She didn’t want to hurt anyone. Hell, she would give anything to find a place where she could hide away with her child in absolute peace.
Yeah, as if such a place actually existed.
Grimly she stepped toward the center of the cavern, her hands held out in warning.
“Stay back or I’ll hurt you.”
The vamp flashed his fangs, his nasty gaze taking an intimate survey of her body. “Do you promise?”
Reluctantly, Laylah began to gather her sorely depleted power, wishing she could instead absorb the energy of her surroundings. As a Jinn she was a creature of nature. She should be able to manipulate the powers of the earth. Unfortunately she’d never been able to tap into anything other than her own inner powers.
Still, it was a potent force.
She shuddered, her blood heating and bubbling as the spiritual essence flowed through her.
Gods. It was so beautiful. Beautiful and terrifying and oh, so seductively addictive.
A pity she never knew what the hell was going to happen when she loosened her restraints.
“I mean it,” she gritted.
Ignoring her warning, the vampire slowly circled her trembling form, his hand cupping his crotch. “What are you? You smell tasty.” “I won’t warn you again.”
The vamp leaped forward, his fangs bared. Laylah didn’t hesitate. Lifting her hand she released a burst of power, her eyes narrowing as a blinding jolt of lightning streaked through the air, barely missing the shocked vampire.
“You bitch,” the demon hissed, reaching behind his back to pull a handgun from the waistband of his jeans. “You’re gonna pay for that.”
She prepared to strike again, only to be halted when Tane abruptly returned to the cave, moving with shocking speed to put himself between Laylah and the infuriated vamp.
“Why don’t you play with someone your own size?”
“Charon.” The unknown vamp smiled, forgetting Laylah as he eyed Tane with a weird triumph. Just as if he’d won the lottery.
Could vampires go crazy?
A chilling thought.
“Have we met?” Tane drawled.
“You killed my clan brother.”
An insulting smile touched Tane’s lips. “And you decided to track me down so I can kill you too? How thoughtful.”
The demon growled, his gun pointed at Tane’s head. “I came across your scent when I went out for my evening hunt. It’s been almost a hundred years but I’ll never forget your stench.” He shuddered, his pale eyes shimmering with a fanatical fire. “It’s haunted me.”
“I’m afraid I can’t return the creepy obsession.” With slow steps Tane moved to the side, deliberately leading the vampire away from Laylah. “I don’t know who you are and I don’t give a shit.”
Laylah frowned. Why was Tane risking himself to protect a Jinn mongrel who he intended to see exterminated? And why had the other vampire called him Charon?
“I suppose being a mercenary lapdog for Styx means one kill is just like another for you?” the vamp gritted.
“There are some I anticipate more than others.” Tane wagged his dagger in invitation. “Are we going to fight or do you intend to bore me to death?”
“Oh, we’re going to fight,” the vamp rasped, squeezing the trigger of his gun.
Laylah swallowed a scream as at least one bullet lodged in Tane’s arm before he had crashed into the smaller vamp and wrenched the gun from his grasp. The pistol went sailing toward the back of the cave and Tane’s dagger sliced deep into his opponent’s chest.
Blood flowed freely as the demons used their fangs and claws to cause the maximum damage.
Laylah hovered at the edge of the carnage, mesmerized by the battle between the two lethal predators.
Tane was obviously the superior fighter. Not only did he have the size advantage, but his frigid power spilled through the air with enough force to make her grit her teeth in pain. She could only imagine the agony if he were directing it at her.
But the smaller vamp had an utter lack of sanity in his favor.
With a horrifying disregard for the brutal injuries that Tane was inflicting, the intruder slammed his fangs into Tane, ripping through flesh and muscle like a rabid dog. In return, Tane sliced through the vamp’s back with his dagger, spraying blood throughout the cave.
Instinctively Laylah backed away, pressing a hand to her heaving stomach. It was time to go. Tane was suitably distracted and the food she’d consumed was easing her exhaustion.
