Was that so? We’d be having a little talk then, wouldn’t we?
The auctioneer arrived. The room went silent and the last of the people gathered took their seats. I scanned the room. There must’ve been fifty people waiting to bid, or simply curious enough to see what was on offer.
A hushed silence fell over the crowd as the auction got started.
The paintings sold for six million dollars. The two men who’d been hauling them in looked both shocked and triumphant. But the guy with the beard looked consideringly at his partner and I suppressed a snort. I had a feeling he wasn’t planning to split the money.
“Next we have a bracelet from the underworld. While its origins are unclear, there’s no doubt that this is an incredible piece.”
I snorted. Origins unclear my ass. If people knew it was in any way connected to Samael, they’d think twice before buying it.
“Bidding will begin at nine hundred thousand.”
My mouth dropped open.
No one bid. The auctioneer looked surprised and began to rattle off information about the bracelet.
Silence.
The seller’s face was grim. I barely suppressed a chuckle. The people here would do almost anything to avoid attracting the demons’ wrath.
The bracelet was the only thing that didn’t sell. Everything else was snapped up with bids that made me let out strangled gasps. Vas sent me an amused look as I recovered from the sale of a two million dollar book.
“That’s some serious money,” I whispered.
He shrugged “Many of the buyers of these illegal artifacts will be paranormals who have had a millennia to build wealth. And human groups will definitely be well-funded if they have access to these kinds of auctions.”
“Clint seems like our best lead. Regardless, I’m going after that bracelet.”
Vas let out a long-suffering sigh. “Of course you are.”
22
Danica
“It’s risky,” Vas said.
“But worth it.”
We were huddled in the shadows, keeping an eye on the auction as I attempted to convince Vas of the benefits of my plan.
“From what those dickheads with the paintings said, Clint is also our most likely lead into the artifacts that Mariam is missing. Two birds and all that.”
Vas rolled his eyes at me in a way that told me he wasn’t buying it. Whatever.
We split up, both of us staying close and eavesdropping as buyers and sellers mingled after the auction. My skin began to tingle, and I made wide-eyes at Vas from across the room. He nodded at me. We needed to get out of here before the look-away spell dropped completely. There were a few high fae in this room, and if they caught us, we were in big trouble.
Vas jerked his head toward the exit and I stared at Clint, memorizing his face. Sharp, pointed nose, small eyes, receding hairline. His eyes were an almost otherworldly shade of blue, but they glinted with fury. Clint was having a bad night, and while he was being pleasant to the people he came into contact with, he waspissed.
Good.
We ducked outside and waited for him to leave. My skin tingled some more and I cursed. If the spell fell while we were still snooping around this auction, we’d never get our chance at the guy.
Vas grabbed my elbow and steered me away from the door and further down the street. I hissed at him, and he ignored me until we were standing in the shadow of a building, next to a black Bugatti.
“This is his car,” Vas told me, looking mighty pleased with himself.
I gaped at him. “How do you know that?”
