The Mage in Black (13 page)

Rhea smiled and patted my arm. “Yes, dear.”

“Can I have some water at least?” I snapped. “Or is thirst part of my penance?”

“Of course you can have water,” she said with a patient smile. “Giguhl? Would you please get Sabina a glass of water?”

For the first time, I realized Giguhl had been sitting in a chair across the room this whole time. His arms were crossed, and his posture told me he was in full sulk about something. When Rhea asked him to get me water, he rolled his eyes and sighed. “Fine.”

“What’s wrong with him?” I asked.

Rhea shook her head. “We’ll discuss it later.”

While I waited for my surly demon to bring me a drink, I took stock of my surroundings. A familiar scent lingered in the air, but I couldn’t place it yet. We were in an office I didn’t recognize. A glass-and-steel desk sat about five yards away. I lay on a black leather couch next to a coffee table matching the desk.

Giguhl handed me the glass and trudged back to his chair without a word. I took a long drink, swishing the water in my mouth first to wash away the silver flakes.

“Where did the weres go?” I asked Rhea, since apparently Giguhl wasn’t speaking to anyone.

“Rex took Romulus back to the pack. He’ll recover. Not sure he’ll be too happy with the outcome when he does, though.”

Mention of the outcome reminded me of the latecomer to the fight.
That
was where the familiar scent came from.

“Slade.” The word came out sounding like an expletive. As far as I was concerned, the name ranked right up there with
asshole.
“Where is he?” I tried to sit up. The blood was helping a little with the pain, but I was still in a world of hurt.

Rhea, however, had other plans. “You need to rest.” She pushed me back gently. “He’ll be back soon. I take it you know him?”

I relaxed back into the cushions and nodded. My wounds might be healing, but I was shaky as hell. “He used to work for the Dominae in L.A.”

“An old friend, then?”

I narrowed my eyes. “More like frenemy.”

“In that case,” said Rhea, “I suppose asking you to be civil during our meeting is a waste of breath.”

“You could say that.”

The door opened then. Slade strolled in like he owned the place, which I guess he did. Giguhl perked up.

“Hey, Slade!” he said with more enthusiasm than necessary.

Slade nodded at Rhea and Giguhl as if they’d all already gotten acquainted while I was out, but his eyes were on me.

I jerked up, ignoring the stitch in my side. I didn’t want to face him lying down. Rhea tried to help me up, but I waved her away.

Slade slowed and a smile crept across his face. “Sabina Ka—”

He was interrupted—by my fist.

“Sabina, no!” Giguhl yelled.

I heard a loud curse and movement at my back. The scent of sandalwood filled my nostrils. “Stop!” Rhea grabbed my arms and held me back, surprisingly strong for a mage.

Slade smiled through blood streaking his lips and chin. “Nice to see you’re still feisty as ever.”

A growl came from somewhere deep inside me. “Feisty? Try furious, asshole.”

I didn’t like surprises. Although, truth be told, Slade wasn’t a surprise, exactly. He was more like a bombshell.

“Come, now, Sabina. I’m not your enemy.”

“Could have fooled me.”

“Sabina.” Rhea’s quiet tone held a hefty dose of reprimand.

Then I got a load of the smug smile on Slade’s face. The first thing I learned in assassin school was never to let emotions get the best of you. Hell, Slade himself had reinforced that lesson when we worked together. Allowing an enemy to make you lose your temper was like giving them a weapon to use against your most vulnerable spot. I took a deep breath and willed my muscles to loosen, my jaw to relax, my heart rate to slow.

Rhea felt the change and loosened her grip. Stayed close in case she needed to step in again. However, Giguhl looked like a child witnessing Mommy and Daddy fight for the first time. That really burned my ass. Giguhl was my demon, but he obviously had a man crush on Slade. What the hell had happened while I was out?

Slade didn’t seem impressed by my demon. Instead he went with a patronizing, “Good girl.”

Now he was just trying to taunt me. I let the condescending tone slide off my back. “You owe me ten grand. With interest and adjusted for inflation.”

