Page 85 of Ancient Magic

The words were cut short as Valen once again grabbed the male by the throat and squeezed. He very much wanted to keep squeezing. This male had deliberately provoked hostility toward Peri. A hostility that had wounded her feelings and put her life at risk. Worse, it would take years to reverse the damage.

But as much as he wanted the pleasure of crushing the male’s throat, he needed information. Later he would enjoy his revenge.

“Think very carefully about your next answer,” he warned. “The fairy attacked a member of the Cabal. Tell me what you know about him.”

“Nothing. I swear.” The demon struggled to breathe, the stench of his fear polluting the air. Any violence directed toward a vampire was a death sentence for demons. A slow, painful death sentence. “I saw him a few times in the local demon clubs but I never spoke to him.”

“Someone was helping him,” Valen hissed.

“Not me.”

“How many of your horde work at my lair?”

Gunther stared at him in confusion, as if he didn’t understand the simple question.

“Work at your lair?” he repeated, his lashes lowering over his bloodshot eyes. “None of them. We’re just street thugs. We sell some dope and occasionally shake down the local businesses for offering them protection.” He squeaked as Valen’s fingers tightened. “Shit, I’m being honest.” The demon turned his head enough to glare toward the head on the stage. “I was out of my fucking mind to let that bastard convince me to cause trouble. I might not be a devoted citizen, but I’m not an idiot. I would never have attacked the Cabal. And I don’t know nothing about the fairy.”

Frustration crashed through Valen. Gunther was telling the truth. Or at least the truth as far as he knew it.

“Other members of your horde might not have been so reluctant to make money on the side,” Valen suggested, more out of desperation than genuine hope.

“That’s true, I suppose.”

The demon looked doubtful. Valen didn’t blame him. He carefully interrogated the staff who were allowed access to his lair, no matter what their job title. It seemed doubtful that a street thug had managed to sneak their way past his layers of security. But someone had given Lynx the key to the private guest rooms, he grimly reminded himself.

“I want them gathered in my office within the hour,” he commanded. It was past time that he interviewed everyone in the building.

Gunther’s mouth opened and closed, like a fish out of water. “I can’t,” he finally forced himself to admit.

Valen hissed, lifting the demon off his feet until they were nose to nose. “You’re playing a dangerous game.”

Gunther wheezed in desperation, his square face turning a weird shade of puce. “It’s no game,” he rasped. “I haven’t been able to contact any of them.”

“Since when?”

“I...” Gunther’s eyes started to roll back in his head, and with an impatient click of his tongue, Valen released his grip and allowed him to drop awkwardly to the ground.

“When was the last time you met with your horde?” Valen repeated his question as Gunther massaged his thick neck.

“We were all at the theater a couple days ago,” he said, his voice hoarse.

“Why?”

“Igor demanded we meet with him. I thought we were going to get paid but he said he had more jobs for us to do. None of us were happy about that. You can’t spend promises, and my bitch was starting to complain—”

“Get to the point,” Valen sharply interrupted.

“Yeah, okay.” Gunther coughed, his hand still rubbing his bruised neck. “Igor had only been here a few minutes when we realized there were a couple of mages hiding in the balcony. I don’t know if they were pissed about us causing trouble for your mate, but they took out three of my crew and the rest of us scattered.” He glanced around the empty auditorium as if hoping they might suddenly appear. “I’ve been trying to get in contact with them ever since then, but...nada. It’s like they just vanished.”

Gabriel took a step forward, sending Valen a worried glance. “Or someone made them vanish.”

Valen nodded, equally worried. The list of questions kept growing. The list of answers did not. It was enough to infuriate the most patient vampire.

“So why are you here?” Valen snapped.

“I’ve been coming back here every few hours, hoping one of them might be hanging around,” Gunther explained, his voice edged with genuine loss. He might be a criminal, but the horde was obviously the only friends and family he had. “Or at least someone might have left a message telling me where they’re hiding.” His gaze returned to the rotting head. “The last thing I expected was a mutilated demon and two leeches.”

“Is it unusual for them to disappear?”

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