He saw the body, slumped and headless. Adan reached for his weather magic, but before he could gather it, Quint threw a small blade. It buried itself in Adan’s throat.
Adan, who had killed Derek.Derek.Who had just become a friend.
In one swift move, I pulled my vamp-killer. Stepped to Adan’s side. In a single backhand strike, I took Adan’s head. The cut was so powerful his head spun into the air, leaving his body standing.
Quint caught the head. The body crumpled.
From behind Adan, a woman screamed.
CHAPTER 17
Bloody Diminutive Blonde, Dangling Two Heads by the Hair
Ka N’vsita and an unknown vamp stood in the hallway, Ka’s amber eyes wide with horror and shock. The vamp old and powerful. I pulled the Glob. It was still hot in my hand.
Ka screamed again. The stink of liver-eater flooded out through her open-mouthed cry. And then she was gone. Simply gone.Holy crap, she was fast. And healed.
The vamp drew two longswords and charged me, screaming something, rushing into the small space. Koun stepped in front of me. Batted the opponent’s swords away. And in a graceful, single cut, took his head. It flew into the air, blood pumping.
Great. More blood on my clothes and pelt.
In the hallway, three security members raced past, others lying on the floor where Ka had tossed them in her flight.
The Glob cooled in my hand. The blood dripped. Blood spatter was everywhere.
“Nice beheadings,” Quint said to us without emotion. “Economical.” It sounded like high praise.
“Thanks.” Belatedly I said, “Ernestine killed herself in a failed attack on the Master of the City, Jane Yellowrock.The Dark Queen pronounced judgment and punishment upon Adan Bouvier for treason and the death by murder of Derek Lee, that murder committed within sight of the Queen. And the other one...” I frowned and looked to Koun.
“He attacked the Dark Queen and drew swords without challenge. It was necessary to take his head.”
“Yeah. That.”
The security team gathered in the open door, figures in black on black, weaponed and armored up like a SWAT team. The three who had given chase ran back and joined the group, Aya among them; Aya sniffing, frowning, as if he smelled the same liver-eater stench I did.
Sarah Spieth’s voice said into my earbud, “Ka vanished from the cameras, the lasers, everything.”
Koun said, “Institute a full search and clearing of the entire building.”
“Wait,” I said, holding up the dripping vamp-killer.
No one moved.
Ka disappeared? I plucked at the memory of Ka escaping, almost as if she was moving out of time-sequence. Had Ka just done a form of timewalking? The way I used to? And... If she had, did Ka begin to eat people as a way to stave off a magic cancer? Ka who was a skinwalker, an Onorio of some kind, and had eaten a red-headed vamp I didn’t know and had also eaten the Firestarter.
She had eaten alive multiple kinds of sentient beings and gained their magical gifts. I closed my eyes, remembering the image of Ka stabbing Storm. In her other hand was something else. A cup. Ka had collected Storm’s blood.
Seemingly unimportant events clicked into place, and my entire body tightened in something that felt like fury and battle readiness but was more than both.
Long ago, Ka had stood in a witch circle formed of iron, set into the floor, holding a large iron spike. Ka had been killed. Forced through a transition that went beyond mere Onorio. All that took place while Sabina watched. Sabina who could timewalk too, though in a different manner from the one I had used. Sabina with a winged lizard-shaped amulet that incorporated arcenciel blood and scales.Holy moly.
At that one single origin point of time, long ago, Sabina, Bethany, Adan, and Ka had been in the same space. They’d had the spike in their possession. Ka had been trying to bend time before Adan stabbed her with a sword.
And then there was the Rule of Three. And we had Monique in the basement scion lair.
“Belay that order, Koun.” I pulled my mic back to my mouth and said, “Sarah, tell me what you see on the scion lair cameras.”
Sarah cursed and said softly. “The woman in the lair is gone, My Queen. The crew just got there. Checking back over footage and readouts.”
