AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Styx blinked. That was a surprise. “Why?”
“He’s searching for information on the minotaurs.”
“From you?”
Viper pressed his hand against the frilly lace shirt beneath his jacket. “Why do you look so surprised? I’m not a complete hedonist.”
“Yes you are.”
Viper chuckled. “Okay, I am. But while I don’t stuff my lair with dusty old books I’ll never read, I do collect rare weapons.” He pointed toward an object on the leather couch near the bookcases.
Curious, Styx crossed the room to gaze down at the bundle that had been left on the cushions. Reaching down, he cautiously pulled off the soft leather blanket, not sure what to expect. What he revealed was a long spear with a heavy wooden shaft and a chiseled copper tip at the end. He arched his brows. There didn’t appear to be anything special about the weapon.
“What is it?”
Viper joined him, reaching down to pick it up. “A minotaur spear.”
Styx was still confused. “Fascinating, but I’m not sure how it’s supposed to help.”
Viper held the spear so the chandelier overhead could reveal the marks that had been scratched into the wood. They didn’t possess the elegant beauty of fey hieroglyphs or the complicated patterns of a sorcerer’s staff, but the simple symbols were easy to decipher.
“From what I could discover in my research, these carvings represent various prophecies for the minotaurs. I studied them centuries ago, but I’d forgotten about them until Jagr called. There’s one I think you should see.” Viper tilted the shaft toward Styx, pointing toward the symbols carved just beneath the copper tip. “Here.”
Styx leaned forward, his gaze tracing the wavy line with smaller vertical lines that looked like fields of wheat. As Viper slowly turned the shaft, he could make out a round wooden building with a long balcony. “It looks like a castle. Or a fortress.”
“The homeland,” Viper explained. Then he pointed to the last symbol. “And there.”
This one was more difficult for Styx to make out. It looked like a plump ball with dangly legs flying over the fortress. It wasn’t until he noticed the horns that he realized what it was supposed to be.
“A gargoyle?”
“Look closer,” Viper commanded.
Styx ground his fangs together, squashing his flare of impatience. Viper wouldn’t be showing him the spear if he didn’t believe it might help. Or at least he’d better not. Styx wasn’t in the mood for jokes. He was in the mood for sticking things with his big sword.
Leaning forward, he continued to study the rough etching of the gargoyle. It took a full minute before he realized what had captured Viper’s attention.
“It’s an image of Levet,” he muttered in disbelief.
“Unless there’s another gargoyle with fairy wings and a habit of showing up in the most inconvenient places.”
Styx shuddered. “Don’t even joke about there being more than one.” Stepping back, Styx considered the implications. “Does this mean that the pest has visited the minotaur homeland before?”
“These are prophecies.” Viper ran his fingers down the shaft of the spear. “So even if he hasn’t been there in the past, they certainly believe he has a reason to be there in the future.”
“What reason?”
Viper glanced toward the window. “I have no idea, but it’s bound to be awful.”
Styx felt his stomach clench with dread. The tiny gargoyle had started wars, destroyed cities, and ripped holes in the fabric of time. The thought that he was about to create yet another disaster that would no doubt cause endless trouble for the vampires was enough to make Styx consider a long vacation. Preferably in an undisclosed location far from Chicago.
“Shit.”
Chapter 6
Leaping through the portal, Sofie discovered she was shrouded in shades of gray. Not the shadows of twilight. Or even the gloom of a cave. Just a cold, monotonous gray that draped the empty landscape that was dotted with barren rocks and dead tree stumps. It was a complete contrast to the vivid colors they’d left behind. As if they’d entered a dimension that was utterly devoid of life.
Coming to a sharp halt, Sofie resisted the urge to turn her head and make sure that Ryshi was nearby. Not only did she refuse to reveal her fear of being abandoned in the strange labyrinth, but she didn’t need to see the mongrel jinn to know he was standing a few inches away.
