Inked. Part 11

"And subject you to the whims of your suppliers," I pointed out again, trying to calculate how long it would take Jamie and Caleb to find us. Too long Too long, echoed in my mind. I wasn't sure if it was my thought or Cyrus's, but either way, it was likely correct.

"The Fey are weak. They fight amongst themselves too much to be anything else."

"And we don't?" Cyrus demanded, pulling those flat, silver eyes back to him.

"Once Sebastian and his human sympathies no longer divide us, that will cease to be a problem."

"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 n.o.body 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 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 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 s.h.i.+elds 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 ma.s.s 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, stunned and dizzy. Cyrus was staring at me, looking equally bewildered as I crawled over to him. He didn't change back-he probably didn't have the energy-but it didn't matter. As soon as I laid my head against the silkiness of wolf fur, the hard ball of panic in my chest shrank until I could almost ignore it. I took the opportunity to breathe deeply for the first time that day.

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 h.e.l.l 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 stunned him.

A few minutes later, Jamie's head poked over the side of the channel, red-gray curls plastered to his skull. Caleb followed him out, both looking like h.e.l.l but still standing. Jamie limped over and looked from the numb stick in my hand to Cyrus's slumped form. "Isn't that your boyfriend?"

"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."

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 a.s.sumed it was for ambiance. 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 a.s.sumed 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 cinnamon and gold. It wasn't raining here, and the black, clear sky with its pinp.r.i.c.k stars and the sighing wind sliding over the cliff was beautiful and more than a little eerie.

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, p.r.i.c.ked with reflected flame. He might have been a creature out of legend, some mythical G.o.d 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 h.e.l.l out of my way!"

I brushed past him and through the entrance, an oblong gash in the rock. The sides of the pa.s.sage 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 pa.s.sed 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 pa.s.sage 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.

He didn't go down, but at least I had the pleasure of seeing him spit blood. Right before he lunged for me. It might have been over right there, but the flat side of a spear caught him in the chest, holding him back. It was in the hand of the Speaker, the elder charged with voicing the decisions of the Council. He also kept order when needed, as it often was.

The current Speaker was Night Wind of Maccon, a grizzled powerhouse more than a century old and still built like a Mack truck. His straight black hair, streaked with silver, sharp dark eyes and strong, hawklike nose revealed his mother's Native American ancestry. But I wasn't stupid enough to think that our shared human blood would bias him in my favor.

"Accalia of Arnou, why have you broken the sanct.i.ty of Council?" he asked, in a voice loud enough to carry to every corner of the vast s.p.a.ce.

"To challenge," I said quickly, before Grayshadow could cut me off. And before I could talk myself out of it.

"Whom would you challenge?"

I thought that was kind of obvious, considering I'd just punched him in the mouth. But for once I bit my tongue. "Grayshadow of Arnou."

As soon as the words were out, I almost felt relieved. The die was cast now, one way or the other. To back out of a formal challenge meant death.

"Until this moment, Grayshadow was presumed to be dead," the Speaker said, his sharp black eyes flicking between us.

"As he arranged. He killed a vargulf vargulf and mutilated the body to make certain it would be mistaken for his." and mutilated the body to make certain it would be mistaken for his."

"This is ridiculous!" Grayshadow hissed. "She can't issue challenge. She is human!"

"The challenger speaks first, by Clan law," the Speaker informed him.

Grayshadow sucked in a breath. "You would put the claims of this creature before mine?"

"She is Arnou. It is her right."

"She isn't Arnou! She isn't anything! And even if you accept that ridiculous adoption, I am Third. I outrank her and I will speak!"

I rubbed my fingers together, trying to get rid of the tacky feel of Cyrus's blood drying between them. Some of it had settled into the lines of my palms and left a dark stripe underneath my nails. And suddenly I was so angry I could hardly see. "I am the daughter of Laurentia of Lobizon, wolf born, Clan reared. And an adopted daughter of Sebastian of Arnou. You do not not outrank me!" outrank me!"

Grayshadow started for me again, but the Speaker's spear point was back against his chest. "She is allowed to speak."

