"was it a spell?" viper demanded.

"no." she took in a deep breath. "there is no magic in the air."

viper gave a nod of his head. as a vampire he had no ability to sense magic. which was no doubt one of the reasons why he wanted her along.

"so it had to be a demon that possesses incredible strength, and the ability to mask their presence from a vampire," viper murmured. "that narrows the list but leaves far too many suspects."

shay shivered as she wrapped her arms about her. the shock was beginning to recede and the full impact of the savage attack hit her with an alarming force.

"oh, my god " she whispered.

viper reached out to grasp her shoulders. his touch was cool but surprisingly comforting.

perhaps because it had been so incredibly long since anyone had touched her in anything but anger.

"i should not have brought you to see this. forgive me."

she gave a shake of her head. "no, it's not that. it's evor."

"evor? why... ah." viper slowly nodded. "he's not among the dead."

she gave a short, unsteady laugh. "obviously not. i think i would know if i had suddenly become a corpse."

"yes, it's rather hard to miss," he said dryly.

she grimaced, struggling to regain control of her raw nerves. holy crap, but it had been a close call.

too close.

"if evor had been in that room..." she breathed.

his fingers tightened. "he's alive, pet, and so are you."

"yes, but it was a near thing," she rasped. "too near."

"on that we agree." he glanced toward the door of the blood-drenched room. "we need to discover who did this, and just as importantly where evor has disappeared to."

shay grimaced at the thought of the slimy little troll. "no doubt he crawled beneath some rock the moment the trouble started. he's always happy to sacrifice his servants to save his own hide."

"he was here." his gaze was somber as it returned to her face. "his blood is mixed among the others "

"his blood?"

he gave a lift of his shoulder. "only a small amount, but enough to reveal he was here during the attack."

she pulled from his touch. of course he could smell evor's blood. he was a vampire.

blood was his specialty.

"so someone, or something, came here tonight, killed the mountain trolls and injured evor?" she gave a shake of her head. "why?"

"it's possible that it was a demon in search of valuables that was caught off guard by the trolls. or even one seeking vengeance. evor is hardly the sort to endear himself to others, and there are many who find the slave trade a disgusting business."

she met his gaze squarely. "it's possible, but you don't think it was a housebreaker or someone seeking vengeance."

"no." his beautiful features were hard in the dim moonlight "the timing of the attack is too much of a coincidence. i think whoever is hunting you returned to this auction house."

her throat went dry. "to kill evor?"

a frown touched his brow. "if they wanted evor dead, he would already be dead. either he managed to escape during the battle or they came to take him alive."

"but why?"

"to use as bait." levet's unexpected voice had both shay and viper turning in astonishment.

"what?" viper demanded.

the gargoyle gave a nervous flutter of his wings. "if they hold the troll then they can threaten to slice his throat open and kill both of them. shay will have no choice but to do what they want."

shay felt her heart stutter to a halt. shit, it was bad enough to be in the power of evor. now she had to worry about some mysterious enemy who could rip apart trolls with his bare hands.

not good.

not good at all.

"do you think that's what they want?" she rasped.

"i think it would be foolish to leap to any conclusions until we have more facts," viper retorted, reaching down to easily scoop her into his arms. "we need to leave here."

it was a testament of just how troubled shay was by the latest turn of events that she didn't struggle once as viper carried her from the blood-drenched auction house.

not one kick. not one poke in the eye. not even a curse.

astonishing.

she came back to herself as viper slowly lowered her to her feet, and pressed her back to one of the towering oak trees.

"before we leave are there any other possessions you desire to collect?" he demanded softly.

not softly enough as levet gave an angry flap of his wings.

"possessions? sacrebleu. i am a gargoyle. a demon to be feared and respected above all others. i will-"

"enough, levet," shay interrupted the furious words, her gaze never leaving viper's beautiful face. "there are demons trapped in the dungeons."

he gave a lift of his brows. "they are your friends as well?"

"i don't even know for certain what creatures are behind the doors. i only know mat with the trolls dead and evor missing they might be locked in those cells for eternity. it's worse than torture."

'they may be dangerous."

she didn't doubt for a moment that they were extremely dangerous, and more than likely deadly.

that didn't change her determination to have them rescued.

"we cannot leave them."

"santiago."

his gaze never left her pale face as he lifted a hand and a shadow detached itself from behind a nearby tree.

"yes, master?"

"go to the dungeons and release the prisoners."

"as you wish."

"we will meet you at the car."

there wasn't a moment's hesitation as the vampire silently melded into the dark. shay grimaced at the mindless obedience. if that was what viper was expecting from her... well, he was in for a major disappointment.

and no doubt she would be in for a number of beatings.

pride was a hell of a tiling.

"you mink it's safe for him to go alone?" she demanded.

viper shrugged. "he is a vampire."

vamp arrogance. it made her teeth clench.

"fine, then can we go?"

viper opened his lips, but it was levet's voice that echoed through the darkness.

"umm... shay?"

she turned to discover him standing a safe distance from viper.

"yes?"

"what of moi?"

"oh... i..." her gaze reluctantly returned to the vampire standing way too close. "viper?"

"yes, pet?"

she wanted to tell him to back away. now that she was no longer dazed by evor's disappearance she found his hovering presence far too distracting. but she held her tongue. she was in the unpleasant position of asking for a favor.

something she didn't do well under the best of circumstances,

"we cannot simply leave levet here. he has been cast out of the guild by the other gargoyles."

his hands slowly lifted until he could place them on the tree on either side of her head.

"are you requesting that i take him under my protection? that i offer him shelter?"

she ignored the unsteady beat of her heart. "yes."

a worrisome smile curved his lips. "and what is to be my reward for such generosity?"

"shay, no," levet hissed.

she ignored his warning, her gaze remaining locked with viper's dark eyes.

"what would you have of me?"

"now that is not a question to be answered in haste. there is so much that i want of you," he murmured, leaning ever closer. "perhaps i should simply require a boon to be given when i have considered more carefully."

shay licked her dry lips. "you mean i will owe you a favor?"

"you will be in my debt. a debt that 1 can call due whenever i feel the moment is ... ripe."

"don't do it, shay," levet commanded. "never bargain with a vampire."

shay was well aware of the risks. every demon knew that a vampire could twist words until they screamed in agony.

but what did she have to lose?

she was already viper's slave and at his mercy. if he truly wanted to force her to do something, no matter how awful, she had little choice but to comply. after all, the amulet made certain she could not escape.

why not attempt to make the bargain and keep levet safe?

of course, there was nothing to say that she couldn't try and get the better of any deal.

"can the terms be negotiated?"

"negotiated?" his gaze drifted to her lips. "that depends. tell me your offer."

"the debt cannot include blood or sex.*'

he gave a soft laugh as he lowered his head to bury his face in the curve of her throat when he spoke, his lips brushed her skin and sent a disturbing rash of shivers down her spine.

"you have just taken away my two deepest desires. what else can you offer?"

she battled to keep her eyes from rolling to the back of her head. "i am a trained fighter."

"i possess many warriors."