Her expression twisted, but for all her background as lawyer, Sage didn’t argue. When she took the dagger from him, Patrick was reminded of that instant when he was a child, giving up everything to Persephone’s coaxing offer. Except he knew exactly what he was giving up here, and Patrick hoped with everything he had it was a temporary separation, one that wouldn’t last years or a lifetime.
Death, he knew, didn’t always come quick.
Then he turned to face Tezcatlipoca again. Patrick’s mouth curled at the corners, the sort of vicious, feral expression that wouldn’t be out of place on a battlefield. He was reminded of a lesson learned the hard way while serving in the Mage Corps—rules of engagement were for people who were never desperate.
And Patrick was as desperate as they came.
“What are your terms?”
12
Einar brokethe tense silence with an annoyed snort. “Your self-preservation skills are lacking.”
“My self-preservation skills are fucking amazing, don’t lie.” At the moment, they were telling Patrick torun, and he was ignoring them. “Unlike Tremaine here.”
“I will take great pleasure in ripping out your tongue,” Tremaine promised.
Cold sweat trickled down Patrick’s spine, but it wasn’t because of Tremaine’s threat. Tezcatlipoca had yet to look away, and the god’s regard was far too dangerous for any sort of comfort.
“Promises, promises,” Patrick said, forcing his voice and heartbeat to remain even. “I still haven’t heard what you want.”
“The Dominion Sect has promised me a great number of worshippers if we deliver you alive. I have seen what their promises mean where it concerns my cousins. I have little incentive to bargain with them,” Tezcatlipoca said.
One of the cartel members stiffened at that announcement, his eyes narrowing. Patrick could see black concentric circles inked into the man’s palms, magic crackling at his fingertips. It reminded him of how Zachary Myers, Ethan’s right-hand acolyte, focused his magic. All magic users needed a focus of some sort, and permanently inked ones never seemed to go out of style.
Patrick wondered what ties the stranger had to the inner circles of the Dominion Sect, and just how many gods aligned with the hells Ethan was reaching out to, and why.
“That so? I’m not a big fan of family reunions. The last one was a major buzzkill.”
Patrick could think of a hundred reasons why Ethan would want him—none of them good, all of them involving a grave of some sort. Ethan had Macaria’s godhead, even if it wasn’t in his soul. Godhood came with a price, and Patrick wasn’t willing to pay it so his father could gain immortality.
Except there was a barely breathing werelion sprawled on the floor that Patrick needed to get to safety. Choosing between Ethan and Tezcatlipoca wasn’t really a choice, but he wasn’t leaving Kennedy behind. It would cost him, but this wouldn’t be the first time Patrick traded himself for a hostage.
I am never telling Gerard about this.
“Your life for hers,” Tremaine said, gesturing carelessly at Kennedy’s prone form.
“My life for theirs and hers,” Patrick countered, jerking his thumb in Sage and Einar’s direction.
Tezcatlipoca smiled, eyes bright with malice above the face paint. “You are in no position to bargain.”
“If you ignore the fact that I’m what you need as leverage against the Dominion Sect, then sure. You don’t really think they’ll follow through on whatever they promised you, do you? If you walk away from a broken promise, they’ll find you. The same way they found Ra and Hades and Zeus. And you’ll owe them, whether you like it or not.”
Tezcatlipoca shrugged, the heron feathers on his headdress rippling from the motion. “Mortals cannot own me.”
“With arrogance like that, you’ll only end up like Macaria. But if you have me, you’ve got a loophole.” Patrick spread his hands, taking a step forward. “I won’t even fight you. I’ve already given up my dagger. Just let them leave alive and you’ve got me. I’ll stay—”
“For as long as he can,” Sage cut in tightly.
As loopholes went, it wasn’t much to work with, but Patrick let her words fall between them, accepting her support. He knew better than most that gods were sometimes arrogant to a fault. Whether or not he’d be able to survive that arrogance was something else entirely.
“No magic,” Tremaine said. “No guns. No weapons.”
“Done,” Patrick promised, the weight of his acceptance like a vise around his lungs.I really need to stop selling off bits of my life like this.
Tezcatlipoca waved a hand at Patrick. “So witnessed. You will take shine to seal the deal.”
Patrick wanted to agree but choked on the words. Sage drew in a sharp breath, opening her mouth to argue. Einar wrapped his hand around her face to cover her mouth and block her words.
