Page 80 of Deadly Deception
“You carry a gun?” Boone questioned. I knew why he sounded so amazed. Human weaponry wasn’t something most other species toted around.
Clark’s grin held a hint of pain, and I figured that, having lost her connection to her medium side, she was suffering the sameas Boone. “What? Do you think I just carry this purse around as a fashion accessory?”
Boone let loose a whoop and clap before he grabbed the back of the couch and clenched it to keep from falling on his ass. I started back for him when Jay’s chuckle froze my heart.
“Go ahead. Shoot the bitch. I don’t give a shit what happens to her.” And then Jay fired.
Chapter
Twenty-Five
Erasmus
Is ducking a common response when there’s gunfire? You’d think I’d know by now. I always duck, and in so doing, I don’t really pay attention to those around me. Maybe I’ll ask Franklin later.
Franklin.
My heart jumped, and even in my crumpled position I lurched toward Franklin. He must have gone for me at the same time because we crashed together and tumbled to the floor. Franklin rolled me, placing himself between Jay and me. My position allowed me to look over Franklin’s shoulder, and the sound I made mimicked that of a wounded animal.
“Henson!” Sheriff Henson lay on the floor, clutching his shoulder. Blood pooled around his torso as he rolled from side to side. It wasn’t an immediately fatal wound, but I didn’t like the amount of blood that was now outside as compared to inside his body. I also didn’t like the gun still pointed at him or the pleased grin that lit up Jay’s features.
“You have no idea how long I’ve wanted to do that,” Jay sneered. “Don’t worry, I’m not going to kill you quickly. I like dragging things out.” Crouching down, Jay laid his weaponacross his bunched thighs. “I’m the one Sara calls on when she wants somethingartisticdone. If anyone around here is Vanja’s heir, it’s me.”
“Go to hell,” Henson managed.
“In time,” Jay agreed before standing back up and pointing his weapon in Sara’s direction. “Why the fuck haven’t you shot her yet?” Jay stepped over Henson’s wounded body and made his way to the kitchen. “Too squeamish? Don’t threaten to kill people unless you plan on following through.” Given our position on the ground, I could no longer see Jay, Sara, Tabitha, or Aurelia. The kitchen island was in the way. I could hear them though.
“I will slaughter you,” Sara said, and Jay let loose that same, effortless chuckle.
“Difficult to do when you’re dead.”
I could picture Sara’s seething features. Going up on his hands and knees, Franklin maneuvered us, so we were standing again or, in my case, leaning heavily against the couch. Rita and Charlie were no longer in the room. I didn’t know when they’d left, but the French doors were open, and they were gone.Smart.
Now that I could see into the kitchen again, Aurelia was still leaning against the doorjamb. She glanced my way once, her expression blank. I couldn’t tell if she was relieved to see I was still alive or not. She’d cared in the past, but Aurelia’s moods were ever-shifting and difficult to pin down. She didn’t seem affected by the charm Sara had unleashed earlier. Then again, if something so simple could destroy a djinn, they would have been wiped out eons ago.
Sara stared hatefully at Jay. “Are you willing to sacrifice your sister, Betsy? Because I assure you, if you continue with this stupidity, that’s exactly what you’ll lose.” Sara held up another charm, her finger on the activation trigger. “If I press this, she’s dead.”
“Christ, how many illegal charms does this woman have?” Franklin asked in disbelief. “Those fuckers were outlawed ages ago. Human and Fairy law agreed.”
“She deals in black market charms,” I answered unhelpfully. “What I want to know is who’s making them.” So far, the charms Sara used were destructive magic. That would mean warlock-made. Assuming I got out of this, I planned on letting Pops know. Pops probably couldn’t do anything about it, but I knew he’d be pissed and at least look into things.
“Do it,” Jay answered with a shrug. “Betsy’s always been a pain in the ass. Your mistake was thinking I actually cared about her.” Jay smirked. “You didn’t need leverage to get me to do what you wanted, Sara. You paid decent and kept me busy, but times change. and like I said earlier, I’m a far better choice to inherit Vanja’s legacy. I might as well collect his loot while I’m at it.” Jay slapped Tabitha’s arm, sending her gun flying. “If you’re not gonna use the damn thing, then get rid of it.” Jay sounded disgusted with Tabitha’s reluctance to take a life.
I waited for the clang of the gun to hit the floor or wall. It took me a few seconds to realize that didn’t happen. When my gaze tracked the natural trajectory of the weapon, I found myself at a loss for words. I felt like all the air had been sucked out of the room. Suddenly, our small, dysfunctional group grew, adding a few bloodsuckers into the mix.
Silence descended. Unlike the peaceful quiet of a cemetery crypt, this silence was oppressive and carried far too much weight.
“Vampires,” Franklin mumbled before he shifted me to his side, placing his body between me and them. Franklin swallowed hard and asked, “Queen Millicent’s?”
“Did someone say my name?” The voice was honeysuckle-sweet and far too young. I hadn’t thought my chest could get any heavier. I had to stop thinking a situation couldn’t get worse.
I wasn’t prepared. Lucroy Moony failed to mention a very important fact. Queen Millicent looked no more than nine, maybe ten years old. She was a child, or had been turned as a child. There were rules about that now, but before Fairy law…it was like the Wild West. Essentially, there were no rules, and Millicent’s childhood had paid the price for that lawlessness.
Millicent stood there in a pair of quilted bellbottom pants paired with a pale pink long-sleeved shirt with ruffled cuffs and a lavender bow at her neckline. Millicent had been a towheaded child, her hair so pale blond it appeared almost white. Long and stick-straight, she wore it pulled back with a pink and purple butterfly barrette on each side of her head. With a smattering of very pale freckles across the bridge of her nose and a pair of tan Mary Janes adorning her feet, Millicent appeared to be the picture-perfect version of an affluent Caucasian girl growing up in the seventies.
“A human handgun.” A thin, pale vampire handed Tabitha’s gun over to Queen Millicent. “How very common of them.” The vampire sounded horrendously bored by the whole thing. Like most vamps, he’d moved too fast for me to see when he’d snagged Tabitha’s gun midair.
“Indeed.” Millicent crushed the gun in her small hand. The sound of metal twisting grated across my already sensitive nerves. Now inoperable, Millicent dumped the useless chunk of metal on the floor. “Goodness. This is an interesting group, don’t you think, Nick?”
