Chapter 26

How far we ran was difficult to tell, since none of the streets of Edis went in a straight line for more than a hundred feet and my sense of time hadn't worked right since we got here. We wove through endless winding streets and alleys, making a beeline for a mysterious tavern and its fallen angel owners.

We saw the Great Hall long before we reached it, towering over all of the buildings nearby. Though it resembled a medieval fortress more than any courthouse I'd ever seen, the building was unmistakably the heart of official power in the city. The towers soared well above the height of the city's walls. Grim and uninviting, its imposing windowless facade loomed over the city. To reach the enormous arched entrance, visitors had to climb steep stairs worn by millennia of use.

"I can't say I blame them for preferring a tavern," Lucy muttered. Like Ronan, she was barely winded, despite our long run. "That place creeps me out."

I was breathing too hard to reply. Note to self: do more cardio training when I get back, I thought.

Ronan led us past the Great Hall and through a narrow alley that opened into a busy side street. To avoid attracting attention as we got close to our destination, he slowed to a walk.

We stopped outside the threshold of a dark stone building that looked very much like all the others on this street. Above the arched doorway, several words were carved into the stone in a language I didn't know. The letters pulsed with magic.

"What does that say?" I asked breathlessly.

"The name of the tavern." Ronan read the name aloud. The words rolled off his tongue like music. "It means ‘Slay your enemies and pour the wine.'"

"That's a solid name for a tavern." Lucy indicated another set of inscribed words beside the door. "And this?"

"A warning that drawing weapons inside the tavern is forbidden, by order of the management. That includes both blades and magic."

"Any advice on how to approach this?" I asked. "Given what you know about them?"

He considered. "The sisters will do as they will. I see little hope of changing their minds once they've made a decision, but they'll weigh the case fairly. Our only choice will be what to do once that decision is made."

"I won't let them get topside, and I won't let Mariela get away with what she's done," I told him. "This ends here."

He didn't remind me they were fallen angels, or chthonic deities, or infernal goddesses, or that I was more or less just a mouthy human mage currently being eaten alive from the inside by dark magic, or that a clairvoyant witch had prophesied I wouldn't succeed in my mission here. None of that needed to be said. We all knew the score.

"Damn skippy," Lucy said, sheathing her sword. "I know Daisy and Esme are with us. You'll end up having to pick a side one way or the other, Ronan."

He tried to stare her down, but he should have known better. She stared right back. "It's not that simple," he said finally.

"Actually it is, if you think about it." She punched my upper arm. "I got you. Let's do this."

I freed Daisy from her halter, rubbed my fingertip on Esme's velvet paw, and led the way into the bar. I didn't sense any wards on the threshold, but what use were wards to goddesses or archangels?

The interior was lit by firelight and welcoming, though I probably shouldn't have been surprised by that. A bar is a bar is a bar, even in the Underworld.

Even more surprising than the bar's welcoming design was that it was empty except for tables and chairs—no patrons, no bartenders, no servers, no cups or dishes left on the tables. I'd half-expected a crowd like the one we'd seen at Hawthorne's. Instead, the tavern was ominously silent. Even the street noise was muted, though the front doors remained wide open.

Behind the bar, neatly arranged bottles and jugs filled long shelves. I wondered what constituted top-shelf booze down here. I could have used a drink, but whatever they served probably wasn't safe for a human to consume.

"Either this is Edis's least-popular watering hole, or they cleared the place out for our arrival." Lucy's eyes narrowed. "Not sure how I feel about that."

Ronan stepped in front of me. Before I could object, he warned, "We are not alone here."

"You spoil my fun," a woman complained, her voice coming out of thin air from deeper within the tavern.

I had magic spooled, but kept it contained. Lucy's fingers twitched as if she wanted to pull her sword.

Like a curtain had been drawn aside, a large table appeared in an open space in the middle of the tavern. A woman in a long black robe, its hood thrown back, sat with her chin in one hand and a cup in the other. Her white-blonde hair was very long and loose like a cape, her glacier-blue eyes fiery with irritation. Her power crackled painfully on my skin, raising goosebumps.

On the table were two ceramic jugs, a tray of empty cups, bowls of what looked like various jams and honey, and two loaves of bread. They'd known we were coming. I wasn't surprised.

Ronan inclined his head in a respectful greeting. "Tis." His voice was carefully neutral.

The woman at the table studied him and said nothing.

In the back of the tavern, a door banged against the wall. A second woman strode in. Her long dark hair was braided and wrapped with a thin strip of leather. Unlike her sister, she wore the clothes and boots of a fighter—and she was splattered with blood from head to toe. Clearly she'd come straight from work, and she looked supremely annoyed at the interruption.

"Now that is looking resplendent in the blood of your enemies," Lucy said under her breath. "I'm a little turned on."

I was too, truth be told. And if Broken World Charles liked dangerous brunettes, he would probably have rolled over at the newcomer's feet, then sat up and begged.

"Aira," Tis said in greeting. "You are late."

"Hardly. The wine has not yet been poured." Aira pulled a chair away from the table and sat. She whistled.

A small demon scuttled out of the shadows near the rear door. Naked except for a scrap of cloth, the red-skinned creature had long, thin arms and legs scarred from the claws of his own kind. Chittering in his own language, he crouched in front of Aira. She propped her feet on his back and crossed her ankles. He looked up at us and hissed. Esme hissed back.

