Chapter 15

Valen swiftly gathered his composure and took command of the situation. This wasn't a random act of violence. Someone was either sending a message to Kane or, more likely, Igor had outlived his usefulness and was disposed of before he could reveal his ma ster's secrets.

"You search the body. I'm going to look for a trail," he commanded Gabriel. "We need to know who did this and where they are now."

Not waiting for his friend's nod of agreement, Valen zigzagged his way through the auditorium before heading through the outer lobby and up to the mezzanine. There were layers of scents to follow, but none of them fresh enough to be the killer.

He was studying the busted window when he felt Gabriel cautiously climbing the broken stai rs to join him.

"Anything?"

Gabriel shrugged. "He's been dead less than an hour. I couldn't see any defensive marks, which makes me think he knew his attacker." He paused as if considering a new thought. "Or he triggered a ve ry nasty trap."

"I'm going with the knowing-his-attacker theor y," Valen said.

"Me too."

"Any indication who that might be?"

"Vampire."

Valen clenched his hands. He didn't have to ask if Gabriel was certain it was a brother. He wouldn't have made the claim if he wasn't one hundre d percent sure.

"Who?"

"They were careful not to leav e their scent."

"A rare talent," Valen muttered in frustration. He'd heard of vampires who had the ability to disguise their presence, but it was the sort of talent that they were careful to keep a secret. Who knew when it might come in handy?

"Did you have any luck?" Gabriel asked, his gaze sweeping over the broken window.

"Maya and Skye were here," Valen told him.

"I n the theater?"

"Here." He pointed toward the scorch marks in the carpet. Signs that a powerful potion had been activated. "They were attacked by demons coming from t hat direction."

Gabriel glanced back at the shattered stairs. They looked as if they'd been hit with a grenade.

"Impressive."

"Peri isn't the only dangerous mage in my territory ," he conceded.

Gabriel turned back, studying the mezzanine that had obviously been shabby and coated in dirt before the battle started.

"What were th ey doing here?"

"I'm not sure, but Igor attacked them from the balcony. I'm guessing they escaped by jumping out of the window."

"What does this tell us?" Gabriel sounded like a professor prodding his student to think thr ough a problem.

Probably because the older male had once been a mentor at the sanctuary for newly resurr ected vampires.

Valen forced himself to shuffle through the few facts they'd managed to discover. It di dn't take long.

"Maya and Skye came to the theater, I assume willingly since they didn't lodge a complaint with me or Peri about being kidnapped and forced to the city. They were attacked by unknown demons, including Kane' s pet servant."

Gabriel continued the review of the facts. "Next, Skye Claremont attends your reception for the Cabal leaders and speaks privately with Micha before leaving the building, only to return hours later with two fairies to kidnap Micha."

Valen frowned as he realized that their story was taking them in a circle. "Then Maya traces the disguise amulets worn by the fairies to a demon named Hexx who led her back to this theater. This place must have some significance."

"Agreed." Gabriel grimaced. "But we don't know what significance, and we still don't know who is behind the plot or why they t argeted Micha."

Valen abruptly reached out to grasp his friend's arm. "S omeone's here."

"Goblin," Gabriel muttered, heading toward the edge of the balcony.

Valen joined him and they peered down at the bald male with broad shoulders and bulging muscles. He was wearing a gray hoodie and jeans and was surrounded by a red glow that marked him as a demon. A grim smile curved Valen's lips as he recog nized the male.

Gunther.

In silence they watched the goblin study the body hanging from the chandelier before he turned his attention to the head plante d on the stage.

"What the hell?" Gunther muttered, stumbling back even as Valen and Gabriel vaulted over the brass railing of the balcony to land lightly in th e middle aisle.

"My exact question," Valen drawled.

With a warning snarl, Gunther spun around, a gun clutched in his hand. At the sight of Valen and Gabriel his eyes w idened in fear.

"Your Excellency." Dropping to his knees, Gunther tossed away the weapon and bent his head.

"Gunther." Valen stepped forward, sensing Gabriel moving toward the side door to make sure the demon was alone. "Get to your feet," he commanded, waiting for the male to struggle to surge upright, his head still lowered. "What are y ou doing here?"

