by Sharon Kay
Thane held court with a group of fawning younger males, gesturing with a self-important expression on his face. Ria shook her head, not caring since none of them were looking her way. To her side, River giggled with several Ghazsuls on a couch. One of them yanked her onto his lap, his big gnarled hands sliding over her hips and ruining her paint. If the sprite was bothered, she didn’t show it.
Ria loaded the shots onto a tray and rounded the bar. The volume of the music had increased until the bass reverberated in her chest. The number of guests had increased as well, adding chatter and bragging to the noise.
Stone-faced guards lurked at the room’s perimeter. She pretended to search for her new Ghazsul friends and instead walked farther in the direction where the statue should be.
Two tall Ghazsul males stepped in front of her and each grabbed a drink from her tray. “Just in time, gorgeous,” one said. His voice was silky smooth, but his eyes were hard.
Ria pasted on another smile as if his compliment had made her day. Whatever. She’d case the room on her way back to the bar to replace the shots. Walking as slowly as she guessed she could get away with, she assessed each doorway, mentally matching them to the floor plans she’d memorized.
“You lost?” A voice growled behind her.
She turned to see one of the guards, hand hovering near his holstered dagger, and widened her eyes in feigned innocence. “Oh, um, just headed to the bar to get more drinks for the guests.”
“Then maybe you should walk that bare ass toward the actual fucking bar, sweetheart.” His tone vibrated with warning. “Because it doesn’t look like that’s what you’re doing.”
Damn it. “Well, this place is so bi—”
“Save it.” His eyes narrowed. “Don’t try any crap or I’ll get you fired faster than you can breathe.”
“Sorry,” she mumbled, managing to contain her eye roll. Thane’s security staff were more than dumb hulks of muscle, after all.
Ria made it to the bar and poured two more shots. She would have expected a throng of demons in a specific part of the room—like the part with the statue, since Thane was showing the damn thing off. Had he moved it?
She moved through the crowd on the opposite side of the room from where she’d just been, navigating throngs of demons with care. Most shot appreciative glances at her body, but none were as licentious as the group she needed to bring these stupid shots to.
A series of low exclamations drew her attention to her right. Up ahead, a group of males clustered around something…something not very tall, since the demons were completely blocking whatever it was with their bodies.
“Where is that tall female with our drinks?” The grating voice of the Ghazsul she was supposed to be serving cut through the crowd noise. Crap. Ria turned and walked back to the group.
“Sorry, I got a little lost,” she said with a smile, and handed the double shots of dragon’s blood to each Ghazsul.
“Hard to believe when we’re all in one room.” The leader sniffed. “But it looks like the gods made up for not giving you brains.” Black eyes zeroed in on her chest—again.
Ria smiled and flicked a lock of hair over her shoulder. This was getting too damn old. She itched to find the statue and figure out its secret.
“Drink. To Thane.” The Ghazsul lifted his glass and the other did the same. “And here he is. Nice work, old friend.”
Thane sauntered over and clapped one hand on the shoulder of the lead Ghazsul. He eyed Ria’s torso, then carefully slid a hand across her shoulder blades. “Wouldn’t want to mess up your necklaces…” He curled his hand around her nape.
No fucking way. The gesture was possessive and made Ria’s skin crawl. But she stifled her automatic disgust with years of training, and made her grossed-out shudder look like a shiver of delight.
The movement made her nipples harden, and every male in the group stared. Gods, really? Haven’t they seen boobs before? “Um,” she smiled and giggled. “I think someone over there wants a drink.” She reached up and covered Thane’s hand with hers, pretending to have difficulty tugging him free. In reality, she could break his fingers.
“Well, keep them happy. Off you go.” Thane drew his hand back and Ria swore he was about to smack her ass. But he stopped, looking his fill at the black feathers that curled over her hips. He just winked instead.
Ew. Fucker. Ria collected the empty shot glasses and sauntered toward the spot that she’d been trying to get to before, pretending again to get lost on her way back to the bar. The sooner she found this key and got out of here, the better.
An odd quiet came from the far side of the room, and Thane called out the name of a new arrival. The air simmered with tension. Most of the males in the room turned toward the entrance. Ria frowned. Must be a rival, because the new Ghazsul walked in with his own security detail.
Didn’t matter. This was a perfect distraction. Thane’s guards would be extra wary of the new dude. She sidled along the wall and got as close as she dared to the two males still hanging around the mystery object.
Setting two empty glasses on a side table, she peered around one demon’s shoulders.
Whoa. She found herself looking into a gorgeous gold-flecked alcove. The walls were curved and the ceiling arched, as if the space was created just to highlight something special.
But trumping it all was Renata herself. Sitting on a platform in the center of the space, which was more like a big walk-in closet than an alcove, the stunning plant pixie knelt on her bed of stone grass.
The life-size statue was spotlighted with several recessed fire bulbs in the alcove’s ceiling. Though carved from white marble, the lifelike expression on her face and her delicate body were masterful. She looked like she was carefully considering exactly where to place the lily into the ground.
The two males in front of her started to turn. Ria yanked her eyes away and acted like she was loading up her tray with the empty glasses. “Excuse me,” she murmured. “I’ll be out of your way in a second.”
