Fear the Darkness (Guardians of Eternity #9)(62)

“That’s just . . .”

“Creepy as hell,” Jagr finished for him.

“Yes.” Styx reached for the doorknob. “Stay here.”

Jagr frowned, clearly not pleased. “Are you sure? We don’t know the full extent of his powers.”

“Which is why I’m going in alone.” Styx held Jagr’s gaze, knowing his loyal guard’s first instinct would be to try and defend him. “For now, nothing’s more important than protecting the child. If something happens to me I want you to get Maluhia to the Commission.”

“The Commission?” Jagr looked like he’d chewed on a lemon. “They haven’t done a damn thing to help so far. Why would they protect the child now?”

Styx thought back to his recent encounter with Siljar, one of the Oracles who sat on the Commission. She hadn’t revealed much, but it was enough to make him suspect that they weren’t nearly so indifferent to the future of the world as they pretended.

“I would guess they’ve done far more behind the scenes than we’ve suspected,” he murmured.

“If you say.”

Styx laid his hand on his companion’s shoulder. “I have your word?”

There was a brief hesitation before Jagr gave a sharp nod. Once the vampire gave his promise, it was unbreakable. “Yes.”

Confident the child would be kept safe, Styx opened the door and stepped into the cell. Lifting his sword he’d grabbed on the way out of his office, he pointed it toward the intruder.

“Gaius, I presume?”

A smile. “I see my reputation precedes me. Should I be flattered?”

Styx snorted. “You can drop the disguise.”

“You have to admit it’s very good,” the creature smirked before there was a shimmer around his body and the image of Styx melted to become a vampire built on slighter lines, with lean features and dark eyes. He was naked now that he’d shifted to his natural form, except for the heavy medallion that rested against his bare chest.

“Not good enough.”

The vampire shrugged, appearing far too resigned for Styx’s peace of mind. “It was worth a try.”

“It was a dangerous gamble, which makes me think that there’s more to your plan.” He resisted the urge to take a step forward. As Jagr pointed out, they didn’t yet know the full extent of the bastard’s powers and the last thing he wanted was to get within arm’s length. “Are you the bait?”

Gaius gave a lift of his hands. “The Dark Lord is growing impatient to get her hands on the child. She doesn’t particularly care how many servants she has to sacrifice to achieve her goal.”

Styx shuddered. It was hard to remember that the Dark Lord had been resurrected into the body of a young female. “That I believe. You, however, I don’t.” He pointed his sword toward the center of the vampire’s chest. “Hand over your medallion.”

“This?” Gaius covered the heavy metal necklace with his hand, a faint smile curving his lips. “It’s nothing but a trinket.”

“You truly must think I’m stupid.”

Gaius pretended to ponder his answer. “To be honest, I haven’t given it a lot of thought one way or another.”

Styx wasn’t amused. “Even if I didn’t sense its power, I have seen Nefri’s. It’s remarkably similar.”

Something flashed through the man’s dark eyes even as he took a step backward, his fingers clutching the medallion. “So, the frigid bitch has left the Veil,” he growled. “Astonishing.”

Styx allowed his power to fill the room, even as he debated the wisdom of attacking the vampire to get his hands on the medallion. He was fairly certain he could overpower the vampire, but he couldn’t stop him from disappearing before he could get his hands on him. For now, it seemed his only hope was to provoke him in the hopes he could discover what game he was playing.

“You will show respect to your clan chief.” He allowed his power to shove the vampire against the silver-lined wall. “She offered you sanctuary when you were at your most vulnerable and you repaid her trust with betrayal.”

Gaius cursed, struggling away from the wall as he glared at Styx. “I had no choice.”

Styx rolled his eyes. He’d heard the same excuse used thousands upon thousands of times over the centuries. Hell, there’d been once or twice he’d used it himself. And it was always a cop-out.

“Try again.”

Genuine anger tightened Gaius’s expression. “It’s so easy to be noble when you have your mate safely tucked in your bed.” Gaius tilted his chin, his gaze defiant. “But tell me, Anasso, how far would you go to keep her there? Is any betrayal too great to have her back in your arms?”

Chapter 15

Styx shut out the accusing words. He couldn’t afford to feel sympathy for the traitor. Not when the future of the world hung in the balance.

“None of us can comprehend the loss you suffered, but Dara was not the only one to depend upon you,” he said, trying to stir the vampire’s ancient loyalties. Just perhaps it wasn’t too late to remind the once honorable clan chief of his sense of duty.

“My clan was better off without me.”

“And what about your son?”

Gaius stiffened, his eyes dark with a vast sense of loss. The sort of loss that destroyed a man.