Bria took a sip of her blackberry lemonade and tapped her left index finger on the counter before reaching down and twisting around the two rings that she wore there. Turn, turn, turn. Twisting the silverstone bands around and around was Bria's tell, something that she did whenever she was thinking hard about a problem. Light pooled in the snowflake and ivy symbols embedded in the metal and flashed the runes back at me.
"It's not that we need your help," she finally said. "It's just that we can't quite figure things out."
"What do you mean?"
Bria looked at me. "I'm sure you've noticed that there's been a bit more crime lately in Ashland than usual."
"Especially for the dead of winter," Xavier chimed in. "Usually, crime around here goes down the more the snow piles up, since most folks don't want to get out into the cold. Of course, we get a few bums squatting in abandoned buildings over in Southtown, some trash-can fires that get out of control, but that's about it, except for the usual stuff."
By the usual stuff, Xavier meant all the domestic disputes, robberies, rapes, gang violence, and assorted murders that took place in the city on a daily basis. From a distance, Ashland might resemble a larger version of Mayberry, but in reality, the city was about as far removed from that quaint Southern ideal as could be. The only whistling folks did in Ashland was after they'd bashed you over the head, ripped your purse off your arm, and were strolling away counting the bills inside.
"Crime around the city has skyrocketed in the past few days," Bria continued. "Bar fights, robberies, beatings, murders. It's like some kind of army has invaded Ashland and is determined to tear up as much stuff as they can."
I frowned, and my mind flashed back to last night and the dinner guests that I'd seen at Mab's mansion. They'd all had a hard edge to them, a sharpness in their faces, and a twitch in their fingers that had marked them as potential dangerous troublemakers. I glanced at Finn, who was staring back at me, the same thought shining in his eyes.
"You think the crime spree has something to do with Mab's guests?" I asked him.
Finn shrugged. "Maybe, maybe not. Although the people that Mab does business with usually have a little more self-control than to go around getting into bar fights."
He had a point, so I waved at Bria, telling her to continue.
"The whole department's been trying to crack down, but no one can figure out what the hell is going on, who these people are, and why they've all suddenly come to Ashland," Bria said.
"Yeah," Xavier agreed. "Normally, we'd at least get a few whispers about what was up. But even the guys on the take don't have a clue-and you'd figure they'd hear something from their sugar daddies so they could cut off some of the problems before they got started."
"So more people are hurting and killing each other," I said. "Around these parts, that happens every time the moon's full. What exactly do you need me for?"
Bria looked at me. "I got a call this morning from one of my sources telling me that he knew what was going on and that it was something big-something that would really shake things up for everyone in the Ashland underworld. I asked him what it was, but he didn't want to talk over the phone. Said it wasn't secure enough. I'm supposed to meet with him tonight."
"I'm sensing a but in there."
A smile flitted across her face. "But he sounded strange when I talked to him. Like he was really excited about something, and this is the kind of guy who only gets excited when there's a big score to be had. I don't see what angle he's playing by telling me what's up, since I don't pay him for his info. So I told Xavier about it, and he thought that it might be a good idea to talk to you about things."
I looked at Xavier. "Suggesting me as backup? That's not like you."
The giant shrugged. "I thought that it might be prudent, what with everything that's going on with Mab. Especially since someone tried to take out the Fire elemental last night-in her own mansion, no less."
I winced. I hadn't brought up my little trip to Mab's for all sorts of reasons, but mainly because I'd missed the shot. I wasn't supposed to miss-ever. Especially not when the stakes were this high, not when my sister's life hung in the balance, swaying back and forth on the end of a spider's thin, silky thread. Mab wanted Bria dead in the worst kind of way, and I didn't want Bria to think that I couldn't protect her. I supposed that I was still playing the role of the big sister, just like I had when we were kids. Even though at twenty-five and with Ice magic that was almost as strong as my own, Bria could more than take care of herself.
I sighed. "So you guys heard about that, huh?"
"We did," Bria said.
All sorts of emotions clouded her features. Caution, respect, fear, and just a touch of concern. I wondered if that last one was for me or for herself.
Mab was under the mistaken impression that Bria was the Snow sister with both Ice and Stone magic-the girl who Mab had been told would kill the Fire elemental one day. I'd wanted to put the word out to the Ashland underworld that Mab had it all wrong, that the Spider was the one with both Ice and Stone magic. But Bria had pointed out that since the Fire elemental didn't seem to know who the Spider was or what the assassin's connection might be to Bria, it was foolish to give Mab any information that she didn't already have. From past experience, I knew that the Fire elemental wasn't that stupid, sloppy, or clueless, but I'd acceded to my sister's wishes. Bria wanted Mab focused on her and not me-no matter how dangerous it was.
I thought Bria's fatalistic attitude had something to do with the guilt my younger sister felt over how things had gone down that fateful night. Bria had seen Mab torturing me, but instead of trying to help me, she'd panicked and run away. I didn't blame Bria for that, though. She'd only been eight at the time, just a scared kid, the same as me. If she'd tried to stop Mab, she would have been dead too-burned to ash by the Fire elemental's magic. Still, all these years later, Bria felt responsible for things, like it was somehow her fault that Mab had tortured me instead of her.
I looked at Bria, and our eyes locked. So many emotions swam in the depths of our gazes, so many things that we just couldn't say to each other. But one thing was certain-my sister had asked for my help, and I was going to give it to her.
"You want me to come along for backup, I will," I said in a low voice. "Anytime, anyplace. You know that. So where is this little party going to be? Because I'll be there, but with silverstone knives strapped on, instead of bells."