The demons ignored her and looked toward the entrance. “Look, it’s Fayzel,” one said.
Fayzel. The name didn’t ring any bells. Then again, Torth had hundreds of corrupt predators.
“He’s got balls coming here,” the other said. “And with his own guards. Shit.”
They walked away, engrossed in conversation. Ria scanned the room, counting the guards. Ten. Perfect. And every single one focused on the posturing between Thane and Fayzel.
Thank goodness. She darted into the white and gold depths of the alcove. Here, hidden by the wall, she could finally get to work.
She set the tray down and pressed a tiny button on her earpiece. “Wolfe? Any guesses as to whether there’re any wards on this thing?” she whispered. “There’s no humming sound…” she picked up a shot glass that still held a trace of alcohol and tilted it carefully over the smooth marble.
One drop splashed onto Renata’s knee.
No alarms, no pop of light, no burst of magic. Good for Ria, but surprising that Thane assumed he didn’t need any added security on his new possession. “Looks like not.” Though there could be a silent alarm, so she needed to work fast. Ria put the glass down. “All right, pretty pixie, let’s see what you’re hiding.”
She started with the hand that trailed in the grass, sliding her fingers over it, feeling for any knuckles that might move, looking for any hairline cracks. Nothing.
Ria knocked, then tapped gently along the base of the piece, searching for hidden compartments. The perfectly manicured stone grass gave nothing away.
Renata holds the key. Ria peered at the pixie’s raised hand, which held one perfect marble lily. She traced up and down each petal and studied the slender inner stalks. Did they move? She tugged on each, but nothing happened.
Ria kept going, undaunted. There was something about this flower that she couldn’t shake. Its leaves, petals, and stamen provided so many potential hiding places for a tiny spring or sliding mechanism. She d
ucked her head and peered at the underside of Renata’s hand. The pixie wore a bracelet of tiny stone wildflowers, which Ria traced methodically. One flower, then a vine, then another flower—
There!
A tiny rough button, no bigger than a pinhead, protruded from the center of one flower. It stuck out a mere eighth of an inch and, being shadowed by the petals, wasn’t something anyone would happen to see. Bingo. “There’s a button in one of the flowers in her bracelet,” Ria murmured to Wolfe. “Checking it now.” She pressed it.
A barely audible click sounded from within the marble. Smoothly, soundlessly, the lily in Renata’s hand swiveled from the center of her palm out to her fingers.
And there in her open palm was a message written in dark flowing script.
C
HAPTER 11
OH MY GODS.
RIA STARED at the writing on the statue’s hand, her eyes tripping over the letters, eager to memorize it. But at a loss to understand it. What the hell was this?
When the moons weep
When the dead have gone to rest
Where light forms blood
And stone is steel
Beware the poison
When my kin wield
The eastern wall
The sword, revealed.
Ria scanned the message in Renata’s palm again, heart in her throat. “Are you getting this, Wolfe?” she whispered.
“Affirmative and holy shit. Got it.”
The earpiece gave a short crackle and suddenly Arawn’s deep voice growled low. “We got it, Princess. Good job. Now get the hell outta there.”
“Copy that.” Ria pushed gently on the lily, trying to push it back into place.
It didn’t budge. Shit.
She reached down for the flower bracelet. Maybe she needed to push the button again?
She pressed. Nothing happened.
“I’m trying to move it back into place,” she muttered. “Don’t want to hand these idiots a gift.” Growls tore through the room. Whatever the hell was going on between Thane and Fayzel, Ria hoped it would occupy the guards for the next few minutes.
Wolfe’s voice came through again. “Patching Sebastian in now.”
“Ria?” the vampire’s voice rang in her ear. “It was a push button mechanism?”
“Yes. And the thing swiveled to open.”
“Then there has to be a way to swivel it back. If you can’t push it, there should be another button somewhere that will trigger the reverse action.”
“Copy that.” Great. Ria ran rapid fingers along the flowery bracelet, searching for another button. Nothing. “There’s nothing.”
“Check the flower again. Is there any part that you couldn’t access when it was in the original position?” Sebastian’s voice was cool and collected, the embodiment of a professional thief.
Ria leaned closer. “Yes, there’s a leaf that goes past the edge of her pinkie…” She slid her hands over the leaf and…”Yes! Another button.” She press—
“What the fuck are you doing?” a male voice snarled from behind her.
Ria jumped and straightened, positioning her body in front of the statue. “Um, I’m sorry.” She looked up at a huge glaring guard.
“You’re supposed to be serving drinks, not snooping around.” He stepped closer.
“Um, I was just looking at this. It’s so beautiful.” Ria sneaked a glance over her shoulder to check on the position of the lily.
It was moving at a snail’s pace. Shit!
“What the hell is that?” He leaned over her, inches away. “What did you do?”
“I’m really sorry. I was just looking at it.” she stammered, hoping she sounded believably contrite. “I’ll get back to work now—”
“No. Your shift just ended. Don’t know who the fuck you are but you’re about to wish you hadn’t even shown up tonight.” He reached for her with a rough clawed hand and gripped her bicep tightly. “You’re coming with me.”
