Slade came forward just as I motioned to Earl for two Bloody Magdalenes. Maisie stood to my side, looking around nervously. For me this type of place was like a second home, but for Maisie it probably looked full of trouble. Which, come to think of it, was exactly why I liked it.

“Sabina,” Slade said in his velvet voice. When he smiled, he flashed a little fang—the vampire version of a wink.

I nodded. “How’s it hanging, Slade?”

He grinned. “Don’t ask unless you really want to know the answer.”

I felt Maisie shift behind me, offering the perfect opportunity to change the subject. I reached behind me and pulled her forward. “Slade, I want to introduce you to my friend Fiona.” We’d decided to use Maisie’s middle name, since it’d be easy for her to remember to respond to.

“Nice to meet you,” she said quietly.

Slade barely acknowledged Maisie/Fiona at all. He glanced her way and nodded, but his eyes quickly returned to my face. “You going to hang around after the fight?”

I shifted uneasily. “I don’t know.” Probably Giguhl would want another celebratory session with the nymphettes after. But I wasn’t ready to commit to hanging around any longer than necessary until I saw how everything played out.

Slade reached out and pushed a few stray strands of hair behind my ear. “Think about it, okay?”

I shrugged his hand away when it landed on my shoulder. Time to change the subject. “Who’s Giguhl fighting tonight?”

Slade smoothly moved to the new subject, but the twinkle in his eye told me he knew he’d unsettled me. “We have something special for your demon tonight.”

My eyebrows rose. “Oh?”

Slade nodded, glancing over at Giguhl. He had two nymphs in his lap, and a third whispered something in his ear that had his color high. “He’s become a sensation. Demons are lining up to challenge him.” He glanced at his watch. “Almost time. I need to borrow Giguhl for a few minutes beforehand, if that’s okay.”

I nodded. “It’s okay with me, but good luck dragging him away from the groupies.”

Slade laughed. “Watch and learn.”

I leaned back against the bar and watched him prowl across the bar. As if he cast a spell, the crowd parted for him.

“That was interesting,” Maisie said next to me. She’d been so quiet, I’d almost forgotten she was there.

“What?” I asked, keeping my eyes on Slade. He’d reached Giguhl and said something to the nymphs. They jumped up and moved away so fast, you’d think the place was on fire.

“You didn’t tell me Adam had competition.”

My head swiveled toward her. “Who? Slade?” I forced a laugh. “Been there, done that, don’t plan on returning.”

“Oh, please,” Maisie said. “You were totally flirting with him.”

My mouth fell open. “Don’t be ridiculous. I don’t flirt with anyone.”

A single black eyebrow rose to her bangs.

I rolled my eyes. “Look, I’m not an idiot. I know Slade has debauchery on his mind. But I think I can manage to resist his manly charms.”

She pursed her lips and watched as Slade led Giguhl through a curtain leading to the fight area. “Are you sure you want to? He’s got a nice ass.”

I choked on the swig of vodka and blood I’d been in the process of swallowing. When I finally caught my breath, I stared at my sister. “Shouldn’t you be discouraging me? I thought you were on Team Adam.”

She paused, her teasing expression going somber. “I’m on Team Whoever-Makes-Sabina-Happy.”

I shook my head at her. “I appreciate your loyalty, but Slade isn’t on the roster.”

“If you say so.”

Earl saved me from further discussion on the subject. He clanged a bell behind the bar. “Fight starts in ten!”

Excitement zinged through the bar. As one, the crowd flowed toward the back of the bar and the stairs leading down to the arena. I paid Earl and handed Maisie her drink. “You might want to pound that before we head down,” I said over the din.

“Why?”

“Trust me. Drink.” I tossed back my own glass and slammed it on the bar. Maisie hesitated for a moment. She chugged more slowly but managed to get the whole thing down. She whacked her glass on the wooden bar and squared her shoulders.

“Let’s go watch that familiar of yours in action.”

22

We had to push our way through an even larger crowd than before. I stopped short when I finally reached Giguhl and got a load of his getup. The boxing shorts were black with orange flames and the word Killer embroidered in red on the ass.

“Charming,” I said.

“Cool, huh? Slade had them made for me.”

“Yeah, that Slade’s a real peach. Who’s your opponent?” I glanced across the ring. He had the head of a jackal, and a thick black animal pelt was draped across his shoulders.

Giguhl sneered. “Chaos demon. Nasty fighters, the lot of them.”

From the looks of the Chaos, I was relieved Slade insisted on the brass collars. Giguhl would have enough of a fight on his hand without magic entering the equation.

“Do you have a strategy?”

