Part 35 (1/2)

Levet glanced toward Torque who was standing in brooding silence before returning his attention to her.

”Can you take us to my house?” he demanded.

She reached out to lightly touch the upper curve of his wing. She'd never visited the teahouse just south of Chicago that had once belonged to Baine's mate, Tayla, but she could use the mental bond that Levet had forged between them to locate it.

Closing her eyes, she allowed her fey magic to flow through her blood. It wasn't like her dragon powers. This was light and bubbly and oddly intoxicating.

”There,” she muttered in satisfaction, feeling the portal form.

Torque instantly moved to stand at the entrance of the opening. ”I go first,” he said.

His expression revealed that he was just waiting for her to argue.

”Whatever makes you happy.” Going onto her tiptoes, she planted a soft kiss on his cheek before stepping back to let him enter ahead of her.

He blinked, as if unsure how to react. Beside him, Levet heaved a rueful sigh.

”They learn quickly, do they not?” the gargoyle murmured.

”They do, indeed,” Torque breathed, giving her one last lingering glance before turning back toward the portal.

Then, taking the necessary time to slip into his warrior mode, he at last stepped forward and disappeared from view.

Levet entered behind him, and Rya swiftly followed.

There was a momentary ripple of darkness as they moved through the portal and stepped into a garden bathed in a silvery moonlight.

Beyond the well-tended yard were empty fields and a rolling vineyard. And directly in front of her was a large Victorian home with a wraparound porch. It had a gabled roof and gingerbread wood trim. The outside was painted a pretty pink with white shutters that she adored, although she could see Torque grimace.

Clearly she would have to avoid pink and froufrou when she decorated their lair.

There was a faint sound of footsteps before a lovely female stepped out of a wooden grotto built in the center of the garden.

Her hair was a brilliant red and cut in a short, spiky style that gave her the look of a pixie. Her eyes were a pure black, although they were missing the malicious cunning she expected of a Jinn.

In fact, they were filled with a gentle kindness that instantly melted the last of Rya's lingering concern.

”Ah,” the female murmured, stepping next to Levet. ”You must be Rya. You're just as beautiful as Levet said,” she said.

Rya smiled. ”And you're Laylah,” she murmured. ”I've never met a half-Jinn before.”

”Then we're even,” Laylah admitted with a dimpled smile. ”I've never met a half-dragon.”

”You see, ma belle, I told you that you would adore her, did I not?” Levet asked Rya with a smug smile.

”Yes. And I hope very much that we'll have time later to get to know one another. But for now...”

She allowed her words to trail away, thankful when Laylah instantly took the hint.

”I get it,” the pretty Jinn murmured. ”You're concerned for your mother.”

Rya nodded. ”The s.p.a.ce where she's trapped is unstable. I don't know how long she has left.” She swallowed the lump that threatened to form in her throat. ”Can you open a gateway?”

”I can try,” Laylah a.s.sured her, a hint of warning in her voice. ”But to find her I'll need something that can connect me to her.”

Rya grimaced. Levet hadn't mentioned that she would need to bring something with her that belonged to her mother.

”Like a personal possession?” she demanded, her mind already trying to sort through various items that she might have in her lair that had once belonged to Kai.

Laylah brought a swift end to her musings. ”It has to be more intimate than that.” With a rueful smile, the female reached into the pocket of the light jacket she was wearing to reveal a small ceremonial knife with a gold handle and what looked like a bone blade. ”I'll need your blood.”

Accepting the cost to find her mother, Rya was holding out her arm when she was abruptly shoved aside so Torque could stand in front of her. At the same time there was a blur of movement from the grotto and a male was standing next to Laylah, his lips pulled back to reveal his elongated fangs.

A vampire.

Rya studied the elegant features that hinted at Polynesian ancestors. His eyes were a rich shade of honey and his inky black hair had been shaved on the sides, leaving the top to form a mohawk that fell past his broad shoulders.

This had to be Tane. Laylah's vampire mate.

Distracted by her brief interest in the male who had the courage to mate with a Jinn, even a half-breed Jinn, it took Rya a second to recognize the danger brewing in the air.

As if the flames suddenly dancing over Torque's body and the blast of icy power that came from the vampire weren't warning enough.

The two male predators were ready to fight.

To the death, if necessary.

”Sacre bleu.” Levet lifted his arms, his tail twitching. ”Someone stop them.”

Laylah sent her snarling vampire a small glare before glancing toward Rya with a rueful smile. ”I just need a drop or two, I swear.”

With a nod, Rya moved to stand directly in front of Torque, her hand lightly touching his chest despite the flames that seared over her fingers.

Thank the G.o.ddess she was part dragon.

”Torque, she's not going to hurt me.”

He narrowed his gaze that remained sharply focused on the vampire. ”You're d.a.m.ned straight she's not going to hurt you. And neither is anyone else.”

She shook her head. ”She just needs a drop or two.”

”No-”

”Please,” she interrupted in soft tones. ”This is for my mother.”

Tension continued to sizzle in the air, but with a low curse, Torque shoved out his hand. ”I'll do it,” he said, waiting for Laylah to offer him the knife.