I had my work cut out for me.
“Back so soon?” Minka asked as I entered the Pavilion. “Didn’t we see you yesterday?”
“What can I say? I missed you. Plus I promised to replenish Stevie’s snacks.” I held up a bag.
“I was wondering what happened to my emergency stash.” Stevie Torrin slid open her desk drawer.
“You changed your hair. Looks good.” The ends of her dark hair had been dyed silver to match the undertones of her brown skin.
“I told her to go for magenta,” Kami said.
Stevie shook her head. “Too close to red.”
Sniffing the air between us, Minka frowned. “You smell wrong.”
I edged away from her. “Gee, thanks. And your disposition is delightful as always.”
Minka wasn’t put off by my snark. “Where were you?”
I shook the bag. “At the shop.”
Her eyes narrowed. “No, before that.”
Damn Minka and her sense of smell. You’d think she was a shifter with that nose, but you’d be wrong.
“I had a meeting.”
Minka scrunched her nose. “In a graveyard? You reek of death and violence.”
I glanced down at my clothes. Although it wasn’t unusual for me to show up covered in blood and guts, today wasn’t one of those days.
“She couldn’t have had a meeting in a graveyard,” Stevie interrupted. “She wouldn’t have made it back here so quickly.”
“Could’ve been a pre-Eternal Night graveyard,” Minka countered.
I dumped the contents of the bag into the gaping drawer.
“Thanks,” Stevie said.
I shut the drawer with my foot. “No problem.”
Minka shook her head. “It’s not a graveyard.”
I didn’t enjoy my time under the microscope and intended to beat a hasty treat before the questions increased. I leaned down to sign the report waiting on my desk and handed it to Minka.
“I only came in to fill out paperwork,” I lied. “See you tomorrow.”
I’d have to figure out my plan in the comfort of my flat where the only questions asked were ‘where’s my dinner?’ and ‘can you open the window so I can pee?’
I’d steer clear of the Circus until the job was over if I could help it. If the other knights knew I was working for House Lewis, there’d be hell to pay.
I hefted my bag over my shoulder and started for the exit.
Kami rolled her chair in front of me to block my exit. “And where do you think you’re going?”
“Home to scrub the stench of death and violence off me, apparently.”
Her jaw clicked. “I don’t think so. You’re coming out with us. We want all the details of your day.” She leveled me with a look. “And I do mean all.”
I ran my tongue over my teeth. I should’ve known better than to think I could fool anyone here. The Knights of Boudica were incredible at what they did, not only because they were fierce fighters, but because they paid attention to details. They didn’t walk into a room and immediately try to dominate the space. They took a moment to assess the players, get a handle on their strengths and weaknesses, maybe even what they had for breakfast if the information was useful. They fought smarter. I appreciated their skills in the field. Not so much when they used them against me.
“Who’s up for a drink?” Kami called across the room.
Hands went up.
Nope. I wasn’t getting out of this one. I squared my shoulders. Fine. I’d be a joiner. Depending on how this case progressed, I might need to call on the other knights for help, although I’d try my best to avoid it. It was better to handle things on my own whenever possible. I didn’t want to endanger my friends. Our job was dangerous enough without my secret making it worse. A typical witch might seek gainful employment from an influential vampire and be rewarded with a comfortable lifestyle that included healthcare and protection from other vampires. For knights, violence was a way of life and when we lost, we ended up either burned on a pyre or buried outside the city, depending on the circumstances.
When I became a knight, I signed a document that told the banner my burial wishes. Standard stuff so there’s no debate. Usually there isn’t time for a discussion with the family, if there is one. Decisions have to be made and made quickly. If you want to be buried, there are only a few trains per week that carry the dead outside the city and arrangements have to be made. Buried or burned means your body won’t end up in the hands of vampires. Although there’s an official system in place via tribute centers, some of the more predatory vampires aren’t above taking advantage of an unfortunate situation.
“Let’s go now before London gets called away on an emergency,” Kami said.
I could’ve strangled her. She knew me well enough to know I was hiding something and she wasn’t going to let me walk away without extracting the information.
“If anybody owes me a report, please do it before leaving,” Minka announced. For a knight, she was oddly obsessed with paperwork. Kami once said the world dodged a bullet when Minka wasn’t born a vampire.
We ignored Minka and filed out of the Pavilion. No one bothered to say where we were headed. We all knew. There was only one pub in the neighborhood we agreed on and that was The Crown. It was an old pub noteworthy for keeping its original stained-glass windows intact. The walls, once a dark brown, were painted an off white, as many interiors were, to better reflect the limited light available. Strings of lights crisscrossed the ceiling, giving the walls a slightly yellow sheen. The tables were small except for one oval table toward the back that the owner kept reserved for larger parties and us. If people were seated there when we arrived, Simon would move them to another table without a second thought. He took good care of his regulars.
Behind the bar Simon brightened upon seeing us enter. He liked us because we tipped well and we weren’t prone to property damage like some of his other clientele. Simon was a werewolf and shapeshifters preferred to frequent pubs owned by other shapeshifters, which was good news for him except when a brawl broke out. When it came to shapeshifters, that happened more often than not. The other upside was that vampires generally considered a shapeshifter-owned pub to be beneath them, so we knew it was a safe haven from the establishment. Then again, I’d thought the same about the Hole until Prince Callan showed up.
I pushed aside thoughts of the royal vampire and his intense green eyes. Not interested. Not even a little bit.
The Crown was fairly empty at this hour. Too late for the lunch crowd and too early for the evening crowd. I called it the Goldilocks hour because it was just right for me.
I tried to plant my butt in a middle seat, but Kami grabbed my shoulder and steered me to the end of the oval. The hot seat. Terrific.
Kami raised a finger at Simon. “One round, please.” She sat beside me and clasped her hands on the table. “Now that we’re all listening without distractions, why don’t you tell us about your meeting today, London?”
I pictured myself pinning her to the wall and head-butting her, but that was no way to treat your best friend—was it?
Then again, this was no way for my best friend to treat me. She knew I was dodging questions, which only increased her desire to extract the information from me. She should trust that I had a good reason for keeping quiet.