Bound By Darkness (Guardians of Eternity #8)(98)

“Yes, master. Thank you, master.”

Ariyal had to give the cur kudos for effort. He managed to say the right words. Unfortunately, he couldn’t entirely hide his lack of enthusiasm for his private tête-à-tête with his master.

Lucky for him the monster of all monsters had other things on her mind.

“For now, I have a small task for you to perform.”

It was the vampire who answered. “What would you have us do?”

“Ah, my faithful Gaius.” There was a hint of mockery in that crushing voice. “So pure of heart.”

Gaius.

He met Jaelyn’s gaze to see if she recognized the name.

She shook her head.

“I am yours to command,” the vampire readily offered.

“Yes, you are.” A new wave of pain rippled through the air, nearly bursting his inner organs. Holy hell. If they didn’t get away, the damned Dark Lord was going to kill them without even trying. “You will search for the intruders who killed my precious Rafael.”

Jaelyn stiffened, but she was a trained Hunter. Thank the gods. The bone-chilling shadows that hid them from detection never wavered.

“The wizard is dead?” the cur demanded in shock.

“Yes, and I want those responsible sacrificed on my altar within the hour.” There was a muffled sound of agony from the two servants as the Dark Lord reminded them of the price of failure. “Understood?”

“At once,” Gaius choked out.

Jaelyn and Ariyal remained locked in each other’s arms as the cur and vampire scurried away, followed more slowly by the Dark Lord.

Only when the last prickles of pain had faded did Ariyal take a breath and Jaelyn allow the shadows to dissipate.

“That was way too close,” Jaelyn muttered.

“No shit.”

“Let’s get out of here.”

Chapter 23

Styx paced through the cavern that looked as if it had been through World War III.

Piles of rubble littered the floor, while huge cracks ran through the once-smooth walls and a choking cloud of dust continued to fill the air.

Not that he bothered to notice his surroundings.

His attention was firmly locked on the handful of Sylvermysts who knelt beside a slab of stone that was charred from the recent rip between dimensions.

When the evil fey had first charged out of the caves, Styx had commanded his Ravens to stand aside. As much pleasure as it might give him to drain a few of the rare creatures, he had given his word to Ariyal.

But astonishingly, the bedraggled fairies hadn’t bolted for safety as he’d been expecting. Instead they had informed Styx that the mage was already in the caves, and that Ariyal and Jaelyn had been determined to rescue Tearloch as well as the babe.

They’d also insisted on returning to the caverns after the massive explosion had revealed something bad was happening below.

Styx had grudgingly given in to their demands, only because he was incapable of detecting magic.

There was every likelihood that he would need their talent.

And if they hoped to lead him into a trap ... well, there was still the option of draining them.

His decision turned out to be a sound one as they reached the lower cavern to discover it empty.

It had been Elwin who’d discovered the markings on the rock and had been able to sense that there had been a temporary opening through the barrier to another dimension.

He’d also offered the services of his men to try and reach through the barrier to return Ariyal and Jaelyn.

Not that they’d managed anything more than a shimmer in the air that led to precisely nowhere.

Pacing the floor, Styx’s mood took a dip toward foul.

He didn’t like feeling helpless.

Especially when the entire world was hanging in the balance.

At last he gestured toward the Sylvermyst with long amber hair and pewter eyes.

“Elwin.”

With a grimace of impatience the Sylvermyst rose to his feet and moved to stand in front of Styx.

“Yes?”

“How much longer?”

“It’s impossible to say.” The fey gave a lift of his hands. “None of us have ever tried to use a portal to reach through dimensions.”

Styx scowled. “Can it be done?”

“We can only pray.”

Pray? That wasn’t what Styx wanted to hear.

He was a vampire who expected results, not vague promises.

And he didn’t give a damn whether or not he was being fair.

“Not good enough.”

The Sylvermyst clenched his hands, his eyes flashing with fury.

“No one wants to rescue our prince more than I do.”

Styx folded his arms over his massive chest. It was a gesture that he had discovered could make many demons piss their pants on the spot.

“You’ll forgive me if I find that a little hard to believe,” he drawled. “You did, after all, choose to betray him.”

Clearly made of sterner stuff than most fairies, Elwin met Styx’s condemning stare with a grim expression.

“We were fools to have been swayed by Tearloch’s promises, but I intend to devote the rest of my life to earning Ariyal’s forgiveness.”

“Or to taking his place.”

Elwin hissed at the low words. “What the hell does that mean?”