the sort of sensations a wise woman pretended didn't exist.

"it seems that he makes a very bad friend as well," she muttered.

he pressed a finger to her lips. "laylah."

"no, he deliberately used your guilt to manipulate you into a position that not only has made you a leper among vampires, but puts your life at constant risk," she insisted.

he stilled, his gaze sweeping over her face as if seeking an answer to an unspoken question.

"hardly constant."

she made a sound of impatience. "have you forgotten you were attacked by your precious brothers the same day we met?"

his eyes blazed with a sudden heat as his arms wrapped around her.

"i've forgotten nothing of the day we met," he said, his husky tone making her heart slam against her ribs. "nothing."

yeah well ... ditto.

her eyes drifted to the hard curve of his mouth, memories of the sensual devastation of those lips sliding over her skin jolting through her before she was sternly squashing her flare of arousal.

no.

she wouldn't be distracted.

"he had no right to ask you to sacrifice so much."

"styx isn't a benevolent leader." he snorted. "hell, he's a son of a bitch who wouldn't hesitate to do what he thought necessary to protect his people. but, he didn't manipulate or compel me to become a charon."

she scowled. tane's loyalty to the terrifying anasso was admirable, but it blinded him.

"are you so certain?"

his hands lightly skimmed up her back, as if offering her comfort.

"actually, he's the only one who truly understands." she shook her head, far from convinced. "understands what?"

"he had his own history with guilt and the scars of a twisted relationship." his jaw muscles knotted. "he knew i needed a tangible means of righting the wrongs of my past."

laylah bit back a sigh of frustration.

she wanted to insist that styx was using tane's guilt to manipulate him into being a charon. that way she might have a chance of convincing the stubborn fool that it wasn't worth the danger.

but if his position was a personal holy war ...

she shook her head. dammit. she didn't want to be concerned.

it implied that she cared.

and hadn't she already decided that was a very bad idea?

there was a click from the direction of the desk, then styx's voice once again filled the room.

"tane, you won't like what happens if i have to fetch you."

they both flinched at the icy edge in the voice.

with a low curse, tane bent down to snatch a searing kiss before striding toward the door.

"we'll speak later."

"tane."

he shot a glance over his shoulder. "yes?" "don't..." "don't what?"

she clenched her teeth. "don't do anything stupid."

chapter 13

over the years tane had developed a finely honed sense of self-preservation. a vampire assassin learned to stay on guard or he died. that simple.

but, laylah was proving to be a dangerous distraction. he barely noted the priceless statues that lined the marble halls or the framed masterpieces that would no doubt make a collector wet himself. which meant he barely noted the shadowed alcove where an enemy might be hidden and the coved ceiling where a trap might have been set.

his thoughts remained on laylah's unexpected anger. she didn't like that he was a charon. but why?

because she was worried about him?

because she ... cared?

a dangerous warmth stirred in his heart.

a warmth that was still stirring and even spreading when he was abruptly jerked out of his inane thoughts by a wave of crushing energy that nearly sent him to his knees.

shit. shit. shit.

nothing but an oracle could throw out voltage power that high.

he hesitated outside the library where he could sense styx impatiently awaiting his arrival.

the savage urge to rush back to laylah and carry her away blazed through him. stupid, of course. he didn't stand a chance in hell of getting her out of here. not before they could be stopped by styx's ravens.

or worse.

still, it was only the years of self-discipline that gave him the strength to step over the threshold into the vast library rather than rushing off like some newbie vampire with a hero-complex.

he was going to convince the oracle that laylah wasn't a danger.

or die trying.

belatedly on full alert, tane took a cautious glance about the long room with its soaring windows that overlooked the sunken garden bathed in moonlight.

there were the expected shelves with a portion of styx's enormous collection of books, and a heavy desk set near a marble fireplace. across the room there were various leather chairs dotted about the expensive carpet and a glass case that held a variety of ancient scrolls.

his gaze briefly skimmed over styx who was currently leaning against the desk, a thunderous scowl on his face, before shifting toward the female creature who stood in the center of the room.

astonishment raced through him. christ. she was as tiny as a human child with delicate features. at the moment she was simply attired in a white robe with her silvery-gray hair pulled in a long braid that hung down her back.

it would be easy to dismiss her as harmless if one didn't notice the ancient knowledge that smoldered in the black, oblong eyes. and, oh yeah, the razor sharp teeth that were obviously made for tearing flesh.

and of course, there was the power.

it beat against him with all the subtly of a sledgehammer.

the woman gestured for tane to approach with a gnarled hand. "this is the charon."

her voice was low, hypnotic.

"yes, mistress," styx answered, although the words hadn't been a question.

she watched tane halt directly before her with an unblinking gaze.

"i am siljar."

tane managed a stiff bow. "tane." amusement flared through the dark eyes. "yes, i know." tane swallowed a curse. the oracle could read his mind. she gave another lift of her hand. this one in dismissal. "we will speak alone."

"as you wish." styx readily headed toward the door, although he paused long enough to send tane a warning frown.

right. like he needed a reminder not to poke the lethal rattlesnake with a stick.

waiting until styx had shut the door behind him, siljar folded her arms over her chest.

"you have been a very naughty vampire."

"i can't deny i've broken the law."

"hmmm. i can guess why."

tane sent her a puzzled frown. "mistress?"

she smiled. not a particularly comforting sight with a set of pearly whites that a shark would envy.

"i have evolved beyond the weaknesses of the flesh, but that does not mean i have forgotten the temptation." the smile disappeared as fast as it had arrived. "still, you have interfered in commission business and that cannot be tolerated. are you acquainted with cezar?"

tane grimaced. the vampire had been condemned to becoming a slave to the commission for two centuries for bedding a potential oracle.

"not personally."

"you should make a point to meet him," the demon informed him. "he can tell you what happens to vampires who taste of forbidden fruit."

tane bent his head. "i will accept whatever punishment you feel appropriate, but laylah is innocent."

"she is an abomination."

his fury flared through the room, knocking out the electricity and shattering a lamp on the mantel.

"through no fault of her own," he gritted.

she faced him without flinching despite the fact she was half his height and outweighed by two hundred pounds.

of course, she could probably toss his ass against the wall with a flick of her finger.

"it is not the fault of an urlenal demon that he drains the life of humans by simply being near them, but we keep them isolated."

"laylah is not dangerous."

"she is unstable, like all jinn mongrels."

his lips parted to argue only to snap shut as he remembered the oracle could see into his mind. she would already know that laylah had accidentally killed the cur in hannibal. it might have been self-defense, but it still proved she couldn't control her powers.

without thought he sank to his knees.

screw pride.

he had to do something to keep laylah from being exterminated. "please," he whispered.

there was the rustle of the satin robe as siljar stepped forward. "you would plead for the female?"

"yes."

"you are not mated." she peered into tane's eyes that were nearly level with hers. "not yet."

not yet?

okay. tane quickly filed away that potential time bomb with things not to think about.

he bent his head, doing his best to look humble. not one of his finer talents.

"i only ask that she not be destroyed without being offered an opportunity to prove she means no harm."

the dark eyes narrowed. "she makes you vulnerable and yet you would protect her. fascinating."

more like suicidal, but he couldn't seem to stop the insanity.

"may i ask what you intend to do with her?" he demanded, proving his point. "what we intended to do from the beginning." "but..." "silence."