“These are simple questions,” she assured him.

  He scowled. “About what?”

  “About the passengers you drove to Valen Corporate Headquarters this afternoon.”

  A shimmer of crimson rippled over the muddy brown eyes. Her question had struck fear in the male.

  “I don’t talk about my customers. It’s bad for business. And worse for my health.”

  Maya leaned forward. “It will be our secret.”

  “Look, I don’t know who you are, but...but...” The words faltered as the potion flowed through him. Maya hadn’t bothered with a truth serum. The demons who’d hired him had been bold enough to stroll into Valen’s lair in broad daylight. They were either suicidal, or more likely well organized. It was possible they’d given their servants a potion that would erase their memories if someone tried to force the truth out of them. Instead, she’d slipped him a love potion. It was short-term, but for the next few minutes he was going to worship her. “Who are you?” he breathed.

  “My name’s not important.”

  His jaws bulged, as if he was instinctively battling against the compulsion. “I should go.”

  “Stay.” Maya reached out to touch his beefy fingers that still gripped the mug. “I insist.”

  There was a low grunt, his broad face flushing as the potion finally took full effect. Then, leaning back, his resistance visibly melted.

  “Okay.”

  “Look at me,” she commanded.

  His gaze latched onto her face. “You’re so beautiful,” he breathed.

  “Do you think so?”

  “The most beautiful woman in the world.”

  “And you want to make me happy?”

  “More than anything,” he rasped. “Tell me what you want.”

  Maya smiled, trailing her fingers over the wood of the table as she whispered a spell. The air tingled and the sound of the increasingly noisy bar faded to a dull thud. She didn’t want anyone trying to overhear their conversation.

  “Tell me the names of your passengers from this afternoon.”

  “I didn’t get any names,” he said, his expression drooping as if he was disappointed he couldn’t give her what she wanted.

  Maya kept her smile intact. She’d already suspected that the demons weren’t going to make it easy to track them down. That only made her more determined.

  “Are they friends of yours?”

  “Naw. I never seen them before. Not until I picked them up.”

  “How did they contact you?”

  Long Jong hunched a shoulder. “A dude came into the bar a couple of weeks ago and mentioned he had some friends visiting the city and they were looking for volunteers.”

  “Volunteers for what?”

  “He didn’t give details, but he promised that anyone chosen would be cashing in big.” The demon took another drink of the grog. “I gave my number but I didn’t hear nothing. I forgot all about him until this morning when I got a text with an address and the order to be there at one this afternoon to drive his friends into the city.”

  “Pick them up from where?”

  “A place in Jersey.” Long Jong pursed his lips, trying to dredge up something from his memories. “The moon something or other. No wait. Or Lunar...”

  “The Lunar Pathway?” Maya suggested, her heart missing a beat as she abruptly understood how Skye could be forced to do something against her will.

  The demon snapped his fingers. “That’s the place.”

  Maya licked her lips that were suddenly dry. “Tell me what happened when you got there.”

  “Nothing. I pulled into the parking lot and waited ten minutes or so. Then they came out and got in the back seat.”

  “Who came out?”

  “A couple of fairies and a woman.”

  It matched what she’d seen on the security video. An indication that Long Jong was telling the truth. Still, Maya wanted to make certain that she didn’t leap to conclusions.

  Not when Skye’s life might very well depend on her ability to discover what the hell was going on.

  “Describe her.”

  “Blond hair.” The male paused, as if painting a mental picture. “Nice tits. Tasty ass.”

  Maya rolled her eyes. The male barely rated on the demon scale. His teeth were rotting and he was in dire need of a bath. He should at least try to develop a decent personality. Instead he was just...gross.

  “There wasn’t an older woman with them?” she asked. “A human?”

  “Nope. Just the fairies and the pretty chick.”

  Maya took a moment to visualize what had happened. Somehow the fairies had connected Skye to Madame Clarissa and used the fortune teller to force her to do what they wanted. Maya didn’t think the older woman was involved, at least beyond being a pawn. When Skye had first taken the human under her wing, Maya had done a thorough investigation of Madame Clarissa and her magic shop. No one was allowed to be a part of her friends’ lives until they’d been given the Maya seal of approval.

  Well, not until Valen had stolen Peri away.

  Maya shook away the aggravating memory. This was about Skye and how quickly she could find her.

  “You drove them straight to Valen’s office building?”

  “Yep. I pulled in front of the building and they got out. I took off and came back here and waited to get paid.” He glanced toward the phone, his expression petulant. “I’m still waiting.”

  “Did you notice anything special about them?”

  “Just the smell.”

  Maya arched her brows. This male was complaining about someone else’s stench? That was ballsy.

  “What about the smell?”

  “The one who acted like the leader smelled like a fairy, but there was something more.”

  “Human?”

  “No. Something...” He shuddered. “Scary. I was glad when he got out of the car.”

  Interesting. Maya didn’t know what had frightened Long Jong, but she tucked the information into the back of her mind.

  “Anything else?”

  “Not that I can remember.”

