Primal Bounty_Pendragon Gargoyles

by Sydney Somers

  No doubt the huntresses had their hands full trying to keep the rest of the former knights contained. She couldn’t imagine what Lucan’s Mr. Hyde personality would have done without his bond to Briana holding him in check.

  The other two players at the table quickly lost interest in the game and moved on, leaving her and Vaughn alone with the dealer. Unfazed by his winning streak, she shifted forward in her seat.

  Mac’s two guys continued their hushed exchange, and she glanced at Vaughn to see if he noticed. He seemed too absorbed in the game… Or was he?

  She watched the next play and rolled her eyes. “Seriously?”

  He arched a brow.

  The dealer paused, probably signaled by one of Mac’s guys to hold up.

  She rested her arms on the table. “I guess I shouldn’t be surprised you’d cheat after the stunt you pulled when Lucan went all Dark Side during the Gauntlet.”

  Vaughn leaned back in his chair, a little too relaxed. “She’s joking.”

  She glanced at the dealer, saw the discomfort flair in his eyes. “Pit boss on his way over yet?”

  Vaughn flicked a chip across the table at her. “Maybe you should go buy yourself a drink, Ivy.”

  Irritation pricked at the reminder he’d seen the vine-like tracings that lit her skin up like a Christmas tree when she’d briefly lost control of her magic during the games.

  “The whole Clark Kent thing you got going on” —she motioned to his glasses—“not exactly inconspicuous.”

  He shrugged, and a lightbulb went off in her head. The wolf wanted to get caught.

  Why? What was he up to?

  Mr. Sports Commentator approached the table, his gaze precision-locked on Vaughn. “The owner would like a word.”

  Elena took a sip of the martini she’d ignored since sitting down. “Bye, Odie. Say hi to Mac for me.” She grinned over the top of her glass.

  “You, too.”

  Elena stared up at Mr. ESPN. “Pardon me?”

  “Mr. McKinnon would appreciate your cooperation.”

  Vaughn whistled, not even trying to hide his grin.

  “We’re not together. Not even remotely.”

  “I think they’re onto us, sweetheart,” Vaughn threw in. “No need for games.”

  Dog. Chow.

  She pushed to her feet. Resisting might mean Emma would hear about the unexpected turn of events, or worse, their parents. Since she was already avoiding her mother’s calls, Elena wasn’t inclined to give Leah a reason to play the mom card now that she was back in the picture after a two hundred year absence.

  And now was not the time to think about her screwed up childhood or the fact she’d spent most of her immortality oblivious to the fact she was half Fae. As if her father’s preoccupation with amassing more magic wasn’t enough to handle without discovering her maternal grandmother was Queen Titania.

  With a sigh she fell into step with Vaughn. “So what’s the deal…boredom? Petty revenge? Did your wingman dare you to mess with Mac’s casino?”

  Vaughn arched a brow, moving across the casino floor like he knew the exact route they’d take for that private chat with Mac.

  “And why drag me into this?” she pressed.

  He shrugged. “I offered you an out. You didn’t take it.”

  “You saw me the moment I walked into the casino.” They hadn’t been anywhere near each other and she’d felt his eyes lock onto her like a heat-seeking missile.

  After the way things had played out in the final rounds of the Gauntlet, she’d expected to be annoyed by his presence. The wave of awareness that slid under her skin, a dozen times more potent than their first meeting, took her by surprise.

  Especially when she didn’t even like him.

  “You were hoping I’d join the game,” she tacked on.

  He glanced behind him.

  She craned her neck to follow his gaze. “What?”

  “Just wondering where your entourage is. Someone must be catering to your ego 24-7 if you’re that full of yourself.”

  She snorted. “You would have moved to another table if you didn’t want me involved.”

  “Collateral damage, Ivy.”

  “And the sweetheart comment?”

  “That might have been boredom.” He walked through the security door that opened ahead of them. “Plus I love seeing you riled.”

  “You think this is me riled?”

  “I think this is you pretending you’re not riled.”

