Levet Read online

  At the time, he’d thought he was revealing just how much he cared for her. Now . . .

  “Is that what you think I’m trying to do?”

  Her fingers drifted to brush over his lips, her expression somber.

  “A partner should make you stronger, not weaker.”

  She was right. Of course she was.

  As much as he might hate to admit it, his rabid need to protect her was more about his constant knowledge of how close she had come to dying before they’d ever met, than keeping her happy.

  Selfish even by his standards.

  “Oh . . . merde,” he growled in resignation.

  She eyed him warily as he stepped back to tug her shirt into place, his entire body screaming in frustration at the realization he wasn’t going to get relief any time soon.

  “Elijah?”

  He grabbed her hand, pulling her toward the door. “Let’s go find that annoying gargoyle.”

  CHAPTER 6

  Levet quivered as he continued to project his memories into his mother’s unwilling mind, dangerously close to exhaustion.

  Sacrebleu. How much longer could he hold the spell?

  The fear had barely had time to form when Berthe gave a low groan, her eyes wrenching open to stab him with a malevolent glare.

  “Enough.”

  Levet halted the memories, but retained control of the magical web that held his mother captive.

  She wasn’t looking nearly as impressed as he’d hoped.

  “You have seen what I did?” he demanded.

  “Oui.”

  “And you acknowledge that I faced my enemy with courage?”

  She pulled back her lips to emphasize her massive tusks. “I will admit you did not flee like a coward.”

  Levet narrowed his eyes. “Perhaps we should begin again.”

  “Non,” Berthe rasped, the heat of her fury filling the air. “You behaved with . . . courage.”

  Levet scowled. He had stood before the most evil creature ever to have been created and refused to yield.

  How many demons could claim such a feat?

  None. That was how many.

  He grimaced. Non. That wasn’t entirely true. There had been others. But no gargoyles, he hastily reassured himself.

  He alone had represented his species.

  Which made him excessively special.

  “Why is it so hard for you to admit?” he snapped.

  Berthe glowered at him, her heavy brow furrowed. “I don’t want you back in the Guild.”

  Levet blinked. Well, that was . . . blunt.

  “Why? Do you imagine I will somehow contaminate your precious nest?” He curled his snout in disdain. “I can assure you I have no intention of returning to the bosom of my dysfunctional family.”

  She made a sound of shock, as if she couldn’t imagine a creature not longing to be a part of her nest.

  “Then why do you insist on being returned to the Guild?”

  Levet smiled. When he’d traveled to Paris he hadn’t truly known what was driving him.

  Now he understood with perfect clarity.

  “It’s my right,” he said with simple honesty. “Now tell me why you’re so reluctant to put my name on the Wall.”

  Berthe clenched her jaw, clearly loath to confess the truth. Then, perhaps sensing that Levet was stubborn enough to keep her trapped until she shared, she gave a low curse.

  “Because you make me . . . less.”

  “Less what?”

  She turned her head, as if unwilling to meet Levet’s puzzled gaze.

  “While you are shunned you are forgotten by my people. But with your name returned to the Wall it will be remembered that you are my son. I will be ridiculed for producing a—”

  “A what?” he prompted, his curiosity overcoming his self-preservation.

  A common occurrence.

  “A freak,” she said with a shudder.

  He flinched, feeling like he’d been slapped.

  But why?

  His mother had devoted his entire childhood to pointing out his numerous flaws. Until he’d nearly allowed her to convince him that he was deformed.

  No more.

  “I do not make you less, Maman dearest. You were born without a soul,” he informed her, his voice clear and perfectly steady. “And I thank the gods that I am different from you. My life has mattered. Truly mattered. You will never be able to say the same.”

  Berthe blinked, almost as if his words had struck a nerve. But even as he leaned forward to savor the brief victory, she had twisted her ugly features into a scowl.

  “Release me,” she commanded.

  “You will give me what I demand?”