  Maya stroked her fingers over his arm, the potion was beginning to wear off. She had only seconds left.

  “You’re absolutely certain?” she pressed. “They didn’t say where they were going? Or why they were at Valen’s lair?”

  He started to shake his head, only to hesitate. “Wait. I gave them the bag that I picked up from the weird dude.”

  Maya clenched her teeth. She wanted to shake the idiot until the truth spilled out of him. Instead she forced a smile.

  “What sort of bag?”

  He scratched the end of his nose. “After I agreed to do the pickup, I got another text telling me to stop by and pick up an item before heading to Jersey. It was a few blocks out of my way, but they promised it would pay extra, so I made the stop.”

  “What was in the bag?”

  “Do you think I’m stupid?” Long Jong wisely didn’t give her the opportunity to respond. “I didn’t ask and I didn’t peek. Nothing good comes out of poking your nose into demon business.”

  “Where did you pick it up?”

  “The pawnshop two blocks north of here. A demon with long hair and a tattoo on his face was waiting by the curb.” His shoulders drooped as he widened his mouth in a loud yawn. “I’m tired.”

  She patted his arm. That was all she was getting from Long Jong. At least for tonight.

  “Rest and forget. This is all a dream,” she murmured, waiting for him to lean forward and lay his head on the table.

  In an hour he would wake up with no memory that they’d ever spoken.

  Breaking the bubble of silence around the booth, Maya slid out and headed for the door.

  The night was still young.

  Chapter 10

  A thick silence spread through the cavern as Lynx strolled away, presumably preparing for the next stage in his plan for demon domination. A shiver inched down Skye’s spine as Micha stood next to her, watching the male disappear, an eerie stillness settling over him.

  This was a vampire in his natural state.

  She could see Micha. She could reach out and touch him. But she couldn’t sense him. It was as if he’d retreated to a place she couldn’t follow.

  Icy, remote, impregnable.

  Why that bothered her was a question she probably didn’t want to answer.

  Time for a distraction. Moving a step closer to Micha, she studied the piece of metal that circled his throat. Micha hadn’t mentioned the collar, but it was obviously a deterrent of some kind that Lynx had placed on him. A means to control a vampire who could rip apart the fairy with terrifying ease.

  “I’m not sure if my magic can open the lock on your collar, but I can try,” she murmured softly.

  “No.” Micha took a sharp step back, his expression impossible to read.

  “You don’t trust me.” Skye flinched, hurt by his rejection. Of course, she couldn’t deny that he had reason, she silently reminded herself. “Fine. Tell me about the Tempest and why Lynx would go to so much trouble to get his hands on it.”

  The silence stretched, and Skye accepted he wasn’t going to answer. Then he slowly turned to face her.

  “The demons have an ancient story that they hand down from one generation to another.” He shrugged. “There’s a few different versions, but at the heart of each one is a blade that can supposedly tap into the power of the Gyre.”

  “Don’t demons already do that?” Skye asked, genuinely confused. “I thought that was why they swore allegiance with the Cabal. To live in the vampires’ territory.”

  “The magic of the Gyre allows them to touch the power of their ancestors, but its limited. They’re no longer the giant goblins who bash their way through the world, or the elusive fey who can enchant creatures with a brush of their fingers.”

  He spoke of times long forgotten by most species. Before humans had crawled out of their caves and mages had ignited the wild magic.

  “Does the sword give them back their powers?”

  He shrugged. “From what I could discover, the sword was supposedly forged in the flames of a dragon to preserve the original demon magic in its purest form. It doesn’t give them back their primitive powers, but the demons believe it can end the life of a vampire.”

  Skye remained confused. “There are other weapons to kill a vampire.”

  “This one doesn’t just destroy our host but the spirit that lives inside us,” he insisted. “The ultimate death.”

  “Seriously?” Skye had never heard of anything that could prevent a vampire from resurrecting. Not even magic. “A dangerous weapon. No wonder you keep it locked away.”

  His expression remained aloof, but something flickered in the stunning golden eyes.

  “I’m not worried about the sword being stolen. It’s been stuck in the rock for thousands and thousands of years despite the hordes of desperate demons trying to pull it out,” he informed her.

  Ah. He was annoyed. Interesting.

  “So why do you protect it?”

  He shrugged. “I have no way of knowing if the blade works or not, but the hex is very real. I wasn’t exaggerating when I said that the ground was littered with the bodies of demons who were lured to the sword by tales of glory. Not even my own staff was immune. The only way to halt the carnage was to create a protective barrier to keep out trespassers.”

  Skye tried to imagine a hex that was not only powerful enough to kill hundreds of demons but capable of lasting for so many years. Honestly, the mere thought boggled her mind. She’d never heard of any spell with that sort of potency. Not unless it was being replenished by something. Or someone.

  “Who hexed it?” she probed.

  “The story I read said it was a mage named Zara. It was claimed that thousands of years ago she was in love with a powerful demon who used the sword to unite the clans. Her lover managed to destroy several vampires before he was betrayed by one of his top warriors and literally stabbed in the back with a cursed dagger. As he lay dying, Zara used her powers to bind the sword to the stone so no other demon could use it. Then, romantically, she joined him in death.”