"This is the headquarters for my horde." He struggled to swallow, as if he had a lump in his throat. "I have sq uatter rights."

Valen ignored the claim, pointing toward the body hanging above their heads. "Are you respons ible for this?"

"No way." Gunther gave an emphatic shake of his head. "I couldn't do that even i f I wanted to."

He had a point. Gunther was a local bully, but his power was at the low end for demons. In a head-to-head battle, Igor Triton would have ripped him to shreds without br eaking a sweat.

This time, Valen pointed at the head on the stage. "Do you recognize him?"

Gunther paused. Was he debating if he could get a lie past Valen? At last deciding it wasn't worth the risk, he offered a grudging nod.

"He calls himself Igor, but I don't know if that's his real name," Gunther said. "He came to New Yo rk last month."

Last month? Shock jolted through Valen. Kane's most trusted servant had been creeping around his city for a month? Why the hell hadn't he known? The question burned through his brain, but he already knew the answer. His attention had been consumed with Peri an d their mating.

Nothing els e had mattered.

Now his distraction was coming back to bite him on the ass.

Valen was careful to keep his expression unreadable as he glared at the nervous demon.

"How do you know him?"

"He started showing up at the clubs around the city flashing lots of money and promising to share it with anyone willing to work for him."

"Doing what?"

"I think he had different jobs for everyone. When he found out I had one of the biggest hordes in the city he hired us to..." The words faltered as Gunther shifted from foot to foot, the scent of his sweat ta inting the air.

"To what?"

"A few odds and ends," he muttered, the old-fashioned phrase exposing his age. Demons weren't immortal, but their lives were counted in centuries, not years. When they were nervous or upset they allowed past clichés, or even long-forgotten words, to slip into th e conversation.

Valen narrowed his gaze. "‘Odds and ends' is a little vague."

Gunther licked his lips. "You know. We ran some errands and introduced him around the neighborhood."

With a blur, Valen's arm snapped out and he had his fingers wrapped around the male's thick neck. He squeezed just hard enough to make Gunther's eyeballs b ulge in terror.

"Listen very carefully," he commanded, his voice a mere whisper. "I claimed this Gyre centuries after I'd matured and learned to control my emotions. Before then I was known as a butcher. A leader who was always willing to kill first and ask questions later." It wasn't an exaggeration. There'd been vicious stretches of history when his name had inflicted terror among the demons. "Don't ever mistake my desire for peace for weakness."

"Please." The word came out as a pained grunt. "Wha t do you want?"

"The truth. What did the demon pay you to do?"

" Cause trouble."

Valen peeled back his lips to reveal the lethal length of his fangs. "You're pissing me off, Gunther. Tell me what he paid you t o do. Exactly."

"Okay." More lip licking. "He hired us to tear shit up."

Valen loosened his grip on the male's throat. That wasn't what he'd been ex pecting. "Why?"

"We'd trash houses or set buildings on fire and then tell people that we'd seen your mate losing control of her magic. St uff like that."

Valen should have laughed. It was inconceivable that anyone would believe such bullshit. But he didn't laugh. Because at least a few of his people had believed. At least enough to cause a low hum of prejudic e against Peri.

"There had to be more," he said in cold tones, knowing that Kane wouldn't have snuck his servant into New York City just to set a few fires and spread gossip.

Gunther hunched his shoulders, as if preparing for a blow. "I hired a witch who looks sort of like your mate and filmed her in the park pretending to drink demon blood and sacrifice babies. Then I put it out on social media saying I'd witnessed her trying to use her evil magic to take over the Gyre."

Valen hissed as he suddenly understood the animosity that had been bre wing for weeks.

Ice coated the nearby seats as he struggled to retain control of his temper. "You were behi nd the rumors."

"Igor wanted people afraid of your mate."

"Wh y?" he growled.

Gabriel returned to the auditorium, obviously satisfied there were no hidden dangers.

"So that Kane could claim Peri is a threat to the Cabal and that you should be replaced," Gabriel said, revealing he'd been listening to the conversation. "Pref erably by him."

"Shit." Valen clenched his hands, infuriated by the nights he'd chased one empty threat after another while Kane played him like a puppet on his strings. It was embarrassing. "Why didn't I suspect from the start that I was being sabotaged? The destruction was too organized to be random."

