Embrace The Darkness

Not the most pleasant fate.



He traveled almost a half mile from the vampires before angling his path toward the vast river. Even then he remained low to the ground and prepared to go into flight at the least hint of trouble.



His pace quickened as he crossed a narrow highway that meandered beside the river, and then down a sharp incline that was overgrown with thick brush and choking moss. He slipped and stumbled more than once, but thankfully his blundering was relatively silent.



At last he reached the edge of the river and knelt in the thick mud. Around him the world was alive. Insects, fish, curious raccoons, and wary opossums. But Levet ignored them as he peered into waves that lapped toward him.



Waiting until he could at last see his reflection in the murky water he waved a gnarled hand and spoke the harsh words of magic in a low voice. There was a shimmer of faint light before his reflection disappeared and a black emptiness took its place.



This, of course, was the tricky part.



Although he would rather have his tongue cut out than to admit the truth, his magic wasn't always as predictable as it could be. Okay, most of the time it was nothing more than a wing and a prayer that resulted in small fires, an occasional explosion, and once a painful nosebleed that had lasted for almost twenty years.



He couldn't afford any disasters this evening.



Carefully constructing the image of a dark haired vampire in his mind, he projected the thought into the dark water.



Long moments passed before at last he could detect the fuzzy outline of the familiar countenance.



"Dante. Dante can you hear me?" he hissed.



In the depths of the water the vampire seemed to frown and glance about, as if uncertain if he had heard a voice or not.



Stupid vampires.



"Dante, it is Levet," he growled.



"Levet?" The raven brows snapped together. "Where the hell are you?"



"If you will clear your mind I will show you."



"What?"



Levet muttered a few choice curses. He kept them low enough so that the vampire couldn't hear. He wasn't completely suicidal, but they made him feel better.



"Just clear your mind, I will do the rest."



Dante didn't look happy, but he closed his eyes and obviously made an attempt to empty his mind. Levet didn't waste any time as he thrust his memories of the long journey to the farmhouse through the water.



There was a sharp hiss as Dante wrenched open his eyes and gave a shake of his head.



"It is much farther than I thought Even taking cars it will be' hours before we can arrive."



Levet shrugged. Nothing could be done to make the vampires arrive any sooner.



"I will wait for you near the entrance to the cave," Levet promised."



"What of Viper and Shay?"



"I don't know."



Dante grimaced. "We'll be there."



"Hurry."



With a wave of his hand, Level closed the portal. Or at least he attempted to close the portal. Dante's image was gone, but the swirling darkness remained. With a frown he leaned forward only to give a sudden squawk as a beautiful face swam into view. Falling back into the mud he watched in horror as the woman pushed through the portal to stand before him.



Not that he didn't appreciate the sight of a lovely woman.



He might be small, but he was all male and no man could deny mat the small, curvaceous woman with her pure white skin, slanted blue eyes, and pale green hair was a sight to behold. Quite, quite a sight to behold.



Oh, and it didn't help that she was butt naked beneath the sheer toga.



"Holy mother of..." Struggling against the thick, grasping mud Levet glared at the woman who stood only a foot taller than him. "Don't do that."



The woman gave a bat of her lashes, her smile vacant. "Do what?"



At last on his feet he shook the slimy moss from his wings. "Pop up like a... a ... thing that annoyingly pops."



"I didn't pop."



"You most certainly did. Do you have no manners, whatsoever?" Levet gave a shake of his head. "Of course not, what am I saying. You are a water sprite."



"And you're a gargoyle, although I've never seen one so tiny. Did you get shrunk by a spell?"



Levet rolled his eyes as he turned and began stomping away from the river. Water sprites might be visions of loveliness, but they rarely possessed enough brains to fill a thimble.



"No, I did not get shrunk by a spell. This is the size I have always been."



She fluttered at his side, skimming over the rocks and bushes with annoying ease.



"It's not very impressive."



"Shut up and go away you ridiculous pest."



"I'm not a pest, and I can't leave."



"Of course you can." Levet gave a flick of his hand, careful to keep his eyes trained on the ground before him. As a demon he couldn't be bespelled by the sprite, but he wasn't completely immune to temptation. Now was not the time for such a delicious distraction. "Swim away with the nasty fishes."



"You summoned me, little gargoyle," she purred.



"I most certainly did not,"



"Yes, you did,"



"Did not."



"Did so."



"Did..." Coming to a halt Levet threw his hands in the air. "Sacrebleu, this is absurd. Why will you not go away?"



She gave a toss of her long curls. "I told you, you summoned me. I am bound to you until the spell is broken."



"Fine, I break it, You are unsummoned. Go away."



A pout touched her full lips. "You don't know much for a gargoyle."



His wings gave an angry buzz. Beautiful or not the woman was a pain in the ass.



"Fine, tell me what I must do to make you disappear."



The pout became a downright sulk. "You do not think me lovely?"



"I think giraffes are lovely but that doesn't mean I want one trailing behind me. Especially one that can't seem to keep its mouth shut."



"You are not a very nice gargoyle." Her skin slowly began to shimmer in the faint moonlight. It was a shimmer that had lured sailors to their doom for centuries. "You should tell me I'm beautiful and long to be with me."



"The only thing I long for is some peace," Levet growled. "I wish you to be quiet."



The blue eyes widened and her lips parted but astonishingly there was nothing but blissful silence.



Levet frowned. Did she actually obey his command? No, it hadn't been a command. It had been a wish.



A sly smile touched his lips. "Ah ha. That is it. You give me three wishes and then you must return to the waters."



Her arms folded over her ample bosom as she glared at him in frustration. Obviously she had hoped to keep him too befuddled and bewitched to reason the manner of being rid of her. As long as she owed him wishes she was free of her watery prison.



And best of all he was a demon. Which meant that when she returned to the waters she couldn't force him to join her.



Tapping a thick claw on his chin Levet carefully considered what was to be done with his sudden stroke of fortune.



He had used one wish on her silence.



A wish well used, if he did say so himself.



But he had two left.



He must decide precisely just how they should be used.



Dante swayed and reached out a hand to grasp the edge of a nearby table as the contact with the gargoyle was abruptly brought to an end.



Damn the stunted demon. It was disconcerting to have someone wrench themselves from his mind with such haste.



"Dante, what is it? What's happening?"



Giving a shake of his head Dante turned to regard the dark, muscular vampire who had entered the room. Santiago appeared distinctly out of place in the opulent splendor of Viper's private club. Like Dante he preferred a plain black shirt and leather pants.



Of course they were both warriors. It was Viper who possessed the elegant sophistication to feel comfortable among such grandeur.



"The gargoyle," he said in abrupt tones.



Santiago gave a swift glance about the empty lobby. "He's returned?"



"Ho, he managed to contact me through a portal."



"A portal? I didn't realize gargoyles possessed such powers."



Dante smiled with grim humor. In spite of himself he couldn't help but like the annoying gargoyle.



"The little one seems full of surprises."



"Has he found the master?"



"Yes. They have traveled across the state. We must leave at once."



The vampire touched the heavy sword that was sheathed at his hip. "The clan awaits your command."



Taking a step toward the nearby stairs Dante came to a sudden halt. Shit. He had almost forgotten the most important thing.



"Santiago, I need someone to return to my estate and tell Abby what is happening. I can't have her fretting over my absence."



The vampire took a sharp step back, his eyes widening with horror.



"Are you mad?"



Dante frowned. "What?"



"You want someone to confront the goddess and tell her that her mate is charging off to risk his life against dangerous enemies?" Santiago regarded him with an expression of martyrdom. "I may be young by your standard, Dante, but I'm not stupid."