  A low growl vibrated the air. “Oui,” she at last managed to spit out.

  “Cross your heart and hope to die?”

  “Levet.”

  Levet grimaced. He had no choice but to trust her word. One more second and he would collapse. Far better to allow her to think he’d released her out of the goodness of his heart.

  “Bien. Let’s go,” he said, dropping his hands as the threads of magic unraveled and then disappeared with an audible hiss. He had barely managed to suck in a weary breath when his mother was surging away from the wall, grasping his wing between her claws. “Mon dieu,” he squeaked, as she gave a mighty push with her legs, sending them crashing through the ceiling. “Slow down.”

  “Tais-toi,” Berthe snarled, spreading her wings to soar across Paris at an impressive speed.

  Dangling at an awkward angle, Levet heaved a resigned sigh.

  When was he going to be treated like a hero?

  It was all very annoying.

  Within a few minutes, they landed at an isolated tributary that dumped into the Seine. There was a long-forgotten entrance to the sewers hidden by a powerful illusion, which Berthe stomped through, not even bothering to glance in Levet’s direction.

  Blowing a raspberry at her retreating back, Levet slowly followed in her wake. A task made easy by the cramped size of the tunnel that had been chiseled deep in the ground.

  Taking full pleasure in watching his mother smack her head into the ceiling as she wrenched her large body through the doorway that protected the inner sanctum, Levet waddled in behind her.

  The cavern was large, but empty beside a number of torches that spread a soft glow over the gray stone and the lone desk just a few feet from the door.

  “Doyenne.” Rising from his seat behind the desk, a gargoyle several inches shorter than Berthe and built on far more slender lines, hurried forward.

  Levet skipped out of the way as Emery performed a bow, deliberately ignoring Levet’s presence.

  Ah . . . the pleasure of being shunned.

  Not that Levet wanted to be acknowledged by the fussy bureaucrat who always acted like he had a stick stuck up his derrière.

  “Emery.” She waited until the Protector of the Wall straightened, her expression impatient. “I have an official pronouncement.”

  The gargoyle blinked, his wings fluttering in sudden agitation.

  “But . . . the elders.”

  Berthe grabbed her companion by the horn, dragging him until they were snout to snout.

  “Do you question my right to rule this nest?”

  “Non, Doyenne,” the peon said anxiously.

  “Then stand aside.”

  Emery hastily scrambled back to his desk, his leathery wings pressed tightly against his body as he tried to make himself as small as possible.

  Levet knew the feeling.

  His mother was an expert at making a man wilt.

  With a suitably dramatic motion, Berthe turned to face the far side of the room. She gave a wave of her hand, causing the torches to flare higher so the smooth wall was revealed.

  Levet felt a tingle of ancient power rush over him, in awe, as always, at the sight of the ancient artifact.

  An object of magic, the Wall of Memories defied all laws of physics to soar through the ceiling into an endl
ess darkness. Not that Levet glanced up. Infinity always made him dizzy.

  The names etched into the stone shimmered in the light, pulsing as if in time to each individual heartbeat.

  Berthe waved her hand and the names shifted, as if she’d turned the page. Another wave, another page.

  Silence filled the cavern as Berthe continued to search through the names, at last squeezing her hand shut to freeze the Wall.

  Then, stepping forward, she pointed her claw at an empty space on the stone.

  “I, Doyenne of the Ascaric nest, do hereby un-shun Levet, son of Berthe, to the Guild of Gargoyles. From this night forward he is to be accepted within the Guild with full rights and voting privileges.”

  There was a faint gasp of disbelief from Emery, but Levet’s attention was focused on the Wall as an unseen power skimmed over the stone, leaving behind his name etched in elegant script.

  His chest swelled as pride filled his heart to overflowing.

  He might be stunted. His magic might be . . . unpredictable.

  And he might need a Dr. Phil intervention when it came to Yannah driving him batty, but he had done the impossible.

