Shades of Darkness (Guardians of Eternity #16) - Alexandra Ivy Page 0,9
were an impressive sight. Long and sharp and glistening with deadly intent.
“Start talking.”
Levet wrinkled his snout. ““Very well. Brigette is evil again.”
Chiron slowly blinked. “What?”
“Brigette. Is. Evil. Again.” Levet pronounced each word with a slow emphasis.
“I heard you, idiot,” Chiron snapped. “I want to know what it means.”
“She was locked in the mer-folk dungeons looking like any normal Were.” Levet paused, as if considering a sudden thought. “Although, when I happened to see her a couple of weeks ago, she was foaming at the mouth. I think she might have rabies. I should have warned Inga to have her vaccinated.”
The air dropped to a subarctic temperature. A sure sigh the vamps were in a mood.
“Levet,” Chaaya warned.
The gargoyle fluttered his wings in a mocking gesture, but he was smart enough to answer the question. No need to provoke the angry leeches into gargoyle-cide.
“I was spending the day with Darcy, the mate of Styx.” Levet paused, as if waiting for someone to be impressed with his intimate friendship with the King of Vampires. Then he heaved a resigned sigh. “While I was there, I received a message from Inga, who you know is the Queen of the Mer-folk. We can speak telepathically. It is one of my many talents.” He waited again for the proper appreciation. Nothing.
“And?” Chiron snapped.
Levet clicked his tongue, his wings fluttering with annoyance. “And they have word from one of the dungeons guards that Brigette has been overheard speaking to some invisible visitor.”
They all stared at the gargoyle in confusion.
“How do they know she has an invisible visitor?” Chiron demanded. “Couldn’t she be talking to herself?”
Levet shrugged. “The guard also noticed a shadow in the cell with Brigette. Inga feared that Zella might be trying to get in contact with the Were.”
“Is that possible?” Chiron frowned, glancing toward Chaaya. “The beast is trapped, isn’t it?”
“You’re the only one who has any experience with the evil spirit.”
Chaaya resisted the urge to stomp her foot. Just because she’d been sacrificed to keep the beast out of this world, and then spent centuries trapped in a hellish dimension with the creature, didn’t mean that she knew anything about it. Just the opposite. She’d devoted her afterlife to avoiding the fiery spirit.
“I’m not the beast whisperer,” she groused, folding her arms over her chest.
Chiron’s jaw tightened, but he didn’t explode. Instead he waved a hand toward Basq.
“Give us a minute.”
The large vampire nodded, reaching out to grab Levet by his horn so he could drag him toward the door.
“Come with me.”
“Hey,” Levet protested, flailing his arms as he was hauled out of the hallway and into a storage room. The door was slammed behind them.
Chaaya warily eyeballed Chiron. “Now what?”
Chiron hesitated, as if searching for the perfect words. Never a good sign.
“I know it’s not fair to ask you to return to the mer-folk castle.”
“You’re right. It’s not fair. I was kicked out, remember?”
“You’re the only one who can determine if the darkness surrounding Brigette is connected to the beast.”
She couldn’t argue with his words, so instead she deflected.
“I warned you that Brigette needed to be destroyed, but did you listen? No. As usual you did what you wanted, and now I’m expected to clean up the mess.”
Chiron grimaced. “That was Ulric’s decision. He hoped that his cousin could be salvaged. She’s his only family.”
“Then he should go investigate.”
“Chaaya.”
She stuck out her lower lip. She was being petulant, but she didn’t care. She was supposed to be done with Zella the Fire Beast from the Hell Dimension. This was her time to actually enjoy her life. Someone else could be the sacrifice, right?
But even as she parted her lips to tell the vampire to choose some other sucker to check on Brigette, she swallowed a sigh. Dammit. Who else could sense Zella? No one, that was who.
“Fine,” she conceded with a resentful scowl. “I’ll go.”
“And you’ll take Basq with you,” Chiron added smoothly.
“No. Absolutely not.”
“He’ll be there to watch your back.”
She grabbed the hilt of her spear. “I don’t need a babysitter.”
“He’s not a babysitter.” Chiron’s expression hardened. “He’s a fierce warrior who is utterly loyal. He’ll protect you with his life.”
Chaaya believed him. Basq might annoy the hell out of her, but she never doubted he would destroy anything that might try to harm her. Not because he cared whether she lived or died, but because she was his current “duty.”