Chapter 11

CHAPTER 11

Making Zee fight or we'd be arrested wasn't fair. Or right. And I wasn't going to stand by and let Commissioner Musashi abuse his power because Gideon Cain tugged on his strings.

Zee snatched two more glasses of wine from a passing server's tray. "Leave it, Kitten. I'll knock Somers on his ass, play to the crowd, and it'll be over in two swishes of my fucking tail." He downed the pair of drinks without stopping to breathe between them, then wheezed, "I got this."

"There is too much opportunity for the entire event to be misconstrued as your aggression against a man who is clearly besotted with you, thus putting the blame firmly at your feet," Victor grumbled in one long breath. "I don't like it."

He wasn't the only one.

"I'm not standing for this." I got to my feet, technically standing for this.

"Adam, don't." Concern softened Zee's eyes. "The stage is already set. I'll give them all the fucking show they think they want, and we get to go home. That's all."

"No." Zee sounded too much like his old Razorsedge self, who'd take a beating just to keep the peace, and those days were over. Plus, I didn't want Cain to win in any way. "I'm going to talk with him. There's no harm in talking. I can't make it worse." I turned on my heel and headed through the tables, heedless of Zee asking Victor to stop me. A glance back revealed Victor wasn't moving. Because he knew I was right.

Just a little chat.

A quick glance toward Elion Leomaris's table showed them watching me march across the room. They wouldn't stop me.

I arrived at the commissioner's table, where the commissioner and his wife chatted about some charity event they'd profited from while Gideon Cain puffed his cigar, ignoring me as though I were as significant as a piece of furniture.

"Excuse me," I interrupted.

Their smiles died. The Musashis glared, but Cain took his sweet time looking over.

"Zee isn't going to fight the detective because it's wrong."

The commissioner glanced to Gideon before speaking, so it was clear who wore the pants in their relationship. "They've both entered the ring. They know the rules."

"No, that's not what happened. You saw Zee end his show. Somers climbed onto that stage, not thinking clearly. This is all a flimsy excuse to?—"

"Yes, exactly," the commissioner dismissed. "They clearly have history. These fights are the perfect place to work out grievances."

"Neither of them wants this, and it's wrong. Somers isn't in his right mind?—"

"And why is that, Mr. Vex?" Gideon finally spoke. I'd forgotten how calm and civilized he made himself out to be in public. "Has the demon allured the detective? Because if he has, that would clearly be a breach of SSD regulations, not to mention a terrible thing to do. "

"He did that to my wife," Musashi butted in. "Against her will."

Hannah sat very still beside her husband.

"No he didn't. Your wife paid Zee to get her off, just like everyone else pays."

"Excuse me?" Hannah squeaked.

The commissioner balked. "Did you just call my wife a whore?"

"What? No, I meant... She's not... I meant she paid Zee, not that everyone pays your wife..." Wow, that had come out all wrong. "That doesn't matter."

"It matters that the demon abused my wife."

"Zee doesn't abuse anyone. It's more likely he gave her what she was lacking at home."

Musashi shot to his feet. "How dare you! The demon seduced her!"

" Never without consent!" I barked back. "He's a professional. Which is why he's not fighting Somers."

"But he did allure Detective Somers," Cain said, so calm, just sitting there, smirking and puffing. "A highly illegal act and worthy of an arrest warrant. He should be thanking the commissioner for his leniency in allowing this fight."

The commissioner nodded along like one of those nodding dogs.

"It was an accident ," I stressed.

Cain's left eyebrow arched. "Those happen a lot around you don't they, Mr. Vex? So many accidents for one unassuming human. If that is what you are. Considering the recent footage of you riding a werewolf, it seems highly unlikely you're merely human. Which begs the question— what are you? "

No, nope, we were not getting into a conversation about me. And he knew I wasn't human. He'd known since our first handshake. "This has nothing to do with me. "

"An unlicensed, untested, unsanctioned Lost One running a hotel for Lost Ones," Cain summarized. "That, most certainly is against the law. Why even hide it, if you're innocent? Unless underneath that dull glamor you're something too dangerous to live among humans?"

