When Darkness Ends (Guardians of Eternity #12)(28)

Since never, a voice whispered in the back of his mind.

Polishing off the blood, he set aside his glass with a shake of his head.

What the hell was happening to him?

He’d known hundreds of women. Thousands. So why was this particular one driving him bat-shit crazy?

He was still debating the question when his peace was destroyed by the tiny gargoyle who waddled into the study.

Usually Cyn took pride in the satinwood furniture that he’d carved with his own hands, and the arched, stained-glass window that refracted the sunlight until it filled the room with a dazzling display of harmless colors.

Now he barely suppressed the urge to grab the creature by the tail and toss him out of the room.

“What do you want?”

The gargoyle sniffed. “I thought you would wish to know that I completed my duty.”

“You made sure the rooms are warm enough?” he demanded.

It was ridiculous, but he couldn’t shake his concern that Fallon might be uncomfortable in his lair.

“I did.” Levet moved toward him, his tail rigid with outrage. “Not that I appreciate being treated as a servant.”

Cyn arched a brow. “You don’t want Fallon to be kept warm?”

“Of course I wish the petite fille to be warm. But I am a warrior of great renown. I should be given tasks that are suitable to my considerable talents.”

“What you are is a pain in the . . .” Cyn’s muttered words were forgotten as the gargoyle reached up to snatch the scroll from his hand. “Hey.”

Levet frowned as he studied the spell. “What is this?”

Cyn narrowed his gaze as suspicion raced through him. “I thought that you said Siljar sent you.”

“She did.”

Cyn grabbed the paper back, ignoring the fact they were behaving like a couple of five-year-old humans.

“Then you should know what this is.”

Levet wrinkled his snout. “Siljar wasn’t in the mood to share why I was to come here. In fact, she was acting in a most peculiar manner.”

“Obviously she just wanted an excuse to get rid of you.”

The gargoyle stuck out his tongue. Ridiculous pest.

“I do not know why you are being so secretive.” He pointed a claw at the spell in Cyn’s hand. “It is not as if I can see what is written unless you remove the illusion.”

“Illusion?” Cyn froze, a strange chill inching down his spine as he held up the yellowed parchment. “On this?”

“Oui.”

“How do you know?”

“Illusions happen to be my specialty.” Levet preened, giving a flap of his wings. “Along with seducing beautiful women.”

Cyn dismissed the gargoyle’s bloated ego, his gaze lowering to the scroll.

“Why didn’t Siljar notice? Or even Fallon?” he demanded. “They both should have been able to sense magic.”

“It isn’t a traditional spell.”

“What do you mean?”

“The writing itself is the illusion.”

Cyn shoved the scroll toward his companion. “Get rid of it.”

“Non.” Levet shook his head. “I cannot.”

Cyn released a trickle of power, a humorless smile twisting his lips as the gargoyle shivered at the pinpricks of ice that filled the air.

“You just said that illusions are your specialty.”

Levet rubbed his arms, his heavy brow furrowed. “If I break the illusion, the writing will disappear.”

“Damn.” Cyn shook his head. Why would a stranger leave a spell with the Commission that was hidden beneath an illusion? None of this made any sense. “Then what’s the point?” he growled.

“Your eyes see this.” A claw touched the fragile paper. “But your mind sees the truth.”

Cyn scowled. “Are you deliberately trying to piss me off?”

“I am trying to explain—”

“Then say it in words I can understand,” Cyn snapped. He hated magic.

Having to deal with it made him . . . irritable.

“The spell appears to be mumbo jumbo,” Levet said, his brows abruptly lifting. “Have you truly been trying to decipher it?”

Cyn flashed his fangs. “Get on with it, gargoyle.”

“Party do-do,” the gargoyle muttered.

Do-do? It took Cyn a second to realize what the fool meant.

“Pooper, you prat.”

Levet waved aside the correction. “But beneath the magic it is like a subliminal message that becomes lodged deep in your mind.”

Reaching down, Cyn grabbed the pest by his horn, dangling him off the ground so they were eye to eye.

“Let me make this simple. I need to know what this says.” He waved the hieroglyphs in front of Levet’s snout. “How do I do that?”

Levet pouted, but clearly realizing that Cyn’s temper was reaching a critical edge, he resisted the urge to make some snarky comment.

Wise gargoyle.

“Perhaps a magical artifact would . . .” Levet gave a small squeak as Cyn dropped him without warning and headed toward the door that connected to his library.

“Bloody hell,” he muttered.

“Where are you going?” Levet demanded, following him like a stray puppy.