Devoured by Darkness (Guardians of Eternity #7)(36)

Sergei laughed with cruel amusement. “Did you have him shrunken or did he come in this size?”

“Now Sergei, it’s not polite to mock our guests.” Marika flashed her pearly fangs, stepping forward. “I have waited so very long for this family reunion.”

Laylah grimaced.

Had she actually been stupid enough to pray she would one day find her relatives? Yeah. That was a mistake she wouldn’t be making again. “Stay away from me.”

The woman continued forward, reaching out to run a crimson nail down Laylah’s cheek. It might have been affectionate if she hadn’t used enough force to draw blood.

“Surely you’re not afraid of your auntie?”

An icy dread clutched at her stomach, her latent powers stirring at the unmistakable threat.

“Yes.”

Sergei reached out to lightly touch his companion’s shoulder.

“Careful, Marika, we don’t yet know the extent of her powers.”

The dark eyes narrowed, the slender nose curling with a fastidious disgust.

“True. She has the look of her gypsy mother, but her blood stinks of Jinn.”

Laylah wiped away the stinky Jinn blood that dripped down her cheek. “You knew my father?”

Marika’s sharp laugh echoed through the cavern. “No one is foolish enough to actually become acquainted with a Jinn, but we did have a brief encounter before Sergei locked him in the room with your mother so he could impregnate her. He was …” She deliberately paused, a reminiscent smile curving her lips. “Delectable.”

Outrage overwhelmed her fear. She never doubted for a moment the mage was without conscience or morals. But Marika obviously took the prize in being an evil bitch.

“You trapped your own sister in a room to be raped by a powerful Jinn?”

Marika shrugged. “Who can say what happened behind closed doors? It was,” she paused, glancing toward the smirking mage. “What do they say in America, Sergei?”

“Don’t ask, don’t tell.”

“In any event, you were born nine months later.” She waved her slender hand. “That’s all that matters.”

She took an impulsive step forward. “You are …”

Icy power lashed through the air, striking Laylah like a sledgehammer to the chest.

“Careful, Laylah, I sometimes allow my temper to get the better of me,” Marika purred, her eyes glowing with a lust for pain. “Neither of us wants me to forget I still have need of you.”

Damn. Laylah rubbed her cracked rib. That hurt.

“What do you want of me?”

Marika regained command of her composure. “The child, of course.”

“To sacrifice for the Dark Lord?”

The vampire appeared genuinely startled by the blunt question.

She glanced toward the obediently silent Sergei. “Obviously brains do not run in the family. A pity.” She returned her attention to Laylah. “Why would I destroy my perfect means of ruling the world?”

Levet snorted. “Your aunt might be a raving lunatic, but at least she is ambitious.”

Laylah gave his wing a warning pinch. Did the silly creature have a death wish?

“Levet.”

“Lunatic?” Marika gave a throaty chuckle. “Geniuses are always misunderstood.” Seeming to relish being the center of attention, Marika strolled across the cavern, her hand running over the expensive material of her designer gown. “For centuries the Dark Lord’s disciples have sought to return their deity to the world. Altars have run red with the blood of sacrifices and mages have grown rich beyond their wildest fantasies as demons seek their services to part the veils between worlds.” She halted to toss her pet mage a condescending smile. “Is that not true, Sergei?”

The man shrugged. “Fools.”

“More than fools,” Marika countered. “They offer their blood and magic and most precious possessions, all in the hopes of summoning a god who will reward their loyalty with a brutal death.”

Laylah grimaced. It’d never been a secret that the Dark Lord was a bad guy on an epic scale. Thankfully, the scary ass Lord of Demons had been banished beyond the mists centuries ago. And while his minions, along with his minion wannabes, were constantly trying to bring him back from the other side, so far they’d been batting zero.

So what the hell was this crazy vampire and her slimy sidekick of a mage up to?

“So you don’t want the Dark Lord returned?”

“Of course I want him returned, but not as a pissed off, fully functioning deity who is anxious for revenge,” Marika snapped. “I want him … malleable.”

“Mon Dieu.” Levet’s wings quivered as he pressed against Laylah’s leg. “Have you ever met the Dark Lord? He is even less malleable than my great Aunt Zepharina who hasn’t budged from Notre Dame cathedral since 1163.”

Marika moved to stand directly in front of Levet, her expression sending a jolt of revulsion skittering down Laylah’s spine.

Reaching out, the vampire stroked her fingers over Levet’s stunted horn, her power altering to become something far more lethal than mere brute strength.

A dark, sweetly potent force that concealed a sickening rot.

“A clever woman always has the means to control a man whether he is a deformed gargoyle or a god,” she husked.