Dark Obsession (Vampire Royals of New York #3) - Sarah Piper Page 0,2
breath, then said, “If you insist on marching to your doom, I’m coming with you.”
“No. I need you to keep watch over Charlotte. Colin said she needs to be monitored hourly for symptoms of concussion.”
“As will you if you don’t tell me what you’re up to.”
Frustration surged in Dorian’s chest, but he knew Aiden wouldn’t let him off the hook. “I’m going back to the city to find some Rogozin hellspawn to torture. Surely one of them knows something.”
Aiden beamed. “Brilliant! And… Not happening.”
“Today is not the day to test me, Aiden.”
“Nor is it the day to storm the demonic castle and pick off Rogozin’s underlings.” Aiden gripped Dorian’s shoulder. “Not alone, not while you’re half out of your mind with rage, and certainly not without—”
“A witch.”
Both men turned at the sound of the sudden proclamation, and Isabelle stepped out through the broken doorway, her gaze stern as she picked her way across the glass-strewn path. If the sight of the demolished dining room or towering inferno alarmed her, she hid it well.
Fear spiked in Dorian’s gut. “Is Charlotte—”
“She’s resting comfortably,” Isabelle said.
“Thank you for telling me,” he said. “Aiden’s going to look after her while I—”
“He’s right, Dorian.” Isabelle took a step closer, gazing up at him with the same beseeching look she’d given him the night of the fundraiser when he’d wanted to strangle Gabriel in the study. “You can’t interrogate demons without someone who can bind them. They’ll unleash hellfire the moment you make your presence known. Even if you manage to kill them before that, they’ll simply jump into the closest human vessel and try again.”
“Not to worry, Isabelle,” Dorian said. “I’ve no need to kill them. Merely to prod their minds for a bit of information. If they happen to suffer in the process?” Dorian shrugged and glanced at his fingernails as if he hadn’t a care in the world. “Ends, means, etcetera, etcetera.”
“You mean to leave them alive?” Aiden asked. “So they can run straight to Rogozin and tell him what you’ve been on about? That we know Charlotte’s uncle is one of them? That you’re searching for a way to break her curse? Are you trying to paint another target on her back?”
Isabelle’s eyes softened, and she let out a long, terrible sigh. “There is no way to break it, Dorian. It’s not a curse—it’s a binding contract.”
“All contracts have loopholes,” Dorian said.
“Not when they’re forged by a demon lord.”
The reminder cleaved Dorian’s heart in two, igniting his rage all over again.
“Bloody hell, do you two think me a fool? Oh, yes, I’ll just march in there straightaway and ask Rogozin’s dim-witted servants to point me in the direction of the filthy miscreant who’s cursed my woman to hell. Excellent plan!”
Isabelle glanced at Aiden, worry creasing her brow. “We weren’t suggesting—”
“Understand something—both of you.” Dorian jabbed a finger toward the second story of the manor. “That woman sleeping off a possible head injury in my bed? She is everything to me. If she’s in danger, I’ll stop at nothing to obliterate it—including finding a way to break an allegedly unbreakable demonic bind. But I will not bring her further harm by blundering my way through an interrogation that even a simpleton could handle. We need to know about Rogozin’s plans, including the extent of Rudy’s involvement and where they might be keeping Sasha. Absent a better idea, torturing a few useless demons is the fastest and most reliable route. If either of you find such methods unsuitable, I’ll invite you to keep your commentary to yourselves and leave me to my work.”
“You’ll have to excuse him,” Aiden said to Isabelle. “You’d think after all these centuries living among mortals, he’d be more of a people person by now, and yet…”
“I’m not a person, Aiden. I’m a vampire, and I’ve got important business to attend to. So if you’ll excuse me—”
“You need me,” Isabelle said. “I can subdue the demons and prevent them from casting hellfire. And when you’re finished with the questioning, I can eliminate them before they reveal your actions to Rogozin.”
“Banishment?” Dorian narrowed his eyes. Banishing demons was an extremely particular skill set—one most upstanding witches avoided. “I thought your gift was empathic magic.”
“And I thought you were a people person. Seems we’ve both misjudged.” She flashed a quick smile, breaking some of the tension. Then, sobering again, “I walk the dark path on occasion, Dorian. Doing so allows me to appreciate the light all the more.”