Dead Man’s Deal. Jocelynn Drake

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СКАЧАТЬ smile quirked the corners of my mouth. “Witches and warlocks aren’t permitted to marry or have children. It’s seen as a weakness and a liability.”

      “What does Gideon’s daughter have to do with Sofie?”

      “His daughter has either exhibited some magical talent or he’s afraid she will. If so, she has to be trained, and he can’t send her to the Towers. They would know in a heartbeat that she was his daughter.”

      “And Gideon, his daughter, and eventually his wife would be killed,” Bronx concluded.

      “Yes.”

      “But if Sofie was changed back to human, would she stay here or would she rather return to the Towers?”

      I stared out the passenger-side window and frowned. “I don’t know.”

      I had known Sofie in human form only briefly while I was living at the Ivory Towers during my apprenticeship to Simon Thorn. She had been nice and motherly, albeit a little meddlesome. Somewhere along the way she had run afoul of a witch or warlock, and had been turned into a big Russian-blue cat. As far as I knew, she couldn’t return to human form until the person who cursed her died. After spending several years as the pet of an elderly woman, she was now living fat and sassy with Trixie.

      Unlike Gideon, Sofie gave no indication that she didn’t approve of how things ran in the Ivory Towers. The only reason she had left was that she felt more vulnerable in cat form. Her ability to use magic had been severely limited. I feared that if Sofie were human again, she would happily return to the Towers, which would be of no help to Gideon and his daughter.

      There wasn’t much I agreed with when it came to the beliefs of the witches and warlocks of the Ivory Towers, but I thought they were right when it came to training all human children who possessed magical talent. It was for the children’s protection and those around them as much as it was about spreading knowledge. An untrained child who could unconsciously tap magical energy was a serious danger. In moments of fear or anger, people died around the child without the child intending it to happen.

      Gideon knew that. If Sofie couldn’t train his daughter, he had few options. He couldn’t do it himself without risking others finding out. Training was an intensive, full-time gig and Gideon was already working for the council as a guardian. But if Bridgette wasn’t trained, she’d have to be killed.

      I closed my eyes against the ugly thought but it was still there. For a brief second I thought that I could at least teach her a few basic things about control and protection, but I crushed the thought before it fully formed. What the fuck did I know about caring for a seven-year-old girl? I was an outcast former warlock-in-training now a tattoo artist who moonlighted nights doing odd jobs for the local mob. Not a great role model. Sofie was the best choice. I’d have to convince her of it.

      “As much as I hate to ask after all the fun we’ve had tonight,” I started, shoving my thoughts back to my most immediate problem, “but what are the chances that Reave doesn’t know about tonight’s events?”

      “Oh, he knows,” Bronx said as he took the exit ramp off the highway. “He definitely knows by now.”

      “Retribution?”

      “Oh, yeah. Expect pain.”

      I leaned my head to the side, hitting it against the window. It was my fault. Bronx had nothing to do with my decision to free the pixies but I knew that Reave would punish him along with me. “Damn it! I’m sorry.”

      “For what? The pixies?”

      “Yeah.”

      “Do you regret it?”

      “No.”

      “Then don’t apologize,” Bronx said. He slowed the car to a stop at a red light and glanced over at me. “You saved lives tonight, and if you didn’t do something, I would have.”

      “Thanks.”

      He shrugged. “It’s been a rough night. You want me to drop you at Trixie’s?”

      “You think it’s safe?”

      “Reave’s going to need time to realign his distribution network after tonight’s escapade. We’ve got a day or two. Besides, I’m sure he knows about Trixie and you. Staying away won’t protect her if he wants to attack you from that side.”

      “Then Trixie’s would be great,” I said with a sigh. “You can come up too. She won’t mind.”

      Bronx chuckled. I knew that trolls were naturally solitary creatures, but sometimes I worried about him feeling lonely even if my worry was unrealistic. “I’ll be fine. I’ve had enough fun for one night. I don’t need another session of strip Chinese checkers burned into my brain.”

      I gave a snort of laughter. “We don’t have to play that. Trixie said she’s been working on a way to make a drinking game out of The Princess Bride.”

      The troll rolled his eyes, one corner of his mouth quirking in a half smile. “Let’s save it for this All Hallows’ Eve. Go spend some quality time with your girlfriend.”

      Smiling, I relaxed in my seat as we got closer to Trixie’s apartment. Beautiful green eyes. Musical laughter. A soft touch that soothed the tears in my heart and the holes in my soul. Tonight, I would fall asleep holding Trixie and I would deal with the rest of the world tomorrow.

      3

      REAVE SURPRISED US as we reached Trixie’s apartment complex. Escorted to a large, dark warehouse in a not-so-nice part of Low Town, we stood in an open area with large wooden crates lining the far walls. Reave’s black clothes and liquid black hair allowed him to nearly disappear into the shadows. Streetlights leaked through the dirty second-story windows, but he avoided the light for the most part.

      To say that Reave was pissed would be an understatement. The Svartálfar wasn’t raving and stomping around the room while intermittently throwing things at us. Dark elves, like their Summer and Winter Court brethren, didn’t show emotion like that. But the telltale muscle spasm at the corner of his eye and the constant fisting and unfisting of his hands said it all.

      “Why do it, Gage? That’s all I want to know,” Reave said in a low, even voice. He almost sounded reasonable.

      I shrugged, fighting to not look over at Bronx. “I’m not sure I know what you’re talking about. You wanted the house protected from intruders. I protected it.”

      “While destroying my supplies in the process.” Each word was ground between clenched teeth. “There are consequences for every action.”

      It happened too quickly for me to react. Two pairs of hands roughly grabbed my arms, jerking me away from Bronx while at the same time turning me so I could easily see him. Five large trolls stepped out of the darkness toward Bronx and began beating on him. He fought back for a few seconds, ducking blows and swinging his meaty fists, but they were too many and too strong. Trolls can take a beating, but even they will start to fold under so much abuse from their own kind. As Bronx was knocked to the ground, I increased my struggles against the hands holding me while screaming at Reave until I was hoarse as they kicked Bronx in the ribs and stomach.

      The СКАЧАТЬ