  Elena rolled her eyes. “Now who’s full of themselves?”

  One of the men told them to be quiet, and they fell silent as they were escorted through a labyrinth of corridors that made up the inner sanctum of the Wolf’s Den.

  She knew Emma had spent a little time down here not long ago, but nothing her twin had shared would give her an edge with finding her way out if someone gave her a reason to bolt.

  Normally she preferred to stay and fight instead of running away when things got interesting, but Mac ran one of the best bounty-hunting teams, and after being on their hit list more than once in the past, she’d learned firsthand how resourceful the best could be.

  Right now Mac just wanted to talk. Nothing to worry about, assuming Vaughn didn’t attempt to drag her all the way down with him. If he did, he wouldn’t like it when she changed the rules of the game.

  She watched him from the corner of her eye. He didn’t appear concerned about the meeting. If he’d cheated with the intention of getting caught, what was in it for him?

  Not that you care, she reminded herself.

  “Inside.” The sports commentator opened the door and nodded for them to step into the room.

  Elena crossed to the dented metal table in the middle of the otherwise empty room. Vaughn filed in after her, removing his glasses and tossing them on the table when they were alone.

  She dropped into the closest chair and held her hands up. “What’s the plan now, Superman?”

  ***

  CAT scan for one, please.

  Vaughn closed his eyes briefly. Clearly he needed his head examined for complicating his night by involving Elena of all people. “At least Superman is a step up from Odie. I was never a Garfield fan.”

  “A dog who doesn’t like cats. Nothing clichéd about that,” she drawled.

  He walked past her, working with the limited time he did have and hoping Elena’s presence didn’t slow him down too much. There were a dozen reasons this job had ticking time-bomb written all over it, and he’d just added one more to the list.

  “First rule of cheating at cards,” she continued. “Don’t get caught.”

  “Noted.” Three feet from the farthest wall he raised a hand, running it in a slow arc a few inches from his face. The ring he wore on his right index finger warmed, heating his skin.

  Aside from risking Mac’s wrath if he was caught in the act, he knew messing with Fae magic could land him in the kind of hot water that boiled an immortal alive.

  No one would care that he’d been given the ring temporarily to channel magic that would break the glamor that hid the passageway he was searching for. The Fae, the oldest of all Avalon’s immortals, guarded their magical secrets with an air of dignified superiority in public. Behind closed doors, however, they exhibited the same brutal menace as a junkyard dog fighting for every scrap.

  They wouldn’t be happy about him knowing how to get around any of the illusions they used to safeguard some of those secrets. Especially the dangerous kind.

  And anyone willing to abduct his sister and trade her for a Fae secret would only be interested in the dangerous kind.

  “Are you going to tell the rest of the class what you’re up to or do I just get to enjoy the pantomime?”

  A buzz of current swept across his palm and he stopped, holding it over the spot. The Fae words he’d memorized felt foreign as he spoke them.

  A gold spark erupted from the spot opposite his palm and arced in a hundred directions before falling to form a transluce
nt curtain that glowed reddish-gold.

  Behind him, Elena clapped. “Somebody’s been teaching the old dog new tricks.”

  He glanced over his shoulder and winked.

  She rose, studying the barrier. “How did you know it was there?”

  She didn’t actually expect him to answer that did she?

  As if reading his mind, she nodded toward the door. “What about Mac?”

  “I’m pretty sure he’s otherwise occupied at the moment.” Assuming Dare had everything covered. Vaughn couldn’t waste time worrying about it, trusting the other gargoyle to look after his end of things.

  “Your friend,” Elena guessed. “Been planning this awhile? Forget I said that, actually. It makes no difference to me.” She turned around to return to her seat.

  “You’re not coming?”

  She stopped, studied him carefully.

  “You don’t really want to sit and wait around for me, do you?” He sure as hell didn’t want her getting bored waiting for him and knocking on the door to alert Mac’s guys.

