Part 28 (1/2)

”What are you doing here?” I said. I could deal with Joshua and Dmitri separately, but together, they made me want to go hide under a rock.

”Your cousin told me you were in the hospital,” he said. ”Although I figured something awful had transpired after you ran out on me. That's always the way with you.”

”We're talking here, my man,” said Joshua. ”Get lost.”

”Joshua, shut up,” I snapped, jerking my shoulders out of his grasp. ”I'm not going with you, and you can tell all of your Serpent Eyes the same thing. Or let me guess-you'll tell them I was too much of an ice b.i.t.c.h and you decided I wasn't worth it, to keep them from finding out you have a tiny little p.e.c.k.e.r, and that it's always been that way.” I c.o.c.ked my eyebrow and looked at Joshua's fly. ”Can't blame yourself, though. Electrical shocks aren't known for their male-enhancement properties.”

”This is Joshua?” Dmitri demanded, shutting off his bike and dismounting. He was moving a little stiffly and I prayed that the pack elders hadn't caught up with him after our little a.s.signation. He took off his sungla.s.ses and stared Joshua down. ”This is the p.r.i.c.k who gave you the bite and then attacked you?”

”Buddy, she wanted it.” Joshua leered at me. ”You obviously didn't know our girl back in the day. She was a little s.l.u.t then, and from the look of you, she hasn't changed. Still spreading 'em for anyone with a bike and a good line, eh, Luna?”

Dmitri snarled and lunged for Joshua, but I barred him with my intact arm. ”I'll handle this.”

”Gonna tell me what a b.a.s.t.a.r.d I am and slap my face, little girl?” Joshua said. ”Guess what-I know. And I like it. So why don't you just keep slumming it, Luna, and I'll find a real woman, and everyone will be happy. Well, I'll be happy every time I think of your sorry a.s.s shacked up with him.” him.” He gave Dmitri a sarcastic bow. He gave Dmitri a sarcastic bow.

There's a time for sugar, for honeyed words even when you just want to smash something. And then there's Joshua.

”Tempting as that is,” I told him, ”I'd rather do this.” I slammed a left cross into Joshua's face with every ounce of were strength in me, aiming to drive teeth into his brain. He dropped like a sack of rotten vegetables, skull hitting the pavement with an audible impact.

I kicked him once with the toe of my shoe. ”Hope a dog p.i.s.ses on you.”

Dmitri wrapped an arm around my waist and kissed my cheek. ”Nice shot, babe.”

”Whoa, whoa,” I said, pus.h.i.+ng him away. ”What's this 'babe' c.r.a.p? The last time we talked you hated me.”

”Forget that,” Dmitri said, trying to embrace me again. I shoved harder this time and he went back a step.

”What are you smoking, dude? You don't get to touch the goods after the scene we played.”

Dmitri shrugged, looking adorably sheepish. Hex him. ”I made a mistake, Luna. Aren't I allowed to make mistakes?”

”And you expect me to just forget everything else because of that,” I said. Dmitri thought for a minute.

”Well... yeah.”

Were men. Un-freaking-believable.

”Fine,” I said, because I really didn't have twenty bucks to spend on cab fare. ”You can give me a ride home. But no touching.”

”How about after that?” Dmitri's eyes darkened around the edges, a little black slipping in there among the facets of green, like an oil spill, or a slowly bleeding cut.

”After that...” I swung my leg over the pa.s.senger seat of the bike and decided to be honest. ”After that, Dmitri, I have no idea.”

Sunny was at my cottage when Dmitri drove me up on his bike, and she threw her arms around me, jostling my cast. ”Ow,” I said, and hugged her back hard with my good arm.

”Have you seen the paper?” she demanded, thrusting it at me. The lead story on page one of the Nocturne City Post-Herald Nocturne City Post-Herald was the shooting death of Seamus O'Halloran by Lieutenant Troy McAllister after a ”vicious and unprovoked attack on city personnel.” was the shooting death of Seamus O'Halloran by Lieutenant Troy McAllister after a ”vicious and unprovoked attack on city personnel.”