At least enough that she could run for a few more hours. She wouldn’t have a better opportunity to escape. So why wasn’t she going?
It couldn’t be because she was reluctant to leave Tane alone to battle the crazy-ass vampire or his band of lunatics that she could sense heading in their direction. Or even the approaching …
She frowned at the musty scent of granite. It was familiar, but why?
“Tane,” she muttered.
With a grunt, Tane ripped his arm from his opponent’s fangs. “Now is not the best time, Laylah.”
“There is someone else in the tunnels.”
With a ferocious motion, Tane wrapped his arms around the vamp and heaved him against the distant wall. The vamp fell limply to the ground, briefly knocked unconscious.
Tane stood in the middle of the cave, covered in blood and looking like some magnificent conqueror. Just for a moment, Laylah had the opportunity to appreciate the fierce elegance of his profile, the chiseled perfection of his muscular body, and the bronzed satin of his skin.
Then, shoving a hand through his mohawk, he turned to reveal his eyes glowing with a honey fire and his fangs extended in fury.
She shivered. Holy shit. She’d met dangerous predators before, but nothing like Tane.
“I sense the other vampires,” he rasped.
“Not vampires.”
He frowned. “What is it?”
Realization hit at the same moment the stunted gargoyle waddled into the cave.
Laylah grimaced, easily recognizing the tiny demon.
Of course. Who could forget a gargoyle who stood barely three foot tall with large gossamer wings in brilliant shades of crimson and blue with veins of gold that were more suitable for a fairy than a fearsome beast? Not that he was entirely a un-gargoylish. He did have the usual grotesque features of his ancestors, as well as the long tail that was lovingly polished and horns atop his head.
He had been a companion of Salvatore when she and Caine had kidnapped the Were, and it had been her duty to carry him back to Caine’s lair.
It hadn’t been her fault that Tane and his gang of curs had been in such quick pursuit and she’d been forced to literally drop the gargoyle on his head and shadow walk to escape.
Or that in her haste she had released a small surge of power.
“Oh,” she breathed, her gaze remaining on the approaching gargoyle even as two new vampires burst into the room and launched themselves at Tane.
“Damn,” Tane muttered, his dagger slicing into the dark-haired vampire who looked like an extra out of a Tim Burton movie. “Like I don’t have enough troubles.”
Laylah frowned. “I thought he was on your side?”
“Can we save the discussion for later?” Tane grunted as the second vampire slammed into him from behind. “I could use some help here.”
She clenched her hands, ignoring the ridiculous urge to wade into the battle.
“Why should I help the man who intends to turn me over to the Oracles? I don’t care if you get killed.” She tilted her chin. She didn’t care. She didn’t. Dammit. “In fact it’ll save me from having to do it myself.”
Slipping past the smack down Tane was delivering, the tiny gargoyle halted next to Laylah, his gray eyes sparkling with amusement.
“Ah, a belle femme after my own heart,” he murmured with a thick French accent, sinking into a small bow. “Allow me to introduce myself. Levet, Defender of Damsels in Distress, Prince Charming, and overall Knight in S
hining Armor, at your service.”
Laylah blinked. She’d knocked out the gargoyle with a bolt of lightning during their first encounter. She had no idea he was so … hmmm. Flamboyant?
“Good God,” she breathed.
He waved a dismissive hand. “Non, non. It is a common mistake, but I am not a deity. Well, not unless you consider being a sex god as …” His eyes abruptly narrowed, his head tilted back as he sniffed the air. “Sacrebleu. You are the Jinn.”
Tane swore, pinning one vamp to the ground with his knee while he tried to dislodge the other that was latched onto his back.
“Levet, either make yourself useful or get the hell out of here.”
The gargoyle ignored Tane’s command, turning about to reveal the imprint of her hand that she had scorched onto his ass just before she’d dropped him in the tunnels.
“Look what you have done.”
“It was an accident.”
