“Bullshit.” Spencer poked Fatima in the ribs. She yawned mightily before getting off his lap and leaving the room at a trot, off to be nosy somewhere else. “There were a bunch of magic users and a rival Night Court waiting for you in the hotel. I’m a combat mage, not one of your human servants who needs to be coddled. You should have taken me with you.”
Takoma briefly turned his attention to the control panel by the entrance, tapping at the buttons. A whirr of gears caught Spencer’s ears, and he glanced over his shoulder, watching as the metal shutters in the living room and dining room descended to block the view. “If any of my human servants needed coddling, they’d be worthless and not mine. And you might be a combat mage, but you toe your government’s line out of precaution for your own freedom.”
Takoma stepped farther into the living room, looking far too at ease in the face of Spencer’s ire. Spencer stood, coming around the couch to where Takoma had stopped near the burning fireplace. “That poltergeist tried to possess you.”
Takoma fiddled with the cuffs on his shirtsleeves, rolling one up to his elbow with deft fingers. “I wasn’t the one it tried to murder. That was you.”
“Can’t rule out either of us, but between you and me, you’re the likelier target.”
“You’re a mage that can send it back to hell.”
“I’m not the master vampire ruling over a Night Court holding a territory grudge with multiple groups.”
Takoma’s lips twitched at that explanation as he switched to rolling up his other shirtsleeve to his elbow. Spencer tried not to get distracted by the muscles in Takoma’s forearms, but he couldn’t help the way his gaze lingered for a few seconds longer on the bared skin there. “I’ve had many enemies over the centuries.”
“Yeah, and the Adler family seems to be pretty prominent in your history, not to mention Rufus.”
Takoma’s eyes narrowed. “We are not discussing them.”
“They both have territory grudges with you, and we can’t ignore that. The poltergeist was already drawn to the Cascade Coven’s property once before after it showed up at the hotel the same time you arrived. And now tonight?” Spencer shook his head. “You’re the common denominator more than I am.”
“Vampires don’t have souls to possess. You do.”
“Possession doesn’t ever stick with me.”
“You have a soul.”
“Yeah, and I’m a soulbreaker. I see souls and know when demons are riding them. I break people’s souls for a living, and I know how to break my own.”
Takoma studied Spencer with an intensity that felt a lot like being burned. “Have you ever been possessed before?”
Spencer smiled thinly, shrugging one shoulder. “It’s in the job description when you deal with the dead.”
“So you’ve suffered it before.”
“Not often. When it has happened, I channeled the demons right back out through to Fatima. The perks of having a psychopomp hanging around.”
“The spirit sister is useful. Is that why you asked her to stay with me?”
Spencer snorted. “Fatima made that decision on her own.”
“Ah.” Takoma smiled, a slow, mocking curve of his lips that shouldn’t have looked as sexy as it did. “She is the boss of you.”
“No. Stop that. We’re not arguing about Fatima, and I’m not sticking around longer than it takes to make my point. The attack tonight made the news, which means I need to report back about it.”
“You don’t.”
“It involves the Cascade Coven and now another Night Court, so yes, I do.”
“The Spokane Night Court has no bearing on your case.”
“You don’t know that.”
“What is it you think Adler has that your government so badly wants?”
“That’s classified—”
Spencer found himself shutting up as a hand wrapped itself around his throat, fingers squeezing against his pulse in a warning. The mirth in Takoma’s expression had fled, leaving behind the prying gaze of a monstrous predator. “I think that what you know is pertinent to the situation at hand, and I despise being kept in the dark when it puts my Night Court at risk.”
