to be some way to stop Magoth. There just had to be.
Chapter Eighteen
The urgency of Gabriel's needs-and my immediate and overwhelming response to them-had driven from my mind the discussion I'd had with Magoth.
"The phylactery!" I yelled suddenly, pushing myself off Gabriel's warm, limp form.
"What about it?" he asked sleepily, his face relaxed and bearing a sated expression that gave me no little amount of feminine pride.
"I know where it is."
"What?" He sat up so fast I slid off him and onto the floor. "Mayling!"
"It's all right, I'm fine," I said, laughing. "I should have known better than to startle a dragon."
He knelt beside me, his eyes grave. "Where is the phylactery?"
"Paris. In the L'au-dela vault."
His eyes widened at the same time his pupils narrowed. "The amulet you stole from Kostya?"
"Yes."
"Why did you not tell me this when we were there?"
"I didn't know that's what it was," I answered, getting to my feet. The memory of Magoth chilled my flesh, causing little goose bumps to rise along my arms. I pulled out some clothing from the bag Istvan had brought, holding it to me as I faced Gabriel. He wouldn't harm me-I knew that. But I still dreaded telling him what had happened between the demon lord and myself. "Gabriel, I... Magoth knows."
"He knows what?"
"He knows about the phylactery." I lifted my chin to look him dead in the eye. "I had no idea that the amulet was the phylactery. It was in the unlocked chest, after all. What sane person would keep something so valuable in a place like that? And I swear to you that Porter never gave a hint as to what it really was. I wonder now if he knew."
Gabriel looked confused for a moment. He gently pushed me into the chair and knelt at my feet, his hands on my knees. "Explain it again. Slowly. And do not leave anything out."
I went over again my phone call with Porter, the visit to Kostya's lair, the conversation with Porter in Paris, and the pertinent parts of my conversation with Magoth. I was sick with the knowledge that my ignorance had set Magoth onto the trail of the phylactery, but Gabriel brushed aside my pathetic apology.
"The blackmailer poses no problem. We can deal with him so that he will offer no threat to Cyrene or you." He rose and began pacing the room. "As for the demon lord... I would have preferred to keep knowledge of the phylactery's whereabouts confined only to us, but as we cannot undo what has been done, we will simply have to make the best of the situation. Our first and foremost priority must be to get the phylactery before Magoth can order you to retrieve it for him." He paused to give me a long look. "Or has he already done that?"
Bile rose, burning the back of my throat. I wanted to admit the truth to Gabriel, to cling to him and sob out my sorrows, avoiding all the unpleasantness that was woven into my life, but I couldn't do that to him, not while there was the slightest shred of hope that I could avoid Magoth's command.
I touched my throat where Magoth had almost succeeded in throttling me. "He attacked me when he realized what the phylactery was. I was on the verge of passing out-"
Gabriel, distracted as I had hoped he would be, was instantly at my side, probing my neck with gentle fingers. "You were bruised here. Your flesh still remembers the trauma. I will ease its memory."
His lips caressed my neck, building the banked fire within me until I moaned at the sensation of his skin against mine.
I tossed aside the clothing I was still holding, falling into his arms, kissing a line along his jaw.
"I cannot seem to get enough of you, little bird," he murmured as his tongue swept broad strokes across my neck. I'd never been licked before by a man, but the sensation wasn't even remotely repugnant. Gabriel positively hummed with pleasure as I slid my hands down his silky skin, tracing out the hills and valleys that made up the planes of his back. "You are so good, Mayling. You taste so good."
I let my forehead drop to his shoulder, guilt spiking through my desire until the latter all but evaporated. "I'm not good. I'm not good at all, Gabriel. Even assuming we have nothing to worry about with Porter and whomever he's working for, Magoth will move mountains to get that