"That's not—I'm not that ." A nervous laugh tittered up my throat. "Look." I pointed. "Everyone at this table knows I'm right." A sharp claw glittered. I snatched my hand back, and locked my fingers together behind me. Had they noticed? Cain's eyebrow remained arched, Musashi's face had turned purple, and Hannah had decided to poke her uneaten food around her plate. "You, Mr. Cain, are just as bad," I said.

"Am I? Do you see me riding werewolves? Am I surrounded by suspicious murders, missing protestors, and questionable events? Was I recently arrested for the murder of several fae, yet mysteriously had the charges dropped?"

I gulped. Alright, maybe coming over to talk to Cain hadn't been my best idea of late. "What happened to Claymore? And Delores?" Cain's expression didn't change, but Musashi's did. He glanced back and forth, shifting uneasily in his chair. He knew those names.

"Those accusations could be construed as disparagement, Mr. Vex. Tread very carefully on that ice you're walking on."

I wasn't going to get answers out of Musashi with Cain here, but he did know something. "Zee is not going to kill Somers for your entertainment, even though nobody likes him, because Zee is a good person."

"Are you, Mr. Vex?" Cain asked.

"Am I what?"

"A good person?"

I opened my mouth to answer but no sound came out. Closing it again, I narrowed my eyes on Gideon Cain. "We know what you've been doing, but it's not going to work. You should be afraid of us . If you make Zee fight, then you had better start looking over your shoulder, Mr. Cain. The vampire queen underestimated us too."

Cain's smug smile twitched and died on his lips.

Ha! He hadn't known. Princess Daisy hadn't told him about their queen losing her head. Finally, I'd landed a jab! "That's right, so you'd better not mess with the SOS Hotel management."

A firm, reassuring hand came down on my shoulder. "Adam." Victor's voice sailed over and through me, providing the anchor I needed. "The fight is about to begin."

"Oh, it's begun right here." I lashed at Cain. But a glance toward the ring revealed Zee reluctantly making his way toward the ropes, his wings low and tail dragging on the floor. "Stop this, now," I told Musashi. "If Cain is coercing you, I can help."

"It's already begun," Musashi said, chin lifted in defiance. He wanted to lash out because his pride was wounded, but Zee's freedom was worth a lot more than one sad man's pride.

I pointed a claw-tipped finger at the commissioner. "You're going on my Bad People list."

Victor took my hand in his and gently drew me away from the commissioner's table, back to ours. Hate burned inside me, like I'd swallowed a whole bowl of chili. What if I showed them what I really was, right here and now? They wouldn't cross me then. Every single person here should fear me. If I tore off this glamor, they'd all run screaming. I'd unleash pandemonium. Nobody could stop me.

But I'd lose the hotel, and Zee and Victor and all the friends I'd made at Razorsedge. My whole life as Adam Vex would be over. I'd be the monster .

I slumped back into my seat and scrunched my fingers into fists .

"Adam, you appear to be experiencing a glamor malfunction."

I flicked out my hand, shaking it and resetting the glamor back to showing normal fingers. My curse was definitely slipping, weakening my glamor with it. I didn't want to talk about that, or me, right now. "We have to help Zee."

Victor's gaze lifted to the ring, where the announcer had Zee to one side, and the awestruck Detective Somers on the other.

"Will love prevail, or is it over for our lovebirds? We're about to find out!"

"This has nothing to do with love," I said.

The crowd cheered, fired up by Zee's earlier performance, wanting more. They wouldn't be satisfied until blood was spilled. Humans weren't all that different from dragons. Deep down inside, they each had a primal desire to watch others squirm.

The announcer left the ring, lights flooded over Zee and Somers, and the bell rang.

Zee naturally towered over Somers. Somers tried to puff himself up, but it's almost impossible to look threatening when standing eye-to-nipple with someone. One punch and the detective would be out for the count. The whole idea of a human fighting a demon was ludicrous, but the crowd had paid good money to be entertained.