  The second she’d figured out he’d been cheating with the intention of getting caught, leaving her behind was out of the question. He needed her where he could see her. She was slightly less of a wild card that way. Slightly.

  She offered up what he assumed was her most bored expression.

  “The Elena I know doesn’t sit the inning out when she could be playing the game.”

  “Except you don’t really know me.”

  He whistled. “So it’s true then. You have taken the straight and narrow.” He shrugged. “Too bad.” He faced the barrier, bracing to cross it. Now or never.

  “Straight and narrow,” she echoed. “Who in the hell said that?”

  “Does it matter?” Hoping he’d offered enough motivation, he stepped through the barrier, the warmth of it washing over his skin.

  Half-expecting to turn and see Elena watching him from the other side, he came to a dead stop, plunged into complete blackness. With zero visibility, he reached out with his other senses, heard the distant whir of a fan, smelled old paint, a little mildew, and a metallic scent.

  The combination agitated the wolf for some reason, his animal half prowling restlessly under his skin.

  Elena hissed out a breath. “Not looking forward to crossing the barrier again. Stung like a bitch.”

  Stung? He hadn’t felt a thing. He heard her rubbing her arms somewhere behind him.

  “Vaughn?”

  “Here.” He reached his hand back, but she only brushed it away. He grinned.

  “Is stumbling around in the dark what you do for fun these days?”

  “Stumbling isn’t usually the first thing I want to do in the dark.”

  She stopped. “You know, the barrier didn’t sting that much.”

  He caught her elbow before she turned around. “Aren’t you a little bit curious? I know you’re not worried I’d hurt you or you wouldn’t have come this far.”

  “Worried? More like amused at the thought of you trying to hurt me.” She shrugged him off, but not before he heard her breath catch.

  Interesting.

  A blink of light penetrated the darkness ahead, and he moved forward, conscious of Elena right behind him. Although muted, the source of light was strong enough he could make out the outline of Elena’s profile as she moved to the opposite side of the tunnel.

  As if reading his mind, she said, “Everyone knows the person at the back of the line is the first one to be attacked.”

  He wouldn’t have guessed she was the type to watch horror movies. “Wouldn’t want to put you at a disadvantage.”

  The tunnel seemed to shrink around them as they walked, the rock ceiling only a foot above his head now. The walls and floor remained some kind of metal, creaking and groaning under their weight in places. Some kind of ventilation system? One that somehow merged with the surrounding rock?

  He glanced over and caught something that might have been a smile flicker across Elena’s lips. Or maybe it was just the play of shadows across her face.

  The shaft narrowed until they brushed shoulders as they walked, the friction filling the already small space with her scent. Maybe he should have taken his chances leaving her at the Blackjack table. His mind remained fixed on the task at hand, but the wolf focused entirely on Elena, straying toward her.

  The muted light ahead flared, penetrating the shaft as if someone had flipped the light switch while they’d been wearing night vision goggles.

  Vaughn threw an arm up to shield his eyes as Elena cursed under her breath. The echo of her heels on the metal changed, and he barely saw the outline on the floor before her foot met empty air and she pitched forward into the hole at her feet.

  CHAPTER THREE

  Shit.

  Vaughn dove forward.

  Elena yelped in surprise, her nails scraping the metal lip, digging in for purchase. The unexpected momentum and gravity was too much. She slid into the darkness.

  He snagged her wrist and her body struck the side of the vertical shaft, the sound echoing in the tunnel. There was no way to know what lay beneath them. Immortal or not, it would still hurt like hell if the opening was meant to prevent someone from reaching the room at the end of the tunnel.

  “Hang on.”

  “Thanks for the tip,” she said, not quite masking the trace of concern buried beneath the sarcasm.

  He pulled hard, wrenching her up through the opening. He fell back a safe distance from the hole, Elena landing half on top of him—and hard enough to knock the breath from him.

  She flailed as if he’d dropped her, and he locked an arm around her back.

  “I’ve got you.”

  She relaxed, then tensed. “I’d rather be saved by the Loch Ness Monster.”