He laughed. “Still funny, too.”

I clenched my jaw, knowing he was trying to goad me into losing my temper again.

“Sabina, The Shade deserves our thanks. He agreed to let the fight stand as a draw. Your debt has been paid.”

“Stop calling him that ridiculous name. His name is Slade.”

“Let’s not bicker over trivialities. Sabina, I don’t go by that name anymore. Here”—he motioned with his hands—“I’m The Shade. But since you’re an old friend you can call me Slade.”

“Don’t do me any favors, asshole. We’re not friends.”

Slade laughed. “Surely you’re not still mad.”

“Mad about what?” Giguhl prompted. “Does someone want to clue us in here?”

“No,” I snapped.

“Sure,” Slade said at the same time. “Sabina and I used to work together.”

Giguhl shot me a look. “
Worked
together, huh?”

His emphasis on the word made it clear the demon wasn’t buying it. Good instincts, that Giguhl.

“Among other things,” Slade said with a smile. I gritted my teeth, not wanting to get into this in front of Rhea.

I met Giguhl’s interested gaze. “We
worked
together on a case. But
Slade
here took credit for the kill and ran off with the payday.”

I felt Slade’s stare and glanced over. What I hadn’t mentioned was Slade and I had slept together—once—before he screwed me in a different way. The heat in his eyes now told me I wasn’t the only one remembering the more carnal aspects of our past dealings.

“You know why I left, Sabina,” he said quietly.

I shook my head. “I don’t want to talk about it. It’s ancient history.”

“If you say so.” His sardonic look made me want to punch him again. But I was already embarrassed about my earlier lack of control. No reason to give him more proof I was anything but over what happened last time I saw him.

A brief, awkward silence followed. Rhea had gone silent, preferring to observe the fireworks rather than get involved. On the other hand, Giguhl was obviously itching to find out all about the subtext zinging through the conversation. Too damned bad. Meanwhile, Slade looked like the cat that swallowed the canary. I just wanted to shove that canary up his ass.

“So,” he said. “The fight went well. Don’t worry about Romulus. The fight was fair. He can save face with the pack by claiming I stopped the fight.”

He sat in his leather executive chair and motioned us to take the chairs opposite. I sat and took stock of the changes in Slade. Thirty years ago, he’d been an assassin with a chip on his shoulder. Looking at him now, though, it was clear the years had smoothed out the rough edges and buffed them to a shine. I’d bet money the charcoal pinstripe number was designer. His hair was darker, too, just a shade darker than the light auburn of his younger days. His posture was that of a man accustomed to calling the shots. But his devilish sense of humor lurked under the powerful veneer. Okay, fine, he was still hot. Also still an asshole, I quickly reminded myself.

Giguhl cleared his throat and nudged me. I realized then Slade had been staring at me, too, and the room had gone silent. “What?” I asked him.

“Damn, it’s good to see you,” he said. “When the Lone Wolves told me who kicked their asses in the park, I thought they were joking. But the description they gave me couldn’t have been anyone else.”

That statement told me he knew why I’d left Los Angeles, but not exactly why I’d come to New York. Something told me to keep my sister out of this discussion.

“Well, I wish I could say the same—about seeing you again, I mean.”

The corner of Slade’s mouth lifted. “That’s the past talking. We’re not so different now, you and me.”

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

“I defected from the Dominae. You betrayed them.”

I shook my head. “That’s different.”

“Is it?” he asked with a lifted brow.

“So I can tell the Hekate Council Sabina’s debt has been paid?” Rhea interrupted.

Slade sighed and grimaced. “Not exactly. There is still the issue of the unpaid blood tax.”

“Blood tax? What the hell is that?” I asked, scooting to the edge of my seat in case I needed to sock him again.

“All vampires must pay a blood tax if they want to feed in my city.”

Rhea elbowed me to keep quiet. “Not to split hairs here, but this is the Hekate Council’s city. And considering who Sabina’s sister is, I’m sure you can make an exception in her case.”

