“Dun try me, vampire. Friend or no, I ain’t givin’ you that name.” He leaned back and crossed his arms, but I could see the sweat lacing his brow that hadn’t been there before Claude moved. He was bluffing.

“But I got somethin’ better for ya.”

Claude’s stare didn’t soften one bit, and his focus looked unmovable.

“What’s that?” I asked, but I didn’t look away from Claude. What would happen if he attacked? I couldn’t help either of them. Claude was one of the most powerful vampires in the country. But I would bet that one didn’t get to be a metalworking witch without a heck of a lot of power.

Hell. If they fought I’d be lucky to get out of the damn building before it collapsed around them.

My chest twinged at the idea. Would Claude fight the witch, oblivious to how easily damaged my human body was? Was he more interested in getting to Nicolas than my safety?

I didn’t think I wanted to know the answer to that question.

The witch’s gravelly voice broke the tension with a simple phrase. “I know who it was that commissioned the brand, so you’ll not need to seek out the witch.”

I sucked in a breath of smoke-tinged air. “Who?”

Claude pulled back, blinking as if stunned there wasn’t going to be a fight.

The witch, as if keen on dramatics, pulled a cigar from the top drawer of his makeshift desk and trimmed the end. “Was none other than the man his self.” He lit the cigar and sucked in a quick breath of smoke, then blew it out between yellowing rows of teeth. “The man who bought it was the Magister, Luc Chevalier.”

Chapter Nine

Claude flew at the man. There was simply no other word for it, even if the logical part of my brain knew that vampires couldn’t actually fly. My breath stuck in my throat, and for a split second I felt like I was caught in one of my visions. Caught watching images that had already occurred. Caught without the ability to change anything. All I could do was stand witness as Claude killed the witch.

But then I was moving.

Claude gripped the man by his collar, and was yelling. Calling the witch a liar.

I grabbed Claude’s arm and yanked with all my strength. He didn’t move an inch.

“Claude, let him go.” I tried to keep my voice calm. Panicking wouldn’t do anything but add fuel to the explosive situation. But when he didn’t even turn to look at me, some of the fear I felt crept into my voice. “Claude!”

The vampire turned his head and blinked at me. He dropped the giant, and I realized that he’d actually been supporting the man’s weight. The giant fell back against one of his elevated fire pits, leaning against it for support.

“Use your words,” I told him. The vampire didn’t crack a smile, but something came back into his eyes. Something I recognized.

“Get out,” the giant managed to choke out. “I won’t pursue ya, we’ve been friends so long. But I dun want to see you in here again for some years.”

I tugged Claude toward the door. He turned back when we hit the threshold. And when he spoke, his voice sounded hollow.

“You’re sure about this?”

“Aye.”

“Sorry about your neck,” Claude muttered, and then allowed me to lead him away.

I took his keys and drove us to a small restaurant I’d enjoyed the last time I was in Chicago. They served deep-dish pizza. I wasn’t hungry. But I wasn’t ready to be alone with Claude, either. Not until he no longer looked so dazed.

We sat in a corner. It was still early, only ten forty-five, so the place was practically empty. I ordered the first pizza I saw on the menu in an effort to get the waiter to leave us alone.

“He was lying.” Claude’s hollow voice hurt my heart. I reached across the table, took his hand in mine, and gave it a squeeze.

“Could be.” I didn’t think so, but Claude just looked so miserable. And as an investigator, it was my job to look at all the angles. “Let’s say for argument’s sake that Luc isn’t responsible. Let’s say it’s Nic. How would torturing that man get him any closer to taking over as Magister? Unless…” I almost didn’t want to voice the thought. I hated adding to his hope when it was pretty obvious that the Magister was as dirty as his son and Claude needed to accept it.

“Unless?”

“Well, you said something about local otherworlder leader support, right?” I shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe some kind of mental conditioning is at work here. I mean, the man was spelled not to talk about the week he was gone. Could he somehow be conditioned into supporting Nic in a coup?”

A tiny bit of hope lit up his eyes and my heart jumped.

“I’ve never heard of such a thing, but I’m redefining what’s possible with this case. Last week I would have said that torturing someone from a distance with a brand and shamanic magic was impossible.”

