Hunt the Darkness (Guardians of Eternity #11)(50)

Styx glanced back down at the fairy. Most demon bodies disintegrated within a matter of hours, sometimes minutes. It was a necessary precaution to avoid detection by the humans.

“Not long,” he corrected. “The fairy was killed less than an hour ago.”

Reaching into his front pocket Styx pulled out a cell phone, relieved to discover it was fully functional. His powers had a tendency to destroy electronic devices.

“What are you doing?” Viper asked as he punched in a number.

“I have Jagr posted to keep watch on the entrance to the cave.” The leader of his Ravens answered on the first ring. “Report,” Styx barked.

Viper stepped away as Styx listened to the clipped response, only returning when Styx returned the phone to his pocket.

“Well?”

“Three people entered the caves,” Styx repeated what he’d learned. “The two of us and a male fairy.”

Viper arched a brow. “Which means the killer was already in the caves.” The clan chief abruptly stilled, clearly recalling his own visits to the caves when he’d been attempting to save the life of his mate. “Unless he used the secret entrance?”

Styx shook his head, already having thought of the possibility.

“I have them covered.”

“And no one entered?”

“No, but Jagr said that D’Angelo reported earlier that he spotted a cloaked figure leaving from a side tunnel.”

“Did he track him?”

Styx shrugged. “He tried, but a few miles from the caves the figure disappeared.”

“Disappeared?” Viper grimaced. “Like poof?”

“Yep.”

They shared a mutual gaze of unease. Not only at the thought of demons able to transport from one place to another, which hardly seemed fair, but because it was obvious who was hidden beneath the cloak.

“Siljar?” Viper muttered.

“She’s at the top of my list,” Styx agreed, his voice pitched low enough to keep it from traveling.

Making wild accusations while surrounded by the most powerful demons in the world seemed a dangerous proposition.

Viper considered a long minute. “Why would she slip out and then disappear? She could have used her private rooms and no one would ever know she’d left.”

A good point.

Styx frowned, shuffling through the various reasons a demon would choose to leave the caves.

“I assume translocating would demand the sort of power that would alert the other Oracles she was leaving,” he said, at last suggesting the most logical explanation.

“True.” Viper sheathed his rapier. “Of course, it’s possible her disappearance might have nothing to do with the fairy’s death.”

“Or just as likely it wasn’t Siljar at all,” Styx said, his own sword remaining clutched in his hands. He was still hoping for a chance to stick it into an enemy. If he had to be away from Darcy, then at least he should have the pleasure of a rousing fight. “Which leaves us with the need to discover who is missing.”

Viper made a sound of disbelief. “Don’t look at me. I’m not going to do a roll call on the Oracles.”

“Coward,” Styx mocked.

“Damn straight,” Viper agreed without apology. “They scare the hell out of me.”

Styx had to agree. “They scare the hell out of everyone.”

“Then we do this the old-fashioned way.” Viper knelt beside the corpse. “Your senses are better suited to tracking,” he pointed out. “You check to see who came into the cave and I’ll try to figure out what killed the fairy.”

Styx didn’t hesitate as he headed out of the cave.

He might be the ultimate leader of vampires, but he wasn’t an anal ass who always had to be the one to give the orders.

Viper was right. He was the better tracker while Viper had an eye for the finer details he easily overlooked.

Concentrating on his surroundings, Styx made a thorough survey of the tunnels that led away from the cave, traveling until he met the main passageway before doubling back.

Returning to Viper, he waited for the younger vampire to finish his inspection and rise to his feet.

“Did you locate a track?” the younger vampire asked.

Styx scowled. He was never afraid to face an enemy. He’d been in countless battles over the centuries.

What he hated was puzzles.

They always managed to bite him in the ass.

“Too many,” he snarled.

“There was more than one?”

His displeasure dropped the temperature by several degrees. “There was one set of tracks and a dozen different scents.”

Viper predictably scowled in confusion. “How’s that possible?”

Styx clenched his jaw. He’d encountered demons capable of disguising their scent. Or even altering it to throw off a hunter. But he’d never heard of a demon who could smell like a different creature at the same time.

“It isn’t.” He gave a frustrated shake of his head. “What did you learn?”

Viper glanced back at the dead fairy. “About as much as you, unfortunately,” he admitted. “There’s no obvious wounds, there’s no blood missing and, as far as I can tell, the major organs are still intact.”

“No signs of a struggle?”