“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.
“Nice,” he murmured, shooting his companion a mocking glance. “Yours?”
She flipped him off, headed toward one of the lead cells. “I’m subletting the place.”
“From Marquis de Sade?”
“I have a strict policy of not putting my nose where it doesn’t belong.” “I can imagine.”
A haunted expression briefly darkened her eyes. “No, you really can’t.”
She opened the cell door, before Tane could press her for an answer. Not that he was sure he wanted to. She didn’t seem like the kind of vampire who wanted to share.
Exactly like he used to be.
He paused, then hastily squashed just what his stray thought had revealed.
Instead he turned his attention to the Sylvermyst seated in a wooden chair.
Ariyal looked decidedly worse for the wear.
His hair had come loose from his braid to fall about his face streaked with dirt, and his clothes were stained and ripped. At some point, Jaelyn had tied his arms together behind his back and shackled them to the wall with iron cuffs.
He had to be in considerable pain, but his expression was mocking as they entered.
“Ah, the fanged Bobbsey Twins. How cute,” he drawled, stretching out his long legs and crossing them at the ankle. “Are we going to play games?”
“If that’s what you want. Let me explain the rules.” Tane strolled casually forward, touching the tip of his stolen sword to the bastard’s throat. “I’m going to ask you a number of questions. If you refuse to answer or try to lie I will carve a strip of flesh from your body. We’ll continue until I have the answers I want or you run out of flesh.”
The bronze gaze shifted to Jaelyn who had closed the door and strolled to stand at Tane’s side.
“If we’re going to play rough I’d rather have the female. No offense, but she’s more to my taste.”
“You’d never survive me.” She leaned down to grab his chin, only to release it with a hiss, shaking her hand as if she’d been scalded. “Shit.”
Tane frowned. “What’s wrong?”
With a scowl at the Sylvermyst who’d lost his smirk, Jaelyn backed away until she was leaning against the door.
“Nothing.”
Tane took a step toward her, sensing something important had just happened. “Hunter …”
“Get on with your interrogation,” Jaelyn snapped. “I expect you to be gone at nightfall.”
“Is she always so charming?” Ariyal taunted, although Tane didn’t miss the edge in his voice. Whatever had occurred between the two of them had been as unwelcome to the Sylvermyst as to Jaelyn.
Turning back to the prisoner, Tane sliced two cuts into the fey’s shoulder and peeled off a small piece of flesh.
“You forgot the rules,” he said.
With a foreign curse, Ariyal leaned away from the hovering sword.
Tane watched in fascination as the blood on the blade sizzled and then melted into steel, as if the sword was absorbing power from the blood.
Interesting.
