“Levet contacted me. He’s with Anna.”
Cezar didn’t even realize he was moving until he was standing in front of Darcy, his hands gripping her fingers.
“Where is she? Is she harmed? Take me to her.”
Styx bristled at Cezar’s rough grasp, but a glance from Darcy was enough to make him take a step back.
“Levet wasn’t certain of their location, but I sensed that it’s outside of Chicago in an old barn west of here,” she said, her gaze steady and filled with determination. “He said that Anna is unharmed, but he’s unable to wake her. He fears she might be in some sort of trance.”
Cezar hissed, the cold dread he had been battling since he felt Anna’s distress threatening to overwhelm him.
“What happened to them?”
Darcy gave a shake of her head. “He only said that Morgana attempted to trap them in a portal and that Anna used her powers to release them. He could not talk for long, he feared that Morgana could trace his voice.”
Styx reached out to lay a hand on Cezar’s shoulder, as if sensing the raw pain that held his heart in a vise.
“Darcy, can you track Anna?” he demanded.
“If we get close enough.” She gave Cezar’s fingers a gentle squeeze. “Shay is here as well. Between the two of us we will find them.”
Cezar was already on his way to the door. “Then let’s go.”
Anna was dreaming. This time a regular, old-fashioned, nonlethal sort of dream.
Well, maybe not entirely old-fashioned. It did include a demon. One handsome, wickedly delicious demon who was doing all sorts of wonderful things with his hands and lips and tongue…oh yes, definitely his tongue.
“Anna. Anna,” he whispered, his voice oddly high and edged with a French accent.
French accent?
Crap.
The delightful vision of Cezar began to slip away and with a sigh of regret, Anna wrenched open her heavy lids to discover Levet bent over her with a worried expression.
“Mon dieu, you scared me,” he breathed, his warm breath brushing her cheek. “I couldn’t wake you. Did you hit your head?”
Scooting to a sitting position, Anna grabbed her head as it throbbed with disapproval at her sudden movement. “It feels like it.” For a moment she simply concentrated on the unpleasant ache in her forehead, then, slowly realizing that a part of the pain was something digging into her skin, she lowered her hand to study the magnificent emerald hung on an ancient silver chain that lay in her palm. “Crap.”
“Sacrebleu.” Levet gave a nervous flap of his wings, his eyes wide. “Where did you get that?”
Oh, it was just a little thing handed to me by my multi-great grandfather, who happens to be King Arthur, and oh yeah, he’s dead and haunting some ancient ruin.
She choked back the hysterical urge to laugh. “Would you believe from a dream?”
“A dream?” Levet rose to his feet, his hands waving above his head. “Oh, perfect. My dreams give me nothing more than a dry mouth and a stiff neck and your dreams give you priceless baubles. Life is so unfair.”
Anna rolled her eyes, and then wished she hadn’t when a sharp pain shot through her head.
She had a priceless gem, but it might as well be just another chunk of rock if she didn’t learn how to use it to control her powers.
“I couldn’t agree with you more.” She absently brushed the bits of straw from her jeans, her brows snapping together as she belatedly realized that night had fallen while she slept. God, she’d been out for hours. “What time is it?”
“Shortly after dusk.” The gargoyle paused, wrinkling his snout. “I have managed to contact Darcy.”
Sheer relief rushed through Anna. An annoying sensation considering she wanted to be the sort of woman who could always take care of herself.
Still, there it was.
The calvary was on its way and she was happy as hell about it.
“How? You said it was too dangerous to use a portal.”
“I couldn’t wake you, so I took a risk.” The gossamer wings drooped as Levet glanced toward the small door. “I hope it doesn’t come back and bite us.”
“Will they be able to find us?”
Levet shrugged. “We have a werewolf and a Shalott searching for us, not to mention an entire pack of vampires. It might take a while, but they’ll find us.”
“Meanwhile we also have a pack of homicidal fairies searching for us,” she said dryly. “Maybe we should find a better hiding place.”
“I scouted while I was on the hunt.” Levet patted his belly, as if he were pleased with his hunt. Anna didn’t allow herself to consider what a gargoyle might eat. She liked Levet and didn’t want the image of him crunching on little kitties to ruin their friendship. “There is nothing but farmhouses and one small town for miles. We are as safe here as anywhere.”
Anna sighed. “That’s not massively reassuring.”
“I know.”
A silence descended as they both considered all the horrible things that could happen before help could arrive. At last, Anna gathered her erratic courage and reached out to lightly touch the gargoyle’s hand.
“Levet.”
“Oui?”
“You could fly away from here.”
The gray eyes widened. “No.”
“Listen to me,” she urged. “You could fly to Chicago and bring Cezar directly to the barn. Surely that would be faster than having them searching all over the state for us?” She grimaced. “Even assuming that we’re still in Illinois.”
“We are, although Chicago is some distance away.”
“Then go, Levet.” She shifted until she was kneeling before him. The poor gargoyle had already suffered enough because of her. “You can save both of us.”
“I will not.” As Anna’s lips parted he pointed a stubby finger directly in her face. “No. Not another word.”
Sitting back on her heels, Anna heaved a deep sigh. What was it with demons?
“Are all demons trained to be stubborn or is it something that just comes naturally?” she groused.
“It is all natural, of course.” He waggled his brows. “Just like my beauty.”
Anna couldn’t help but laugh. “I see.”
Obviously pleased he had managed to bring a smile to her face, Levet stepped to one side and pointed to a plate that was filled with fried chicken, mashed potatoes, and what smelled like freshly baked biscuits. Her eyes widened even as her stomach rumbled with appreciation.
“I brought you food.”
She shifted her gaze to the beaming gargoyle. “Where did you get this?”
“Does it matter?”
“You stole it, didn’t you?”
His expression was one of absolute innocence. “I might have borrowed it from a nearby kitchen.”
She lifted her brows. “Borrowed?”
“Trust me, I just saved some overweight farmer from an early heart attack. I was doing him a favor.” He gave a snort of disgust. “Besides, unlike vampires I can’t really pass as a human. Can you imagine me strolling into a restaurant and ordering take-out?”
Anna thrust aside her faint guilt at having stolen some poor farmer’s dinner and reached for the plate. Levet had not only kept guard over her while she slept, but he had gone to the effort to make sure she was fed.
A warmth filled her heart. It was a strange, wonderful feeling to have others in her life that actually cared about her.
It had been so long.
“Thank you, Levet, it was very thoughtful of you,” she whispered softly, ducking her head to dig into the small feast in an effort to hide her expression.
Easily sensing her tightly wound emotions, Levet settled close to her side, his wings brushing her back in a comforting motion.
“Ah well, I am French. I know how to make a lady happy.”
Continuing to eat, Anna shot her companion a swift glance. “Are there a lot of gargoyles in France?”
“Europe is littered with them.” Levet made a rude noise. “Thankfully few of them are willing to leave their Guilds to come to America.”
“Guilds?”
“It is our clan, or family if you prefer.”
Anna struggled with the image of a family of gargoyles sitting around watching TV and eating popcorn.
Wow.
“You don’t have a Guild here?”
Levet shifted, his hands clenched. “I am not allowed in any Guilds. Gargoyles have little sympathy for those who are…different.”
Anna abruptly set aside her plate, a wave of painful compassion washing through her.
She knew all about not fitting in.
Anywhere.
“Yeah,” she muttered. “Neither do humans.”
The gray eyes lost their hard glitter. “So we are both without a Guild.”
“Yes, it would seem we are.”
“It is not pleasant to be alone.” He tilted his head to one side. “But, I have found Shay who has taken me into her family. Perhaps Cezar will offer you a place as well.”
