Embrace The Darkness (Guardians of Eternity #2)(39)

"Halt," the demon commanded, his tongue flicking between the sharp teeth. "I will have none of your vampire tricks."

"Unlike you I am my own master and take commands from no demon," Viper gritted.

"Fool."

The Lu struck again but on this occasion Viper managed to slip enough to the side that it was a glancing blow. The teeth raked his shoulder, but he firmly kept the sword pointed toward the now crumbling dirt below the demon's feet.

The earth was moving, but not fast enough, he angrily acknowledged. The power he called on was used by vampires to sink their victims into the soil after a deep feeding. It was never good manners to leave behind corpses to draw attention to a local clan.

Unfortunately, in this day and age most vampires preferred synthetic blood to the dangers of hunting live prey and his skills were rarely called upon anymore. Not to mention the fact that he had never before attempted to bury a creature as large as the Lu.

Still unaware of the ground that was now covering his clawed feet and inching up the thick scales of his legs the Lu gave a hissing growl and struck at Viper's head. It was a killing blow, but jerking back Viper managed to avoid the snapping teeth. His head banged painfully against the wall, a small price to pay for having it still attached.

Grimly clearing his foggy mind he reached down to snatch one of the daggers from his boot. He needed to distract the demon if he wasn't to be shredded into nasty bits.

Never allowing his call upon the earth to waver he drew back his arm and threw the dagger with deadly force. There was a sickening thud and a roar of pain as the dagger sank deep into the Lu's oblong eye.

"You will die for that, vampire," the demon roared, his desperate writhing digging him ever deeper into the ground.

"There is no need for either of us to die," Viper called out, keeping the demon concentrated on him even as he motioned the silent gargoyle back against the wall. If he could manage to trap the Lu, they might survive this relatively intact. He grimaced as he felt the blood soaking through his clothing. Relatively was all he could hope for at this point. "Tell me what you-want with the Shalott, and we might make a deal."

"I said you must defeat me if you wish answers, vampire and I am far from defeated." The serpentine face was a ghastly mask of blood and fury as the Lu glared at Viper with the dagger still stuck in his eye. He made an attempt to lunge forward, only to scream in frustration when he discovered that the ground held him firmly trapped. "Noooo."

"Tell me why you want the Shalott," Viper demanded.

"For this you will die," the Lu snarled.|

Lifting his sword Viper prepared to plunge it into the remaining eye when the narrow head jerked upward and slammed into the ceiling. A shower of earth rained downward and Levet gave a squeak of alarm.

"Mon dieu, has he gone mad?" the gargoyle squeaked.

It did seem a distinct possibility, Viper conceded, as the demon lowered his head and once again reared up to thrust his head into the dirt above. The Lu demons were always unstable. Inbreeding was never a good thing.

He was in the process of deciding whether the Lu was trapped enough to risk a strategic retreat or to use the opportunity to tend a few more blows when the realization hit him. The Lu hadn't gone mad. He was doing precisely what he had warned he was going to do.

Kill him.

The tunnel gave a mighty shake and the earth began to tumble with alarming speed from above. Soon the demon would bring the entire ceiling down upon them. They would be buried beneath the rubble.

But not buried deep enough, he realized as he lifted his eyes upward in alarm. The soil was beginning to split open and when it did it would bring with it the tide of the early morning dawn.

Devil's balls.

"Levet," he called out in warning. The gargoyle would not be harmed by the sunlight but he would return to his statue form. He would be helpless if the Lu decided to carry him off.

Strangely, however, the small demon paid him no heed. Instead he knelt on the heaving earth and muttered beneath his breath.

Viper opened his mouth to offer another warning when Levet threw his arms upward and cried out.

"I call the night."

The words could barely be heard over the sound of the ceiling collapsing. There was no mistaking, however, the thick cloud of inky black that abruptly shrouded about them.

Viper froze in astonishment, his hands clutching the sword as if uncertain whether the foul cloud was a blessing or a curse.

Not far from him he heard Levet give a startled gasp and then a shout of triumph.

"It worked." His wings stirred the dark air with a flutter of excitement. "By my father's stone balls, it worked."

Chapter Ten

Shay had driven a car before. Not often and not well. But she knew the basic method of moving from one place to another.

She had never, however, had her hands on anything like the sleek Porsche. The barest touch on the accelerator and she was hurtling through the cresting dawn at a horrifying speed.

It was little wonder that she had managed to gather a few dents and one busted headlight by the time she arrived at the auction house and gathered her small store of magical potions she had left behind.

A demon was not intended to travel over a hundred miles an hour without some cost, she assured herself as she returned to the decidedly worse-for-wear car and sped back to Viper's estate. Besides which, the silver-haired vampire was bound to be so furious at her return he wouldn't even notice that she had managed to ruin the expensive automobile.