Bound by Darkness - Alexandra Ivy [120]
“Vampires,” Elwin cursed.
Salvatore raised his hands. “Hey, you have my full sympathy.”
The fey pointed a finger in Styx’s face. “Don’t interrupt our efforts again.”
With his warning delivered, Elwin turned on his heel and returned to kneel next to his brothers, completely indifferent to the fact that Styx could rip off his head with one hand.
“I miss the days when I could just kill those people who pissed me off,” Styx snarled.
“Being king is a bitch, isn’t it?”
Never had truer words been spoken.
“What about you?” Styx turned his attention from the fey. Even if they were doing everything possible it was obvious their efforts weren’t going to pay off anytime soon. He needed a plan B. “Any luck?”
“None.” The Were grimaced, his hand smoothing over the dark hair that was pulled into a tail at his nape. Styx hid a wry smile at the dog’s vanity. “I spoke with the local coven and they denied knowing any spell that could open the barrier between dimensions.”
“I don’t believe it,” he said bluntly. “The wizard obviously used magic to take the child through.”
Salvatore shrugged. “The wizard practiced dark magic.”
“Then we need a magic-user who practices the dark arts.”
“Easier said than done,” the Were confessed. “They tend to remain hidden in the shadows.”
Well, of course they did.
“Dammit.”
Salvatore regarded him with a questioning expression. “What about Laylah?”
Styx arched a brow. “What about her?”
“Jinn can travel between worlds.”
“She’s a half Jinn,” he reminded his companion. “Which means she can only shadow walk.”
“Shadow walk?”
“She can enter the mists between dimensions.”
Not surprisingly Salvatore appeared confused by his reluctance to call for the half Jinn. But while it had been one of his first thoughts after discovering that Jaelyn and the child were missing, he’d quickly dismissed it.
“It would be a start,” Salvatore pointed out.
“I can’t expose her to the Dark Lord,” he refused. “And more to the point, Tane would never allow her to take such a risk.”
The Were snorted. “And she actually listens to her mate? He’s a lucky vampire.”
“No, Laylah has a mind of her own, but she has devoted years to protecting her child from the Dark Lord.” He shook his head. “She can’t take the chance of being used to get to Maluhia.”
Salvatore gave a grudging nod of agreement at the mention of the child that had once been wrapped in the same stasis spell with the missing baby. The twins had been created by the Dark Lord centuries ago and hidden in the mists, only to be found by Laylah.
It was bad enough to have lost one child.
They couldn’t risk the other.
“Then I guess we have to hope the Sylvermysts can reach them.”
Styx’s fangs ached with the need to sink them into Elwin’s throat, but he couldn’t deny the truth of Salvatore’s words.
A rock and a hard place.
Dammit.
“Yes.”
Resuming his pacing, Styx was futilely attempting to remind himself of the virtues of patience when he detected the familiar scent of his brother, along with a less familiar odor.
Mage.
With a new flare of hope, Styx turned to watch as Dante strolled into the cavern.
The younger vampire’s resemblance to a pirate was emphasized by the dark hair that was left free to frame his lean, handsome face and the silver eyes that danced with humor. Oh, and the wiggling prisoner he had slung over his shoulder.
Crossing the cavern, the vampire tossed the mage on the floor at Styx’s feet.
“Dante, so good of you to join us,” he murmured.
“And I come bearing gifts.”
“So I see.”
He lowered his gaze to watch Sergei struggle to a kneeling position.
His lip curled. The mage looked distinctly worse for the wear with his silver hair tangled and his suit covered in a thick layer of dust.
“The weasel was trying to hide beneath the rubble,” Dante revealed.
“Typical,” Styx said, his voice thick with disgust. “A coward to the bitter end, eh, mage?”
“I wasn’t hiding,” the man ridiculously protested. “I was knocked unconscious after my battle with the wizard.”
“Yeah right,” Dante scoffed.
The mage sniffed, trying