Devoured by Darkness (Guardians of Eternity #7)(71)

She wasn’t much into sharing.

“I believe you,” she said. “No one could make up that story.”

“I actually have a witness.”

He waved a hand and a female Were who had been hidden in a nearby Jeep slowly approached.

Laylah was momentarily disconcerted. She looked like Harley and Darcy, only with longer hair and lighter eyes.

“Gods, not another one,” she muttered. “How many are there?”

The woman studied her with an unconcealed curiosity that might have been rude if Laylah hadn’t sensed the remarkable innocence of her heart.

“If you refer to my sisters there are four of us in total.” She tilted her head to the side, her pale hair shimmering in the moonlight. “At least, that was what I was told.”

“This is Cassandra.” Caine moved to place a protective arm around the Were’s shoulders. “Cassie, this is Laylah.”

Laylah flashed a strained smile. Now wasn’t the time for chitchat.

She didn’t have a clue what had yanked her from the mists, but she did know she wasn’t near far enough from her aunt and the attacking Sylvermysts.

“Well, it’s great to meet you, Cassie, but I’m kind of in a hurry.”

“Wait.” Without warning, Cassie reached out to grasp her upper arm, her grip astonishingly strong. “You’re meant to be here.”

Laylah’s eyes narrowed in anger. Obviously the Were had wanted her at this godforsaken gas station in the middle of nowhere.

“Are you the one who pulled me out of the mists?”

“Easy, Laylah,” Caine growled. “Cassie is just the messenger.”

“For my aunt?”

“Aunt?” Caine looked genuinely confused. “Where the hell did you get an aunt?” “I ordered her off eBay,” Laylah snapped, tugging away from the Were. She didn’t trust either one of them. “Who sent you?” “Fate,” Cassie murmured.

A flash of lightning struck the steel pole that supported the rusting sign in the shape of a hamburger.

With an awkward movement, Caine pushed himself between Laylah and his companion.

“Dammit, Laylah, don’t wig out, she really does mean fate.”

She grit her teeth. “Caine, I’m not in the mood to be jerked around. Tell me what’s going on or I swear I’ll fry you.”

“She’s …” He hesitated before the words were seemingly ripped from his lips. “A prophet.” Prophet?

Well, that was a conversation ender.

Laylah sucked in a startled breath, her powers faltering.

“She sees the future?”

“Only in glimpses,” Caine warily admitted, clearly driven by a primitive need to protect the beautiful Were. A dangerous position.

If she truly were a prophet then she would be considered a holy grail among the demon world.

“I thought they were extinct,” she said.

“Most people thought the same of Jinn mongrels,” Caine pointed out dryly.

Laylah grimaced.

Couldn’t argue with that.

She turned toward the Were who possessed such an eerie resemblance to Harley.

“So if you’re not completely out of your mind, why has some mystical fate brought me here?”

She shrugged. “I don’t have a clue.”

“Great. Then fate’s out of luck …”

“No,” Cassie hastily interrupted. “It’s the child.” Laylah’s gut twisted in fear. “What about him?” “He’s in danger.”

Laylah frowned. That was the prophecy?

“Not really a newsflash. Why do you think I was trying to get away? If you hadn’t interfered …”

Caine’s growl trickled through the air. “Careful, Jinn.”

Cassie waved aside her champion, her expression troubled as she touched Laylah’s arm, insanely indifferent to the danger of being so close to the stasis spell that surrounded the baby.

“Don’t be blinded by the obvious threats. There are more than you suspect.”

“Perfect,” Laylah muttered, then she jerked back in alarm when the crazy Were placed a hand directly over the spell surrounding the baby. “Hey. What are you doing?”

The woman’s eyes flared with a blinding white light. “The Gemini.”

Laylah stepped back, cradling the child tight against her chest. Hidden threats? Gemini?

It was the sort of babble that she would expect from a fake prophet, not the real deal.

“I don’t know what that means.”

“The alpha and the omega.” Cassie shrugged, her eyes returning to normal. “To find the end you must return to the beginning.”

Chapter 17

A cold prickle filled the air, sharply reminding Laylah she already had enough known enemies to worry about without adding mysterious ones.

“Okay. I really need to be on my way.”

Cassie shook her head. “Not yet.”

Caine spun toward the empty fields, catching the unmistakable scent of vampire the same moment as Laylah.

“Cassie, someone’s coming.”

“Tane,” Laylah breathed, relief slamming through her that he was safe.

Caine lifted his brows in surprise. “A friend of yours?”