“Did he mention the name Caste of Nod?” Adam asked.

Alodius pursed his lips. “Don’t think so, but it was kind of hard to hear what with being in the back of the room and the goat’s constant bleating.”

Adam made a face at the goat comment and then leaned back in the chair. “Why did the Brotherhood go after Brooks?”

Alodius’s face went hard. “You told me about the drag show, remember? They expected the store to be empty. Must have improvised when they found him there.”

“Her,” Pussy Willow whispered fiercely.

“Did the Brotherhood let you in on their original plan?” Adam asked.

The man sat up straighter in his chair. “Yessiree. After the first two calls, the Big Brothers themselves call Old Alodius into their high chamber. Said they were planning something big for All Souls’ Day and they needed you there.” He looked at me when he said this. “Only they had to be real careful about it, because you couldn’t know you were being set up. They said next time you showed up we had to ask you about your plans. They needed to know when you’d be gone so they could set the plan in motion.”

“What was this plan exactly?” Adam said.

“They was gonna bust up the shop and leave some clues to get you where they wanted you.”

“Where do they want me?”

“They didn’t tell me. All they’d say is they were gonna summon Master Mahan at just after midnight on All Souls’ Day.”

“Summon him?” My eyebrows slammed down. “Who exactly is Master Mahan?”

“He’s the almighty power behind the Brotherhood.”

I craned my neck, waiting for more. But he was done. “That’s it?”

He raised his palms. “They don’t tell the pledges details. Supposedly all the secrets are revealed at initiation.” He paused. “And thanks to you, that’ll never happen now.”

“You have no one to blame but yourself for that, moron. Did they mention anything about a mage? Maisie Graecus?”

He shook his head. “Nah. Although,” he paused. “Now that you mention it, they said something about once you were there they could finally kill the ‘the other one.’ ”

My heart kicked up a notch. “And that didn’t concern you? Knowing they planned on murdering someone?”

He pulled his gaze south and shrugged. I stepped toward him, intent on shaking some conscience into him.

“Okay.” Adam stepped in, grabbed my arm. He shot me a meaningful look that clearly commanded me to chill. I forced myself to relax and crossed my arms. “So to review: Alodius knows jack shit about what’s happening except that the Brotherhood’s goal was to plant evidence at the shop to make sure you show up to a ritual to summon the leader of the Caste.”

“If he’s the leader of the Caste, why does he have to be summoned?” I asked.

“And why do they need you there?” Adam asked. “After all, back in New York they couldn’t wait to kill you, because they thought you’d stop the war and prevent Lilith’s second coming. Now they need you alive for some purpose.”

My head ached as I tried to follow the serpentine paths of fact versus prophecy. Basically, the Caste believed that a war between the dark races would result in Lilith returning to earth from the underworld. The Caste believed their role in assisting the goddess in her return would earn them a special place with her. In addition, they— and a few others— believed I was a prophesied Chosen who’d stop the war and usher in a period of peace between the races. That’s why the Caste tried to kill me in New York, but just like Adam, I couldn’t figure out why they suddenly decided I would be useful.

“I don’t have a fucking clue what’s going on,” I said. “But I do know one thing: We’re going to find out where this ritual’s going down and ambush the shit out of them.”

“Not that I disagree with that plan, but I really don’t like the idea of strolling in there without knowing more about this summoning,” Adam said. “And how are we supposed to find out where it’s happening?”

“Weren’t you listening?” Alodius said. “They left the clues in the shop.”

My head swiveled in his direction. “Shut. Up. I’ve already seen what passes for clues to your Brotherhood, and they suck.”

“Just trying to help.”

My mouth fell open and I sputtered at him for a second before Adam spoke for me. “Why in the hell would you try to help us? You’re the one who told them when to attack the shop.”

He shrugged. “Figure helping might convince y’all not to kill Old Alodius.”

“Unbelievable,” I breathed.

“We’re not going to kill you,” Adam said. I hit his arm. “What? He didn’t do anything but give them information.”

As I reeled from that, the mage turned back to Alodius. “But I do have one question. How could you help the Brotherhood when you knew they planned on destroying your friend’s business?”

The man shrugged. “Weren’t no skin off this nose. They promised Big Poppa would finally be initiated as a reward. Plus, Zen ain’t exactly family, and her mumbo jumbo goes against all of God’s commandments.”

