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Valen nodded in agreement. “Peri discovered a fragment of the statue that contained the magic. She was convinced the residue of the miasma was deliberately stirring her emotions to feed off them.”
“If it’s capable of manipulating emotions, that would explain why the supposed friends at the Jackalope Station would suddenly decide to shoot each other.”
“Yes.” Valen considered what they’d discovered. It was fragmented, and there were still too many gaps in theirknowledge, but he could begin to form a basic idea of the magic. “My guess is that it needs emotions to maintain its essence.”
“That makes sense,” Gabriel agreed. “But why drain the coven?”
“Perhaps it increases its power with their magic.”
Gabriel glanced toward the monitor where the dot had reached the highway and headed west.
“I assume it could also feed on the magic of a mage?”
Valen grasped the edge of the desk, watching ice coat the glossy surface as he struggled to contain his burst of fury. Nothing and no one was going to hurt Peri.
“Let’s not find out.” The words came out as a bleak warning.
Gabriel dipped his head in acknowledgment. Making sure Peri was kept safe was the top priority.
“My people are scouring the area around Garland, but so far they haven’t located any clue that would lead them to the magic.”
“If it has infected the witch, then she might have a spell to hide her presence.” The ice coating the desk thickened. “Or the magic itself might have developed the ability to conceal itself. We have no way of knowing how it changed and adapted during the centuries it was trapped in the statue.”
The frustration sizzling between the two powerful vampires was a tangible pulse in the air.
“So we wait until there are more deaths,” Gabriel growled.
Valen nodded toward the monitor. “Unless Peri can discover the location of the magic and lead us to it.”
“And then?”
“A good question.”
They shared a rueful glance. With so few vampires in the world, and a dozen of them barely over a century old, it meant that the older members of the Cabal were expected to manage any threat to the Gyres. And to protect the demons under theircare. It wasn’t a duty that came lightly. And the penalty of failing that duty wasn’t something either of them were eager to face.
“Do you need to feed?” Gabriel abruptly asked.
He did. After being wounded, it was necessary to replenish his strength. But Valen felt a strange reluctance to sink his fangs into an unknown vein. Why? That was easy enough to figure out. The image of Peri’s bold features dominated by vivid blue eyes and sensuous lips scorched through his brain. He wanted her blood on his tongue as her lean, muscular body trembled in his arms. He wanted…
The impossible.
At least for now.
“Yes.” The word was wrenched from his lips as Valen forced himself to accept that he would need his powers if he was to battle the evil magic and keep the aggravating mage safe.
Easily sensing his reluctance, Gabriel laid a hand on Valen’s shoulder before turning to head out of the office.
“Follow me.”
Chapter 12
Peri waited until she reached I-70 before she dug her phone out of the satchel. She had a dozen missed calls. Two from Skye and ten from Maya. She didn’t bother to listen to her messages. She knew that her friends were anxious to know what was happening.
Hitting Maya’s name on her call list, she put it on speaker and settled the phone on the console next to her.
“It’s about time you called.” Maya’s annoyed voice was loud and clear despite the rattle of the ancient engine. “Why the hell didn’t you answer your phone?”
Peri rolled her eyes even as warmth flooded through her heart. She was never going to take Maya’s concern for granted. Not after a lifetime of being denied affection.