"Behave," Aira said, flicking a finger at the demon. He squealed in pain and crouched lower, chittering apologetically.

She reached for one of the jugs, poured herself a cup of wine, and took a slice of bread. She still hadn't acknowledged us. "Ekto is angry with me."

Tis sighed. "You killed her favorite pet again. She is entitled to her anger."

" Ro -nan," Aira drawled, saluting him mockingly with her cup. "You'll be glad to know she is not in the city at present. Her many faithful followers would be delighted to present your skinned carcass on her return. I'm tempted to cheat them out of their reward and do it myself."

"You're most welcome to try," Ronan said. "Perhaps after you hear our case, I'll humor you and give you a chance."

Her eyes darkened to storm cloud gray. "Pompous hindquarters of a donkey."

A tiny snicker escaped before I could hold it back. Aira's gaze focused on me for the first time. The temperature seemed to drop about twenty degrees. "You mock me?"

"Not at all." My voice sounded too much like a croak, so I cleared my throat before I added, "It's just that I've called Ronan an ass a dozen times in the three days I've known him."

Her eyebrow arched. The surge of power sizzling on my skin faded. "Indeed. We are of one mind, then."

Ronan made a rumbly sound.

I blinked. Had I just accidentally bonded with a Fury?

A fraction of a second later, I was sprawled on the floor next to Lucy, with Ronan's arms pinning us flat. He'd taken us down faster than I'd ever seen anyone move—vampires included. He'd even managed to grab Esme from my shoulder so she didn't fall, and got severely scratched for his trouble. Daisy dropped to her belly beside us.

Several orbs of silver-blue fire blasted over our heads from the direction of the front door. Aira swatted them away, her hands glowing with the same energy. One fireball vaporized a half-dozen tables and left a smoking hole in the far wall. Another took out more tables and chairs and a chunk of a support column before Tis did something with a flick of her hand and the magical fireball fizzled out in midair.

A third woman stomped past us in a floor-length black gown, bare feet, and obsidian jewelry. Her long flame-red hair swirled around her head either with the force of her power or her anger, or both. She raised her hand to throw another fireball at Aira.

"Enough, Ekto." Tis rose, her palms flat on the table. "We have petitioners. You might have killed them."

Ekto kicked a chair out of her way. It sailed the entire length of the room and exploded against the back wall. "Fine," she spat.

Sensing the immediate danger was over, Lucy and I sat up. Ronan deposited a very pissed-off Esme in my hands and stood, radiating anger.

"You always side with Aira." Ekto dropped into a chair and glared at Tis. "She killed my hound," she added petulantly. " Again ."

"It pissed on my front steps." Aira waved her hand dismissively. "You'll get another one, or you'll bring that one back. It's hardly worth fussing about. You're so dramatic, and so careless."

"I am not careless," Ekto retorted, pouring herself a cup of wine. "I didn't kill the humans, did I?"

"Had I been a moment slower, you might have," Ronan snapped. " No weapons or magic to be used on the premises, for the safety of all. Is that not the one great rule of your Court, Tis?"

She leveled a withering stare at him. "You quote rules to us, oath-breaker?"

Ronan flinched.

Angered by her tone, I scrambled to my feet to stand beside him. Lucy did the same. Despite the edict against the use of weapons, her hand strayed toward her hidden sword. Esme hissed. Daisy showed her teeth, her eyes golden.

"Whatever rules Ronan might have broken, that doesn't change yours," I said. "I didn't come all this way to get my head taken off by a fireball before we even got a chance to argue our case."

Malcolm had told me once there was a better than fifty-fifty chance my last words in this life would be back-talk to someone or something much more powerful than me. I couldn't say he was wrong.

I looked across the table at three sets of glowing storm-cloud-gray eyes and identical glares. That quickly, they'd gone from arguing among themselves to uniting in their anger at me. If they didn't decide to smite me into atoms, that might be a step in the right direction.

I was sick, exhausted, worried about Malcolm, and haunted by the memory of the slaughter in Walliston. And damn it, I missed Sean, I had a score to settle with Valas, and I wanted to go home.

"With all due respect, can we get to the reason we're here?" I asked.

Tis's sharp gaze raked me from head to toe. "I sense little respect, mage who calls herself Alice."

"I respect you plenty," I assured her. It would be stupid not to.

"You fear us. That is not the same." Aira shifted position in her chair and re-crossed her ankles, her boot heels leaving marks on the demon's back. "It's smart to fear us. We will hear you."

I took a deep breath and exhaled. "So, did we get here before her?"

"No." Tis gestured at a door to our right, hidden in an alcove. The door swung open.

A woman in clothing much like ours emerged from the shadows, her hood thrown back. She appeared older and leaner than in the photo provided by the Vampire Court. Her hair was short and cut raggedly, as if she'd done it herself. She wore a leather bag on her back. I wondered if the scroll was in the bag. My fingers itched to grab it and find out.

I had no reason to think the Court had given me an outdated photo. Her change in appearance could be the result of many things, but the simplest explanation was that she'd been down here a lot longer than three months. I thought of the strange time-warping we'd seen in the valley when we arrived. Did time pass differently here? No point worrying about that now.

"Hello, Mariela," I said. "We've been looking for you."