Veiled Threat by Shannon Mayer

truly?”
    For all her faults that I see now were my own, yes, she speaks the truth. He started off again toward the badlands, heading to the mineshaft.
    “Is he going to help?”
    No. He’s not.
    Fuck a duck, why was I not surprised?

Chapter 9
    S tanding with Rylee and Alex in front of the doorway within the mineshaft that led into the castle where red caps waited was one of the hardest moments of his life.
    “You still trust me to do what I have to?” Rylee lifted her eyes to his in the flickering light, an eyebrow arched in query.
    “I said I did. I stand by it. Doesn’t mean I damn well like this plan of yours.” Actually, his gut was churning with fear for her. The red caps were one thing, but going into the deeper levels of the veil, which neither of them knew anything about, with no one to guide her… the thought pulled at his soul. Going with her through the doorway wasn’t an option and it killed him.
    “Thanks.” She leaned up and kissed him, pressing her lips hard to his before backing away. “I don’t know how long we’ll be.”
    “How long do I wait before I come after you?” Because that was a distinct possibility.
    She shook her head. “You don’t. Because if I’m wrong and I get killed then I’m not the one the prophecies speak of, and you will be one of the last few who has an ability to face demons.”
    He sucked in a sharp breath. “That does not help me let you go.”
    “But it’s the truth.”
    Alex’s tail thumped the ground and he tugged at Liam’s pant leg. “I take care of Rylee.”
    Liam looked from Rylee—her jaw hanging open—to Alex and back again. He didn’t want to change the subject but … “Did you hear that?”
    She sputtered, “He used ‘I’ instead of ‘Alex.’”
    “Shit, he really is coming around.”
    Alex grinned at them and even winked at Rylee. “I keeps her safe, boss, no worries.”
    Without any thought other than to hold her one last time, Liam wrapped his arms around her and held her against his chest. “Come back to me, Tracker.”
    She clung to him for two breaths before pushing back. “I always do.”
    With that, she stepped back, put her hand on the door and she and Alex slipped through.
    He saw a glimmer of the castle walls within the lower dungeon levels and then nothing as the door shut behind them. In the quiet of the old mine shaft Liam waited. Hating he’d lied to her.
    “Blaz, can you hear me?”
    Ah. Yes. Why, is something wrong already?
    “I don’t care what you have to do, but you get Ophelia to get Erik’s asses here pronto.”
    Sweet mother of the gods, I didn’t think you’d let her go without a fight. I’ll make it happen.
    Liam stared at the closed doorway. There was no way he was letting her go on her own.
    She just didn’t know it yet.

    The walls were splattered with blood from the red caps where the hoarfrost demons had gone through them. Except for the distant sputter of torches the place was quiet, even more so than usual. Like a tomb. A shudder rippled through me.
    “Fucking creepy,” I muttered, and glanced at Alex. Crap, I stifled a laugh.
    He was walking on the tip toes of his front paws, very cartoon like, his lower lip drawn down in an exaggerated frown, mumbling, “Stupid red caps, dumber demons,” under his breath.
    I pulled my swords from their sheaths and drew the symbols Erik taught us. Tapping Alex on the shoulder with a clenched fist I pointed at the tip of my sword while I drew the symbol again. He nodded and did the same with his claws. But no flash of light this time, no burning of the blades. Maybe it was only the first few times? Didn’t matter. We were in and going, we couldn’t look back.
    A swell of nerves rose in me; why would the symbols work when Erik was around, but not now?
    I swallowed hard, tried to convince my brain we were ready to rumble with any demons we might face. Though I doubted we’d face those first. Red caps now, demons later.
    We made our way up the first