His forehead hit the carpet as pain drilled into his brain. Holy … shit. It felt like someone had lit a blowtorch inside his skull.
“Yes, mistress,” he managed to rasp.
The pain abruptly disappeared and Tane groaned in bone deep gratitude. He might have suffered worse, but he couldn’t remember when. Not that he was given an opportunity to appreciate the shocking relief.
Siljar’s small hand grabbed his mohawk and yanked his head up to meet her creepily pleasant smile.
“Do you truly believe the Commission was not aware of the Jinn mongrel from the moment she was conceived?”
He faltered. What the hell? Was she toying with him?
Or was this a more dangerous game? “The law states they are to be destroyed.” Her gray brows lifted. “You seek to lecture me on the laws I proclaimed?”
Careful, Tane.
He wouldn’t be any use to Laylah dead. “No, only to understand.”
She hesitated, as if debating whether to continue with the mind-splitting pain or simply rip open his throat. At last she released her grip on his hair and stepped back, neatly folding her hands in front of her.
“It was determined that she is a principium.”
He frowned as he met her fathomless gaze. “A what?”
“A rare soul who is destined to play a pivotal role in the future of the world.”
The floor seemed to shift beneath his knees.
Damn.
His strange sense of… premonition when he was with Laylah hadn’t been a delusion that he’d invented for an excuse to keep her near.
He should be leaping for freaking joy.
The Oracles had decided that Laylah was fated to be of use to them. Which meant that they had no intention of killing her. At least not until she’d fulfilled her mysterious destiny.
Instead a cold ball of dread was lodged in the pit of his stomach.
In his long life he’d learned that being important to the future of the world was never, ever a good thing.
Martyrdom sucked for the actual martyr.
“What does this pivotal role entail?” he rasped.
“Do not take that tone with me.”
He flinched at the trickle of power that stabbed through his brain, but he couldn’t back down.
“Forgive me. I just …” He struggled and failed to find the words. “Need to know.”
The pain faded until it was only a vague warning that he was treading near the edge of the Oracle’s goodwill.
“Only a true prophet can read the future,” she said in that low, hypnotic voice. “But the importance of her birth was written in the stars.”
“So you don’t intend to destroy her?”
“Of course not. She is vital to our future.”
His muscles twitched with the need to return to Laylah. “Then may I ask why you wished to meet with me?”
“My reasons are twofold.”
“Damn,” he muttered.
She thankfully ignored his impatient outburst. “The first reason is to remind the vampires that the Commission is not to be trifled with. It was your duty to inform us of the mongrel, but instead you attempted to keep her hidden. You willfully ignored our laws and endangered others for your own pleasure. Obviously you need a reminder of the dangers of flaunting our authority.”
“And the second?” he asked, trying not to consider his looming punishment.
“To make sure you do not intend to interfere in Laylah’s destiny.”
He was on his feet before he even realized he was moving. “Interfere?” “Precisely.”
“I’ve done nothing but try to keep her pretty head attached to her neck,” he argued. “A job that should come with a sainthood, believe me.”
Siljar wasn’t impressed. “You have imposed your will upon her, have you not?”
He frowned, oddly offended by the accusation. “You don’t have to make me sound like Kim Jong-il.”
“I beg your pardon?”
“Never mind.” Tane hunched a defensive shoulder. “I was only trying to protect her.”
“She must be allowed to make her choices freely.”
“Even if they put her in an early grave?”
“If that is to be her fate.” The female held up a warning hand as Tane’s growl trickled through the room. “Do not be rash, vampire. The female is necessary to the world. You, however, are disposable.”
His jaw clenched. He might be disposable, but he’d be damned if he was going to let Laylah be some sacrificial pawn.
“You want me to abandon her to her fate?”
Siljar tilted her head to the side. Like an inquisitive bird. Only with pointed teeth and enough power to destroy the world.
“If I say yes?” she murmured.
“Then I will admit that you’ll have to chain me to the wall or kill me to keep me away.”
The demon heaved a sigh that sounded remarkably like the one all females heaved when confronted by a determined male.
