Callie arched a brow at Raego, momentarily caught off guard. “Not yet.”

Baron Skyfall’s booming laughter doused the tension in the small room like a wet blanket. Malik snapped his book shut at the sudden sound. Callie smiled back at Baron, shrugging. Since Malik had been so rudely interrupted, he set the book down with an impatient sigh and deigned to grace us with his unbridled attention.

Raego pointed at Tory. “This is Tory Marlin. Thought you might want to interview her for the… investigation.” They nodded politely, but didn’t seem particularly interested at the mention of interviewing her. “Oh, and she’s a Beast Master,” he added, as if he’d almost forgotten.

That caught their attention. Malik even scooted back in his chair, eyes narrowing. Enya leaned forward, cocking her head thoughtfully. She was smiling, I think. I was too busy making sure she wasn’t about to fall out of that robe. Chu blinked slowly, but I saw his fingers twitch.

Dirty Gerty spoke up in a casual tone. “She is also beholden to Nate Temple.”

“I am beholden to no one,” Tory snarled angrily. “If you don’t want my help, stop wasting my time. I’ve got plenty of other things to do.” She turned to leave the room.

“Finally, a good idea,” I muttered, turning to follow her. I stumbled into her back and fell down onto my ass. I frowned as she slowly turned to look down at me, eyes very cold.

“I don’t think anyone asked you for your opinion…”

I scowled angrily. “This is a shit idea, Tory, and you know it—”

Tory gave an annoyed shake of her head and walked past me. She whipped out a chair and sat down across from the Council. “It would be rude to not at least hear you out.”

Callie glanced down at me, shrugged, and then joined Tory at the table. I climbed to my feet, grumbling unhappily. Rather than crawling up to the table like a kicked puppy, I sauntered over to Raego, holding out my hand for a drink. He pointed a finger at the bar and then jumped up to sit on the counter. My eyes narrowed. The bastard. Not even in his own house. He wasn’t going to serve me a drink. Then again, the thought might have never crossed his mind.

I poured a healthy splash of something amber colored into a glass. I sniffed it, felt my eyes water a little, and grunted in approval. Then, with no one else to impress, I climbed up onto the bar beside Raego, ignoring the perfectly empty bar stools. In fact, I propped my shoes on them, watching as Dirty Gerty spoke to Tory.

Callie propped her chin in her hands, observing silently. Looking more curious than anything.

Dirty Gerty cleared her throat, interrupting Chu in the middle of his question. He didn’t look pleased, but he didn’t challenge her. Interesting. “With Raego bringing you into this, I can’t help but wonder if your loyalties lie with him. If you can be trusted. We can’t have a biased judge.” She did a good job of appearing to be a responsible Council member, with only the best interests of the dragons at heart. Not accusing Raego, but bringing up a valid point.

“This is fucking ridiculous,” I muttered to myself, rolling my eyes.

Raego shrugged, sweeping the Council with a disinterested look. “Then tell her no. I don’t give a shit. I only brought her here because you wanted someone trustworthy. Independent. At least we won’t have to be concerned about her being mentally manipulated as she investigates.”

Silence filled the room as the other dragons considered that. “He has a fair point,” Baron said.

Tory looked over her shoulder at me. “This might take a while, Nate. I’ll see myself home.”

I blinked at her. “You don’t have a car…”

“Raego will arrange for one.” And there wasn’t an ounce of subservience in her tone. Quite the opposite, actually. It hadn’t even been phrased as a request. Raego went entirely still.

I could sense heat rolling off him in waves. I knew he wanted Tory to look into this… theft or whatever, but that didn’t mean he was okay with being disrespected.

He finally hopped off the bar. “It’s your funeral, girl.” And he left. Without me.

I caught what looked like a brief flash of triumph in Dirty Gerty’s eyes, but she was turning to Tory with an apologetic look before I could confirm it. Tory was playing a dangerous game.

But she would risk anything for the Reds. Even playing Dirty Gerty against Raego, it seemed.