Adam frowned at the man. “That’s interesting coming from a member of a secret society that ignores that whole ‘Thou shalt not kill’ thing.”

“Already told you the fae wasn’t supposed to get hurt! They said they was just gonna knock over a few things. Besides, that boy don’t look like he got one scratch on hisself.”

Pussy Willow exploded forward. “Girl, she, and herself!”

I twisted around to stare at her in shock. “Easy now.”

Pussy Willow pointed a long red nail at the man. “Not until he says it.”

Alodius’s expression became bullish. “Darlin’, you got a nice rack, but dollars to donuts you’re packing some meat in your drawers.” He leaned back and crossed his arms. “That makes you a he.”

It happened fast then. Pussy Willow drew, aimed, and cocked the gun before I could wrap my mind around what was happening.

“No!” Adam shouted, lunging. But it was too late. The gun exploded. The recoil sent Pussy Willow stumbling back, her heels squeaking against the slick linoleum. The bullet hit Alodius in the forehead. A single line of blood dripped from the blackened hole. The Cajun gasped just before his body went slack and slid to the floor.

In the aftermath, the shop was silent, but my heart hammered in my ears. Adam grabbed the weapon from Pussy. Her hands shook, and rage made her eyes glow with hatred as she stared down at the body.

“What the hell were you thinking?” Adam shouted.

“He disrespected me.” She said the words like they were a simple statement of fact.

“Brooks—” I began. “Pussy Willow!” she screamed. The dam broke. Hot, angry tears ran down her face, smearing her makeup. She swiped at her eyes, leaving black streaks of mascara behind. She looked so brittle that I immediately swallowed the lecture I’d been about to deliver.

“Hey,” I said, approaching her slowly. “I’m sorry. It’s just, well, I thought we weren’t going to kill him.”

“The mage decided that. No one asked me.”

I put an arm around her shoulders. She trembled uncontrollably now.

“I’ve never k-killed anyone before.”

Adam’s anger seemed to have vanished about the time the tears started falling. He shifted uneasily on his feet and cleared his throat. Men never could handle tears from females. I guess the mage was no exception. “Adam,” I said quietly. “I need you to take care of the body. Get some bleach— he probably has some in the back room— and wipe everything down. We can’t have the Caste or the Brotherhood knowing we got to him first.”

The mage looked so relieved to be excused that he rushed off without an argument. As I led Pussy toward the front of the store, Adam made quick work of wrapping the body in a tarp. Making sure her back was to the crime scene, I rubbed her arms. “Listen, no one blames you for what just happened. I’ve killed people for far lesser offenses.”

She sniffed. “Really?”

I nodded. “I used to be an assassin for the Dominae. I can’t even count how many people I’ve killed.” I was lying. I knew the exact figure, but that wasn’t what she needed to hear.

Her eyes widened. “Does it get any easier?”

This time I told the truth. “Yes. But there’s a cost. In order to cope, you end up shutting down a part of yourself that makes you capable of empathy and connection to other people. I hope that never happens to you.”

She tilted her head. “I’m not buying that.”

I frowned. “What do you mean?”

“Sabina, I just killed someone you needed for information, but instead of yelling at me, you’re going out of your way to make me feel better about it.”

My cheeks heated at the truth of her words. I was saved from having to respond by the clank of a bucket hitting the ground, followed by a masculine curse. “Anyway, I think I need to go help the mancy before he bleaches his clothes. Are you going to be okay?”

She took a deep, shuddering breath. “Yeah.”

I patted her arm and went to help Adam hunt down blood splatter. The scent of bleach assaulted my nose. Grabbing a sponge from Adam, I began to scrub away bits of Alodius. As I worked, I decided Pussy Willow’s assessment wasn’t exactly accurate. After all, if I was so able to connect with people, why did bonding with her make me so uncomfortable I preferred to clean up a crime scene instead?

23

After dumping Alodius’s body in the back of his walk-in freezer, we flashed back to Zen’s courtyard. We trudged up the stairs silently, each lost in our own thoughts. At the top, Pussy Willow quietly excused herself, claiming she needed to go fix her face. I suspected she really just needed some time alone to process everything. Probably, she also couldn’t face the idea of telling Zen and the others what she’d done.