It turns out he does—it’s just the last thing I’d ever expect him to say.
“Alvin, you should take the deal.”
I jerk my head to him. “What?!”
Mr. Valiente raises a curious eyebrow.
I nervously scrub a nonexistent itch on the back of my head with my knuckles. “I’m, uh, going to need a minute.”
The Vampire King’s expression flattens to a glower. “I am not a patient man.”
I let out a quick exhale. “Right. I just… You’ve given me a ton to think about. I want to consult with the Avatar about it. He says I should take your deal.”
“Really?” The corner of his lip curves. “Well, then, by all means. Take all sixty seconds, if you’d like.” Malice fills his eyes. “But one second longer, and I start painting the walls of this cavern with the blood of children. I’d hate to think you weren’t taking me seriously.”
He sweeps a pointed glance at the magic-leashed vampires, and I hear a series of clicks circle the room. It’s the hammer of each Beretta being cocked.
Crap.
I quickly nod, take a step back, pointlessly turn my back on Valiente, and glare at Collin. My voice is a harsh whisper, deep in the back of my throat. “You honestly want me to give you up to this dude? He’s clearly nuts.”
His lips purse. “No, of course I don’t. But I can read the room.” He eyes the vamps blocking the exit. “He’s not going to let you walk out of here without a fight, and these aren’t the only vampires in the building. I don’tknow how long your juice will last, and if it comes to that, those kids are as good as dead.”
I glance over my shoulder. Valiente is less than fifty feet away. “What if I were to use my super-speed to grab the amulet? That took down the last Vampire King or whatever the amulet makes him.”
“That was a distracted, untrained monk. Valiente is a born warrior. And even if you could snatch the necklace before he gave the order to kill, the only thing that’s keeping those vampires from feeding on the children is his control. You’re fast right now, but not fast enough to stop more than a few from tearing those kids apart. Making a deal is the only way you even get a chance to save all of them.”
“And you really think I can trust him to hold up his end of the bargain?”
“That’s why I think you should agree. He won’t have any choice. The fae don’t have a monopoly on supernatural pacts. ‘The covenant’ is a concept that underlies all magic, and since he’s been preparing to contact a great power, he’ll be well familiar with it. If he promises you something in exchange for giving him control of the watch, he has to honor it. If he doesn’t, it will be as if you never gave it up in the first place. It would be no different than if he killed you for it while it was in your possession—it’ll be less than useless to him or anyone he’s associated with.”
I clench my jaw, trying to keep up. “All right. Let’s say this does let me save the kids and Rafa, summoning an evil god of corpses still seems to me like a pretty bad idea.”
“It is. But breaking through the barrier between ourworld and where the Old Gods are trapped is something that will take serious time. At a minimum, he’d need a full night. And that’s only if he still has access to humans with magical potential.”
I glance back at Emma, whose breath is coming out in shallow puffs. But her desperate eyes never move from where I’m standing.
“And the kidsshouldall want to come with me…” I touch his shoulder, picturing the gory torture Valiente put Collin through. “But he’ll still haveyou!”
He rests his hand on mine. “And I’ll still have you. Out there, safe, and doing everything you can to get me back. I told you I believed in you, and I meant it.” His eyes light up with affection and faith. “If anyone will figure out a way to save me from this monster, it’ll be my Alvin.”
His Alvin.
My whole life, I’ve wanted someone to believe in me, and now that it’s happening, I would do anything to have this on someone else’s shoulders. I’m in way over my head. Even with my unused incubus power, everything I’ve done so far has been with Collin’s help, and without him?—
“Time’s up,” Mr. Valiente says. “You ready to deal, or do I need to prove my resolve?”
Collin steps back and nods encouragingly. It’s clear what he thinks I should do.
“The watch for Rafa and all the kids…” I drag out my words, trying to buy a few more seconds. But for what, I don’t know.
“The agreement is that you give me the watch and in exchange, anyone who wants to leave may do so and Ipromise to not come after them again.” He rests his hand on his son’s shoulder. “But if anyonechoosesto stay, it will not void our arrangement.”
Rafa glares up at his father, but his eyes continue to slip toward his mother. Who knows? Maybe it’snotunreasonable for Valiente to think Rafa might want to stick around. Hell, he might even agree to do it just so he can help me rescue Collin later and foil his dad’s plans. That sounds like the kind of stupid, heroic thing he’d try.
Still…
“I can’t help noticing you’re still being awfully specific, Mr. Valiente. I get why you think your son might choose to stay—maybe—but do you really think the children you kidnapped would want to?”