Slade’s eyes swiveled to me. “Sister?”

I cursed under my breath. Time to change the subject before he realized the sister in question was a high priestess of the council and the oracle of New York. A guy like Slade? He’d find some way to use that bit of intel in his favor. “It’s a long story. And Rhea’s right. I shouldn’t have to pay the blood tax.”

“And why is that?”

“A. The only time I tried to feed I was a victim of
suckus interuptus
.”

“How so?”

“The guy shot me,” I admitted.

Slade threw back his head and laughed. “Priceless!”

My cheeks flamed, but I forged ahead. “B. The Hekate Council has requested I forego feeding from humans for the time being. So there’s no reason for me to pay your tax.”

“You have already bitten a human in my territory, therefore you owe me a retroactive payment of two grand.”

“What?” I yelled. “That’s highway robbery!”

“Come now, Sabina. Surely two grand is spare change for someone with an assassin’s salary.”

I gritted my teeth. “As you already pointed out, I don’t work for the Dominae anymore.”

Slade nodded, seeming unimpressed with my predicament. Knowing Slade, he knew every last detail of what had happened. And I’m sure he loved the irony. I’d been pissed at him not just for taking my money, but also for abandoning the Dominae. And now here I’d committed the worse crime against them—betrayal.

“Anyway,” I continued, “Seeing as how I’m out of a job for the time being, I’m finding it hard to justify paying that much money for feeding rights I have no intention of using.”

“Then I’m afraid we’ve reached an impasse,” Slade said. “Unless…”

I rolled my eyes at his baiting. Rhea cleared her throat—a warning to hear Slade out. “Unless what?” I sighed, not bothering to hide the impatience in my tone.

Slade rubbed his lower lip, thinking. “How about a compromise? You let your demon here compete in my Demon Fight Club, and I’ll forgive the tax.”

Giguhl stiffened next to me. I glared at him to keep quiet. “What the hell is Demon Fight Club?”

He leaned back in the chair, looking pleased with himself. “It’s exactly what it sounds like. Two demons meet in the ring and duke it out. The customers love it, and I love the money they bring in.”

Giguhl shifted next to me. I glanced at him. He was trying to look casual, but his posture told me he was interested. However, I wasn’t thrilled about the idea of spending any more time with Slade than necessary. “I don’t know—”

“I think it sounds fu—” I shot Giguhl a glare, cutting him off.

“I need to think about it,” I said to both Slade and Giguhl.

Slade nodded. “Think about it, but let me know ASAP. If you say no, you’ll be paying interest for every day you made me wait.”

“I said no, Giguhl.”

“C’mon, Sabina.” The cat hadn’t shut up since we left Vein. He stuck his little bald head up through the open zipper of the bag. The partition between us and the cabbie afforded enough privacy that I felt comfortable allowing it. But if the cat didn’t stop his bitching soon, I was going to change my mind.

“I said we’d discuss it. Later.” I turned and watched the New York streets zoom by. Rhea had been quiet since we left the bar.

“You’re just being stubborn.” He crossed his arms, clearly telling me he thought I was a jerk for not liking his new buddy.

I sighed and looked at him. “It’s not that. It’s the principle of the matter. I shouldn’t have to pay Slade a dime.”

Rhea sighed. “Sabina, I hate to break it to you, but Slade is well within his rights to demand compensation. And I think Orpheus will agree when I tell him what happened.”

I cursed under my breath. “I guess it’s a good thing Orpheus isn’t my leader, then, isn’t it?”

Rhea tilted her head. “Quit fooling yourself, Sabina. You can’t expect the council to offer you protection and training without them expecting you to follow their rules.”

“Maybe I’ll leave, then.”

Giguhl laughed. “Whatev. You’re just being pissed because Slade screwed you over a long time ago.”

He was hitting a little too close to home, so I ignored that and shot back. “Did you ever think the reason I don’t want you to fight is I don’t think you’ll last five minutes in the ring?”