I looked up at him. “I sense the kindness in you. You’re not all bad.”
“You have no idea what I’ve done.” The shadows in his voice made me shiver. “The atrocities you imagine that Vlad the Impaler committed? Worse. Ten times worse.”
I swallowed hard and looked away.
“Focus,” he ordered.
I blinked, trying. Work was safer than he was.
Visions flashed through my mind, and I tried to hone in on one in particular, a woman with dark hair who’d sat here last.
“It’s working,” I said.
“Good. Focus on the feeling of control. On where your magic is coming from inside you. It will help you in the future.”
I nodded, doing as he said. “It’s easier this time, but our guy never sat at this table.”
“That’s fine.” He withdrew his hand, and I felt the strangest sense of loss. “We’ll approach the bar under the pretense of wanting to taste some local wines, and we can ask the bartender.”
“All right.” I stood, leaving my emptied champagne glass on the table. I hated to leave the rest of the bottle, but there was no way I could drink more and still take care of myself, even with this enchanted dress. “Let me use the facilities, and I’ll join you.”
He nodded.
I turned and strode toward the toilets, finding them without too much trouble. As I passed the men’s room, I trailed my hand along the wooden door. Had our guy touched it? I used my new control to focus on the faces, but there were too many, a jumble of images I couldn’t decipher.
I headed to the women’s room, determined to practice more. Another patron was standing at the sink when I entered. Her eyes met mine in the mirror, and she gasped.
“You!” she said, her accent light and unfamiliar.
“Me?”
She turned to face me, swaying slightly and clearly a little bit tipsy. “You’re with him.”
“The Devil of Darkvale.”
“Yes.” She nodded, her tone wary.
“I am.”
“Be careful. He is not what he seems.”
“I’ve been getting that impression. But who is he?”
“He’s…you know.” She looked around as if to check that the room was empty. It was so silent that it had to be. “The Impaler.”
A chill raced through me. “Really?”
“Really.”
Did I believe her?
Yes.
I’d already known it, even though he’d never confirmed it. And now I was dead certain.
She was obviously worried about me. Concern radiated from her like perfume. She’d clearly had enough to drink that her guard was down.
“Just be careful.” Her voice was intense. “He has a terrible past here.”
“But it’s in the past?”
“Yes. Long ago, but… those things cannot be forgotten.”
The chill on my skin grew colder. “Thank you for the warning.”
She nodded. “I can show you the back way to sneak out, if you want.”
“Thank you, but I can’t. I am with him for a reason tonight, but I’ll be careful, I swear.”
She nodded, looking unsurprised, and left.
I watched her leave, her pink dress glittering under the light, and was struck again by the thought that drunk girls were the best people on earth.
As I finished my business and tidied up at the sink, I thought of the Devil. Of his many secrets. Of the goodness I’d felt in him when he’d shared his magic with me. But he’d also told me that he was worse than I could imagine.
Which one was the real man?
7
The Devil
Carrow emerged from the corridor. She glowed with an ethereal light that drew me to her, the most beautiful woman I’d ever seen.
I leaned back against the bar and waited for her. The bartender had asked what I wanted when I’d first approached, but I’d made an excuse. I would wait for Carrow. We would need both of our skills for this.
My gaze followed her as she walked across the room. So did the gaze of every other man.
I clenched my fists, fighting back the desire for violence.
Rational thought pulled me from the precipice. I’d left that part of my life behind. I needed to atone. At the very least, I could refrain from tearing other people’s heads off. I was a pastime I’d once enjoyed, but my cold, dead heart recognized it as wrong.
Mostly.
Carrow stopped in front of me. She was close enough now that I could see the shadows in her gaze.
“Are you all right?” I asked.
“Fine.”
Despite her small smile, there was something under the surface. Mistrust?
I couldn’t blame her. I wouldn’t trust me, either.
But this seemed newer. Deeper.
“Let’s do this.” She moved her gaze to something behind me.
I turned as the bartender approached. She had nondescript features and cunning eyes. Intelligence gleamed in their depths.
“What can I get you?” she asked.
Her twin was nowhere to be seen, which made this the perfect time to act.
I leaned close and pitched my voice low, giving it all my magic. “We are looking for any information on this man.”