  Skye wrinkled her nose. “That doesn’t sound very romantic.”

  His brows arched, as if she’d managed to surprise him. “Agreed,” he finally said.

  Feeling oddly vulnerable as his searching gaze swept over her face and down her wrinkled, dust-coated dress, Skye turned to pace across the cell. She’d never cared about her appearance. She had, after all, spent a large chunk of her life enslaved by the demons. And now, she just wanted to be comfortable. It was strange to accept that she didn’t want Micha to see her looking like she’d been wrestling with a rabid bear.

  Weird and annoying. She had more important things on her mind.

  Like the flames from her vision that were threatening to destroy the world.

  Yep. That was more important than a lot of stuff.

  Reluctantly Skye forced herself to recall as much of the vision as she could. Had there been a sword? Or an object that might represent a weapon? Yes. There had been something... Not a physical sword, but a core of power at the center of the fire.

  It was possible the mysterious Tempest was involved.

  She whirled around, discovering that Micha was still watching her with that unwavering intensity.

  “There’s something different about Lynx,” she warned, needing him to understand that the fairy was more than just another overly ambitious demon on a suicide mission.

  “He’s an arrogant ass.” Micha pointed out the obvious.

  “That’s every demon.” She deliberately paused. “And vampire.”

  His lips twitched, then pressed together. “What’s different?”

  “His aura.”

  “Because he has royal blood?”

  “It’s more than that. I can see silver streaked with the green.”

  “Silver?”

  “Like lightning.” Skye lifted her hands. She didn’t have the words to explain the jagged shards that flared through Lynx’s aura.

  “Why can’t I see it?”

  Micha sounded more curious than disbelieving and Skye felt a knot in the center of her belly loosen. The glorious male might not fully trust her, and he most certainly would never forgive her, but he was willing to listen. That was better than she expected.

  “I think it has something to do with my gift.”

  “Like a premonition?”

  She shook her head. “It’s more a sense that he’s hiding something beneath the surface. I don’t think anyone has seen the true Lynx. Not even his companions.”

  He considered her words. “I’ve never heard anyone mention silver in an aura.”

  “Me either.” She grimaced. “But it’s there.”

  “Anything else?”

  She started to shake her head, only to hesitate. “Yes, there’s something weirdly familiar about Lynx,” she admitted. “I keep thinking he must be related to one of the demons who held me captive, but I can’t place the face.”

  Micha’s lips parted, but before he could continue his questioning, the sound of returning footsteps cut through the air. A moment later, Lynx reappeared, along with Yugan. Both fairies had changed into casual jeans and long-sleeved T-shirts. Yugan had also added an assault rifle to his ensemble.

  “Ready or not, it’s time to go,” the fairy drawled, motioning toward Yugan to unlock the door to the cell.

  Without warning, Micha moved to stand in front of her. “The seer stays.”

  She stepped to the side in time to see Lynx shrug. “Fine with me. I’ll have her released once I get my hands on the sword.”

  Skye scowled in annoyance. First off, she didn’t believe a word that came out of Lynx’s lying mouth. There was no way he was releasing her. Not unless she was a corpse. Second, she didn’t need a vampire to decide if she was staying or going.

  Even if he was yummy.

  “I’m coming with you,” she announced, the words bouncing off the distant walls of the cavern. It might have come out a little more emphatic than she’d intended.

  “No.” Micha and Lynx said the word at the same time.

  She rolled her eyes. The two males couldn’t be more opposite, but in some ways they were painfully identical.

  Stubborn. Arrogant. And convinced they were always right.

  She had no choice but to share a portion of her fears.

  “I come with you or the world burns.”

  She’d softened her voice, but the words still managed to echo through the cavern. As if she’d struck a gong of doom.

  Micha whirled to face her, his aloof composure replaced with concern. “Is that a guess or a warning?”

  “A promise.”

  Lynx clicked his tongue, a mocking smile curving his lips. He was pretending that her warning didn’t trouble him, but he couldn’t disguise the silver that was suddenly flaring through his aura.

  “Come or don’t come. It doesn’t matter to me.” He motioned toward his servant to lead them out of the cell. Waiting until Skye was walking past him, Lynx leaned toward her. “If you do anything to interfere with my plans, I’ll kill you,” he murmured, reaching out to stroke a finger down her cheek. “Which would be a shame. I plan on spending some time together once I have what I need.”

  Skye ignored the sudden drop of temperature as Micha growled a low warning. She could take care of this obnoxious fairy.

  “There’s no we.” She knocked his hand away. “Not ever.”

  His smile widened. “A seer can’t predict her own future. I might surprise you.”

  “I don’t need my magic to know how I’ll feel about you in the future.”

  “Mm.” He sucked in a deep breath, as if savoring her scent. “Spunky.”

  Skye shivered. Not from fear. The air had gone from frigid to painfully cold and there was a prickle of violence that warned Micha was on his last nerve. She didn’t know why Lynx was deliberately provoking the vampire.