themselves.”
“Or set the trap.”
Viper stilled as he studied Styx with a narrowed gaze. “Do you sense something?”
“Nothing.”
“And?”
“And that’s what troubles me.”
“Ah, of course.” The vampire gave a lift of his brows. “Perfectly reasonable to suppose that because you can sense no trouble there must be some brewing.”
“Exactly.”
“Bloody hell, I should have left you with Dante. Newly mated vampires should be locked away for the sake of their own sanity. And mine,” Viper muttered be neath his breath.
Styx ignored the less than complimentary confidence in his hunting skills. He had always been far less eager to use brawn when brains would serve him better.
A most undemon-like trait.
Turning his head, he stabbed his friend with a piercing gaze. “You do not find it the least suspicious that an experienced clan chief would be stupid enough to charge into town, create enough chaos to lure us into tracking him, and then, rather than leave town or confront us directly, blatantly corner himself in a suitably remote farmhouse with no seeming backup?”
Viper reluctantly considered Styx’s words. “A little too easy?”
“Would you be so foolish?”
His companion gave a low growl. “Damn, do you have to be so logical?”
“Yes.”
“Shit.” Giving a shake of his head, Viper studied the silent house. “What do you want to do?”
“I think it would be wise to call for some backup before we go any further.”
With a nod. Viper pulled his cell phone from his pocket and flipped it open. “Damn.”
Styx frowned. “What is it?”
“The battery is dead.”
“It was charged when you left Chicago?”
“Yes.” Viper returned the worthless phone to his pocket. “But it’s not that unusual for modern technology to be affected by a vampire’s powers.”
That was true enough. The previous Anasso had put out entire grids of electricity when he lost his temper, and Styx could rarely be in the same room with a television without it flickering from channel to channel. There would be nothing odd in a vampire who drained the power from batteries.
Still, the knowledge that they were effectively cut off from assistance made Styx’s instincts prickle with unease.
“I don’t like this,” he muttered.
“Now what?” Viper demanded.
That was the question, of course.
Logic would demand that they return to Chicago and consider the strange situation more fully. It would be beyond foolish to rush into a trap simply because they were impatient.
On the other hand, could they risk allowing Desmond the opportunity to slip away and cause even more havoc? What if he turned his killing spree to vampires? Styx would have no choice but to call for a clan war.
And he would be caught in the middle.
Damn it all.
With grim determination he considered his options. Not that there were many.
He wasn’t about to walk into the house without knowing what was within.
The only choice was driving Desmond and his com panions out.
“Now we try to spring the trap without getting caught,” he at last said.
Viper studied his fierce expression. “Do you have a plan?”
“Actually I intend to use Darcy’s plan.”
“Is that supposed to make sense?”
“She proved the best way to distract a vampire is to set the house on fire.”
“Ah.” Viper grimaced. “A fire will certainly catch their attention, but it’s hardly the best way to win friends and influence vampires.”
“I have no interest in making friends.” Styx’s tone was downright frigid. “I’m here to ensure that my laws are obeyed.”
“Spoken like a true Anasso,” Viper said, with a faint smile.
Styx sent his friend a dark glance. “If you think back, Viper, you will recall that you were the one who forced me into this position.”
“Only because I didn’t want to take the chance that I might be stuck with the job.”
“Thanks a lot.”
“Anytime.” Viper returned his attention to the nearby house, a somber expression settling on his face. “I don’t suppose you happen to have a lighter or a book of matches on you?”
“That won’t be necessary. All I need is to find where the electricity comes into the house.”
“That should be simple enough.” Viper didn’t hesitate as he flowed to his feet and angled toward the back of the house. “This way.”
Styx was close on the vampire’s heels as they moved with absolute silence through the cold night air. Only fairies and possibly imps could move with such stealth.
They didn’t so much as stir a flake of snow as they cover the short distance to the backyard.
Luck for once was on Styx’s side, and he easily lo cated the circuit-breaker box that was near the small porch.
He didn’t bother to open the box but, instead, put a hand on either side before allowing his power to begin flowing through the metal to the hidden circuit breakers.
“Stand back,”
he warned as he felt the metal heating beneath his touch.
Viper was wise enough not to question as he backed away from the smoking box. Styx could not actually create fire, but he could heat the wires until they melted.
He didn’t want Viper hurt if his power flared out of control.
Concentrating on the box beneath his hands, Styx paid little attention to his surroundings. At least not until he felt Viper turn sharply.
“Styx…” he warned in a soft tone.
With reluctance Styx dropped his hands and turned to hear the sound of an approaching vehicle. Grasping Viper’s arm, he tugged him behind a nearby bush even as the van pulled into view and over a half dozen vampires spilled from it.
“Damn,” he muttered, realizing that the clan chief must have commanded his servants to remain far enough from the house that they could not be sensed. At least not until Styx and Viper had stepped into the trap. And it was a trap, he grimly acknowledged. There could be no doubt. “I will stay and hold them off. I want you to go for assistance.”
Viper gave a low hiss. “You can’t hold them off on your own.”
“There are too many for the two of us,” Styx pointed out, already sensing the clan chief and his two companions moving through the house. Soon enough they would be surrounded. “Our only hope is for you to escape and return with your clan. It is not far to your lair.”
“Then go and I’ll remain,” Viper stubbornly insisted.
Knowing his friend would argue until they were both caught and staked, Styx assumed his most commanding expression.
“I did not give you a request, Viper; I gave you an order.”
There was a moment as Viper struggled with his overwhelming pride. “Dammit. I hate when you pull rank on me.”
Styx gave his arm a squeeze. “Go.”
“If you allow yourself to get killed I will be seriously pissed.”
“So you have said before,” Styx said dryly.
Waiting until Viper had melted into the shadows, Styx slowly rose to his feet and stepped from behind the bush. He didn’t want some enterprising vampire circling around the house and discovering Viper before he could escape.
He needn’t have worried.
Darkness Everlasting Page 24
