Rya frowned as the gargoyle tilted back his head and spread his wings.

"What are you doing?" she demanded.

"My magic cannot work, but I might be able to use my ability to speak mind to mind," he told her.

Rya hesitated, wondering if the small demon was teasing her. She didn't know much about gargoyles or their powers. But as his pretty wings shimmered with a flare of magic, she allowed herself to experience a surge of hope.

"You can truly use telepathy?" she asked.

"Oui. I am a demon with many gifts."

Rya crossed the floor to stand at his side. "Can you contact my father?"

He wrinkled his short snout. "It would be simpler to try and reach out to Tayla. We already have a mental connection."

Rya nodded. That made sense. "What can I do?"

He gave a dramatic wave of his hands. "You may watch me in amazement."

Her lips twitched. "Okay."

Levet closed his eyes, presumably reaching out to Baine's mate. Rya stood beside him, waiting for...

Well, she didn't really know what she was waiting for. But as the minutes ticked past, she grew increasingly restless.

Levet, on the other hand, stood so still she started to wonder if he'd shifted into his statue-form.

Then, with a gusty sigh, he abruptly opened his eyes.

"Sacre bleu."

"Is something wrong?" she asked.

He gave a click of his tongue. "The magic is too thick for me to penetrate."

Rya grimaced, her hope fading. "d.a.m.n."

Levet's wings drooped. "I even tried to reach Finn, since he is within the maze with us."

A cold dread twisted her stomach. Over the past few days she'd become fond of the prince of frost sprites. She couldn't bear the thought of him being hurt.

Or worse.

"You couldn't find him?"

"He is blocking me," the gargoyle muttered. "The imbecile."

"Can you tell if he's okay?"

"He's alive," Levet muttered, his tail twitching around his feet. "That is all I can say."

Rya nodded. At least she knew he hadn't been killed by their unseen enemy.

On the point of suggesting they spend a few hours resting to regain their strength, Rya abruptly stiffened.

What was wrong with her brain? She had the perfect solution to their troubles.

"What about my mother?" she eagerly demanded. "Could you reach out to her?"

Clearly caught off guard by her request, Levet held up a clawed hand.

"I can make no promises, ma belle. I have never met your mother, which makes it much more difficult to touch her mind."

She held his gaze, her hands pressed together. She was desperate to reach her mother.

"Will you try?" she pleaded.

There was a short pause before the gargoyle was performing a deep bow.

"For you, ma belle? Anything."

She chuckled at his flamboyant antics. He truly was a charming companion. She couldn't understand why Torque found him so annoying.

Stepping back, she watched as he once again closed his eyes and lifted his hands. His wings shimmered with a pulse of magic, and then...nothing.

Prepared this time for his absolute stillness, Rya forced herself to remain patient. Just a few minutes later, however, Levet gave a strangled cry and tumbled face-first onto the stone floor.

Instantly dropping to her knees, she reached out to roll him onto his back, careful not to bend his fragile wings.

"Levet?" She touched his cheek, uncertain whether his chilled skin was natural or if something was truly wrong with him. "Levet, can you hear me?"

There was the sound of hurried footsteps as Torque rushed back into the room.

"Rya," he rasped, swiftly bending down next to her. "Are you hurt?"

A strange warmth filled her heart at the genuine concern that smoldered in the sapphire eyes.

He was really and truly worried about her.

"No, I'm fine," she a.s.sured him, nodding toward the unconscious demon on the floor. "But something's happened to Levet."

Torque made a sound of disgust. "Do you want me to throw him out of the lair?"

She sent him a chiding frown. "Of course not."

He shrugged. "Just a suggestion."

Ignoring his ridiculous words, she grabbed Levet's shoulder and gave him a small shake. The gargoyle groaned softly, but his eyes remained shut.

"He was trying to reach my mother when he collapsed," she muttered.

"Reach your mother?" Torque demanded. "How?"

"Levet claims to be a telepath."

Torque snorted. "He claims to be a lot of things."

She turned her head to study him in confusion. "I thought he was your friend?"

"Friend?" Torque shuddered. "He is a barnacle that is impossible to sc.r.a.pe off."

"Hey," Levet protested, his eyes fluttering open. "I am no banjo."

"See?" Torque growled, straightening as Levet pushed himself to his feet. "Aggravating pest."

Rya concentrated on the tiny gargoyle, still worried that he'd hurt himself. "Are you okay?"

"Non." He absently rubbed one of his stunted horns. "My head is throbbing."

Rya grimaced. "I'm sorry, Levet. I should never have asked you to use your gifts in this place."

"It is not your fault, ma belle," the gargoyle a.s.sured her. "Your mother is very...formidable."

Rya pressed a hand to her chest as her heart missed a painful beat. "You spoke to her?"

Levet's wings gave a violent flutter. "Actually, she spoke to me."

Rya blinked back sudden tears of relief. Until that precise moment she didn't realize just how worried she'd been. "She's alive."

"Very much so," Levet muttered.

Rya reached out to grab his arm. "Could you tell if she was nearby?"

"Non, I am sorry. I sensed that she's trapped in the same icy prison as we are, but it is impossible to know her precise location."

Rya slowly rose to her feet, vaguely aware of the heat that scalded down the length of her back as Torque moved to stand directly behind her. Her attention never wavered from the tiny gargoyle. "Did she speak to you?"

"Oui." Levet shivered at the memory. "She was frighteningly insistent."

Rya smiled with wry amus.e.m.e.nt, growingly confident that he had indeed contacted her mother.

She was a female who let people know exactly what was on her mind. In very vigorous fashion.

"What did she say?"

Levet grimaced. "She told me that we're all in danger."

Torque's arm abruptly wrapped around her waist as Rya gave a small gasp, tugging her protectively against the hard strength of his chest.

"We already knew that," he growled.

She glanced over her shoulder to send Torque a reprimanding frown before returning her attention to Levet.

"Anything else?"

Levet nodded. "She insisted that we must wake the dragon."

"What dragon?" Torque demanded.

Levet glanced toward him with an overly innocent smile. "I a.s.sume that she meant your female."

Torque swore beneath his breath. "For the last time, she isn't mine," he ground out.

Levet shrugged. "So you say."

Feeling Torque stiffen, Rya rolled her eyes.

Men...

Did they all feel the need to bicker and fuss like rabid orcs?

"Is that all she said?" she asked, trying to diffuse the sizzling tension in the air.

"Oui." Levet nodded. "Just that we are in danger and that someone must wake the dragon."

Slowly turning in Torque's arms, she met his narrowed gaze.

"Rya-"

She overrode his protest. "We have to find the dragon. And we have to do it now."

CHAPTER ELEVEN.

Finn turned away from the closed fissure to study the strange mound that consumed the majority of the cavern floor.

Unlike the ice that made up the labyrinth, it was denser. And far too cloudy to determine what was beneath it.

Not that Finn intended to find out.

His magic easily determined that it wasn't just one big chunk of frozen liquid. Instead, there were thousands of thin layers that covered a hidden object.

Clearly someone had gone to a lot of trouble to keep the thing buried. He had no intention of disturbing it.