Shit. Time for her escape plan. Her gloves had to come off. In rapid Demonish, Ria spoke the words to the first of the three spells Arawn had made her memorize.
It was a simple, short spell and she finished quickly. She yanked on one glove.
It stuck tightly to her hand.
“Spells? What the—” the guard tightened his grip and spoke into his own mic. “I need backup on the east side of the room.”
Dealing with one Ghazsul was bad enough. Dealing with more at once? Hell no. Ria said the words to the next spell and tugged at her gloves again.
Shit! The satin didn’t move.
The guard shifted, twisting her arm behind her and clapping a hand over her mouth. “It’ll take more than a basic spell to get those off, female.”
Good thing Fife was legendary at undoing spells. Ria bit down sharply on the guard’s fingers, drawing blood. The gross taste of his skin filled her mouth and she wrenched her head to the side, still biting hard and tearing flesh. He cursed and yanked his hand away.
Ria recited the third spell as fast as she could, praying this would work. The attention of the room had shifted to her tussle with the Ghazsul. Thane’s guards charged them.
With her left arm still held behind her, she clamped her teeth on the glove covering her free hand and pulled.
It slid off. Yes!
Ria summoned a ball of demonfire and threw it behind her, hitting the guard with a fatal blow. He dropped to the floor.
So much for a quiet getaway. Ria tore off her other glove and was instantly grabbed by another of Thane’s guards.
She reached for his dagger and launched herself into a spin. But this was no time to get fancy. She needed to eliminate the obstacles and get out. Banking on the guard’s surprise, she abruptly halted and stuck his own dagger deep in his chest.
He crumpled to the floor as shouts echoed around the room and she looked up to see a dozen Ghazsul guards running toward her. She still stood in front of the statue, still in the alcove. She had seconds to escape.
She darted to the side and rolled, avoiding the guards by mere inches. Up on her feet again, she ran for the huge paned windows along the east wall. Darkness yawned outside.
Thud!
Her feet went out from under her as something pinched tightly around her ankle. She twisted in midair so she could see what was behind her. Her ass hit the hard floor next.
Two guards ran at her from each side. They gripped her hands tightly and twisted her arms far enough that she had to arch up to avoid searing pain in her shoulder sockets. Two more guards followed, armed with arrows aimed at her heart. Clear liquid dripped from the sharp tips. Viper venom.
She looked to her ankle. A rope cinched tightly, its blue glow and faint hum indicating it was magically enhanced. The kind that was commonly used to restrain. It couldn’t be undone by the person whom it bound.
Well, shit. A spelled rope and four guards made things slightly complicated.
At the other end of the rope, Thane smirked. “Well, well. Who do we have here?”
“No one you want to know,” she hissed. “Let me go and no one else gets hurt.”
“You’re not in a position to do much about it, female.”
Ria glared at him, acutely aware that she was lying naked on her back in front of this asshole and his guests. She pressed her thighs together to avoid showing her most private parts to the whole damn room and debated her options.
Starting a spin with both arms locked at this odd angle would be tricky. She’d have to time it right to avoid dislocating her own shoulder—
Pop! Pop!
Two bright flashes of fire struck the armed guards with fatal precision. Screams erupted as servers and guests dove for cover. Ria twisted in time to see two more fireballs fly into the guards restraining her. They cried out and released her as flames devoured their flesh.
Scorpio.
The male was silent as a shadow and a lethally efficient killer. She wasn’t the least bit surprised that he’d broken in, and s
he was damn glad he did. She leaped to her feet and summoned two fireballs of her own.
She was still bound by Thane’s rope. Tilting her head, she feigned casual and bounced her fire in her palms. “Looks like now, you’re not in a position to negotiate. Undo the rope.”
For the first time, a flicker of uncertainty crossed Thane’s face and he handed his end of the rope to another guard.
“Let me go or you’re next,” Ria growled to the guard.
The guard flicked nervous eyes to Thane.
“Don’t you dare release her,” Thane said, even as two more guards formed a barrier in front of him.
What a coward. Ria shrugged and raised her hands. Suddenly Fife’s voice was in her ear.
“I have a release spell. Repeat after me,” he said, and began an incantation.
More guards armed with arrows surged toward her. Fuck it. “No time, Fife!” Ria flung her fire at the guard holding the rope.
He released it and collapsed into a column of flame, writhing on the ground.
Ria turned and ran. Scorpio stood near the glass, hurling demonfire to cover her. Arrows flew past her ears and she dodged as she closed the distance. Viper venom was nasty stuff and she didn’t want to be anywhere near it. Locking eyes with Scorpio, she summoned more fire.
He nodded, already knowing what she planned, and stepped away from the window.
Ria sent it flying ahead of her into the wide panes, predicting it would hit in…
Three, two, one…Boom!
Glass and flames exploded like a massive fireworks display. Shards flew toward her and Scorpio, around them, as flames licked at the window frame. Shouts echoed behind as they vaulted through the hole she’d just blasted and out into the night.
Still in her four inch heels, still trailing the length of magical rope, and still naked save for body paint, she ran.