They circled each other. Zee had no intention of making the first move.

Someone in the crowd booed after the circular dance had gone on for too long. Others joined them.

Zee stopped circling the ring and approached the ropes. "You really wanna see me beat on some loser? Is that what you folks are here for? Don't you want to be entertained?"

"Kill him! "

Zee pointed. "Someone give that man a hug. He clearly doesn't get enough."

Chuckles percolated through the crowd.

"Name a song and I'll sing it," he told the crowd. "I'll give you the show you really want to see, not this char?—"

Somers sprang, leaping onto Zee's back, between his wings. The crowd gasped. Zee doubled over, and Somers toppled forward, flopping onto the ring floor. More boos filled the air. Zee straightened and flicked out his wings, giving Somers space to get back to his feet.

"Why won't you love me?" Somers whined, picking himself up and swaying.

"This is so wrong," I sighed, and caught Gideon's smirk in the corner of my eye. "Everything would be easier if we could just eat the bad people of the world."

Victor crossed his arms. "That would make us the bad people."

Zee and Somers circled each other again, and the boos bubbled up. I covered my face with a hand. Like the first fight, this was painful, but in a way that hurt my heart. Peeking through my fingers, I spotted three big gargoyles making their way toward the ring. More approached from the other side.

" Boo all you like, I'm not going to kill this guy for you!" Zee called out. He turned his back on Somers and raised his hands. "I quit. I'm not doing this."

Somers pulled a handgun.

It was so quick, and so unexpected, there was no time to warn Zee.

Somers aimed. "If I can't have you, nobody can!" He fired.

Zee spun. "Don't!"

Somers pressed the gun to his own head. And pulled the trigger. The gun boomed . Speakers amplified the sound, then a sudden, thick silence fell .

The detective's body hit the ring with a final, heavy thump.

Nobody cheered or clapped or booed .

Just eerie, heavy silence.

"Zee..." I dashed forward, and immediately got caught in the surge of people, on their feet trying to witness the dramatic conclusion.

I spotted Zee. He'd fallen to his knees, his face distraught. I had to get to him. Nothing else mattered. I shoved through more people, fighting my way forward.

The gargoyles climbed into the ring, heading for Zee too.

No, no! Wait... "STOP!" I had to get Zee out of here.

Victor appeared in the ring, between Zee and the gargoyles. Crouched, arms out, he bared his fangs, keeping Zee behind him.

"Zodiac, you are being arrested for the murder of that human, whoever he was," one of the gargoyles explained, keeping a safe distance from Victor.

"I didn't touch him," Zee muttered, in shock. He removed a hand from his side. Blood gleamed under the lights. His blood. Somers's first shot had found its mark.

"No!" I had to get up there. I had to protect them. Shoving more folks away, I'd almost made it. Just a few more meters to go.

"On whose orders?" Agent Leomaris demanded, their voice coming from somewhere close behind me. I didn't care about that. I didn't care about any of this. I only cared about getting into that ring.

"Mine," Commissioner Musashi called out. He was close too. Everyone was moving in, crowding around the ring.

One of the gargoyle guards approached the ring behind Zee. He reached through the ropes and snapped some kind of metal choker around Zee's neck .

Zee gasped, clutched at the metal ring, and slumped forward.

"You are subject to the rule of law for exceptionally powerful Lost Ones, and warded to prohibit the use of your preternatural abilities. Compliance is assumed."

He couldn't translocate away.

To make matters worse, the gargoyle clipped a leash to the chain, as though Zee were an animal. I finally made it to the ringside, and reached up to grab the ropes. I clambered in, catching Victor's wild-eyed glare.

"Immediate transportation," Musashi boomed, closer now, drawing my eye toward him. "That demon is too great a threat to people."

"What?!" I whirled on Musashi, and squinted into the lights, trying to find the commissioner among the countless faces. "Transportation to where?! He didn't do anything!" I couldn't breathe. This was all so wrong. I had to stop them all.

Agent Leomaris hopped over the ropes in one graceful movement. "Stand down, Mr. Vex."