“An accident?” Levet turned back, his wings twitching. “You have marred perfection. It is like desecrating the Mona Lisa.”
In spite of herself, Laylah found her lips twitching. Levet was unlike any creature she’d ever met before.
“I truly didn’t mean to hurt you,” she said with genuine sincerity. “Please forgive me.”
He pursed his lips. “Well, I suppose I could consider a measure of forgiveness. I am, after all, renowned for the generosity of my heart.” He sent a raspberry toward Tane as the vampire muttered his opinion of worthless gargoyles. “And our introduction was not under the best of circumstances.”
“No.” She cleared her throat. “I suppose that Caine’s been captured and his lair overrun with Weres?”
The tiny demon snorted. “The last I saw of Salvatore he had rescued Harley and they were fleeing from Caine while his mangy minions were in pursuit.”
Laylah sucked in a sharp breath, her heart slamming against her ribs. So Caine was away from his lair and obviously distracted.
She would never have a better opportunity.
“Can we save the reminiscing?” Tane abruptly intruded into their conversation. “Levet, get over here.”
They turned to watch as Tane decapitated one of the vampires just as the one he had knocked out earlier came to his senses and rose to his feet to barrel across the cave.
“Surely the mighty Charon does not need assistance to deal with three scrawny vampires?” Levet demanded.
Tane managed to yank the vampire clinging to his back over his head, stabbing his dagger deep into the attacker’s chest.
“Not if they’re busy draining a mouthy gargoyle,” he muttered.
“As if I would allow such nasty creatures to touch me.” Levet wrinkled his snout. “Mon Dieu, they smell like they just crawled from their graves.”
Tane flashed his fangs at the tiny gargoyle. “Then do something to help put them back in.”
“Well, I do have a magnificent fireball spell,” Levet offered. “Although there was the teeniest trouble the last time I used it.”
“What trouble?”
“There might have been a minor cave-in.” Tane yanked the dagger from the vampire’s chest and pointed it toward Levet. “No fireballs.”
“There is no need to bellow.” Levet sniffed in offense. “Either you want my help or you do not, please make up your mind.”
Laylah forced her attention away from Tane as he cut out the heart of the nearest vamp. Although he was injured from dozens of wounds, it was obvious he would soon be done with his attackers.
“Thank you, Levet.” She patted him between the horns. “I really am sorry for your … injury. Now, I really must run.”
Tane growled low in his throat, grasping the remaining vampire by the throat and lifting him off the ground as he turned his attention to Laylah.
“What do you think you’re doing?”
“Leaving.”
“Now?” “Yes.”
“You intend to abandon me in the middle of a battle?”
She glanced toward the two disintegrating vampires on the ground and the third who was all but dead, again, struggling to escape Tane’s crushing grip.
“Do you think I’m stupid enough to wait around so you can force me to the Commission?”
Something that perilously close to amusement shimmered in the honey eyes.
“I brought you chocolate cake.” His black brows lifted. “It was homemade.”
It had been delicious. German chocolate with fresh coconut and pecans …
She shook her head, moving toward the entrance to the tunnel. “I don’t care if the cake was orgasmic, it’s not worth being exterminated.”
A wicked smile curved his lips. “If it’s orgasmic you want, my sweet …”
“Goodbye, Tane.” She gave him a finger wave, pretending she didn’t notice the sizzle of heat that raced through her blood. Stupid vampire smiles. “I can’t say it’s been a pleasure.”
“Laylah.”
Ignoring Tane’s bellow and Levet’s flurry of French protests, Laylah charged through the darkness, knowing she was wasting her energy unless she came up with a plan for escape.
She had to get out of the tunnel.
And she had to do it before Tane finished off the last of the boneheads who’d been stupid enough to attack him.
Rounding a curve, she skidded to an abrupt halt. What was that? A breeze? Her hand lifted to her cheek. Yes, definitely a breeze. And the air was fresh. Which meant there had to be an opening nearby.
