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"An assassin," I clarified. "That is what you do, isn't it? Kill people?"
Her eyes narrowed in thought, and she tilted her head to one side, studying me. "It is. But what I'm wondering now is how someone like you could possibly know something like that. "
She wasn't the first person to ask me that. Nobody ever thought someone like me, Gin Blanco, could be someone like the Spider. I looked like such a nice, simple, sweet gal-from a distance anyway. Up close, the perpetual winter in my cold gray eyes tended to shatter that particular illusion, along with many others.
I shrugged again. "I run a restaurant. I hear things. Word on the street is that you're Mab Monroe's newest little minion. "
Anger flashed in her gaze at my mocking tone. "I'm nobody's fucking minion. "
I cocked an eyebrow, surprised by the sudden unexpected show of emotion, especially since I'd never seen her be anything but smug before now. "Really? Because it looks to me like you're standing here in the middle of this dirty, dingy alley ready to kill me on someone else's order and dime. Isn't that the very definition of the word minion?"
She stood there, considering my words. "You know, I suppose it is. But my pay is much, much better than that of any mere minion. "
Elektra let out a low chuckle. Elemental power crackled in her pealing dulcet tone, like an electrified church bell. It made me grind my teeth together, even as that primal little voice in the back of my head started up its chorus once again. Enemy, enemy, enemy. Or maybe it was just the constant, static feel of her magic snapping up against my skin that put me on edge-and the very real possibility that I wouldn't be able to overcome a frontal assault by her, no matter what Jo-Jo Deveraux said. No matter how much Ice and Stone magic the dwarf claimed I had.
"You know, you're far more interesting than you appear, Gin. Or is it Jen? I wasn't quite clear on that. Call it a quirk, but I always like to know exactly who I'm killing. "
"It's Gin. Like the liquor. " I quipped my usual line.
"Ah. Thanks for clearing that up. "
We stood there in the alley staring at each other. Elektra brought her finger up and tapped out a pattern on her crimson lips, as though she was considering something important. Green sparks of lightning flickered like fireflies in the air around her. She wasn't even trying to hide her power now. Arrogant bitch. She never even considered the possibility that I might have magic of my own. Sloppy, sloppy, sloppy of her.
"I am rather surprised that you haven't started screaming for help yet, Gin. Or tried to run away, at the very least. Not that it would do you any good. " She nodded at something over my shoulder. "I brought along a few friends just in case you were quicker than you looked. "
I glanced behind me. Sure enough, three giants stood at the far end of the alley, blocking the exit. They stood like I did, hands loose and ready by their sides. So even if LaFleur had missed me with her lightning, the rest of Mab's men would have stepped up to finish the job. I had to admire the assassin's thoroughness. She'd thought of almost everything-except the fact that I was the Spider and just as deadly as she was.
"It is good to be prepared," I quipped and turned back to face the other assassin. "You just never know what kinds of difficulties you might run into in your line of work. "
A thoughtful light flared in Elektra's eyes. "You sound like you have some experience in these sorts of things. "
"I wouldn't exactly say experience," I said. "Although I do seem to be getting the stuffing beat out of me on a regular basis. "
Elektra smiled. "Oh, yes. Jonah told me all about that beating he had Elliot Slater give you a few weeks back. I would have loved to be there for that. Although, if I'd been Slater, you wouldn't have walked away after the fact. How did it feel, though? To be Jonah's little bitch? To know he's the reason you're going to die in this filthy alley tonight?"
I rocked back on my heels and clasped my hands behind me, as though I was considering something. I used the opportunity to palm one of my silverstone knives-one of the five that Owen had made for me. My thumb traced over the hilt, right over the spot where Owen had stamped my spider rune into the metal. The weapon felt cold, hard, and comforting in my hand, the way it always did. Maybe even more so tonight, because it had been a gift from Owen, his way of helping me take down LaFleur.
"Actually, I think you know all about being Jonah's little bitch," I said. "After all, you're the one fucking him, not me. Tell me, do you just bend over and take it? Or do you have to do all the work? Because McAllister strikes me as being a lazy bastard in bed. "
Green rage sparked in LaFleur's eyes, along with her magic. "I don't take anything from anyone, bitch. I do who and what I want, when I want. "
I shrugged again. "Could have fooled me. I can't imagine another reason why you'd let McAllister fuck you. Oh, wait. I forgot. That's what minions do. Do whatever and whomever they're told. Personally, I would have asked for more money at the very least. But then again, I suppose I just have higher standards than you do. "
Elektra's face showed no more emotion at my taunts, but green lightning flickered to life in her curled hand. The color of it matched the cruel glow in her eyes. Temper, temper, temper. I'd gotten to the other assassin and made her angry. I only hoped it was enough to make her reckless, to give me a sliver of an advantage.
"You know, Gin, I was going to make your death relativ
ely quick, if not entirely painless," she said in a pleasant, benign tone, as though she were talking about the weather or some other banality. "Now, I think that I'll just make it hurt. "
"Bring it on, bitch," I said and palmed another one of my knives.
Surprise flashed in the other assassin's eyes at the cold venom in my tone, but it wasn't enough to make her think twice about what she was here to do. She held out her hand, and the lightning intensified, growing from a few small, flickering sparks into a solid ball of power. Even across the alley, I could feel the raw elemental power that she controlled.
I only hoped my own would be enough to overcome it.
I reached for my Stone magic, ready to use it to harden my skin, to make my body as tough as the brick of the buildings around us. But before LaFleur could throw her ball of lightning at me, before we could start our deadly, final dance, the strangest thing happened. The back door of the Pork Pit swung open.
And Detective Bria Coolidge stepped out into the dark alley.