  “Can’t say I’ve had the pleasure.”

  “Consider yourself lucky. That beast is all tentacles.”

  The light brightened once more, but not to such a blinding degree this time, giving him plenty of light to see Elena’s face. The sorceress was definitely smiling.

  His lips curved in response. Elena’s gaze fell to his mouth. A beat passed, and then another. His heart pumped a little faster and he spread his fingers across her lower back, guiding her a little bit closer. Just for a moment.

  Her nails gripped his shoulder as she raised her head, then she froze. Whatever she saw in his eyes—hunger, lust, way too much of the wolf—sent her scrambling off him.

  She peered into the hole, giving him enough time to get his mind off the mouth that had been inches from his. He blew out a breath, his animal half more on edge than ever.

  Just the kind of complication he needed.

  “I would have dropped you.” Elena rose to her feet, not waiting for him before striding forward.

  “You’re welcome,” Vaughn called out, finally jumping up to follow her.

  They walked in silence, making their way toward the end of the tunnel and the light blazing from a recessed square in the middle of the stone wall.

  He nodded to the markings he could barely make out on the floor. “We go down.”

  She moved aside when he gestured for her to give him room. He traced the rim of the markings, following the dust-covered metal pattern until he felt the handles.

  Sweet Avalon, the hatch was heavier than it looked. His arms burned with the effort of raising it only a few inches.

  “Feel free to help,” he gritted out.

  “And miss the Strong Man performance?”

  He growled and heaved. With a rusted screech the hatch gave way. He took a second to catch his breath. “You can hang back here and wait—”

  She dropped into the hatch.

  Of course she did.

  Vaughn grinned and dropped in after her, landing on the balls of his feet.

  Elena was already disappearing through a narrow opening on his left. He waited a beat before trailing after her, the wolf tugging at him to give chase.

  He ignored the playful impu
lse, focusing on their surroundings. He was too close to fulfilling his assignment to lose focus now.

  One last job and he’d have his sister back.

  Piper would no longer be alone or scared or hungry or hurt. She’d be okay. Protected and safe. The way he’d promised his parents, the way he’d promised her.

  “Don’t look!” He jerked Piper around, pressing her face to his chest, shielding her from the carnage.

  “Vaughn.”

  “Do. Not. Look.”

  She sobbed against him, but obeyed, her fifteen-year-old body trembling as their parents were slaughtered.

  “I’ve got you. I’ve always got you.”

  The memory faded as fast as it slammed to the forefront of his thoughts, reminding him of how he’d failed his sister, failed his parents when he’d sworn to take care of his sister.

  He didn’t have Piper. Didn’t have a fucking clue where she was or what the bastard who took her had done to her.

  And it was his fault.

  “Dreaming of Scooby Snacks?”

  He glanced at Elena, shaking off the past and shoving it back in the closet that would drag him into the darkness if he didn’t keep his head on straight.

  “Let’s go.” He moved past her.

  “How do you know you can trust me? I mean, you brought me along for the ride, but how do you know that when we reach whatever it is you’ve come for that I just won’t take it from you?”

  “Maybe I’m hoping you’ll try.”

  Vaughn caught the ghost of a smile that touched Elena’s lips before she rolled her eyes. “You’ve still got a few tricks left to learn, pup.”

  “You do know I’m a lot older than you, right?” By more than a few centuries actually.

  She shrugged, dismissing that fact as meaningless.

  Okay then.

  He strode through the doorway Elena had peeked through when they had jumped through the hatch, and found himself in the middle of a circular stone room.

  Evenly placed torches on the perimeter walls illuminated the monstrous columns and arches carved into the surrounding stone, reminding him of some kind of archaic temple. Pottery and animal-like carvings—some intact, others shattered into palm-sized pieces—were scattered around the chamber.

  A mural covered one wall, depicting some kind of ceremony maybe. All the people were painted with staggering detail, their matching expressions worshipful. They surrounded a central figure draped in a long black cloak, sitting on a throne.