The Conduit The Gryphon Series - By Stacey Rourke Page 0,69

the ledge of the orchestra pit not fifteen feet from me. A wide grin split his face while his mismatched eyes glared with his evil intent. He looked human enough, except for his one clear blue eye and one solid black eye, and a distinct grey pallor to his skin. The Seeker had that grey look, too. Apparently, centuries spent in the Underworld wreaked havoc on the complexion. Deep auburn hair hung to Barnabus’ shoulders, where it brushed against his coal black cloak. He was clad head to toe in black, just as the Seeker had been. My inner smart aleck wondered if the all black wardrobe was a necessity to remind themselves they were evil. Like if a member of the Dark Army accidentally threw on a powder blue polo shirt they would get confused and book a tee time instead of trying to take over the world. If I wasn’t terrified I was going to die, I may’ve asked.

“I have waited for you a long time. Longed for you. Finally, our time has come.” In a grossly intimate way he devoured me with his eyes. Relief flooded me at the unexpected ruckus from stage-left that broke his gaze, until the cause of it added a mind-blowingly stressful obstacle to this situation.

“Whas’ going on?” Alec asked as he stumbled onto the stage. Apparently my definition of ‘get Alec to safety’ differed from Keni’s.

What did she just drop him out the backdoor?

My eyes flicked back and forth between him and Barnabus. A wide grin of glee spread across Barnabus’ face as he reveled in my panic. “Who’s that? Hey! You’re the guy that hit me! Whas’ your problem buddy?”

“Did you enjoy my choice of bait?” Barnabus asked merrily. “I had every intention of finding a nun, small child or your basic good Samaritan to lure you here. Then I stumbled on to him. This gawky man-child that just reeked of your scent! It was too perfect to pass up. Please humor me, for I must know, is he special to you?”

I hadn’t answered that for myself yet. The diabolical fiend sure as heck didn’t get to know before I did. “Why?” I asked tartly. “Were you going to ask me out? Because I gotta say my standards are lax, but I draw the line at psycho crack-pot. Sorry.”

Raw hatred mixed with disgust flickered across his face, which I tried not to take personally. Quickly, his look of mocking and condescension returned. “You have a sharp tongue girl. I think I’d like to cut it out and eat it.”

“Eeeew. Dude that’s really gross,” Kendall grimaced as she rounded the curtain. She had no physical injuries that I could see. No doubt her wings took care of that for her.

“You cannot protect her, you spiky haired twit,” Barnabus sputtered. “Your presence here is completely inconsequential. I have waited too long. I will retrieve my prize.”

“Even so. This is where I belong.” She hooked her arm through mine and graced him with an angelic smile. Her normal sweetness and innocence were absent from her eyes. In their place lay steel.

“Whas’ he talking about? Whas’ going on?” Alec wondered aloud.

I held up a hand to silence him, and addressed the deadly villain across from me. “The Gryphon and all he protects will never be yours Barnabus. We’ll see to that.”

The corners of his lips curled up wickedly. “But it will. That creature…” he spat the word out as if it left a bad taste in his mouth, “is dense and way too easily fooled. The gossip and murmurings that led him to call on you in the first place were all my doing. I had my men spread the word that we had found a way to enter his precious Spirit Plane and were coming for him. It was all a lie. A lie that seeped its way back to him and motivated him to channel his powers through a mortal. Imbecile that he is, he did it. Now all I have to do is kill you. He’ll be weakened and we will enter his realm. My army and I will take him down. Then all the power he harnesses and protects will belong to me. It’s almost too easy.”

“If it’s so easy, why did it take you three centuries to come up with it?” I asked with venom in my voice.

He laughed that fiendish cackle again. “It didn’t take long to come up with the plan. The rest of the time I was