Devoured by Darkness

But, it wouldn’t hurt to hear him out.



After all, the longer she could keep him occupied, the better chance that Tane would come riding to the rescue.



And she didn’t doubt for a minute that her mate was already on the hunt.



“Fine, I’ll play,” she said. “If you don’t plan to use Maluhia to return the Dark Lord, then what do you intend to do with him.”



He pulled a large, indecently sharp sword from the scabbard strapped to his back.



“I intend to kill him.”



Tane flowed with silent speed through the tunnels, only distantly aware of the tiny gargoyle struggling to keep pace.



His mating bond with Laylah assured him that she was alive and somewhere in the lower chambers of the mountain, but his vampire senses warned him that the tremors shaking the ground beneath his feet were warming up for something truly catastrophic. Within the next few hours this whole damned mountain was coming down.



Time to pack up and move on.



The sooner the better.



If only he could convince his stubborn mate.



Rounding a sharp curve in the tunnel, Tane and Levet came to a matching halt, both glancing toward the entrance to a nearby opening in the stone wall.



“Why do I smell female vampire?” Levet demanded, a sly smile curving his lips. “And does Laylah know you are keeping a secret stash?”



Tane tested the air, a dagger clenched in his hand. “It isn’t Marika.”



“No.” Levet frowned. “But it is familiar.”



It was familiar. Tane’s brows snapped together as he realized why.



“Jaelyn.”



“Oui.” The gargoyle was equally confused. “I thought she was hunting the Sylvermyst?”



Tane carefully inched forward, peering inside the narrow opening.



“She was.”



“Then what …” Levet squeezed beside Tane to get a glimpse of the female vampire who was bound and gagged in the center of the hard stone floor. “Oh. Kinky, but I like it.”



Tane snorted as Jaelyn glared at the gargoyle with a promise of pain to come.



“Do you have a death wish, gargoyle?” he demanded.



“Non.” Indifferent to the danger, the tiny demon gave a flap of his wings. “But I do have several birthday wishes if you would like to hear them. My party is to be held next month.”



“I can’t think of anything I want less.” “Fine.” Levet gave a wounded sniff. “See if you get an invitation.”



Tane shook his head, turning his attention to the female vampire.



He could make out the cuts and bruises that were visibly healing, but he couldn’t detect any serious wounds. Which meant there was no way she should be held captive by the simple leather straps.



Something else was going on.



“Stay here and keep your mouth shut,” he muttered, stepping through the opening and pressing himself against the jagged wall.



“Hey. I saved your worthless …”



“Do you want to walk into a trap?” Tane hissed.



Levet looked sulky. “Not particularly.”



“Then let me concentrate.”



“Oui, concentrate to your heart’s content.”



Remaining against the wall, Tane caught and held the other vampire’s gaze.



“Jaelyn, do you know what happened to you?” He waited for her nod. “Was it the Sylvermyst?” Her eyes flared with fury. Okay, he was going to take that as a yes. “Bastard,” he muttered, his lips twisting as she gave a fervent nod of agreement. He paused, his gaze skimming around the darkness. “Can I come to you?” He wasn’t surprised when she shook her head. “Is there a spell?” She deliberately tilted back her head, gazing upward. He leaned forward to follow her gaze, his gut twisting at the sight of the black shadow hovering near the ceiling. “Shit. Levet.”



“Oh, now you need me … eek.”



The demon screeched as Tane reached to grab him by the horn and dragged him into the cave.



“Can you control spooks?”



Levet struggled against Tane’s ruthless grip, his wary glance heading upward.



“Only evil dabbles with the dead. Sacrebleu” He shuddered. “Spirits, zombies, vampires. They should stay in their graves where they belong.”



Tane ignored the insult, swinging the gargoyle toward the strange symbols surrounded by a circle that had been burnt into the rock floor.



“What’s that?”



Levet continued to thrash around, his tail twitching in agitation.



“It must be where the Sylvermyst cast the spell that is holding the spirit.”



“What happens if you disturb the symbols?”



“It’s possible that it will release the ghost. Not that pleasant of a thought,” Levet said, his tone sour. “Or it might return it to the Underworld.”



Tane silently debated. He hated specters. How did you kill something that was already technically dead?



