a knowing smirk touched the pale features. "and that is all?"

he glared at his companion. blood and smoke. if he didn't need the vamp to help rescue shay, he would turn him to dust where he stood.

"and it could be that i have some small attachment to the shalott," he grudgingly acknowledged. "very, very small, you understand?"

"ah, yes, i understand."

"so why have we stopped?"

"trolls have passed by here."

it was level's turn to smirk. "surely you do not fear trolls?"

"not these." dante smiled wryly. "they are all dead."

"shay," levet murmured with more than a bit of pride.

"not alone, gargoyle," dante returned. "viper stood at her side."

levet shrugged. "if the beasts are dead then let's go."

he gave a shake of his head. "trolls are not the only thing to have passed here. there have been vampires."

levet gave a growl deep in his throat. it would have to be vampires, of course. they seemed to be wading neck deep in them lately.

"how many?"

"six." there was a tense pause. "and none of our clan."

"not of your clan?" levet's heart gave a painful squeeze. "that can only mean.. "

dante's pale face hardened to a stark mask. "they are here to kill viper."

whatever their intention shay was in danger, and that was all that mattered.

he was nothing if not focused.

"we cannot wait. we must go to them "

"and be caught in the trap ourselves?" dante was looking distinctly fangy as he scowled at levet. "it will help no one."

"and how will it help to hide in the shadows while they are slaughtered?"

the silver eyes flashed with frustrated fury. "be quiet and let me think or i shall clip those wings of yours, gargoyle."

levet offered a raspberry as he flapped his wings to rise higher. "fine, you cower in the shadows. i shall discover what is occurring."

"dammit, levet..."

too late the vampire made a grab toward levet's dangling legs, his expression warning of dire retribution.

levet blithely ignored his muttered curses as he lifted himself toward the nearby rooftops, careful to keep out of the stray light that might reveal his shadow. the one thing he did, and did well, was remain hidden from searching eyes.

landing on the roof he moved in absolute silence to the brick edge and peered downward. he was no longer aware of the filth or stench. or even the thick silence that cloaked the neighborhood. his attention was centered on the silver-haired viper who was being slowly forced into a long black limo followed by a very large, very angry vampire.

even from a distance levet could sense that violence trembled in the air, but just as he was about to shout for dante to rush to the rescue he watched as the limo pulled smoothly from the curb followed closely by a second limo.

was shay inside the limo? surely she had to be. he might consider viper a conceited ass, but he did know that the vampire would fight to the death to keep shay safe. if he were allowing himself to be taken hostage it could only be because they had already captured shay.

watching the automobiles slide down the street he turned and flung himself off the building, landing next to dante with a heavy thud. he had barely caught his balance, however, when he found himself hauled off his feet by a distinctly annoyed vampire.

"next time you do that i'll have your heart for dinner, gargoyle " dante gritted.

struggling to free himself levet glared at his companion. "we do not have time for you to play bully. a very large vampire was forcing viper into a car and driving away."

"what of shay?"

"i must presume they have her as well."

"and he is allowing himself to be taken captive?"

"he does not look happy, but yes."

dante nodded, absently stroking the blade of his dagger as he considered level's words.

"he must realize that it is impossible to fight," he muttered. "or they have threatened to harm shay. in either case, if we blunder in, we might very well make matters worse rather than better."

"unfortunately, i must agree."

dante gave an exaggerated blink. "it seems miracles do happen."

levet resisted the urge to roll his eyes. vampire humor left a great deal to be desired.

"the limos were moving south. they are very large and very black." he grimaced. "what is it with vampires and black?"

dante regarded him steadily. "do you have a point?"

"i will follow them and when they reach their destination i will return and give you directions."

levet was quite prepared for an argument. an argument he was determined to win. no one was going to stop him from rescuing shay.

astonishingly, dante merely gave a nod of his head. "the vampires will be on their guard. one mistake and you will be killed."

levet gave a short, humorless laugh as he spread his arms wide. "look at me. i am barely three feet tall. i am always on my guard, fool."

another nod. "i will gather the rest of the clan. we will be prepared when you return."

"make sure you include a lot of very large, very sharp weapons"

with a surge levet was once again airborne and on his way to track shay.

"bon chance, mon ami," dante called softly.

levet allowed himself a small smile. a vampire who could speak french. he couldn't be all bad.

chapter nineteen

shay crawled from the manhole and sucked in a ragged breath of clean air. well, the relatively clean air.

she was frozen, smelly, and half naked. just as she had predicted, but amazingly there had been no hint of pursuit from the vampires. perhaps not so amazingly, she acknowledged grimly, as she shivered in the sharp night air.

the tall, bronzed vampire simply known as styx did not strike her as a particularly stupid man. cold, ruthless, and inflexible. but not stupid.

pausing only long enough to make sure the street was vampire-troll-hellbound free shay slipped through the shadows, and began retracing her steps to dante's sprawling mansion. she needed help and she needed it fast.

the thought had barely flashed through her mind when her sensitive nose caught a familiar scent. coming to a halt she cast a startled glance toward the top of a nearby building, nearly missing the vague shadow that scampered along the roof.

levet.

thank god.

with a burst of speed she was across the street and down a narrow alley. the ladder that zigzagged its way up the side of the building was rusty and none too steady, but she barely noticed the drunken sway as she clambered up the steps and landed softly on the flat roof.

the tiny gargoyle had reached the edge of the building, but at the sound of her footfalls he abruptly whirled with his hands outstretched as if to toss a spell in her direction.

"no... levet, it's me," she hastily whispered.

"shay?"

"yes."

"holy mother of god. you nearly gave me a heart attack," the gargoyle breathed as he swiftly waddled to join her. a few steps away he came to an abrupt halt, his nose wrinkled in disgust. "gak. what is that stench? where is your shirt? did you..."

shay lifted an impatient hand. "shhh. where is dante?"

"he went charging off to gather the cavalry." levet planted his hands on his hips. "how did you get loose? i thought those vampires had you for sure."

she shivered, and not just from the cold.

vampires. why did it have to be vampires?

"i used a drainage pipe to escape the warehouse, but viper is still stuck in there."

"not any longer."

she reached out to grasp his arm. "what do you mean?"

"they tossed him into a very long limo and took off."

her heart gave a painful jerk. shit. it was precisely what she feared the most.

"damn." she licked her dry lips and battled back the flare of fear. panic, bad. thinking, good. "we have to go after him."

levet gave a twitch of his tail. "that's what i was in the process of doing when you came leaping behind me."

"fine, let's go."

the gargoyle moved just enough to block her path, his expression concerned.

"shay?"

"what?"

"do you really think it's a good idea for you to come with me? it's you they're after. if you get anywhere close ..."

shay reached out to grasp his shoulder, shivering as a cold breeze brushed over her skin.

damn. she needed to find some clothes.

and a cross.

and several very, very large stakes.

"i'm coming levet."

"ouch. no need to pinch the wings." pulling free the gargoyle gave a flutter of his delicate wings. "if you want to plunge into danger and get the rest of us killed, then so be it."

shay wrapped her arms about herself. "i'm already in danger."

"not if you return to the phoenix. there's not a demon around who would dare to piss her off."

"not even abby can protect me now."