Had he been wise he would have turned the imp away the moment he had appeared. How could they possibly trust a demon who had once been a faithful servant to a vampire the Ravens had been forced to kill?
Unfortunately he had been blind to the danger until too late. Now he was forced to clean up the unfortunate mess as best he was able.
Waiting until the imp was nearly upon him Styx slid silently from the shadows to block his path.
"So you have failed again, imp," he said in cold tones. "We do not have the Shalott, and even the pathetic troll eluded your grasp."
Coming to a halt the imp performed an elaborate bow before rising to regard Styx with a lift of his brows.
"Failed? Such a harsh word. Especially for a poor man who has just lost his most treasured pet." His hands swept down the black velvet of his gown. "Can you not see that I am in mourning?"
Styx bared his fangs. He had been furious when he had learned that Damocles had wakened the Lu and sent him rampaging through Chicago. They might as well have sent an engraved invitation to every one of their enemies.
"All I can see is a treacherous imp who feathers his own nest while serving poison to his master."
Damocles pressed a hand to his chest, his expression one of mocking innocence. "Poison? Whatever do you mean?"
"Do not think that I am unaware of those goblets that you sneak to the master's bedchambers each night."
"It is true that I send a mixture of rare potions to help ease our master's pain." The imp shrugged. "Would you rather watch him suffer, or perhaps waste away entirely?"
"It was your foul concoctions that have brought him so low."
Something flashed in the pale green eyes. Something that was dark and dangerous. Instinctively, Styx slid his hand beneath his robe to touch the hilt of his dagger.
"An evil charge? Can you offer proof?"
"I know that the master was improving greatly after..." In spite of himself Styx discovered that he was reluctant to continue.
"After you captured the Shalott's father and offered him up as a sacrificial lamb?" Damocles finished with a smile that made Styx struggle to maintain his icy calm.
By the saints he hated to be reminded of that necessary evil. Even after all these years it possessed the power to strike deep at his conscience.
Strange considering he could drown in the blood he had shed.
"Yes," he gritted.
"I heard that he managed to kill three of your Ravens before you were able to beat him senseless and drag him to this cave."
The desire to sink his teeth deep into the imp's slender throat and drain him dry was nearly overwhelming. Only the commands of his master kept him from being rid of the nasty pest.
"Regardless, the blood of the Shalott had cleansed him of his illness until you arrived with your... potions," he accused, his hand still on his dagger.
The imp gave a toss of his golden curls. "I have only done what was commanded of me by my master. Do you question his decisions?"
"I should have sliced off your head the moment you appeared."
"Ah, you would lay the sins of the master at the feet of the servant? Is that your notion of justice, Sir-Holier-Than-Thou?"
Styx gave a low hiss. "If there were any true justice, you would have died alongside your previous master."
"As you would have done?"
"If necessary."
Damocles merely smiled. "We shall see."
"Enough." Styx cursed the realization he allowed himself to become so easily provoked. The past was done. Only the future mattered. "I did not come to bandy empty words with the likes of you. I have convinced the master to allow me to retrieve the Shalott. Once you have revealed to me the location of the demon, you're... services will no longer be required."
Predictably Damocles appeared exquisitely indifferent to the threat hanging in the air. With languid movements he circled past Styx to halt beside the scrying pool.
"I must say that I am surprised that you would take on such a task yourself," the imp drawled.
Styx watched the demon with a fierce gaze. "Why?"
"Surely the master must have told you who is holding the Shalott?"
"If you have something to say, imp, then say it."
"It simply seems odd that after all of your tiresome bleating about preserving vampire blood that you would be so eager to spill it now." Damocles waved a slender hand over the scrying pool and motioned Styx closer. "Come."
A cold sense of dread inched down his spine as Styx moved to peer into the murky water.
At first glance he could see only the delicate bronzed face of the Shalott. A face that looked hauntingly like her father's. He was swift to steel himself against any sense of regret at her fate. Her blood was all that stood between peace and chaos.
The water shifted and his attention turned to the man at her side. The dread spread through his body as he caught sight of the familiar silver hair and arrogant features.
"Viper" he rasped in shock.
"A friend of yours?"
"Where are they?"
With a taunting smile Damocles gave another wave of his hand and the image pulled back to reveal an elegant mansion that Styx recognized at once.
Every vampire knew the address of Dante and Abby.
No demon wanted to accidentally stumble across the goddess.
"I will say the Shalott knows how to pick her companions." The imp slid him a pointed glance. "Two vampires, a stunted gargoyle, and the Phoenix."
Styx abruptly straightened. "What of the troll Evor?"
"I fear my meager attempts to discover his whereabouts have gone for naught." Damocles gave a low chuckle. "Perhaps he has disappeared in the proverbial puff of smoke."
"You find this amusing?"
"I find this deliciously ironic."
Styx narrowed his gaze. "Be careful you do not choke on such irony."
"Oh, I shall do my best."
Styx had endured enough. He knew where to locate the Shalott. He had no further need of the aggravating imp.
"Have your bags packed while I am gone, Damocles. When I return I intend to see that you are escorted from the estate."
"As you wish."
Styx ignored the flamboyant bow the imp offered as he turned on his heel and left the chamber. Soon enough Damocles would be thrown from the estate or killed by his own hands. Either way he would no longer be able to spread his poison.
For now, nothing mattered but confronting Viper and somehow convincing him to give up his slave.
Waiting until he was certain that the vampire had left the cavern Damocles gave a soft laugh and moved toward the deep shadows behind the pool. With a wave of his hand the rock abruptly shimmered to reveal a hidden opening.
Damocles slid inside and carefully navigated the narrow stairs that had been chiseled into the ground. His nose wrinkled at the foul smells that filled the air. The smells of unwashed flesh and excrement.
Holding a prisoner was always a messy business.
Still, it did have its rewards.
Coming to a halt at the bottom step he regarded the pudgy troll who hunkered in the corner and glared at him with hatred in his beady red eyes.
"Well, Evor, I see that your imprisonment has not impaired your appetite," Damocles murmured as he pointedly glanced toward the numerous bones that had been stripped clean and tossed over the ground.
The filthy troll gave a rattle of the heavy chains that held him to the wall.
"What else is there to do in this pigsty?"
Damocles gave a low laugh. "Is that any way to speak of your lovely chambers?"
"Bugger off."
"Tsk, tsk. Such language."
The red eyes narrowed with a low cunning. "What do you want of me? Money? Slaves?"
"Nothing so valuable." With a lift of his hand Damocles patted his golden curls. "All I need from you, dear Evor, is your life."
Chapter Thirteen
Viper didn't bother to hide his impatience. Pacing from one vast end of the foyer to the other he kept his gaze trained on the elegant marble staircase.
It wasn't that he was worried for Shay's safety. The devil knew there were few places more secure than at the side of the Phoenix. What demon would risk daring the wrath of a goddess?
No, his impatience was much more personal.
It had been less than an hour and he already felt anxious that she was not at his side. That he couldn't reach out and touch her.
It was a bad sign. A very bad sign for a vampire who had never given a woman a second thought unless she was under the protection of his clan.
Unfortunately, he couldn't seem to find it in his unbeating heart to care that he was in waters far deeper than he had ever tread before.
No doubt another bad sign.
His acute hearing picked up the sound of footsteps long before Dante, Abby, and at last Shay, came into view. Striding forward he allowed the others to pass but, as Shay reached the bottom step, he reached out to pluck her off her feet and planted a thorough kiss upon her startled lips.
Pulling back she regarded him with wide eyes. "Viper."
He ignored her wriggles as he kept her firmly pressed to his chest. "What?"