  He was once again a full-fledged, card-carrying (okay, there wasn’t actually a card) member of the Gargoyle Guild.

  Life was good.

  Valla allowed Elijah to escort her back toward her apartment with conflicted emotions.

  On one hand, she was disappointed they’d been unable to find Levet. As good as Elijah might be at tracking, he couldn’t fly, and while they’d hit most of the usual hangouts for gargoyles, they hadn’t managed to catch Levet’s scent.

  She was desperately worried for the tiny gargoyle.

  On the other hand she was breathlessly giddy with the transformation in Elijah.

  She didn’t know how or why, but for the first time he truly seemed to see her as a woman, not a victim. And not just in a physical sense, although his determined seduction had been spectacularly wonderful.

  He’d actually listened to her when she’d complained he treated her as a child. And even gone against every instinct he possessed to allow her to enter the seedier parts of the city in an attempt to find Levet.

  Oh, she wasn’t an idiot.

  She knew he could never share the intensity of her feelings.

  He might genuinely desire her, but she would be nothing more than a passing distraction who would be swiftly forgotten when his attention was caught by a new lover, or by his true mate.

  She ignored the pain that knifed through her heart.

  She’d waited a long, long time for Elijah to even acknowledge her as a woman.

  Why shouldn’t she enjoy the ride for as long as it lasted?

  They’d reached the boulevard that ran past her apartment, when Elijah grasped her elbow to pull her to a halt.

  “Valla.”

  She tilted back her head to study his pale, perfect face.

  “What is it?”

  He paused, as if considering his words. “It’s growing late.”

  Valla frowned. She didn’t have the superior senses of a vampire, but she could tell time.

  “There’s still a couple of hours before dawn.”

  “True, but—”

  Hmm. Something weird was going on. But what?

  “Elijah, is something wrong?”

  He stepped forward, gently cupping her face in his hands as he allowed her to glimpse the hunger burning like an inferno in his eyes.

  “If I return to your apartment it’s going to be more than a couple of hours before I’m prepared to leave.”

  A raw, primitive excitement rushed through her. “Oh.”

  “Oui.” His thumb absently stroked the rough skin of her cheek, his gaze trained on her lips. “Oh.”

  Valla didn’t hesitate. Somewhere down the road her heart was bound to be broken, but if she’d learned nothing else it was to grasp happiness when it was offered.

  “The apartment is built to protect a vampire,” she said, her voice husky. “You would be safe.”

  He shuddered, his fangs glinting in the streetlight. “You understand what I’m saying?”

  A shy blush stained her cheeks. “You want to become my lover.”

  His hands tightened on her face, his expression stark as if he was gripped by a powerful emotion.

  “Much more than your lover, mon ange . . .” he began, only to halt as he tilted back his head and tested the air. “Merde.”

  “Danger?” she breathed, her gaze searching the shadows for an intruder.

  “I smell gargoyle,” he muttered.

  “Levet?” She pulled free of his grasp, heaving a sigh of relief. “Where?”

  Far less enthused, Elijah jerked his head toward the narrow alley that led between the buildings.

  “He just landed in the courtyard.”

  Ignoring Elijah’s grumblings, Valla turned to hurry through the alley.

  “Thank god.”

  Landing in the center of the courtyard, Levet was startled when he caught Valla’s scent coming from the street rather than her apartment.

  A momentary fear clutched his heart at the thought that the vulnerable young nymph had been out on the dangerous streets alone before the frigid pulse of power assured him that she was far from alone.

  Entering the courtyard, the pretty female rushed to his side, her smile as brilliant as the lights that lined the Champs-Elysées.

  “There you are,” she breathed. “I’ve been worried.”

  “Forgive me, ma belle,” Levet said with genuine regret. He truly had not intended to upset his newest friend. “I had a long overdue appointment with my mother.”

  “Are you okay?”

  He smiled, his wings fluttering with pleasure. “I am perfect.”