"Because you feared that your people wouldn't accept Peri as your mate." Gabriel offered his blunt opinion. "Especially when they discovered her ability to tap into ancient magic."

Valen flinched. Gabriel was right, of course. There'd been a part of him that had been prepared for the local demons to protest against Peri. Not only because they had vied for centuries to lure him into choosing a mate from one of the royal families, but demons didn't trust mages. Especially one who had the power to destro y a skyscraper.

"Kane's greatest skill has always been to divide and conquer," he snarled, recalling the male's scheming during his short time in St. Petersburg.

With an effort, Valen shoved away his seething emotions. Later he could wallow all he wanted in shame and self-reproach. Nothing mattered now but discovering why Micha had been kidnapped. And more importantly, his cu rrent location.

And if the answers led to Kane being banished or even forced to walk into the sunlight, so m uch the better.

Reaching into his pocket, Valen pulled out his phone and scrolled to the picture of Lynx he'd copied and enlarged from the security tape.

"Tell me about this male." He turned the phone so Gunther could see the screen.

The demon started to shake his head, only to hesitate. "Wait. I think I've seen him ar ound the city."

"Wh at's his name?"

"I don't know. Just a fairy h anging around—"

The words were cut short as Valen once again grabbed the male by the throat and squeezed. He very much wanted to keep squeezing. This male had deliberately provoked hostility toward Peri. A hostility that had wounded her feelings and put her life at risk. Worse, it would take years to reve rse the damage.

But as much as he wanted the pleasure of crushing the male's throat, he needed information. Later he would enj oy his revenge.

"Think very carefully about your next answer," he warned. "The fairy attacked a member of the Cabal. Tell me what you k now about him."

"Nothing. I swear." The demon struggled to breathe, the stench of his fear polluting the air. Any violence directed toward a vampire was a death sentence for demons. A slow, painful death sentence. "I saw him a few times in the local demon clubs but I never spoke to him."

"Someone was helping him, " Valen hissed.

"Not me."

"How many of your horde wo rk at my lair?"

Gunther stared at him in confusion, as if he didn't understand the s imple question.

"Work at your lair?" he repeated, his lashes lowering over his bloodshot eyes. "None of them. We're just street thugs. We sell some dope and occasionally shake down the local businesses for offering them protection." He squeaked as Valen's fingers tightened. "Shit, I'm being honest." The demon turned his head enough to glare toward the head on the stage. "I was out of my fucking mind to let that bastard convince me to cause trouble. I might not be a devoted citizen, but I'm not an idiot. I would never have attacked the Cabal. And I don't know nothing ab out the fairy."

Frustration crashed through Valen. Gunther was telling the truth. Or at least the truth as far as he knew it.

"Other members of your horde might not have been so reluctant to make money on the side," Valen suggested, more out of desperation tha n genuine hope.

"That's tr ue, I suppose."

The demon looked doubtful. Valen didn't blame him. He carefully interrogated the staff who were allowed access to his lair, no matter what their job title. It seemed doubtful that a street thug had managed to sneak their way past his layers of security. But someone had given Lynx the key to the private guest rooms, he grimly re minded himself.

"I want them gathered in my office within the hour," he commanded. It was past time that he interviewed everyone i n the building.

Gunther's mouth opened and closed, like a fish out of water. "I can't," he finally forced hi mself to admit.

Valen hissed, lifting the demon off his feet until they were nose to nose. "You're playing a d angerous game."

Gunther wheezed in desperation, his square face turning a weird shade of puce. "It's no game," he rasped. "I haven't been able to contac t any of them."

"Since when?"

"I..." Gunther's eyes started to roll back in his head, and with an impatient click of his tongue, Valen released his grip and allowed him to drop awkwardly to the ground.

"When was the last time you met with your horde?" Valen repeated his question as Gunther massaged his thick neck.

"We were all at the theater a couple days ago," he said, hi s voice hoarse.

"Why?"

"Igor demanded we meet with him. I thought we were going to get paid but he said he had more jobs for us to do. None of us were happy about that. You can't spend promises, and my bitch was startin g to complain—"

"Get to the point," Valen sharp ly interrupted.