Giguhl shrugged his shoulders and stretched his arms across his chest as he spoke. “The thing with Chaos demons is they fight like berserkers. Look at him.” Giguhl pointed a claw across the ring. The Chaos danced in frenzied circles; with each pass, his muscles contracted and bunched. A low rumble started deep in his chest and grew in intensity until it was a full-on growl. Finally, he stopped circling and clenched his muscles, widening his arms and throwing his head back. A ferocious roar emitted from his mouth, full of razor-sharp teeth.

“Someone’s pissed,” Giguhl said in a singsong voice.

“Again. What are you going to do?” I glanced at Maisie. Her face had gone pale as an albino’s ass. I’d deal with her in a second. First I had to get Giguhl squared away.

“He’ll come on strong at first, trying to intimidate me. I just have to ride it out until he wears himself down.”

The Chaos growled and snarled across the ring, his glowing yellow eyes on Giguhl. “Good luck with that.” I patted Giguhl on the shoulder.

Slade jumped into the center of the pit and raised his hands for silence. “Good evening, fight fans! Tonight we have a special treat for you. Our new champion, Giguhl ‘the Killer’ from Gizal, has been challenged by two opponents.” A roar of approval from the crowd.

I grabbed Giguhl’s arm. “Did you know about this?”

He nodded, his eyes still on the Chaos demon. “Yeah, the second challenge came in last-minute.”

“This is bullshit,” I said. “How can he expect you to fight twice in one night?”

“I’m cool with it.” Giguhl shrugged. “Plus, I told him I’d only do it if he gave us a bigger cut of the winnings. He was fine with it.”

I’ll just bet he was, I thought. Knowing Slade, he had all the Black Light District bookies in his pocket. Giving Giguhl a slightly bigger cut of the purse wouldn’t affect Slade’s bottom line too much.

Slade carried on with his showboating in the ring. I turned to Giguhl and made him look at me. “If you lose this fight, I’m going to kick your ass. You got that?”

Giguhl frowned. “You suck at this motivational-speech stuff. You know that, right?”

The bell dinged. I punched him in the shoulder, racking my brain for something more inspiring. “Go get him, Killer!”

Giguhl rolled his eyes and jogged into the ring like a boxer. Not to be outdone, Chaos performed some sort of crazy spinning entrance. Like a whirling dervish. Or the Tasmanian Devil. Giguhl jumped out of the way when a spin turned into a leaping kick. The Chaos turned and growled, spittle dripping from its jagged teeth. It pounced then, going after Giguhl with sharp claws. It slashed and snapped its teeth in a frenzy of movement. By the time Giguhl extricated himself, he was covered in red slashes across his chest and face.

He fell back, bleeding and bruised. I held my breath as the Chaos went in for another round. Only this time, Giguhl was ready. He punched Jackal Face right in the snout and followed that with a swift kick between the legs. The Chaos howled and fell to the ground. But Giguhl wasn’t done. He grabbed the demon by his ears and pulled him off the floor. Giguhl’s biceps heaved with the effort. He tossed the Chaos across the ring. The demon crashed into a group of spectators, who fell like bowling pins.

Giguhl turned to receive adoration from the cheering crowd. He absorbed their attention, inflating and expanding with it. A roar made the hair on my arms raise. Giguhl turned just in time to receive a punishing kick to the face from the livid Chaos demon. Blood spewed from Giguhl’s mouth as he fell back, almost in slow motion.

The Chaos followed him down, going for the neck with his snapping teeth.

“Giguhl!” I shouted and moved forward. A hand caught my arm. I turned around to see Maisie frowning at me. I’d been so caught up in the fight, I’d forgotten about her.

“Let him handle it.”

I opened my mouth to tell her to butt out, but she nudged me just as a cheer rose from the crowd.

“Look.” She nodded toward the ring. I swung around to see the Chaos fly through the air again. This time, those standing in his path scurried out of the way. His body slammed into a cinderblock wall, cracking with the force.

Giguhl rose from the pit covered in dirt, blood, and sweat. He swiped a claw across his lips and stalked after the Chaos with murder in his eyes. This time, the Chaos didn’t fight back when Giguhl dragged his ass off the ground. Giguhl punched until his claws were bloody and raw and the Chaos’s teeth started raining down like hailstones. Giguhl moved to the midsection, savaging ribs and internal organs. The Chaos’s broken jaw moved crookedly, spilling out blood and saliva. A faint yelp emitted from the shattered maw. “Mercy!”

An hour later, Slade stuck his head into the locker room. “Hey, Killer? You ready to kick some more ass?”