  “That’s a matter of opinion,” Elijah muttered as he moved to stand beside Valla, his arm wrapping around her waist with an obvious intimacy.

  Ah. That was a new development.

  Levet blew a raspberry in the vampire’s direction. “Not even you can spoil my mood, leech.”

  Valla bent down so she could study his pleased expression, her hair shimmering like the purest gold in the moonlight.

  “What happened?”

  “I have been officially returned to the Gargoyle Guild,” he announced in grand tones.

  She blinked. “And that’s a . . . good thing?”

  “But of course.”

  “Then I’m happy for you.”

  She leaned forward to place a gentle kiss on top of his head, her lips barely brushing between his horns before Elijah was determinedly pulling her back to his side.

  “If you have managed to complete your business, then perhaps you should be on your way,” the vampire growled, clearly jealous.

  As well he should be, Levet smugly acknowledged.

  He was a babe-magnetron.

  Or was it magnet?

  Whatever.

  “Really, Elijah,” Valla chided softly.

  “Oui, really, Elijah,” Levet echoed, his hands planted on his hips.

  Elijah’s fiercely handsome features revealed he was at the end of his patience, but before he could react, there was the unmistakable sound of flapping wings coming from above.

  Levet abruptly glanced upward, his tail twitching. “Uh-oh.”

  “What?”

  “Fee-fi-fo-fum, I smell the stench of gargoyle scum,” Levet muttered.

  There was the distinct aroma of moldy granite before Claudine and Ian descended from the rooftops to land in the center of the garden, crushing the marble fountain beneath their feet.

  “Mon dieu,” the vampire snapped, glaring at the two gargoyles that filled the courtyard with their gray, massive bodies.

  “Elijah,” Valla gasped. “Do something.”

  “I can’t believe this.” With a shake of his head, Elijah stepped forward. “Stop there, gargoyles.”

  Levet allowed the bristling vampire to distract his unwelcomed relatives.

  Being a her
o didn’t mean he had to be stupid.

  And he was still weak from his encounter with his mother.

  Besides, Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum clearly needed to be taught a lesson in manners. And Elijah was just the vampire to teach them not to drop in unannounced.

  Too thick-skulled to be aware of the danger she was in, Claudine stepped forward, her massive form consuming a large amount of the courtyard despite having her wings folded back.

  “Clan chief.” Her voice echoed off the buildings. “We have no fight with you.”

  Elijah folded his arms over his chest. “Then turn around and walk away.”

  Claudine scowled. There weren’t many demons willing to stand up to a fully grown gargoyle.

  “We’ve come for my brother.”

  Elijah cast a bored glance in Levet’s direction. “He doesn’t seem interested in yet another family reunion.”

  “Oui,” Levet agreed, waving his hands in a shooing gesture as he sternly reminded himself that he was no longer afraid of the evil creatures who’d tormented him his entire childhood. “So, go away.”

  A hint of vapor curled from Claudine’s nostril. She didn’t have the fire of her mother, but she could belch a foul cloud of smoke.

  “I don’t know how you had your name returned to the Wall, but I warn you, I won’t be satisfied until you are once again shunned,” she growled.

  “So you seek to revoke Mother’s direct proclamation?” Levet mocked. “Perhaps you’ve even decided it’s time to challenge her to become the doyenne?”

  Ian took a hasty step away from Claudine. As if afraid of being contaminated.

  A legitimate fear.

  Berthe would destroy anyone who even hinted at mutiny.

  Claudine shook her massive head. “Mother would never have revoked your banishment.”

  “I assure you that she did.”

  The gray eyes narrowed with suspicion. “How?”

  Levet gave another shooing wave. “Go ask her.”

  “I’m asking you.”

  Levet rolled his eyes. He’d known word of his return to the Guild wouldn’t make his family happy, but he was in no mood for yet another répugnant confrontation.

  “I simply revealed my part in saving the world from utter destruction. How could she not include such a hero in the Guild?”