"Hexed?" Evot's face hardened with fury. "Magical artifacts are forbidden. The punishment is death."
"You think a pathetic troll and his goons can frighten me?" The intruder lifted his knife to point it directly at Evor's face. "I came here for the Shalott and I'm not leaving without her. I'll kill you all if I have to."
"You may try," Viper drawled.
The man spun about to confront him. "I have no fight with you, vampire."
"You are attempting to steal my demon "
"I'll pay you. Whatever you want."
"Whatever?" Viper flicked a brow upward. "A generous, if rather foolhardy bargain."
"What is your price?"
Viper pretended to consider a moment. "Nothing you could offer."
That sour desperation thickened in the air. "How do you know? My employer is very rich... very powerful"
Ah. Now they were getting somewhere.
"Employer. So you are merely an envoy?"
The man nodded, his eyes burning like coals in their sunken sockets. "Yes "
"And your employer will no doubt be quite disappointed to learn you have failed in your task to gain the Shalott?"
The pale skin became a sickly gray. Viper suspected that the sense of darkness he could detect was directly related to the mysterious employer.
"He will kill me."
"Then you are in quite a quandary, my friend, because I have no intention of allowing you to leave the room with my prize."
"What do you care?"
Viper's smile was cold. "Surely you must know that Shalott blood is an aphrodisiac for vampires? It is a most rare treat that has been denied us for too long."
"You intend to drain her?"
"That is none of your concern. She is mine. Bought and paid for."
He heard a strangled curse from behind him, along with the rattle of chains. His beauty was clearly unhappy with his response and anxious to prove her displeasure by ripping him limb from limb.
A tiny flicker of excitement raced through him.
Blood of the saints, but he liked his women dangerous.
Chapter Two
Shay cursed the shackles that held her bound to the pole.
She cursed Evor, the greedy, remorseless son of a bitch.
She cursed the strange human who smelted of mat foul evil she had sensed before.
And most of all she cursed Viper for treating her as no more than an expensive party treat.
Unfortunately the worthless cursing was all she could do as the clearly crazed human waved about his knife.