“What?”
“Call Viper,” he said, punching in the number.
She arched a brow. “That’s your plan?”
“That’s it.”
“Okay.”
Chapter 14
Levet had his arm stretched out, the doulas stone glowing in his hands. The magic was pulling him down the narrow streets, as if he had a hunting dog on the leash. It yanked him through London and into Chelsea.
He’d expected the stone to pack a punch of magic. All good things came in small packages. But he wasn’t pleased to be hauled through puddles or jerked off his feet when the stone was particularly enthusiastic.
Jogging beside him, Troy dodged a streetlamp. “Slow down.”
Cursing the stupid stone, Levet tried to dig in his heels. “I cannot. The magic is pulling on me like a—” Levet screeched as he was whipped around a corner down a narrow alley. He was still screeching when he was rudely slammed into a wall. Bouncing off the hard bricks, he landed on his derrière. Rubbing his squashed snout, he climbed to his feet. “Ow.”
Troy planted his hands on his hips and glanced around the cramped space. There was nothing to see beyond the brick buildings that framed the alley. No doors. No windows. No manhole that would lead to the sewers beneath the street.
Nowhere for the vampire to have disappeared.
“Your doohickey is broken,” Troy growled in disgust.
Levet scowled, holding out his hand, where the stone continued to glow and pulse with magic.
“It is not broken.”
“Are you telling me that we’re following a vampire who can walk through a solid brick wall?”
Levet gave the stone a good shake. It instantly tried to slam him against the wall. Levet heaved a sigh, staring at the bricks.
“Perhaps he rested here before being picked up in a car,” he hesitantly suggested. It wasn’t a very good guess. The stone should have followed him even if he’d traveled in an automobile.
Troy stepped past him, laying his hand flat against the bricks. “Or before a portal opened.”
Ah. That made much more sense, even though most vampires detested traveling with magic.
“Oui, or before a portal opened,” Levet agreed. “Can you sense anything?”
Troy closed his eyes, no doubt absorbing any lingering magic on the wall. At last, he nodded his head.
“One was opened here.”
“When?”
“Months ago. The residue is barely detectable.”
“Can you follow it?”
“No.” Troy opened his eyes, firmly shaking his head. “Even if it had just opened, I could only get within a general area with my own portal. This one is too degraded to tell more than the fact that it was created by a nymph.”
Levet wrinkled his snout. What sort of nymph would be willing to work with a leech…
“Oh.” With a blink, Levet took another look around. He’d been so distracted at being jerked and tugged by the stone that he hadn’t realized precisely where he was. Now he had a very good suspicion who had opened the portal. “Male or female?”
“Female.”
Levet smiled, bending down to sweep away the dust covering the cobblestones. “Step back.”
Troy muttered something about a brain filled with chunks of stone, but Levet ignored him. The imp couldn’t be talking about him. His mind was sharp as a…um…as sharp as something or other.
“What are you doing?” Troy demanded as Levet continued to clean off the cobblestones.
“This neighborhood is controlled by a nymph called Cleo.”
Troy made a sound of surprise. “A nymph controls the neighborhood? Does Victor know?”
Victor was the vampire clan chief of London. And, like all leeches, he believed that he was in charge of everything and everyone in his area.
“He leaves her in peace,” Levet told his companion. “Cleo was here before the Romans ever built the first fort and cunning enough to have bartered and blackmailed her way to gaining the support of the local demons. She was dug in so tightly that no one dared to try and challenge her. Not even Victor.” Levet shrugged. “Although I suppose the leech could destroy her if she was foolish enough to try and threaten him, or his claim over London.”
“Good for her,” Troy murmured. “I admire a fey who can climb the ladder of success.”
Levet snorted. “You’re not going to be so happy when you discover her price for offering us information.”
Troy shrugged. “It’s not going to bother me one way or another. This is your quest, not mine.”
“I thought we were partners,” Levet complained. What was the point in having the flighty imp along if he wasn’t going to share the potential cost? “You know, like Sonny and Cher.”
“I’m just along for the ride.”
Levet sent the male a frustrated glare. “I do not know what that means.”
“It means that you’re paying the price,” Troy drawled. “Not me.”
“You are a terrible KISA,” Levet muttered.
“I’ll take that as a compliment. I’ve never had any aspiration to be a knight in shining armor.”
Levet clicked his tongue. The male’s ego was nearly as bloated as a vampire. Maybe even a dragon.
“You take everything as a compliment.”
“Of course. It’s the only way to fully enjoy being in the company of others.” Troy leaned against the wall, making no effort to help. “Otherwise, I might as well stay as secluded as your poor Inga.”
Levet coughed as dust filled his snout, but he didn’t stop. Dawn was beginning to creep over the horizon. He needed to find the mark that would open the entrance to Cleo’s hidden lair.
“She is not poor Inga,” he muttered. “She is the Queen of the Mer-folk.”
“And yet so alone,” Troy drawled.
Levet sat back on his heels, his wings drooping. He could still see Inga’s face as he told her that he was about to leave. Her disappointment was like an anchor that weighed down his heart.
“That is true,” he admitted. This imp might annoy him. Really, really, really annoy him. But there was no doubt that Troy actually cared about Inga and her future. He was the one creature who would understand Levet’s struggle to support the ogress without endangering her position as queen. “And I am not entirely certain how to make things better. I can offer her my companionship.”