“What is it?”
“A tingle in the air,” Levet muttered, rubbing one of his stunted horns as he was buffeted by a wave of revulsion. As if some unseen force was trying to physical shove him out of the lair. “Do you sense it?”
“Yes. An illusion,” Troy murmured. “This way.”
The larger male turned to walk down a side passage; his steps were slow and deliberate, as if he was battling against the same desire as Levet to flee the area. Levet followed behind, using Troy’s larger body to shield him from any unpleasant surprises. Hey, he might be a hero, but he wasn’t stupid.
After what felt like an eternity, they at last reached the end of the passageway. Halting, they studied the heavy steel door, which was coated in rust.
“This must be the vault.” Troy said, cautiously reaching out his hand, as if he was searching for hidden booby traps.
Levet wasn’t nearly so cautious. He didn’t like the icky magic that clung to his skin, as if he’d been dipped in goop. He wanted to see what was in the vault so they could get out of there. Lifting his hand, he used his powers to create a large fireball. It flared to life and then sputtered like it was about to go out. Levet clenched his teeth, consumed with a horrifying fear that he might not be able to perform while Troy was watching.
Then, much to his relief, the flames returned to dance cheerily in the palm of his hand. Whew, that would have been embarrassing. Lifting his hand, Levet launched the burning ball directly at the door.
There was a sizzling sound as it flew through the air, quickly followed by a splat as it hit the rusted steel. Troy gasped when he realized what was happening, but even as he hurriedly wrapped his arms over his face, a loud explosion echoed through the lair.
Levet winced. He hadn’t intended to be so noisy. Or so…dusty. Still, as the cloud of decimated stucco and mold settled, it revealed that his magic had done its job. There was now a large hole in the center of the door.
Coughing, Troy turned his head to glare at Levet. “Damn, gargoyle, be careful. You nearly singed off my man-bun.”
“Don’t be a baby.” Levet hopped through the jagged opening, glancing around the rectangular space.
It was nearly empty. In one corner were a few swords and a spear, and a handful of old coins were scattered across the floor. Closer, however, there was a shelf that held dozens of scrolls.
Levet cautiously moved forward. His explosion had not only opened the door, but it had also broken whatever magic was creating the reluctance to approach the vault. That didn’t mean, however, that there weren’t a few nasty surprises hidden in the shadows.
He reached the shelves and grabbed one of the scrolls, studying the melted seal that held it shut.
“This is the same as the scroll that Brigette brought from the rebels.” Levet glanced back toward the door, his brow furrowed. This lair had belonged to the previous Anasso. “The question is how did the rebels acquire them?”
“A good question,” Troy murmured. “That illusion wasn’t just to hide the opening to the safe. It was also laced with a powerful magic that would have discouraged most demons from even entering the passage.”
“Oui, I felt it.” Levet shivered. Revulsion spells were the worse. “So whoever took the scrolls knew they were down here.”
“That someone.” Troy moved toward the shelves, bending down to point at a footprint outlined in the dust.
Levet moved to squat beside the imp, studying the clue. He sniffed. He could catch the lingering scent. A vampire. But the size of the print was too large to have been the female rebel who’d given Brigette the scroll.
“This has been here less than a year,” he murmured, noting the thinner layer of dust in the middle of the track.
“Agreed,” Troy said.
About to straighten, Levet’s attention was captured by a glimpse of bronze beneath the shelves.
“What is this?”
Crawling forward, Levet reached beneath the shelf to pull out a small, bronzed medallion in the shape of a raven.
“An amulet of some sort,” Troy murmured.
Levet wrapped his fingers around it. He was still holding the scroll he’d grabbed in the other hand. “I have seen one like it before.”
Troy sent him a startled glance. “Where?”
“Styx.”
* * * *
Brigette watched from the shadows as the last of the demons ran screeching from the Viper Club. She didn’t know precisely what sort of spell the witch had used, but there’d been lots of boiling black clouds and a vile odor that had her and Xi retreating, along with the rest of the customers.
Of course, as nasty as it was, it couldn’t compare with the true darkness of the Beast. Brigette had spent over five hundred years enthralled by the toxic evil. The smothering malignancy had nearly destroyed her. In fact, once she was in the dungeons of the mer-folk, she’d prayed that she would die. Anything to forget the grim years.
Clenching her hands into tight fists, Brigette silently reminded herself that this was nothing more than smoke and mirrors. The Beast was locked away, along with her evil. There was no reason for her palms to sweat and nausea to roll through her.
She sucked in a deep breath, battling back the sickness. Then, without warning, Xi stepped next to her, running his fingers down her back.
“This should be fairly convincing,” he murmured.
Oddly, the cool touch eased the tension clutching her body, as if a vise had just been loosened. She instinctively leaned closer to the hard comfort of his body, watching Satin urge the nymphs away from the cloud of darkness that billowed out the front door. The elegant vampire was also using her phone to capture the stampede of demons. No doubt she was going to post it on social media. Smart. It would add to the rumors that something terrible was happening.
“At least for a few days,” Brigette agreed, turning to face Xi. Concentrating on his gorgeous face allowed her to forget about the dark cloud surrounding the club. “Of course, Maryam might become suspicious if the darkness doesn’t start spreading through Chicago.”
Xi nodded. “I’ll go speak with Styx. We can use the other Ravens to share stories of an evil plague attacking other parts of the city.”
“You’re going to see Styx now?”
“I want to tell him about the map we saw in Maryam’s office,” Xi told her. “And warn him that the rebellion is more widespread than we first assumed.”
Brigette’s knees suddenly threatened to buckle. She told herself it was her lingering reaction to the witch’s potent spell. She had…what did the humans call it? PTSD? Yeah, that was it. She was going to need time to recover from the trauma of being in the clutches of the Beast. But the panic churning through her had nothing to do with fear. It was a sense of loss. As if she’d momentarily touched something glorious, only to have it slip away.