As the day wears on,we shift gears, slipping into the underbelly of the town. The seedier part has its own pulse, a rhythm thrumming with whispers and wary glances. We ease intoMead to KnowBasis, the dwarf-owned speakeasy’s dim lighting casting everyone in shades of suspicion.
“Demons,” a red bearded dwarf mutters into his tankard nearby. “Mark my words, they’re behind the killings.”
“Demons? Like the mage in the fights?” Khol echoes softly to us, raising an eyebrow.
“Wouldn’t surprise me,” Dezi muses, his eyes scanning the room. “They’re the assassins’ guild of the supe world and they won’t hesitate to do dangerous things to meet their contracts.”
I frown, tilting my head. “But there are so many kinds. Are they all killers or…?”
The vampire shakes his head, tapping his fingers on the table as he keeps an ear on the whispers. “No. At home, The Night District is full of mostly legit demon-owned businesses, especially those under the umbrella of the Seven Families. But there are dark factions that have been outcast from the main community and their services are for sale to anyone who can afford their prices—like rich Council members.”
Khol shrugs, looking uncomfortable. “Or evil shits like my uncle. I guarantee he’s used them when it was something he didn’t want Khal and I to find out about.”
Dezi nods. “Exactly.”
We continue drinking, listening for a while longer before we decide to wander through the pub to the curtained doorway customers are occasionally disappearing behind. I figured it would be a gambling room or maybe even where the patrons could buy drugs.
Nope.
The sign above the bar saying ‘Cunning Runts’ sends me into a fit of giggles so intense I can barely breathe. I have to bite my hand when I figure out we’ve found the town’s dwarf-owned and operated brothel, especially when the guys look as though they’ve been hit in the face with frying pans. Several gorgeous, trussed up women greet us, their eyes sharp as they assess the likelihood of us being actual customers.
Khol quickly pulls me aside when I lose it again, his lips finding my neck in a distraction that sets my pulse racing. “Sassypants, behave,” he teases, echoing Tiernan’s earlier words. “You’ll offend our lovely hosts.”
“How am I supposed to do that when you’re doing that?” I gasp as he nibbles along his mating mark, half-laughing, half-moaning. “Be serious, Sir Hiss.”
That gets my basilisk laughing against my skin, and we shake together as the humor strikes us. Dezi shoots us a look that’s half exasperation, half amusement, before returning to his reluctant eavesdropping at the bar. I know we’re not being very mature, butdamn, this shit is funny as fuck.
When we finally step back onto the street, my cheeks are flushed from laughter and Khol’s antics, and Dezi rubs his temples, muttering about needing a stiff drink after this absurd day.
“We should head back,” I suggest, still swatting at Khol, who smirks unrepentantly at me.
“As you wish, witchling,” Dezi says, his tone light despite the headache I suspect we’ve given him. “We’re at your command—even the scaly shit over there.”
With secrets gathered and spirits high, we weave back through the streets, our path set towards the safety of the bus and the uncertainty of the night ahead.
We’re barely a block away fromCunning Runtswhen Dezi’s phone buzzes insistently. His expression darkens as he reads the message, and I can tell that whatever news he’s received, it’s not good.
“Fi, Khol,” Dezi starts, locking eyes with us in that intense way he has when something serious is afoot. “The word on the street is more unnerving than we thought. They’re convinced it’s the creature from the fights that’s behind the murders.”
I frown, looking at the vampire in confusion. “How the hell is that coming from a text?”
He gives me an enigmatic look, shrugging. “Remember, I’ve been slinking around town since we arrived. I may have bribed a few sources to keep me apprised in places we’d stick out far too much to be seen in.”
“Great,” I mutter, my previous mirth drying up fast. “You’re recruiting minions and I’m being a called a groupie. How is this shit fair?”
Khol snorts, winking at me. “Fiadh, you have us, and you should use us. And I mean that in every way, but specifically so you don’t always have to rush into danger.”
Rolling my eyes, I sigh, ignoring him as I look at Dezi. “And of course, tonight’s event at the mayor’s mansion is probably the next stage for this... whatever the hell some assholeis doing.”
My basilisk’s hand finds mine, his grip reassuring yet tense. “It’ll be a packed house with plenty of high-profile targets. It’s the ideal hunting ground, if you ask me.”
Mother Brighid, I swear on the crone; I fucking hate this shit.
“That means we have to be on our guard,” Dezi concludes, his voice leaving no room for argument. “We’ll all be armed—no exceptions, even the Prince.”
My face brightens as I grin. “Well, that’s fantastic news. Now I’m actually excited.”
“Of course you are,” they say in unison, and I flip them both off.
