Inked

“Good plan,” I said. “Unfortunately, there will be a dozen war mages here in a couple minutes to drag you off to face charges ranging from kidnapping to murder.”

It was a lie, because I doubted Jamie and Caleb had the bars underground to call for backup, even if they’d managed to avoid getting their phones drowned. But there was no way for Grayshadow to know that. And if he got spooked enough, maybe he’d decide that a discredited war mage and an outcast who nobody would believe weren’t worth the trouble.

“I answer to wolf law,” Grayshadow told me haughtily, before glancing around like he expected my backup to come crawling out of a drainage ditch. Which, okay, fair enough.

“Wolf law takes a dim view of those who kill Clan.”

“This one is vargulf,” Grayshadow said, glancing scornfully at Cyrus. “No one cares what happens to him. Not even his own brother!”

“And White Sun? Last time I checked, he wasn’t vargulf. And you had at least three other victims, two more of which were High Clan wolves!”

“None of which can be linked to me once you’re dead!”

The final volley came fast and hard, my shields collapsed, and blood made a dark gash across the ground. I waited for pain and worse—and was still waiting when the smoke dissipated. I saw Grayshadow writhing on the ground, his coat half melted to his skin, one arm and shoulder a livid mass of black leather and red meat.

I glanced behind me, because no way had I done that, but there was no one. And then there was no time to worry about it, because Grayshadow stumbled back to his feet, snarling. I stared back at him, my hands hanging limp and nerveless at my sides, like they were attached with string. I was going to die, I thought blankly.

Then Grayshadow took off, clutching his ruined arm.

I watched him blankly for a second, until the pelting rain hid him from view. And then my knees gave out and I hit the muddy concrete, stu

Someone fumbled a hand over to grab mine, holding it so tightly that my fingers throbbed with both pulses. And I looked up into Cyrus’s whiskey dark eyes. It seemed he’d had the strength to change, after all. “You okay?”

“Yeah, but I’m not sure why,” I told him.

His nod of agreement was a ripple of shadow. “What the hell just happened?”

I felt something on my arm and looked down to see the dragon tat, frozen in place with a superior look on its tiny face. And something Caleb had said came back to me. “I think somebody decided to change sides.”

“What?”

I held up my wrist. “It came off a dark mage, but it chose to help us out.”

Cyrus looked at me strangely as he tried to heave himself to his feet. He slipped on his own blood and went down to one knee. “Lia. Wards don’t think.”

“Depends on the ward,” I said, and stu

A few minutes later, Jamie’s head poked over the side of the cha

“Yeah.”

He frowned. “He won’t be out long. That isn’t strong enough to incapacitate a Were, even an injured one.”

I dragged myself to my feet, stiff and soaked. “So take him in.”

“On what charge?”

“Suspicion of…something.”

“Suspicion of something? I don’t think that’s on the books.”

“Just give him to Michaelson to process once the docs get through. It’ll take at least a couple hours.”

“And what are you going to do in the meantime?”

“Something stupid.”

Chapter 12

Two huge Weres in wolf form guarded the almost invisible path that served as an entrance to the meeting place of the Clan Council. One of them moved to intercept me, changing fluidly from Were to human without so much as missing a step. His ebony skin gleamed in the light of a torch that had been wedged into a crack in the wall behind him. A lantern would have been a more practical choice, or nothing at all since I was the only one here without decent night vision. I assumed it was for ambiance.

It did add to the overall mystery of the place, not that it needed it. A sheer rock face rose five or six stories high, striated in uneven bands of ci

The guard was doing his best to add to the effect. His skin melted into the night, leaving only the rippling muscles of his chest visible in the torchlight. His dark eyes gleamed, pricked with reflected flame. He might have been a creature out of legend, some mythical god of the desert.

And then he ruined it. He looked me over and one eyebrow went up. “Bad day?”

My clothes were streaked with mud, cobwebs and runoff, I smelled absolutely foul, and I had at least three pebbles in my boot courtesy of the hike here from my bike. I was in no mood to exchange banter with a naked guard. “Lia de Croissets, of Arnou.”

“I know who you are.” A slight smile crept over his face. “I thought you’d be taller.”

If he’d treated my mother that way, she’d have ripped his face off. “Are you issuing a challenge?” I snapped.

His eyes widened fractionally. “No, I—”

“Then get the hell out of my way!”

I brushed past him and through the entrance, an oblong gash in the rock. The sides of the passage were inches from my fingertips, with no way out except straight ahead. It was the perfect place for an ambush should any unwanted visitors be stupid enough to try to enter. I hadn’t asked Caleb and Jamie to back me up, because they’d have never made it past the guards. And Cyrus would have been killed on sight for daring to sully with his presence a place meant only for Clan.

Once Grayshadow passed into these walls, no one but another Clan member could touch him. So this was my fight. And, as exhausted as I was, I was glad of it. Some war mages specialized in the hunt, painstakingly piecing together clues, interviewing suspects, gathering evidence. I was a competent investigator, but I’d never pretended to enjoy it. I’d take a direct confrontation any day.

I just hoped I’d put the clues together right, or this was going to be a very short fight.

The passage twisted and curved, so I expected to hear the commotion before I saw it. But there was only the haunting sigh of the wind, a tendril of which reached down into the chasm to ruffle my hair. And then I was spilling out into open air and a wide expanse of hard-packed red sand.

The Clan Council met in a natural amphitheater, with jagged ledges of stone cascading down to a flat bottom. It was huge, maybe the size of a football field, and open to the sky. The wispy glitter of the Milky Way arced directly overhead, bowed along the curved surface of the heavens. Were elders stood on every side in ranked rows, torches flickering here and there to highlight craggy faces and brilliant eyes. Most were only a dark presence, a texture of shadow. I could feel them waiting.

I wasn’t sure for what.

And then I spied Grayshadow, striding across the sand, heading for the dais on which the Council sat. Any Clan member could attend a council meeting, but only the leaders were supposed to speak. It looked like Grayshadow wasn’t feeling much like following the rules tonight. Luckily, neither was I.

I put on a burst of speed and caught him just as he reached the dais. There was no time for subtlety—once issued, a challenge couldn’t be rescinded. Grayshadow was opening his mouth to speak when I arrived, so I put my fist in it.