I wasn’t concerned for her immediate safety, because I knew that with a thought, she could have the five Council members simultaneously braiding her hair, feeding her grapes, painting her nails, drawing a bath, and ironing her dress.

But… the dragons knew that, too. They wouldn’t play her game. They would attempt to manipulate her. Use leverage to bend her to their will. Or plant a knife in her ribs when she wasn’t looking.

I was confident Dirty Gerty had plans. Raego had plans. Each Council member had plans.

Tory smiled at the Council. “Now, where were we…”

Callie made her goodbyes as she excused herself from the table, but the Council hardly seemed to notice as they nodded along with Baron Skyfall as he spoke to Tory in a basso rumble. We walked out of the room in silence. I glanced back before the doors closed to see Gertrude studying Tory thoughtfully, as if wondering how best to cook her before eating her.

Seeing my attention, she gave me a sniff of disdain. No love lost there.

We ignored the two guards as we retraced our steps down the hallway in silence. Raego was nowhere in sight, and it looked like we weren’t worthy of a guide any longer.

Putting Tory and the dragons to the back of my mind, I spoke softly to Callie. “The werewolf duel is tomorrow, and we probably need to let Roland know about the Candy Skulls. Make sure he doesn’t decide to go Shadow Walking any time soon.”

In reply, Callie’s face grew suddenly slack, as if only just realizing Roland might be in danger. She stopped abruptly, breathing heavily as her eyes grew distant. Then she flung her hand in front of her with a snarl. A flaming Gateway crackled into existence in the middle of the hallway – in full view of the guards outside the door to the Council. She snatched hold of my wrist and tugged me after her as if we were fleeing an anticipated explosion. I half jogged, half stumbled through the Gateway just as the dragon guards roared behind us, and landed on soft grass outside Chateau Falco. Talon and Carl were bare-chested and sparring under the light of the moon not ten paces away.

The two spun with their blades facing us, jaws set as they stared down the dragons shouting from the other side of the Gateway. Callie let it wink shut as she locked eyes with me. “I’m going to go see if Roland’s back yet.” She patted Talon and Carl on the shoulders before walking back to my mansion at a brisk pace.

Talon and Carl stared at me, the question unspoken but obvious.

“Don’t ask me. I just live here…” I eyed their weapons. “Why are you sparring? It’s nighttime.”

Talon shrugged. “I’m a cat. I’m nocturnal.”

Carl waved his claws at his white scales. “Does it look like I get a lot of sun?”

I sighed. “Keep those blades sharp. We’re leaving soon…” And I told them Death’s message. That it was almost time to go to Hell. Everyone else thought we were taking a quick trip to Fae.

I only needed to keep that secret for a few more days. After that, it wouldn’t matter.

It was late, but I couldn’t sleep yet. I had a few things to do. Regrettable things, but I would pay any price to keep my friends safe. Whether they wanted me to or not. And since I was already planning to go to Hell, I decided there wasn’t much harm in making a deal with a demon.

I just hoped I had time to complete the ritual before the sun rose or I would lose my chance.

“Time to get to work,” I muttered under my breath as I opened another Gateway, ignoring Carl and Talon’s urgent shouting behind me as I stepped into darkness.

* * *

I stood cloaked in the shadows of the stygian, abandoned warehouse. These wretched demons preferred the inky darkness. Their crimes could be better hidden. I stared them down with the fury of a pissed-off wizard that had nothing to lose. All I could see of them was a faint reflection in their predatory eyes. “You will listen in silence or I’ll strip the flesh from your bones.”

Their eyes narrowed, with outrage or hesitation, I couldn’t be sure. All I knew was that I couldn’t turn my back on them. And I couldn’t give them an inch or I would be overrun.

I told them what I needed.

After some time, they came to some agreement. “What’s in it for us, wizard?”

I told them.

Even though I couldn’t see anything but their eyes, I could practically feel them salivating with raw hunger. I had offered their favorite form of currency, even though it may cost me my life.

Dealing with these creatures was a last resort, but they were the only ones I could trust.

“Do we have a deal?” I finally asked them.

Their spine-tingling cackle was the only response necessary.