"Zee is innocent—you know it." I reached for Leomaris, but Victor's firm fingers clamped around my arms, just enough to ground me.

His soft lips brushed my ear. "If attacking Musashi is truly what you want, I will not stand in your way," Victor growled. "But we are surrounded, and our odds of leaving with our liberty intact are almost nonexistent."

No, I didn't want to attack anyone. Except maybe Cain. I just wanted them to let Zee go. "You all saw. You know he didn't kill Somers," I told anyone who would listen. But none of the faces looked sympathetic.

Musashi finally climbed into the ring too. "They have all been allured. That demon seduced innocent, unsuspecting humans here this evening, with that fantastic rendition of ‘Lady Marmalade'!" Musashi declared, sidestepping to stand behind Leomaris. "These miserable people had too much fun!"

"They enjoyed his act, so you're locking him up?" Zee's act hadn't been an accident and Zee had allured the crowd, that had been our plan. But just because Musashi was right didn't make him right .

Musashi shivered. "I can still taste his demonic touch inside me."

"Sugarplum, if I'd been inside you, you'd be fucking begging for more," Zee quipped, as he struggled against the gargoyles holding him. Dark blood painted his left side, leaking from under his corset.

Zee bucked suddenly, his gaze landing on something he really didn't like. "Fuck, no. Don't!"

I followed his gaze. Two great rings, like a bear trap but without the teeth, were passed from guard to guard, up to those in the ring. Its heavy links clanged.

"What's that?" I asked Victor.

Victor's grip on my arms tightened. "A wing restraint."

A horrible moan slipped from my lips. "This is barbaric!"

Zee's panicked gaze met mine, and all of his anger and fight faded away. His brow pinched, and he gave his head a shake. "Adam, it's alright."

Victor's arms came around me, pinning me to his chest. But I wanted to be with Zee. I'd go with him. Wherever they took him, I'd be there by his side. I'd promised we were in this together.

"Adam, hold." Victor warned.

If I got loose, they'd arrest me too.

"It's fine," Zee said. "Just a little out-of-town trip." But his eyes gleamed with too much brightness. "We'll get it all fixed."

Nothing had ever been more not fine .

The gargoyles pinched Zee's wings closed and clamped them shut, turning them into heavy, dead weights on Zee's back.

Nobody was helping him. The audience who had loved him looked away. Was nobody going to stand up to the injustice?

I choked on a sob. "Victor, I can't let them do this." I weakly fought Victor's hold. Every fiber of my being needed to be with Zee, but reason held me back from using my full strength.

Victor's cheek brushed mine. "I know. But we must." His gaze locked with Leomaris's. They shared a secretive, imperceptible nod. "Now is not the time. You have to let him go."

"I can't . . ." But I would.

There were too many guards. We were outnumbered, outgunned, outmaneuvered. But this wasn't over. I stopped fighting against Victor's grip, and instead stood very, very still, moving only to watch them lead Zee away, behind the stacks of cars and out of sight. A few moments later, van doors slammed and an engine burbled to life.

"Adam, I suggest we leave," Victor urged.

All these people... All of them had reveled in Zee's performance when it suited them, but when he'd needed their help, nobody had stepped up.

They were all Bad People .

Victor guided me out of the ring and back to our table, where he collected Zee's coat and cradled it softly in his fingers.

A few staff quickly pulled Somers's body off the ring canvas, leaving messy streaks behind. The announcer declared the next fight would begin in a few minutes. The guests went back to their meals, laughing and chatting, already forgetting a man had died and my friend had been wrongly arrested and taken away in chains .

"Go back to the hotel," Agent Leomaris muttered under their breath as they passed us by. "I'll meet you there."

I tracked their path back to their table, and then skipped my gaze to Gideon. He hadn't moved from his chair throughout the entire fiasco. Gideon never got his hands bloody, he made others do the dirty work for him. Shadow, Agatha, Tom Collins...

His sorcerer's eyes gleamed with malice.

One day soon, he was going to pay for crossing me and mine.

Was I a good person?

No.

And it was time to play dirty.