When Darkness Ends (Guardians of Eternity #12)(29)

“When Siljar said there was something in my library that might help I assumed she meant a book,” Cyn muttered, too late realizing how dangerous it was to jump to conclusions. Reaching the doorway, he turned to point a warning finger at the gargoyle. “Wait here.”

“But . . .”

Cyn stepped into the library and slammed the door shut behind him. No one, absolutely no one, was allowed in his private sanctuary.

He swiftly moved across the book-lined room to the hidden panel just behind his massive desk. Laying a hand on the wood, he waited for the magic his foster parents had cast to recognize his touch. With a faint click the panel slid open to reveal the small cupboard filled with Erinna and Mika’s most prized possessions.

It’d been Cyn who’d insisted on bringing the collection of magical artifacts to his hidden safe. The rare potions, crystals, and amulets were worth enough to encourage any number of demons to try and get their greedy hands on them.

He didn’t want his family taking unnecessary risks.

It was his duty to protect them.

Which was why he was so aggravated that they’d deliberately put themselves in danger.

Tucking his concern for them to the back of his mind, he grabbed a large crystal off the top shelf and returned to the study.

He’d barely stepped through the door when Levet was hurrying toward him, the fairy wings buzzing with excitement. Unlike Cyn, the gargoyle would be capable of sensing the magic of the crystal threading its way through the air.

“What do you have?”

“Truth,” Cyn said, hoping his foster mother hadn’t exaggerated when she’d said this particular crystal could not only force humans and weaker demons to speak honestly, but that it could see through written deception.

He could only hope it would work on an illusion.

“Oui, very clever,” Levet breathed, not bothering to hide his surprise. “At least for a leech.”

“Here.” Cyn shoved the crystal and piece of parchment into his companion’s hands. He might want to strangle the tiny plague to his existence, but gargoyles were capable of manipulating many different kinds of magic. “Remove the illusion.”

Levet nodded, but he looked oddly wary as he held the crystal toward the unrolled parchment.

“Very well, but without knowing what is beneath . . .” There was the sound of a loud sizzle, then without warning a tangible cloud of evil spread through the room. Making a sound of disgust, Levet shoved the paper and crystal back into Cyn’s hands. “Mon Dieu.”

Cyn shuddered. “What the hell?”

“It’s coming from the spell,” Levet said, backing away with a grimace.

“Is it dangerous?”

“Non. At least . . .” The gargoyle gave a small shrug. “I do not think so.”

Cyn scowled. “Awesome.”

There was the faint sound of footsteps, then the door leading to the hallway was shoved open so Fallon could rush into the room.

“Are you hurt?”

Chapter Seven

Fallon hadn’t known precisely what was causing the ripples of evil to sweep through the lair, but she hadn’t hesitated to rush from her room to . . .

What?

To make sure that Cyn wasn’t in danger?

How stupid was that?

He was a vampire. Hell, he was clan chief. And a berserker.

A demon would have to be demented to try and challenge him.

Still, she couldn’t halt her agitated flight that led her to the large study.

Now she wiped her hands down the silky material of her robe, feeling like a total idiot as Cyn and Levet turned to watch her with matching expressions of surprise.

“Ah, ma belle, forgive me.” Levet was the first to recover, moving toward her to press a kiss to the back of her hand. “I have managed to remove the magic that disguised the spell.”

Her embarrassment was forgotten as her attention turned to the spell that Cyn held in his hand.

“Disguised?” She shook her head in confusion. “There was an illusion?”

“Oui.”

Without even realizing she was moving, Fallon was standing next to Cyn.

“Why didn’t I sense it?”

“It was woven into the writing,” Levet explained.

“Odd.” She bent to study the markings, relieved that the weird sense of evil was rapidly dissipating. “It looks the same.”

“Almost.” Cyn moved to a low table, smoothing the piece of scroll until it lay flat. Then, gesturing for her to join him, he pointed a finger at the hieroglyphs. “The basic patterns are similar, but now it’s . . . in focus.”

Fallon grimly concentrated on the symbols, refusing to acknowledge the tiny glow of happiness at being included.

Okay, he treated her as if she were a person with an actual brain. And he seemed to think she could contribute more than a pretty smile and the proper bloodline.

Still, that didn’t mean he wasn’t too large, too male, too . . . everything.

“Can you read it?”

“Not all of it.” His shoulder brushed hers as he used his finger to trace the symbols. “It’s a confused jumble of hieroglyphs. Fairy, imp, and even human. But I can read enough to get a general idea.”

“Well?” Levet prompted, struggling to see over the edge of the table.