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“Not that I could detect. But I didn’t sense the mountain-size gargoyle until it landed.”
Styx shrugged. He didn’t blame his companion. “They have the ability to shield their presence even from other demons.”
Jagr wasn’t pacified. “Do you recognize it?”
“Aunt Bertha. A relative of Levet.”
“I assume this is a surprise visit?”
“That’s one way to put it.” Styx tightened his grip on the hilt of his sword. “Watch my back.”
“Always.”
Styx didn’t have any doubt that the vampire would eagerly sacrifice his life to keep Styx safe. At one time that would have been a comfort, but now Styx realized he had to be twice as careful. He didn’t want the male’s death on his soul.
Darcy had made him soft, he silently accepted. And honestly, he wouldn’t have it any other way.
“Hello? Bertha?” He called out, inching closer and closer to the creature. “Can you hear me?” There was no response. Wait. That wasn’t true. Styx could feel an odd pressure inside his skull. As if something was trying to crawl into his brain. He hastily backed away. “Shit.”
Jagr was instantly at his side. “What’s wrong?”
Styx lifted a hand to touch his forehead. As if he could ward off the weird sensation.
“In this form I think they communicate telepathically.”
Jagr shuddered. Vampires had a natural ability to use mental compulsion on lesser creatures, but they were careful to create shields to prevent their own minds from being entered. There was no way he could converse with the gargoyle.
Jagr glanced over his shoulder at the nearby house. “Maybe Darcy—”
“Absolutely not.” Styx hesitated before he forced out the words he hoped never to say again. “Go get Levet.”
Jagr’s lean features tightened. “That is going to be a problem.”
“I asked you to keep an eye on him.”
“I did. That’s why I returned in time to see the arrival of your oversize lawn ornament. I thought you should know what I witnessed.”
Styx narrowed his eyes. He already sensed this was bad news. “Tell me.”
“When I finally tracked down the gargoyle, he was at the Hunting Grounds attempting to convince Troy to open a portal to the merfolk castle.”
Styx swallowed a growl. If Levet had disappeared through a portal, there was no way to locate him. At least not for a vampire.
“Did Troy open one?”
“No, he slammed the door in the gargoyle’s face.”
“The imp is smarter than I gave him credit for,” Styx drawled. “What happened to Levet?”
“He headed away from the Hunting Grounds. I assumed he was on his way back to Chicago, but as he wandered through an empty field a stranger approached him.”
Styx’s unease deepened. He’d been annoyed by the thought that Levet had disappeared through a portal. Who knew how long it would take to track down the creature? But he should have suspected that was too simple a problem. Levet was a disaster magnet.
“How strange was the stranger?”
“Very strange.” Jagr confirmed his worst fear. “A minotaur.”
Styx stared at his most trusted guard, wondering if the male had taken a blow to the head.
