Page 17 of Queen of Darkness
I nodded slowly, a smile playing over my face. “How’s your relationship with the Broker?”
“Neutral, I think,” Fred said slowly. “I’ve never met him. He stays out of my way; I stay out of his. Usually, I stay out here with the rest of the team when we’ve all come together. Why?”
“Well, Elenia told the Broker he’s not allowed to help me out in any way. She paid him off.”
“Damn,” Fred whispered. “That’s cold.”
I shrugged. “I’m getting used to my avenues of help being cut off. I’ll manage. That’s not my point, though. She paid to ensure the Broker didn’t helpme. There’s no reasonyoucan’t go ask him for help.”
“He’s not going to kill her reps for us,” Fred said. “That’s not his style.”
“No, you’re right,” I said, biting back a grin. “But I bet he’d have no problemidentifyingthem for us. So we can be sure that when we hit them, however we do it, we know we got them all.”
Fred nodded. “I’ll be right back, then. Good idea.”
He slipped from his seat, hood pulled down low, and went up to the bartender. He ordered a drink and said something else to him. While the man behind the counter started fixing the drink, Fred waited patiently. Others came and went. Someone walked up and also ordered a drink. After a quick scan to assess their threat level, Fred didn’t bother acknowledging them.
His drink made, he came back to the table and sat down.
“So, will he help us?” I asked.
“There are three inside,” Fred said under his breath as he took a sip. “One per floor. Whoever she has posted on the main floor won’t be an issue. He can’t see us leave. Which means we just have to deal with two of them.”
I stared at him, unable to hide my shock. “You already knew that? Why didn’t you just say so?”
Fred frowned. “What? No. I just found out. Asked the bartender. He relayed word about what info I wanted. Then, the other guy passed it to me.”
“What other guy?”
“The one who came for a drink,” Fred said. “You didn’t see?”
I shook my head. “I saw him, sure. I didn’t see any signs of communication.”
“That was the point.”
There was a lot I still had to learn, about the Broker, about Fred, about this entire world. Everyone seemed to know things I didn’t, and if I didn’t start picking up on it soon, I would end up in a bad way.
“That was all so fast, though.”
“My guess is they already had her people marked. They watch everyone who comes in.” He upended his drink and finished it in one go. “Come on.”
He was up and moving without another word, and I hurried after him, trying to ignore the multitude of eyes that followed us. We made our way nearly halfway around the second-floor bar to the far side, staying far enough back from the edge that those on the first floor couldn’t see us. However, there was no doubt in my mind that Elenia’s other two goons were tailing us.
“Okay, come on, through here,” Fred said, abruptly darting down a side passageway. “Brace yourself. It’s a little … It’s going to mess with your brain.”
I didn’t have time to protest or ask questions before he all but shoved me through a door and into a realm that was full of green as far as I could see. Trees, plants, and long grasses all swayed under a perfect afternoon breeze, though there was no sun in the sky.
“Jo, are you okay?” Fred asked, appearing in front of me suddenly. “Keep it together.”
“I’m … I’m okay,” I said, shaking off my daze. “For now. But, Fred—Fred, I know this place. We can’t stay here.”
Already my body was starting to respond to the realm’s magic. And respond in a way I very much didnotwant it to. Fred was an attractive vampire, but it was an idle, appreciative attraction. I might remark on it but would never want toacton it.
Until the magic of Faerie messed with me, anyways. I was drawn to look at him in a different way. A way I’d never seen him before.
It’s all a trick. You know that. You’ve experienced it before. Stay strong.
“Come on,” Fred said, seemingly unafflicted by the warm, supple influence of the realm.
