Page 8 of Queen of Darkness
For a moment, I found myself wishing that Aaron was with me. I needed someone to steady me, to keep me even at this unexpected turn of events. While I hadn’t been planning for the red carpet to be rolled out, I certainly wasn’t expecting to bebanishedbefore I’d barely entered.
Aaron would also be able to use his clout. He’d spent centuries building up his reputation, and people were reluctant to turn him away for any reason. I could certainly use some of that right now.
“Sorry, Decan, I can’t do that,” I said, forcing myself to stand up to him.
Decan hesitated.
If nobody else were there to do it for me, I would have to do it on my own. After all, I’d left Aaron behind. That meant I was going to need myownclout now. My own reputation. I was no weakling. He wasn’t about to push me around. It was time I demanded some respect.
Just don’t push it. You don’t want to come off as a mouthy asshole, either. Just confident.
“I’m afraid I must insist,” Decan said, his eyes darting around, refusing to stay on me for long as if simplyknowingI was there was enough to burn him.
“Are you going to toss me out?” I asked.
Decan chewed on his lip, decidedly unhappy that I refused to leave. Considering that he hadn’t tried to use force, I had to wonder if he’d stop me if I pushed past him.
Only one way to find out.
Steeling myself, I moved to the side and eased past Decan. I wasn’t going to bother pausing at the railing. I knew what was down there. The circular bar at the center of the bottom floor would be packed with all sorts of people, as would the standing and sitting tables nearby. Even the second level with its tables overlooking the floor below would be full.
There was never any empty space at the Broker’s. It was a place to see and be seen. It didn’t operate on any set hours, as far as I was aware. It was simply always open. There was always the dull roar of numerous background conversations. It gave the sense of beingalive.
That sense was missing now. I paused to scan the bar, trying to find what was missing. People were everywhere as always. The instruments still played themselves, their tune as lively as ever. I couldn’t pick anything out as wrong.
Yet somethingwasoff.
I continued along, keeping the railing to my left as I slowly walked the circular balcony of the top floor. My senses were on high alert, and I was ready for anything, from someone jumping me to attacking me at a distance and everything in between. My hackles were up, and my wolf sensed it, too.
Danger.
Making it to one of the stairwells, I followed the spiral steps down, placing each foot with care.
“Don’t go out there.”
I paused as I reached the ground floor. The stairwell spit me out near the end of a hallway. To my left was the bar floor. To the right were other doors that I figured were offices.
“What’s going on, Decan?” I asked, crossing the hallway before turning, keeping a firm wall at my back. “I’m here in peace. I want to make a deal, that’s all.”
“You should go,” he said. “Now.”
Shaking my head, I walked down the hallway away from the bar. “I can’t do that, Decan. I’ve come to bargain. A good bargain, just like he’ll want. You know he likes to deal.”
“Please, Miss Alustria,” Decan said, the first word a barely audible whisper. “Go. Now.”
I paused and regarded Decan. “That’s not an order. You’re not throwing me out.”
Decan pushed past me, walking farther down the hallway to a random door. He glanced at it forcefully as I slowly followed him, moving farther away from the activity behind us. “Take this exit. Trust me.”
Exit? I’d thought the ground floor held only offices. Not doors to different places. What separated the floors, I wondered? And where did this door go?
Despite my curiosity, I couldn’t let myself give in to temptation. What Ineededto do was figure out why the heck Decan was trying to get me to leave. His methods were unusual, given his moreforcefulnature. If he were anyone else, I’d have said he was trying to help me.
Had I pissed off the Broker somehow, and Decan was trying to help me avoid his wrath? Was that it? Yet he’d arrived quite swiftly to block my path after I’d entered. Almost like he’d known I was outside and had been waiting for me to come inside finally.
“What the hell is going on here, Decan?” I asked. “Something is wrong. What is it? Why do you want me to go so badly?”
Decan stiffened.
