I could have told him about the magical stuff and the stakes, but when Eli asked that question, he meant things that go bang. “No.”
“Ammo?”
“No.”
“Fighting leathers?”
I narrowed my eyes at him. “In the hanging bag.”
He frowned hard. “Do not tell me you packed girly stuff in that.”
“I did. I totally did. And I’m not ashamed.” Much. I let the teasing drift away. “Something I need to say. You are my brother. My second. You are the one I depend on most when my life is on the line.”
Eli’s eyes didn’t move from me, but I knew he had spotted the printed papers on my bedside table. “You’ve been studying the Vampira Carta and the Sangre Duello.”
“Not as much as I should have. But there’s this thing called La Danza de los Maestros de Sangre.”
“Dance of the Blood Masters.” A grin split Eli’s face. Not a happy grin. A bloodthirsty grin. The grin of a man who had just seen a move on the vamp chessboard that he had missed until now. “Babe.” His grin went wider. “Leo’s a sneaky bastard.”
“He assures me he was conceived on the legal side of the sheets. That was an important thing back then. But yeah. Loopholes are a good thing. And Leo was thinking ahead. Way ahead.”
“He couldn’t blood-bind you, and you could use witch amulets like a pro, so he promoted you.”
I gave a minuscule nod.
“And because he promoted you to Blood Master of your own clan, and to Dark Queen status, you can claim the dance.”
La Danza de los Maestros de Sangre was a specific way of fighting between Blood Masters. It was magic and weapons and no-holds-barred fighting—claws and teeth, guns and blades, silver stakes—like mixed martial arts and sword fighting and magic all at once. All together. I nodded.
“But you still packed like a girl?”
“I did. Makeup and a scrap of lace formal and everything. So he won’t expect La Danza de los Maestros de Sangre from me.”
Eli’s face went stiff and unyielding. “You’ll mess with time in La Danza.”
I nodded.
“You’ll get a headache. Stomachache.”
“That just means I’ll have to kill him and get back in time fast.”
Eli’s scowl went deeper, drawing down the lines on his mouth. I had won. And we now had four secret weapons in the Sangre Duello. Me in half-form, me as Clan Yellowrock Blood Master, me as Dark Queen, and La Danza.
“Eli,” I said softly. “Having the Sangre Duello on an island no one knows about means that any vamps who want to chase us down and interfere will have a hardertime. And Uncle Sam’s ICE and other enforcement agencies will also have a harder time. Win-win.”
“Still doesn’t outweigh the dangers of you timewalking.” He walked away.
He had a point.
A moment later he reappeared in my doorway with his weapons gobag that was already half-full. “Don’t forget extra ammo for the Benelli.”
CHAPTER 14
Then You Date Her
The Gulf of Mexico raced beneath us, black water and whitecaps and the occasional boat lights below, stars and a clouded moon above. Wind and prop noise were muffled through the earphones as Grégoire’s Vietnam-era Bell Huey blasted through the night, the pilot making excellent time.
Hate flying,Beast thought at me.Hate helo-copters. Hate bird wings. Will bite Leo for making Beast go on helo-copter.