I pulled the picture from my pocket and showed it to her.
Her gaze blurred at the sound of my voice. She blinked at the image. “I don’t recognize him.”
The words sounded forced from her. “Don’t try to lie.”
“I’m…not.”
“You are.” I pulled the magic from deep inside me and sent it pulsing toward her. It was invisible, but I often imagined it as smoke that they inhaled.
My compulsion hit her, and her eyes became totally unfocused. “He met Ivan here several days ago.”
The name punched me in the stomach, but I wasn’t unsurprised. The old bastard was back. “What did they discuss?”
“I couldn’t hear them.”
This, I believed. Ivan, a notorious warlord from my past, was clever and careful. I’d put him in the ground centuries ago, but he’d risen, it seemed, and kept all his talents.
Carrow’s hand crept out. She rested her fingertips against the woman’s forearm and closed her eyes. I felt her magic swell, the scent of lavender rushing over me. I held my breath, not wanting to inhale the sweetly spicy scent for fear of losing my focus.
“They sat on the other side of the room, across from us,” Carrow said. “Too far for her to hear. But she saw them pass something between them.”
“Was it a napkin?” I asked.
“No.”
The bartender struggled to break free, but I pushed more magic toward her.
“It was a key,” said Carrow.
“A key? To what?”
“I don’t know.” There was truth to her words.
The bartender’s twin approached from the other side of the bar, returning from her errands. Her sharp eyes narrowed on us, and she strode over, a scowl cutting deep across her face.
I withdrew my power from the air, calling it back to me. Carrow jerked her hand back, but it was too late.
“You are not welcome here,” the angry twin said.
The bartender gasped and glared at us. She raised her hands and gestured, and a band of men stepped from the shadows. No surprise. I’d spotted them when we’d walked in. Perhaps they were Ivan’s men, set to guard his old favorite hangout in his absence.
Fine. I wanted Ivan to know we were coming for him.
After all, he was coming for me.
Carrow
I turned from the bartenders, spotting the huge men drifting away from the walls. The guards I’d noticed earlier.
“Are you ready to use that dress?” the Devil asked.
I nodded, shaking out my right arm and hoping that the punching charm worked.
The Devil murmured against my ear, “We need to get to the exit, and we can’t transport out of here because of a protective charm.”
“I got it.”
Tension prickled across my skin.
The men charged—at least eight of them, maybe more.
The Devil was faster. His movements were a blur, his vampire speed incredible. Within seconds, he’d knocked together the heads of two of the guards. They collapsed like redwoods, unconscious.
I left him to it, racing for the door. I’d fight if I had to, but I wasn’t going to run straight at the guys like he did. Let him take the worst of the hits.
My enchanted stilettos gave me Fae agility with the comfort of trainers. I darted around tables with speed and grace. I was nearly halfway to the door when a tall, dark-haired man intercepted me. A small, black table stood between us. I grabbed it and swung it at him, and the legs broke against his chest.
He growled and reached for me. I shoved the wreckage of the table at him and dodged behind him. When I kicked him in the knee, he went down hard. Sprinting around him, I punched him in the face. The blow landed with a force that shocked me. He grunted, spit and teeth flying.
“Holy crap.” I spun around, adrenaline keeping me moving. Another guard hurtled toward me. I tried to avoid him, but he was fast. He grabbed me, yanked me against his chest, and wrapped a beefy arm around me.
Across the room, I saw the Devil dispatch four men, but more were coming at him.
I was on my own.
I flicked my wrist, converting my bangle into the dagger like the Fae woman had shown me. The hilt fit easily in my hand. I stabbed over my shoulder, hoping to hit something fleshy.
The knife hit its mark. The guard roared and shoved me forward. I stumbled but kept my grip on my blade, then righted myself and spun around.
“You want to play it that way, do you?” He withdrew a knife from inside his suit coat. It was easily twice as long and scary as mine.
Crap.
He darted toward me, swiping out with speed and precision. The steel sliced my arm, and pain flared. I yelped and leapt back, taking stock of my surroundings. There was another table, but it was too far away.
The man advanced, bloodlust in his eyes.
I’d never been any good at throwing knives, but I was desperate. I chucked mine at him, praying.