Her heart was pounding so loudly she wouldn’t have been able to hear a train approaching as she scrambled up the side of the wall, using her strength to crack open the small fissures in the ceiling.
It would all be a hell of a lot easier if she could just shadow walk, but it was difficult enough to crack open the stone of the tunnel until she rested, let alone rip a hole through space.
That was something you really wanted to be on top of your game to try.
She choked on the clouds of dust that filled the air, her eyes watering as a shower of rocks pelted her on the top of her head. The mini cave-in, however, had the intended result and, hoping the yummy chocolate cake hadn’t widened her ass, she wriggled through the narrow opening.
For a heart-stopping moment, her jean shorts were caught on a jagged rock, but grasping a nearby clump of grass she pulled herself out of the tunnel.
Panting and covered in dust, Laylah crawled away from the hole she’d created, impatiently brushing away the blood that dripped from a wound on her forehead. She wanted to flop on the damp grass and catch her breath, but she forced herself to her feet and jogged over the rolling field.
For the moment she might have outmaneuvered pain-in-the-ass-Tane, since no vampire, regardless of how arrogant, would dare the sun that threatened to rise at any minute. But he wasn’t stupid, and he already suspected she’d deliberately led him away from Caine’s lair.
He would use the tunnels to return there.
Thankfully she had a straight shot back to Caine’s, while the tunnels twisted and turned, forcing Tane to travel almost twice the distance.
With any luck at all she could retrieve her baby and disappear before anyone could follow.
Her lips thinned to a hard line as she found a dirt road that wound its way through empty countryside and picked up her speed. For the past fifty years her luck had been nothing but shitty.
Why should it change now?
Chapter 3
The sun was setting by the time that Laylah arrived at Caine’s lair, but as Levet had promised, Caine was long gone. And so were most of his guards.
Thank the gods.
She wasted no time in silently slipping into the private outbuilding that was wrapped in layers of thick illusion that kept her presence hidden from the world. Or at least it had until Caine had insisted she travel with him to Hannibal.
Inside there were few comforts. A ratty couch and chair that she’d found in an abandoned house along with a television was the sum total of furn
iture in her living room. While the attached room held a narrow cot and a crib. She didn’t collect possessions.
She’d learned since the death of her foster mother not to become attached. Whether it was to people or places.
Both could be snatched away.
Well… she rarely became attached, she had to qualify as she scooped the sleeping baby from the crib and headed away from the lair.
From the moment she’d caught sight of the golden-haired child that appeared to be no more than a few months of age she’d tumbled head over heels in love. A perfect angel. Not that she knew if he possessed a claim to heaven or not. Actually, she didn’t know anything about the baby.
Nothing beyond the fact she’d taken it from the mists. And that it was held in a stasis spell so he remained locked in a web of protection, impervious to the world around him.
For nearly fifty years, she’d kept him hidden. Not a particularly difficult task since there was no need to offer the usual care that an infant would demand.
The child was … inanimate. Or at least that was the only description that came to her mind. As if he was a beautiful doll awaiting the spark of life to be breathed into him.
And, as far as she knew, she was the only creature in the world who could touch the spell that surrounded him.
Which made it all the more imperative that she keep him safe.
Fleeing from Caine’s lair, Laylah made a brief stop among the local wood sprites. Despite their flighty natures the tribe owed her a favor after she’d saved the life of the queen. The time had come to call in her marker.
Then, with a brief prayer her luck would hold, she headed across the recently planted fields and cow-filled meadows, aimlessly headed in a northwest direction.
She didn’t know where she was going.
Just … away.
Far, far away.
By midday her lurking exhaustion crashed over her with a compulsion that could no longer be denied.
She either found someplace to rest or she collapsed in the middle of a corn field.
Searching out the nearest house, she helped herself to a few of their groceries, then made herself as comfortable as possible in the hayloft of the nearby barn. Hardly the Waldorf Astoria, but it would keep off the drizzling rain that had started to fall. And best of all it was vampire-free.
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