Hell, you couldn’t even injure them.



Good news was, they rarely bothered vampires. Bad news was, he didn’t know a damned thing about them.



His gaze flicked from the circle to the shadow spinning above. Time to roll the dice.



“At the very least it should keep the creature distracted,” he said aloud.



“More likely it will just piss him off.”



Tane set the gargoyle on the ground. “We’re about to find out.”



Levet scrambled for the opening. “It is your baptism.” “Funeral,” Tane muttered, grabbing the twitching tale and tugging the coward back into the cave. “It’s my funeral.”



“Whatever.” Levet folded his arms over his chest. “I will wait here.”



“What you’re going to do is give me enough time to get Jaelyn free,” Tane corrected in frigid tones.



“Why do you not play decoy for the ghost and I will rescue the maiden?”



“Do I really have to state the obvious?” Tane asked, casting a meaningful gaze over the stunted three-foot form.



Levet called him jackass in several languages before conceding defeat.



“If I get eaten by a ravenous, flesh-eating specter I am going to haunt you for the rest of eternity.”



“Shit, don’t even joke about it.” Tane held up three fingers. “On the count of three.”



One by one he lowered his fingers, then trusting the gargoyle to keep up his end of the rescue mission, he rushed across the floor, tossing Jaelyn over his shoulder and heading back across the cave. Once at the entrance he lowered her to the ground and easily sliced through the leather straps. She took care of the gag herself, tossing it aside with a foul curse.



There was a flash of light and Tane turned his head to see Levet using his magic to destroy the symbols.



A loud shriek cut through the air, and Levet fell to the floor, his arms folded over his head and his tail between his legs as the dark shadow arrowed straight for him.



“Help,” the demon screamed. “Tane, get it away.”



Ignoring the urge to leave the annoying gargoyle to his fate, Tane shoved his dagger back into its sheath and stepped toward the center of the cave.



A blade, no matter how sharp, wasn’t going to help against a spirit.



The shadow continued downward, swooping over the shivering gargoyle’s wings before landing just outside the destroyed circle.



Tane growled in warning, but before he could charge to the rescue, the shadow was shifting and pulsing in an ominous manner.



He stilled, warily eyeballing the strange phenomenon.



Was the thing going to disappear? Or attack?



Turned out, it did neither.



Instead the darkness coalesced, changing from a formless blob into a tiny female barely four feet tall.



Fear jabbed through Tane’s heart at the familiar sight of the small, heart-shaped face with the almond eyes that were entirely filled with black and the childishly small body that was covered by a plain white robe.



She looked so similar to Siljar that Tane briefly thought the powerful Oracle was haunting him.



A hideous thought.



Then he realized that the delicate features were cut on softer lines and the long hair that floated eerily around her shoulders was a pale gold rather than gray.



The female was obviously the same species as Siljar, but a younger version.



Oh, and dead.



Or at least he assumed she was a ghost.



He didn’t know enough about the peculiar demons to know for sure.



Still cowering on the ground, Levet kicked his tiny feet, his head tucked beneath his arms.



“Get it away,” he cried. “Get it away.”



“For God’s sake, open your eyes,” Tane snapped.



“And have my soul sucked out? Do not be ridiculous.”



Tane heaved a sigh. “Levet, open your damned eyes.”



There was a long pause before the gargoyle at last re moved his arms so he could peek at the tiny woman standing at his side.



“Oh.” Almost as if he were embarrassed, Levet scrambled to his feet.



Tane felt a cold stir of air as Jaelyn stepped to his side. “Don’t hurt her,” she told Levet. “She was only doing as Ariyal commanded.”



Levet’s glance didn’t stray from the specter, his expression … dumbfounded.



“Oh.”



The female leaned toward the gargoyle, seeming to be as fascinated as Levet.



“Do I know you?” Her voice was sweetly musical, but filled with a surprising power considering she was a ghost.



“Levet, at your service.” The gargoyle performed a formal bow. “And you are?”



“Yannah.” With a tinkling laugh the female suddenly grabbed Levet’s face between her hands and kissed him with a shocking intimacy.



When she finished, Levet’s wings were flapping and his tail twitching.



“Yannah,” he breathed. “You are … I am …”