The closer they came to locating Gaius, the more she realized they needed information. She wasn’t going to blindly attempt to capture a spirit that terrified the Oracles enough to have it locked away.

Not when . . .

She grimaced again. Why not admit it? Not when Santiago might be harmed.

Thrusting aside the vulnerable thought, she met the fiery dragon gaze. “It was contained by the Oracles by a rift in space.”

“When?”

Santiago moved to stand directly behind her shoulder at Baine’s sharp tone, but he was smart enough to keep the sword at his side.

“I don’t have an exact date,” she admitted. “But it was when the world was still young.”

“The Veil,” Baine murmured.

“Yes.”

An odd purring filled the air. Not the cute purring of a kitten, but the lethal vibration of an irritated dragon.

“I should have suspected the idiots were hiding something.”

“No love lost for the Commission?” Santiago demanded.

A tiny wisp of smoke curled from one nostril, revealing the dragon’s opinion of the ultimate leaders of demon kind.

“They have tried to pass themselves off as impartial judges who rule the demon world with no thought beyond justice.” He made a sound of disgust. “When the truth is much less noble.”

“Definitely no love lost,” Santiago muttered.

Nefri studied Baine’s finely carved features, sensing his dislike of the Oracles was more personal than irritation with their positions of authority.

“You weren’t aware of why they created the Veil?” she asked.

“No.” Another wisp of smoke. “Tell me more of the creature.”

She felt the light skim of Santiago’s fingers down the curve of her spine. As if she needed the silent warning to be careful. The very air was heating with Baine’s rising temper.

“Unfortunately I know little more than it was dangerous enough to prompt the Oracles to bar it from the mortal world,” she carefully confessed. “And that it’s currently traveling with a vampire named Gaius.”

“And you believe the vampire is infected?”

“Gaius seems capable of spreading intense emotions among the humans with his bite. Fear, violence, lust . . .” She shook her head in frustration. Until she understood how and why he was infecting humans, she couldn’t risk coming into contact with him. “We don’t know if it’s a deliberate act or a symptom of his own sickness.”

The amber eyes widened, as if her words had startled the dragon. Rather amazing considering the beast was rumored to be older than the world and possessed the knowledge of thousands of species.

Then, without warning, a mysterious smile was curling his lips. “Intense emotion?”

“Is something funny?” Santiago growled.

Turning with a sinuous motion, Baine paced across the narrow room, his chuckle sending a rash of unease over Nefri’s skin.

“It really is the perfect irony,” he murmured.

“Do you know this spirit?” Nefri asked.

“Perhaps.”

“Are you going to share?” Santiago snapped.

Nefri elbowed him with enough force to make him wince in pain.

“Santiago,” she muttered.

Baine slowly turned back. “I must consider what I’m prepared to reveal.”

“Thank you.” Nefri dipped her head in respect. “We would appreciate any information you can share.”

“Ever the diplomat, eh, beautiful Nefri?” Baine drawled.

Nefri shot a chiding glance toward the vampire still scowling at her side. “It’s necessary when surrounded by impetuous males who love to flex their muscles.”

Baine sent a mocking glance toward Santiago, at the same time waving a slender hand toward the double doors on the opposite side of the throne. With a faint squeak one door swung slowly inward, as if it hadn’t been opened in centuries.

“The hallway leads to a private suite,” Baine told her. “We will speak again when I’ve made my decision.”

“Of course.”

Grabbing her companion by the arm, she led him toward the door before he could demand the dragon tell them what he knew.

There was nothing they could say or do to force Baine to speak. Not even the Hope Diamond could sway him.

For now they would have to wait until he decided they were worthy of his secrets.

And pray that it didn’t take until the next millennium.

Chapter 16

Santiago allowed Nefri to lead him down the long, shadowed hallway. Not that he was happy about it.

A dragon. A freaking dragon.

Like it wasn’t bad enough to be chasing a mysterious spirit and his crazy-ass sire who could infect humans. Now he was trapped in the lair of a dragon.

“You have a habit of collecting dangerous friends, cara,” he growled, his wary gaze trying to focus on the paneled walls that seemed to waver in and out of focus. As if they were walking through the strange corridors between dimensions.

Nefri had the nerve to send him a puzzled frown. “Dangerous?”

He snorted. “Dragons, Oracles . . .”

“Baine is hardly a friend,” she interrupted him.

“And the Oracles?”

She grimaced. “I’m nothing more than a lowly servant for the Commission.”

This proud, beautiful woman a servant?

Yeah, and stars were mere specks in the sky.

Santiago lifted a hand to brush his fingers down the cool silk of her hair. “You may have been forced to do things against your will, querida, but you have never been a servant. Not to anyone.”

“A fine distinction,” she murmured, although there was a hint of appreciation in the dark, velvet eyes as she halted at a door that abruptly appeared from the shadows. Pausing for a brief second, she reached for the knob and pushed the thick wood door open and stepped over the threshold. Then, with a startled sound, she came to a sudden halt. “Good . . . lord.”

Without thought, Santiago had his sword lifted and was moving past Nefri to confront whatever had caused her astonishment.

What he found was . . . nothing.

At least, nothing beyond a circular room with a domed ceiling that was decorated with paintings of tiny cupids at play. Inlaid with narrow bands of gold, the floor was made of marble that was polished until it glowed beneath a Venetian chandelier.

The walls were the same marble, but veined with a pale green that matched the velvet upholstery on the chaise lounge near a built-in armoire, as well as the comforter on the large, canopy bed set in the center of the room.

A little too pretentious for his taste, but he would have bet his last dollar it was perfectly suited to Nefri.

“What is it?” he rasped, stepping further into the room, his gaze searching for a hidden enemy.

She moved to stand at his side, her expression wary. “This is an exact replica of my private rooms.”

Santiago hissed, his mind instantly consumed with the image of the handsome, lethal predator prowling through Nefri’s most intimate territory. “Baine’s been in your bedroom?”

Her brows lifted at his snarled question, the temperature dropping by several degrees. “That’s your concern? Whether or not Baine’s been in my bedroom?”

He wasn’t stupid. He knew there was something wrong with his logic. But beyond being a warrior or a vampire, he was a man. And men didn’t think clearly when they were obsessed with a particular woman. “Yes.”

She rolled her eyes. “No, Santiago, I didn’t entertain a dragon in my bedroom.”

“Then how is this possible?” he demanded, his gaze taking in each detail of the classically graceful room.

Again he was struck by just how suited it was to Nefri’s regal yet understated beauty. It was all too easy to imagine her lying on the bed, her hair spread like a river of ebony across the green velvet cover.

“I don’t know, but it’s uncanny.” Nefri moved to run a hand over a Chinese vase that stood as tall as Santiago.

Compelled by his own need to make sure his eyes weren’t deceiving him, Santiago stepped forward to grasp the wooden post of the bed. He could feel the sanded grains beneath his fingers, just as he could catch the scent of polish.

“Are you sure this sliver of another dimension doesn’t overlap the Veil?”

She shook her head. “No, this is an illusion.”

“A damned real illusion.”

She crossed to pull open the armoire, revealing several long robes that she preferred to wear when she was among her clansmen. “Yes.”

Santiago narrowed his eyes. “That doesn’t explain how the dragon knew what your bedroom looked like. Or what you wear when you’re home alone.”

She closed the door of the armoire with a controlled bang, turning to meet his suspicious gaze. “Either he took the image from my thoughts or somehow I’m manipulating the illusion to reflect my preferences.”

“Your preference, but not mine?”

“And your point?”

Point? He didn’t have a point, dammit. “It just seems odd.”