Bloodfever
Page 51

Are you kidding me? You mean besides us and whoever got the amulet? There were three of us after it that night?
Bloody damned convention.
Well, who were they? Someone else from the auction?
I have no bloody idea, Ms. Lane. Never seen them before. Never heard of them. As far as I knew, there werent any bloody Scots in the game. Its as if they dropped from the bloody damned sky. He paused then added darkly, And they knew too bloody much for my liking.
All those bloodys was a veritable cornucopia of emotion for Barrons. Whoever the thieves had been, whatever had transpired after Vlane had sifted me off to Faery, it had disturbed him profoundly. Are you sure they arent the ones who stole it?
If theyd been responsible for the killings, it wouldnt have been a massacre.
What do you mean?
Although one of the men was versed in the black arts, both were Druid-trained. Unless blood is required for a specific purpose, a Druid kills cleanly. Whoever, whatever killed the guards and staff that night did it with either the detached sadism of a pure sociopath, or immense rage.
I stuck to the subject of the thieves to avoid the memory of those mutilated bodies. There are Druids around today? I thought they died out a long time ago.
Thats what the world thinks about sidhe-seers, too, he said dryly. You need to lose your preconceptions.
How do you know one of them was into black magic?
He shot me a sideways glance and I knew he was about to stop answering my questions. I was surprised hed answered this many. He was heavily tattooed. Black magic calls a price, Ms. Lane, that can bediminished by working protection runes into the skin.
I thought about that a moment and followed it to its logical conclusion. Dont you eventually run out of skin?
Precisely. Some payments can only be deferred, not denied. I warrant most tell themselves theyll only do one more small spell. Its a drug, like any other.
I eyed him, wondering what his elegant Italian suit and crisp white shirt might conceal. He had all the tattooing implements. What did Barrons look like without his clothes on? Well, if these thieves werent at the auction, I hurriedly dispelled that image, how did they learn about it?
You think we stood around and chatted, Ms. Lane? Youd just vanished and I had no idea where youd gone. We made short work of each other and moved on.
Wondering what constituted short work in Barrons book, I glanced out the window. We were passing through the Temple Bar District. The increase in crime had yet to impact the craic-filled partyzone. It was bustling as usual.
And teeming with Unseelie.
There was at least one for every twenty or so people. I hoped that meant they favored the tourist zone, not that all of Dublin was infested to a similar ratio. This was significantly more Unseelie than Id seen a few days, noa month agowhen Id last walked these boisterous cobbled streets. Oh, God, the Lord Master brought more of them through while I was gone, didnt he? A lot more.
Barrons nodded. Somehow. Not at LaRuhe. He must have constructed a new portal somewhere. Ive been meaning to tell you the dolmen and the warehouse were destroyed. It looked as if someone dropped a bomb on them.
I narrowed my eyes. Id just spotted the dainty, diaphanous Fae Id seen sunning itself on the fountain the day Id encountered Dani. It was standing outside a bar, in the middle of a group of young people. As I watched, it grew even more transparent and took a sort of flickering step toward a curvaceous, smiling brunette, turnedand settled straight into her skinlike slipping into a coat.
The brunettes eyes widened for a split second and she shook her head, as if trying to dislodge something from her ear. The Fae did not exit her body. I turned as we passed, watching through the rear window. Nothing came out. I flexed my sidhe-seer sense, tried to peer past the human shell and see the Fae within.
I couldnt. Couldnt see it and couldnt sense it. I might be able to penetrate their glamour, but I couldnt detect a Fae inside a human skin. Until this moment, Id not known it was possible for a Fae to do such a thing.
I watched until the brunette disappeared from view. She was no longer smiling. I wondered what awful thing Id just witnessed, wondered if I even wanted to know. I could hardly hop out of the car, race back down the blocks, and attempt to exorcise the girl. The whole street would think I was nuts and the Fae inside her would know I knew. I know. Vlane did it for me, I told Barrons absently.
There was a moment of silence. I glanced over and I swear I saw steam coming out of his ears. Too bad he wasnt there to save you the day you nearly died, Ms. Lane, he said coolly.
He was there to get rid of the Shades. Where were you?
He demanded a price. I dont ask a price of you. Nor do I try to fuck you every time I see you.
Yes, you do. Ask a price, I mean. You make me OOP detect. You both dress me in sleazy clothing, boss me around, and tell me as little as you have to in order to get what you want. You both tried to put a cuff on me. You succeeded. Youre no different than he is. Youre both using me. The way I see it, youve both saved my life once. That makes you even in my book.