I tugged off my coat and approached the hound. He attempted another growl, but it was a half-hearted attempt, tempered by his agony. “Hush… I just want to help.” I kept my voice soft and low so as not to spook the creature. “We need to stop the bleeding.”
His lips fell back over his teeth, and his head dropped to the ground in defeat, almost as if it understood me. And hell, this was Nightsbridge; he probably did. I fell to my knees beside him and pressed my coat to his blood-soaked flank, wincing when he yelped.
Oh, this was bad. The wounds were deep. “Clary, can you heal it?”
“I’m Unwoven, remember? No access to magic, but even if I had my power, I couldn’t help him. No one can.”
“What do you mean?”
“Ruspin has been claimed as a blood debt,” Dori said. “He’s off-limits to everyone except his owner.”
“What the fuck is a blood debt?” I shook my head. “You know what? I don’t care what it is. This isnotokay.” I stroked the creature’s head, and he closed his beautiful brown eyes for a beat. “Ruspin, right? Hey, I’m going to help you.” I glanced up at Dori and Clary. “We have to get him to a medical room. That woman—Darla, the halfling—she can help, right?”
“You don’t understand,” Dori said. “No one can help him. It’s forbidden by?—”
“Forbidden?” I stared at her, incredulous. “It’s forbidden to help a wounded creature, but it’s okay to beat him until he’s bleeding out? What the fuck kind of place is this?”
“I know it sounds crazy to you,” Clary said. “But the law is clear on interfering with a blood debt. We have to go. Now. Before someone sees us and?—”
“What do we have here?” A woman stepped into the clearing with us. “Are you attempting to soothe my pet?” The icy glint in her eye contradicted the sweet childish pitch of her voice.
Dressed in fitted black breeches, a high-necked white shirt beneath a crimson waistcoat, and a long leather jacket, she presented a sophisticated picture. She couldn’t be more than five feet in height. But her golden, intricate topknot added an extra three inches to her stature. Her eyes were so dark they swallowed the light, and her alabaster skin gleamed in the moonlight. I’d bet my left boob this bitch was a Haematophage.
Her dark eyes bore into me, the hard look in them contradicting the smile on her painted lips. “Well?”
“You did this?” I gestured toward Ruspin.
“Not my finest work, but yes. Why? Do you not like it?” She smirked.
“You sadistic little?—”
“She’s new, Tamina,” Dori said quickly. “She doesn’t know the rules. We were just explaining them to her.” She threw a warning look my way.
Tamina’s gaze flicked above my head to Dori. “How considerate of you. But then, you werealwaysso very sweet.”
Dori’s jaw tightened. “It’s an honest mistake. No retribution required.”
“Oh?” Tamina said. “But retribution is myfavoritepastime…” She pouted and tapped her chin. “But, since it’s you, how about we make a deal? Spend the night with me, and I’ll forget this little infraction.”
Clary gasped, but Dori didn’t even flinch.
“Now you just sound desperate,” she said.
Tamina’s eyes flashed dangerously. “Oh, sweetheart, you have no idea what desperate truly means. You, in my bed, or I’ll claim my pound of flesh from your new little friend.”
I pulled myself to my full five-seven height and looked down on her. “I think your perception is a little skewed, don’t you?”
She arched an appreciative brow. “Wait…you’re the Onyx, aren’t you? Of course…” Her gaze flicked back to Dori, and a dirty smirk played on her crimson mouth. “You always did like the bad girls.”
Dori rolled her eyes. “Whatever. I’ll be at yours later. No need for drama.” She grabbed my arm. “We’re leaving.”
A flash of something sharp and ancient flitted behind Tamina’s eyes. “Maybe I’ve changed my mind. Maybe I want my pound of flesh after all.”
Dori’s grip on my arm flexed once before she released me and sauntered over to Tamina, coming to stand mere inches from her petite form. “Have you? Changed your mind?”
Tamina swayed toward Dori inhaling deeply. “Oh…how I have missed that scent.”
Dori stiffened but held her ground as Tamina leaned closer, pushing up on her toes to brush her nose against Dori’s neck.