"Yeah, okay." Gunther coughed, his hand still rubbing his bruised neck. "Igor had only been here a few minutes when we realized there were a couple of mages hiding in the balcony. I don't know if they were pissed about us causing trouble for your mate, but they took out three of my crew and the rest of us scattered." He glanced around the empty auditorium as if hoping they might suddenly appear. "I've been trying to get in contact with them ever since then, but...nada. It's like they just vanished."

Gabriel took a step forward, sending Valen a worried glance. "Or someone mad e them vanish."

Valen nodded, equally worried. The list of questions kept growing. The list of answers did not. It was enough to infuriate the most p atient vampire.

"So why are you here?" Valen snapped.

"I've been coming back here every few hours, hoping one of them might be hanging around," Gunther explained, his voice edged with genuine loss. He might be a criminal, but the horde was obviously the only friends and family he had. "Or at least someone might have left a message telling me where they're hiding." His gaze returned to the rotting head. "The last thing I expected was a mutilated demon an d two leeches."

"Is it unusual for them to disappear?"

Gunther spread his hands, his expression baffled. "One or even two of them might go off the radar for a few nights. But they're usually holed up with some bitch or sleeping off a bender. The whole crew doesn't fall off the face of the earth."

"Someone's getting rid of the witnesses," Gabriel said, pointing out an obvious explanation for the missing demons.

"Kane," Valen growled.

Gabriel nodded. "He either got spooked and is cleaning up his mess, or he's confident his plot has succeeded and is preparing to challenge you for the Gyre."

The words sent a blast of fear through Valen. He still didn't know why Kane would kill his most loyal servant or what he'd done to Micha, but the thought that he was clearing the way to take over the Gyre was enough to have him rushing t oward the door.

"I have to get back to Peri." Reaching out, he grabbed Gunther by the arm as he passed by. "Let's go."

Gunther tried to dig in his heels as he was roughly dragged down the hall.

"Actually, I need to get back to my bitch." He yelped as Valen tightened his grip until the demon's arm threatened to break. Abruptly he stopped trying to get free and instead scurried to keep up with Valen's long strides. "Yeah, sur e. No problem."

In silence they made their way back to Gabriel's waiting vehicle. Then, squashing the nervous Gunther between him and Gabriel in the back seat, Valen motioned for the driver to return th em to the lair.

The cresting dawn pressed heavily against Valen, warning him how close he'd come to losing track of time. Something that hadn't happened since...never. An indication of just how distracted he was by Kane' s lethal games.

Thankfully, Gabriel's vehicle was custom designed and the tinted windows kept out the rosy glow spreading over the horizon. And of course, the towering buildings kept the sidewalks shadowed as they reached his lair and they climbed out and hurried through t he glass doors.

It was still early enough that Valen expected the lobby to be empty. The offices didn't open for another hour, and beyond the on-duty guards, there was no reason for anyone to be there. Instead, he walked in to discover a crowd gathered in the cente r of the floor.

On one side were three of his guards half circled around a familiar woman, and on the other side were four of Kane's servants, visibly bristling as their red auras pulsed with the thre at of violence.

"Peri," he rasped, the earth shaking and the massive glass windows threatening to shatter as he took in the sight of the largest demon grabbing his mate's arm.

"Valen!" She tried to step forward, only to be halted as the demon tigh tened his grip.

Valen's fury continued to vibrate through the lobby despite the fact Peri was clearly more annoyed than terrified. Typical of his mate. She had no c oncept of fear.

"Release her, " he commanded.

The demons turned to face him, his own staff appearing relieved to avoid an unpleasant confrontation with no clear idea of whether they were allowed to kick the asses of the visiting demons. Even Kane's men appeared uneasy. As if equally unsure what the rules of e ngagement were.

Jerking out of the distracted demon's grasp, Peri rushed toward him, throwing herself against his body and wrapping her arms ar ound his waist.

"Thank God. I was so worried. I woke up and I couldn't find you and those..." She turned her head to glare back at the guards, who paled as she released a spell that created tiny flames spinning through the air. "Those jerks refused to let me leave the building."

The demons stumbled back and Valen hid his smile as the nearest demon lifted his hand to bat away the swirling flames, sweat dripping down h is square face.

"We were told to keep her in the building," the male protested, continuing to fight the flames until Peri grudgingly extinguished her spell. "Even the ambassador said no one was to leave."

