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Lord?"

Sergei shrugged "Not if I have a better offer" "I have money if that’s what you want" "HowAto sell a child on the blackof Tane’s utter indifference to the enormous fortune he’d accumulated over the centuries He would naturally assuained a deal

Sergei backed away, shaking his head "No, I don’t trust you"

Tane cursed his stupidity

"And you trust Marika?" he snapped

"Better the devil you know," thein the sa his attempts to escape, Tane closed his eyes and sent his senses flowing outward

He easily located Laylah rushing through a tunnel headed deeper into the bowels of the mountain with Marika in pursuit A violent fury screariei

He couldn’t stop Marika fro the on his abilities, Tane allowed a tiny pulse of power to flow through the air, aie didn’t have the ability to use his sense of smell to follow the females, but he no doubt had learned to associate Laylah with the tiny prickles of electricity she released when she was mad or upset

If Tane could lead the bastard away, then Laylah would have a chance to escape from Marika

He continued to send out the tiny pulses, a cold s lost a the vast spiderweb of tunnels

He hoped the bastard rotted a on his self-i in disbelief as the tiny gargoyle waddled into the cavern

"Well, well" Levet ca before a satisfied sone in another direction, but there is a piquant char frozen caverns with vaether "How the hell did you get here?"

Levet shrugged "I hitched a ride with Cruella de Vil through the portal"

Hitched a ride?

Well … hell

Tane had to ad if not resourceful He was also Tane’s only visibleto live down the shaot out

A thought that did nothing to improve his already foul mood

"Get me down," he barked

Levet folded his arms over his narrow chest "And destroy the lovely picture you oyle backward as Tane’s te to his feet, Levetoff a bit of nonexistent dust, beforetoward hi to the rescue yet again"

Tane clenched his teeth until they threatened to crack beneath the strain

"Why esture, then he paused, as if struck by a sudden thought

"Youthe fireball that had taken out a good chunk of forest, Tane gave a sharp shake of his head He’d rather freeze to the wall than be blown into a ed in his throat as there was a brilliant flash of light

Braced to be barbecued by the unpredictable gargoyle, Tane was totally unprepared when he felt nothing more than a war and he was hitting the ground with enough force to rattle his spine

Surging upright, he snatched the sword off the ground, feeling like an aard fool He glared at his aggravating companion, not entirely convinced that Levet hadn’t intentionally ensured he dropped like a sack of potatoes

Noever, wasn’t the time to slice and dice his only ally

He’d save that particular pleasure until later "Come on," he ordered, headed toward the back of the cavern

"What? Not even a thank you," Levet grumbled "Next occasion I’ll leave you to the bats"

Tane never slowed "Laylah needs us"

"Oh" There was a flutter of wings as Levet hurried to catch up "Why did you not say so in the first place?"

Chapter 21

Laylah turned down yet another passageway, the chill brushing over the back of her neck beco more pronounced as Marika steadily closed the distance between them

She could have escaped

She had halted onlythe tunnel to shadoalk But rather than disappearing into the corridor, she’d shoved Maluhia into the mists and returned to the frozen mountain

It hadn’t been easy to leave her child behind