”Bet your a.s.s,” I muttered. Below the fold on the first page was a story about a ma.s.sive IRS audit of the O'Halloran Group's holdings. a.s.sets had been frozen. Executives had fled the country. Business as usual for the most powerful caster witches in Nocturne City.

”The Inquirer Inquirer is even worse,” said Sunny. ”They got a photo from the scene, Seamus lying there on the dock all cold and dead ...” is even worse,” said Sunny. ”They got a photo from the scene, Seamus lying there on the dock all cold and dead ...”

”Mmm,” I muttered, scanning the print page to see if my name showed up anywhere. Maybe I could sc.r.a.pe together enough savings for a new ident.i.ty and radical plastic surgery ...

Fortunately, the most unusual thing about the story was that the reporter gave total credence to the witch rumors, stating that Seamus O'Halloran's death had been brought about by an unspecified ”malignant force.” I was just glad my picture wasn't splashed next to Seamus's. But it would come. No one could deny that weres and witches and Hex-knew-what walked right alongside the plain humans every day, and their brand of chaos was becoming more and more prevalent.

I wondered how long it would be until another disaster like the Hex Riots broke out.

Dmitri took the paper out of my hands and guided me to the sofa, putting my feet up and brus.h.i.+ng stray hair out of my eyes. ”What did I say about the touching?”

He sat next to me and put his arm around my shoulders. ”You honestly telling me you're not enjoying this, at least a little bit? We've got a downright cozy and domestic scene here.”

”You keep this up and I'm going to get used to it,” I warned.

”Maybe that's not so bad,” said Dmitri. I stared at him.

”Don't tell me the black knight has finally decided to pick a castle.”

”Maybe,” he said again, giving me an utterly cryptic smile.

”Well, all right then,” Sunny announced loudly as Dmitri went in for a kiss. I moved my head and waved goodbye as she gathered up her purse.

”We'll talk tomorrow, Sunny. Come over if you like.”

”But not too early,” said Dmitri, still smiling. It was the longest I'd ever seen him in a good mood and I felt discomfort churn in my stomach, that offbeat nervousness of irons left on or doors not locked.

”There's a really ugly car pulling in,” Sunny announced. ”Some blond chick driving.”

My stomach flip-flopped. ”s.h.i.+t,” I said aloud, just before Irina pounded on the door. Sunny opened it before I could tell her not to.

”I thought I would find you here,” she said to Dmitri, striking a pose in the center of my braided rug.

”Irina.” He sighed. ”What the Hex do you want from me?”

”Nothing from you,” she snapped. ”But from you.” you.” She pointed one French-tipped finger at me. ”You made promise. Have you delivered?” She pointed one French-tipped finger at me. ”You made promise. Have you delivered?”

”No,” I said honestly. ”The one chance I had to stop the daemon blood is at the bottom of Siren Bay, probably in very small pieces. Hey, there's an idea. You could always dive in and look for it. Without oxygen.”

”You have failed,” said Irina. ”Dmitri, come on. The pack will deal with this Insoli wh.o.r.e.”

What was it with people calling me a b.i.t.c.h and a wh.o.r.e today? I was beginning to feel a lot like the former. I started to stand, to tell Irina to get the Hex out of my house and follow it up with force, when Dmitri spoke. ”I don't have to go anywhere, Irina.”

”What?” She devolved into rapid-fire Ukrainian, and Dmitri sighed.

”Irina, shut up. Just shut your mouth for once in your G.o.dd.a.m.n life.” He grabbed his T-s.h.i.+rt and stripped it off, hissing a little with the same jerky movement from the hospital.

Sunny said, ”Hex me,” and I couldn't even manage that. Dmitri's right shoulder was one solid bruise, the cloud-colored purple and blue of a stormy sky, with twin weeping red marks at the center. A bite. A were bite.