Valen glanced toward the tallest of his guards. Mercado had been with him since he'd first taken control of this Gyre and was one of his most tr usted servants.

"Take them to the dungeons," Valen ordered, shoving the silent Gunther forward. "Inclu ding this one."

A smile of anticipation curved Mercado's lips even as Kane's demons exchanged hor rified glances.

"What the hell?" the seeming leader of Kane's crew sputtered. "You can't do that. My m aster told us—"

Mercado stepped forward and smashed his fist into the back of the male's head. The male grunted before flopping to the floor like a bag of wet cement. "Thank you," Valen muttered.

Mercado's smile widened, revealing that Valen hadn't been the only one infuriated by the arrogance of Kane's servants who'd strutted around the place like they al ready owned it.

"My pleasure," he assured Valen.

Not bothering to wait for his staff to gather the prisoners and haul them down to the cells built far beneath the building, Valen headed toward the elevators.

"What's going on?" Peri demanded, easily keeping pace. "Do you know where Skye is?"

"I'm hoping to find out," he promised, gripping her shoulders as the steel doors whisked open. "Wait for me in the penthouse."

"A bsolutely not."

"Peri, this is C abal business."

His soft tone did nothing to persuade her to obey his re quest. Shocker.

"We're in this together." She planted her fists on her hips, glaring at him. "Besides, it's not just Cabal business. Skye is a mage. And more importantly, sh e's my sister."

"This could get ugly," he insisted. "I intend to get answers from Kane no matter what I have to do."

"I hope it does get ugly. I have several curses loaded and ready to go." Her face was grim as she held up her arm to reveal the jade bracelet that glowed from the magic pulsing in the green depths. "If you can't beat the answers out of him, then I'll make him wish he had never bee n resurrected."

Pride swelled in Valen as he gazed down at the woman who'd stolen his unbeating heart. She would move heaven and earth for the pe ople she loved.

"Fine." He conceded to the inevitable. "But don't kill anyone until I get some answers."

She clicked her tongue, stepping into the elevator. "I'm not making any promises."

"You have an interesting life, Valen," Gabriel murmured as he stepped past Valen to enter the lift.

"You have no idea," Valen agreed, joining them before he pulled out his keycard to send the elevator dropping to t he lower floor.

Once they reached the guest floor, he stepped out and glanced toward his companion.

Valen possessed a skill in tracking both demons and vampires, but Gabriel was able to sense their presence even when they w ere miles away.

"Is Kane here?" he asked the older vampire.

"No."

"Can you fol low his trail?"

Gabriel tilted back his head, as if testing the air for various scents. "There's nothing," he at last announced. "It's like someone scrubbed away any hint of his presence."

Valen snapped his fangs together. Okay, it'd been a lot to hope that Kane would return to the lair and hang around long enough to be tortured into revealing his devious plans. Or better yet, left an easy-to-follow trail to where he'd stashed Micha and Skye.

Still, he could have left behind something to help them figure out what the hel l was going on.

"The ambassador?" he forced himself to ask.

Gabriel shrugg ed. "Not here."

With a frown, Valen headed to the double doors that led to the ambassador's suite. He'd deliberately given the male the best rooms in the hope that Sinjon would appreciate the gesture and give Peri the benefi t of the doubt.

Laying his hand against the smooth wood, he gently pushed on the door, grimacing when it easily slid open. He didn't need Gabriel's skills to sense that the suite was empty, so it was no surprise when he walked through the elegant living room and into the bedroom not to discover Azra waiting for him. What was a surprise was the fact that there was no indication the male had bee n there at all.

The bed was neatly made, the closets were empty, and the leather suitcases gone. There wasn't a trace that he'd ever been there. Not even a stray scent.

"Where did he go?" Valen muttered.

Gabriel stood at his side, his expression troubled. "I don't know, but it's not good."

"We need to look at the security footage." Valen turned and headed back thr ough the suite.

He was near the door when he was brought to a sharp halt as Gabriel grabbe d his shoulder.

"Wait," he commanded, nodding toward the intercom system that had been ripped out of the wall, the cords charred as if they'd been set on fire. "I don't think it's going to help."

Valen clenched his h ands. "Dammit."