I made it fast, but not because I feared another interruption. I was afraid I'd go for his throat and get killed before I ever found out if my theory was right. "There is no Hunter; there never was. Grayshadow killed four wolves-three High Clan and one vargulf vargulf-to pave the way to the bardric' bardric's position. With White Sun out of the way, he could challenge Sebastian and take it all. He killed the others as camouflage."

As short as the explanation had been, I'd had to raise my voice almost to a yell by the end of it. At the word Hunter Hunter, the stands had cascaded in one long ripple of fur and skin as hundreds of Weres rushed down the slope to the lower levels. None attempted to advance into the flat area, but they were as close as they could get. There was blood in the air, something no wolf could resist.

"She lies! The human lies!" Grayshadow was practically apoplectic. "I barely escaped alive from the clutches of the vargulf vargulf Cyrus, once of Arnou. He and this one conspired together to weaken the clans by killing our leading members! They care nothing for our ways, for our traditions! They think to use the war to destroy us, to dissipate our power and to allow the humans to enslave us!" Cyrus, once of Arnou. He and this one conspired together to weaken the clans by killing our leading members! They care nothing for our ways, for our traditions! They think to use the war to destroy us, to dissipate our power and to allow the humans to enslave us!"

It wasn't a bad story, playing to all the hot b.u.t.tons for the clans: raging xenophobia, distaste for the human war, and fear of those who possessed a magic they didn't understand. A rustling murmur came from the crowd, growing louder by the second, and I briefly wondered if I was about to be lynched. And then the Speaker's spear struck the ground with three heavy knocks that I swear I could feel through the soles of my boots.

"Challenge has been issued."

Grayshadow looked at him incredulously. "She is human! She has not accepted the Change! There is nothing in the tradition that defends it!"

"And nothing that prohibits. I say a second time, challenge has been issued against you, Grayshadow of Arnou. Do you accept?"

"This is outrageous! She and her human father killed four representatives of Lobizon! Her birth clan wants nothing to do with her! She is clearly-"

"For the third and last time. Challenge has been issued against you by a lawful member of the Clan. Do you accept?"

Grayshadow's mouth compressed into a sharp line, a wince of anger and contempt. But I wasn't worried. Clan law is remarkably simple in comparison to the human variety. If he wanted to clear his name, he had to fight me. To refuse would be an admission of guilt, and ringing us on all sides were members of the clans who had lost members to the Hunter. He'd never make it out of here alive.

Of course, if he accepted, I might not either.

He finally gave an abrupt nod, his eyes filled with not just pride but rage. It paled them out to silver, hardening a mouth shaped for smug, superior smiles and stiffening his walk to angry, snapping strides. I stood there, watching him move to the middle of the great s.p.a.ce, unsure what happened now.

"Challenge has been issued," the Speaker intoned. "Challenge is accepted."

I started after Grayshadow, almost deafened by the renewed uproar of the crowd, only to be jerked back by an iron grip on my arm. I smelled the musky scent of woods and predation and looked up to see Sebastian. He was in human form, but his eyes were chartreuse and they didn't look happy.

"I asked you to find my brother, not to issue challenge!" he hissed, so low I could barely hear him over the crowd.

"I did find him. He's fine. Well, not fine," I amended. "But he'll live."

"Then your job is done!"

"Not yet." I tried to tug away, but got exactly nowhere. Sebastian might have been a column carved out of the surrounding rock.

"I'll take the challenge for you," he told me, his jaw tight.

"Like h.e.l.l."

"Lia! Don't be a fool. I've seen Grayshadow fight! You can't win!"

"I guess we'll find out." The death grip on my arm didn't change. "Let me go, Sebastian."

"I'll repudiate you, dismiss you from the tribe! It will render your challenge meaningless."

I blinked. He looked utterly serious. "And that would help how? Then they'd kill me for being here."

"I will guarantee you safe pa.s.sage." He started pulling me away, toward the sidelines.

"Then Lobizon will kill me tomorrow!" I dug in my heels, which did nothing but carve furrows out of the dirt. "Sebastian! He came here to challenge you! As soon as I leave-"

He rounded on me, furious. "I can fight my own battles!"

"Not this time. You're just going to have to trust me."

"I am not going to tell my brother I let his mate die!"

"Thanks for the vote of confidence."