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He tilted my chin up with a finger. Something shifted behind his eyes, a killer peeking out from behind the jovial mask. “Very pretty. And very powerful. You will answer for her actions, of course.”
Mircea bowed slightly and the Consul left to work the room, chatting and talking, back to charming in a blink. I repressed a shiver. “They don’t seem to like magic users here,” I said weakly.
“They can complicate matters. Different precautions must be taken than are needed for our people.”
“I’m surprised he let me stay, then.”
“You caught him in a good mood. Augusta and I recently removed a problem for him.”
“I’m not planning to cause any trouble,” I assured him fervently. Mircea just looked at me, a wry quirk to his lips. “I’m not!”
“Why would I doubt you? Merely because the first time we met, I was almost poisoned, and the second, I came very close to a duel?” His smile broadened. “Fortunately, I don’t mind trouble. If, as the Consul said, the reward is worth it.”
I didn’t know what to say to that so we watched the women for a while. I still couldn’t tell what they were doing, possibly because they had their backs to us. The brunette was in pale blue, the icy color embellished with too much lace, but Augusta wore a gorgeous off-the-shoulder champagne satin gown with a gold and cream brocade train. I might not like her, but there was no question that she knew how to dress. The full skirts blocked my view for a moment; then something tore through the middle of them, coming straight at me.
“Oh, no! He’s loose!” Augusta’s voice rang out over the room, shaking with laughter. A wild-eyed, naked creature scrabbled on hands and knees for the edge of the circle, leaving a trail of droplets behind him. They were black and oily looking against the deep green. Right before he could reach me, something snapped his head back, throwing him twitching onto his side.
Augusta had a leash in her hand as she walked towards him, one end of which was looped around his neck. He lay on his back, quivering in terror, as she stood over him. “Up,” she said impatiently, tugging on the leash.
It forced his chin up, and I got a glimpse of his face through a snarl of greasy black hair. His mouth worked with pain, then tightened into a rictus of rage, distorting his features beyond recognition. But I knew those beetle black eyes. I’d seen them in more than a few nightmares.
“Jack,” I whispered, and he stared up at me blindly.
“What’s wrong?” the brunette called. “I thought you liked to play with women!”
“I think he prefers the helpless kind,” Augusta said, trailing her long fingernails down his chest, hard enough to leave red welts among the sparse hair. “So they call you the Ripper, do they?” she crooned. “By the time I’m done with you, you’ll truly deserve the name.”
The man curled into a ball in a vain attempt to protect himself from those daggerlike fingernails, and I gasped when I saw his back. It had been lacerated until the skin hung in strips, what little there was of it. Mircea noticed as well. “If you don’t let him rest soon, Augusta, he’ll die and spoil your fun,” he observed mildly.
She laughed. “Oh, I don’t think so,” she said with a coy look.
Mircea frowned and knelt by the man’s side. He looked up after only a moment. “You’ve made that madman one of us?” he asked incredulously.
Augusta shrugged. “I’ll dispose of him when I’m finished, or you may, if you like, for all the trouble he gave you. But you will have to wait.” She casually stroked the side of Jack’s face, an almost tender gesture, and he gave a desperate, broken cry. I realized with sickened disgust that she’d thrust one of those long fingernails through his right eyeball. “I like this one. He screams so nicely.”
Mircea shook off Jack’s hand, which had grasped his trouser cuff in a silent plea, and Augusta dragged her captive back to the center of the space. Better to show him off, I supposed. Mircea glanced at me as I struggled to show no emotion. “How did you know who he is? Augusta only unveiled him tonight.”
“I heard a rumor,” I managed, after swallowing hard. “How did you find him?”
“He found us. We were looking for someone else.” Jack screamed as the brunette ground her heel into
his groin, and I flinched before I could stop myself. “She’ll grow tired of him quickly enough, once he breaks,” Mircea said. I didn’t comment. They would find out soon enough that it’s hard to break an already fractured mind.
My attention was diverted from Jack by the sight of two ghostly figures. They had moved from among the assembled spectators into the circle itself, unseen by the crowd. One was the intriguing creature from earlier, still a featureless blob; the other was Myra.
I froze. On the edge of the circle stood the chief pain in my butt in all her spiritual glory. It was easy to recognize her since the only other time we’d met she’d also been in spirit form. I could hardly believe my eyes, especially since she looked healthier than before I’d stabbed her. Her fair hair, which had hung in lank, unwashed strings the only other time we’d met, was combed and shining. Her face was pale but she looked like she’d gained a few much-needed pounds. How the hell had she recovered so fast?
“What are you doing here?” I demanded.
Mircea thought I was talking to him. “You wished to see Augusta. There she is, safe and sound.”
“To right a wrong, of course.” Myra’s voice was high and sweet, like a child’s. It didn’t go well with her expression. If looks could kill, I’d already be out of her way. “Isn’t that what we were trained to do?” She was staying near the brunette, not coming any closer. I wasn’t sure whether that was because Augusta was there, too, or because the brunette’s body offered her a shield from my knives. I freed my hand from Mircea’s cloak, just in case, but he caught my wrist.
“That is a pretty trinket you’re wearing, but I would not advise sending anything deadly at Augusta. You can see what she does to those foolish enough to attack her.”
I ignored him. “What wrong?”
“Oh, but I forgot,” Myra added sweetly; “you weren’t trained, were you? How dreadful.”