“Don’t get your hopes up too high. I still think Luc’s in the thick of this.” It hurt to say, but it had to be said.

“Luc is the only constant. The only person who has been in my life since the change. The only one who has cared about me at all.”

“That’s not true.”

He glanced up at my hard tone, and gave me a good facsimile of his normal grin. “Maybe not. But he has been like a brother to me. I can’t imagine him being involved in this. And, it’s a scary thought.”

“What is?”

“That I might truly be alone in the world.”

The waiter dropped off the Cokes I’d ordered with the pizza and I nodded to him in thanks. Truth was, I wanted to hug the man for interrupting before I could say something stupid to Claude. Something to take some of the pain from his voice. Something I wasn’t sure I was ready to say.

“Look, Claude. I get that he’s like a brother to you. But you’re going to have to put your big boy pants on and deal with this.”

He snorted. A small sound, but I’d take it.

“Maybe you’re right. Maybe I’m an idiot for ignoring the evidence.” He shook his head. “One way or another, I’ll find out for sure.”

Now that, I didn’t like the sound of. “Look—”

“Thank you. For staying with me through this. I haven’t…I haven’t been as good a man as I should have been with you.” The fervor in his voice and expression stunned me into silence. What the hell was I supposed to say to that?

“Damn straight,” I said finally.

His confident grin slipped back onto his face and I almost sagged against the table in relief. Dealing with Claude so out of his normal character was exhausting. I worried about him far more than I should.

“So. I think I should spend some more time with the brand this afternoon. Maybe you can focus on shamans who might have been able to attach it to a person’s spirit, and who might have that kind of inclination. Hell, that kind of power on top of being an evil son-of-a-gun can’t be a common combination among shamans,” I said.

“I’d imagine not.”

“Good.” And maybe tonight I’d talk to him about my first vision of Luc. I couldn’t talk to him about it here. Too public. Too exposed. I was too chicken.

I needed time to gather my courage.

And with the smell of pizza filling the air, I was getting hungry. I needed to eat before I talked about it. Needed to formulate responses to his questions—questions I knew he’d ask. Like I didn’t tell him when I first saw Luc in the vision from the brand—because I didn’t trust him to let me stay on the investigation. Because I wasn’t entirely sure I trusted him?

Yeah. I needed time to come up with some better answers. At least, more tactful ones. More certain ones.

I wished I had some handy.

“Maybe we can open a bottle of wine when we’re done. Talk through what we know,” I mused aloud. Maybe we could do more than open a bottle of wine. No. What was I thinking? Last night was a mistake. Not one I was willing to repeat. Not one I could repeat if I wanted to keep myself at a distance. Safe from the feelings he elicited in me without even trying.

“That sounds delightful,” he said gruffly, “but I’m afraid that I’ll have to leave you on your own tonight. Although I’d be happy to—”

“What? Why?”

“The gala is tonight.”

I just stared. “Seriously? You’re going to Luc’s house for a party. With all this going on?”

“Yes.” He sipped his Coke and made a yuck face.

“What’s wrong with your drink?”

“Nothing. Just not the best thing I’ve tasted today.” He winked at me.

“Fuck, Claude. You’re not distracting me with that B.S.” Heat crawled up my neck. Damn vampire, anyway. “Going to this party is a stupid, risky idea.”

“Why? No one knows we’re investigating the brand. No one knows I’m looking into Nic—not any more than I usually am. And”—he cleared his throat—“no one knows we’re looking at Luc.”

He had a point, but I didn’t have to like it. At least he was more on board with looking into the Magister.

“This will be a perfect opportunity to do a little recon. To chat with them in a comfortable setting,” he said.

“Good point. I’ll go with you.”

“No. I’m not risking you, frail human.” A wicked smile flashed at the silly insult.

I grinned back, unable to help myself. “You just said it yourself. It’s not risky. It’s not a stupid idea. So you have no reason not to take me.”

He gaped for a second before his mouth snapped shut. “You haven’t been invited.”

“I’m sure they’ll allow you a plus one.”

“I don’t—”

“Bring me or I’ll find my own way in. Like you said, it’s a perfect opportunity for some recon. And I’m going. Do you really want me to get caught trying to shimmy in through a window? How embarrassing would that be?”

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