It was the burst of frigid power that filled the air that had him performing a hasty bow and stepping back into the portal.
“Take care.”
Sally ignored her stab of fear as the imp disappeared. It was too late for regrets.
She was here to keep Roke from dying.
Nothing else mattered.
Bent low over her mate, Sally watched as the two approaching silhouettes solidified into a large male and much smaller female.
Another surge of fear clenched her heart. The male was bigger and bulkier than Roke with long, dark hair pulled into a braid. His features were broad and his eyes a light brown. The woman, on the other hand, looked like a puff of wind might blow her away.
Short and slim, she was wearing spandex bike pants and a sports bra that emphasized her tiny dimensions. She had golden curls pulled from a heart-shaped face and big, blue eyes. She might have looked like a china doll if not for the frigid hate that was etched on her delicate face.
Oh, and the big-ass fangs that glistened in the moonlight.
Of the two, Sally was much more terrified of the female.
“It’s him,” the woman said, her feral gaze trained on Sally. “What have you done to our chief, witch?”
“Nothing.” Sally swallowed the lump in her throat. “I mean—”
“Check the area,” the female interrupted, speaking to her companion. “I smell fey.”
The male instantly obeyed the command, proving Sally’s instincts had been right. The female was the more dangerous.
Which meant, Sally had to convince her that they didn’t have time to screw around with the usual preliminaries.
“You must listen to me,” she said in urgent tones. “Roke has been poisoned.”
“Poisoned?” The vampire frowned. “With what?”
“I don’t know. We were attacked by a demon and he shot him with a dart.” Sally bit off her words, realizing she was babbling. “That’s why I brought him here.”
The icy blue eyes narrowed. “He dies, you die. Got it?”
Sally clenched her teeth. This was going about as well as she’d expected.
“Just help him.”
There was a chilled breeze as the male vampire returned. “There’s no one else in the vicinity.”
The female nodded her head toward Roke. “Take Roke to his lair and call for the healer. Tell her that he might be poisoned.” The blue eyes narrowed as they remained locked on Sally. “Or it might be a spell.”
The male moved obediently forward, scooping Roke off the ground with a gentle care that eased a small part of Sally’s thundering terror.
Whatever their fury with her, it clearly wasn’t directed at their chief.
“What about the witch?” the male asked as Sally scrambled to her feet, trying to put some distance between them.
The female strolled forward, her lips twisted with disgust. “Unfortunately, we have to keep her alive until we know if she’s put a spell on Roke. If she did, she’s the only one who can break it.”
“A pity,” the male muttered.
The female shrugged. “Until then, I get to do something I’ve waited weeks to do.”
Sally parted her lips to assure them that all she wanted to do was help Roke when the female lifted her hand and with a casual motion slapped Sally with enough force to make the world go black.
Styx watched Siljar as she leaned over the dead fairy, her black, almond-shaped eyes unblinking and her hands folded at her waist.
She’d been in that precise pose for the past ten minutes while Styx impatiently paced the stone floor and Viper kept watch at the mouth of the tunnel.
He still wasn’t sure if he’d made the right decision to bring Siljar into the investigation. Sure, she’d been the one to start the ball rolling. But he couldn’t deny there were questions of whether she might actually be involved.
It’d only been after he and Viper had discussed every angle of the investigation that he realized they’d come to a dead end.
What choice did he have but to ask the powerful Oracle for help?
At last the tiny demon straightened, her braid nearly brushing the floor.
“His magic has been drained,” she pronounced.
“And that killed him?”
“Yes.”
Styx frowned. That seemed . . . hideous.
“How?”
“There are demons who feed off magic, but it’s a rare talent,” Siljar explained.
“Good. That narrows down the field of suspects.”
Siljar arched a brow. “Law & Order or NCIS?”
Styx shrugged, refusing to be embarrassed. “Law & Order. Darcy is an addict.”
“How very odd.”
Maybe it was a little odd for a centuries-old vampire to snuggle on the couch with his mate and watch Law & Order, but he didn’t give a shit.
If it made Darcy smile he was fully on board.
“Are there any Oracles who suck magic from their victims?” he asked.
Siljar stilled, her black gaze studying him with unnerving intensity. “You instantly assumed it was an Oracle. Why?”
Styx grimaced. Sometimes he forgot just how perceptive the tiny demon truly was.
A serious mistake.
“I have my Ravens spread through the area.”
She appeared unconcerned by his reluctant confession. “I expected as much.”
“Only three people entered the caves before we found the corpse. Viper, myself, and the fairy.” He glanced toward the fairy who was rapidly disintegrating. Another hour and he would be nothing more than pixie dust. Literally. “Whoever killed him was already here. Unless they have your ability to travel.”
“Not without alerting me,” Siljar said without hesitation. “No one beyond me and my daughter, Yannah, traveled out of these caves for the past week.”
Styx nodded. It’s what he expected, considering the effort the demon had expended to try to do his disappearing act in the middle of the woods.
“But there are Oracles who share your talent?” he pressed.
Siljar tilted her head to the side. “Why do I suspect that is more than a casual question?”
“One of my Ravens spotted a cloaked figure leaving the caves and disappearing a few miles away.”
“The figure disappeared, it didn’t just disguise its presence?”
Styx folded his arms over his chest, offended by the question. “No disguise could fool my Raven.”
Indifferent to Styx’s icy tone, Siljar tapped a finger against her chin.
“Are your Ravens still out there?”