Or as they would say—a pigheaded, unreasonable, obstinate male. “Vampires.”
“I can offer a compromise.”
“You aren’t in a position to negotiate.”
“Then I would ask a favor.”
She stilled, as if intrigued by his words. “And you would be in my debt?”
He should have hesitated. To be in the debt of this female was bound to come back and bite him in the ass.
But, he nodded his head without missing a beat. “Yes.”
“An intriguing thought.” She tapped a finger against the tip of her chin. “Of course, I could always command you to do whatever I want.” “You could.”
There was a nerve-wracking silence before she gave a dip of her head. “I will hear your request.”
“Allow me to remain with Laylah and I will swear not to … interfere.”
Siljar made a sound of disbelief. “You cannot halt your obsessive need to protect her.”
Okay. Valid point.
There wasn’t a power in this world, or the next, that could force him to stand aside and watch Laylah being harmed.
“Perhaps not, but you said that I was not to impose my will on her,” he plunged onward. “Not that I couldn’t keep her safe.”
Her lower lip jutted as she considered his words. Then she gave a decisive shake of her head.
“True, but it is doubtful you could recall the distinction. Should the female choose a path of danger you would feel compelled to halt her.”
Desperate, Tane dropped to his knees once again. Dammit. He would beg until he lost his voice.
“Mistress, I give my word.”
“Yes.”
Without warning, Siljar popped out of sight and reappeared a mere inch from his face. Tane jerked in surprise.
“What the …?” Before he could react, the Oracle reached out to lay her tiny hand against his upper chest. An agonizing heat seared through his flesh, seeming to scorch to his very bones. Then a strange sensation of… well, there was no way to explain it but to say that something had shifted and locked into place. When at last she pulled back Tane glanced down to find his skin marred by a shimmering black tattoo that looked remarkably like a bolt of lightning. “Shit,” he breathed in shock. “What did you do?”
“Nothing more than strengthen the ties that already bind you to Laylah.” She stepped back to study him with a hint of surprise. “Really, vampire, you should know better than to make a wish with a Jinn.”
With a hiss he pressed a hand to the mark on his chest. It was one thing to have a tenuous connection to Laylah and another to be at her mercy.
“You’ve enslaved me?”
She flashed her terrifying teeth. “No, Tane. You did that all by yourself.”
He so didn’t want to consider that disturbing tidbit.
“Can the bond be broken?”
“That is for Laylah to decide.”
With a low growl, he rose to his feet. He hated to be jerked around. And he was beginning to suspect he’d just been played by an expert.
“Are we finished?”
Siljar’s smile widened as she calmly headed toward the door. “For now.” “What of my punishment?”
The female never slowed. “I suspect the Jinn will offer a greater torture than I could ever devise.” Well, wasn’t that the god-awful truth? “Amen,” he muttered.
“Of course if you do intend to stand as her protector I would suggest that you hurry.” “Hurry?”
“She and her tiny companion left the estate just after we began our conversation.”
“Shit.” Tane charged toward the door, yanking his dagger from the leather sheath at his lower back. “I’m going to kill that damned gargoyle.”
Chapter 14
“I’m going to kill that damned vampire,” Laylah muttered, jogging along the dirt path that was leading her away from Chicago.
And Tane.
The rat bastard.
Gods. She had believed him. He’d assured her that she wasn’t in danger and like a gullible idiot she’d accepted his word.
If it hadn’t been for Levet she would still be sitting in Styx’s office, meekly waiting to be handed over to the Oracle.
Half an hour ago the tiny gargoyle had rushed into the room, his wings flapping and his tail twitching. A sure sign he was in a mood.
But even prepared for some new disaster, Laylah was shaken when he’d started babbling about an Oracle and danger and shoving her disguise amulet into her hand as he told her to run.
Laylah hadn’t hesitated. A good thing considering the moment she’d left Styx’s highly protected office she’d been nearly squashed by the thick power pulsing through the air. The Oracle was indeed there and no doubt waiting for her to be turned over.
