“Café du Monde,” Adam said, pointing to the patio with its green-and-white-striped awning and the long line of mortals looking for a fix.
“Can we get some?” the demon cat hissed by my ear. “Pleeease.”
I exchanged a look with Adam. The defeated kind two tired parents shared over the head of a whining toddler. Finally, the mage sighed. “You want some, too?”
I shook my head. Adam lifted the hairless cat from my shoulder and held him like an ugly football under his arm. “Come on.” He shot me a long-suffering look. “We’ll be right back.”
While the mage jogged across the street to join the long line outside the café, I leaned against a brick wall to watch the performers. The area was humming with activity. In addition to Lady Liberty, a man in a tinfoil suit performed The Robot to music blaring from a boom box near his feet. Beyond them, artists hawked portraits of jazz greats and woven reed baskets to tourists exiting the hansom cabs parked along Decatur Street. Further downriver, a paddle-boat curtsied in the water like a young miss at a cotillion.
I was just about to carry on with my stroll when a familiar screech made my veins go arctic. I ducked out of instinct and scanned the sky. Sure enough, a white-feathered form circled the cathedral’s spire. I knew without a closer look that the owl had blood-red eyes.
Stryx.
The owl had followed me for weeks— all the way from Los Angeles to San Francisco and then across the country to New York. Originally, Adam and I thought Stryx was a spy that worked for the goddess Lilith. She was stuck in Irkalla, the dark-race underworld, and it was believed Stryx served as her eyes on earth. Back then Stryx mostly stayed out of my way, so I considered him harmless.
But in New York I found out he hadn’t worked for Lilith at all, but instead had been spying on me for the Caste of Nod. The owl had shared my location with them so they could orchestrate attempts on my life. During the big battle at the mage compound I’d shot the winged rat, but apparently he’d recovered from his injuries.
And his presence in New Orleans meant we were on the right track.
I turned to go tell Adam, but the scent of copper hit my nose like a punch. Unlike the pleasant metallic scent of warm blood, the telltale aroma of vampire stunk like the residue of copper pennies on the skin.
My stomach dropped as I swiveled to scan the area. So many people milled around I didn’t see her at first. Then, as if Moses had parted it, the crowd dispersed.
She stood as still as one of the living statues in front of the iron fence skirting the square. Her carmine hair stood out like a wound against the funeral-ready black dress she wore like a shroud.
Lavinia.
I’m not sure if I whispered her name aloud or screamed it in my head. Either way, seeing her stand not fifty feet away made my pulse jack into hyperdrive. Cold sweat drenched my skin, and every muscle in my body tensed. I froze, waiting for her to run or attack or ….. something.
Instead, she merely raised an eyebrow in challenge. In typical Lavinia fashion, she was making me come to her. My sweaty palm curled into a fist. I briefly considered pulling my gun, but with so many mortal witnesses it would be too risky.
Moving slowly, I narrowed the distance between us. My mind spun through every possible scenario. Lavinia hadn’t randomly chosen this spot. Despite vampires having little concern over the safety of mortals, for the most part we followed an unwritten rule that required discretion around them. As Alpha Domina, Lavinia might consider herself above that rule, but she was counting on me being very aware of our audience. Which meant she wanted to talk. And that heightened my anxiety even more. A fight I could handle, but a talk meant surprises. I’d had enough of those to last me eternity. Especially since my grandmother always knew which buttons to push— the ones that would f**k with my head.
Of course, I showed none of this unease to her. I simply stopped and tilted my head, telling her it was her move. The corner of her blood-red lips lifted, but she humored me and took several steps forward. Now only about five feet separated us.
Five feet and a chasm of bitterness so wide and deep it could never be crossed. Not without one of us dying. And I planned on living for a long time yet.
“Sabina,” she purred. Behind her, Stryx came to land on the tall black gate. His red eyes didn’t blink as he watched me. “You don’t call. You don’t write. It’s enough to break a grandmother’s heart.”
My eyes narrowed. I wanted to punch that shit-eating grin off her face. Instead, I said, “Oh, Lavinia.” Her eyes narrowed at my impertinent use of her given name. Good. “Let’s not fool ourselves. We both know you don’t have a heart to break.” As I spoke, my hand snaked back between my waistband and leather jacket.
“You’ve always been such a troublesome child. Always needing to be reminded to use your head,” she said, clucking her tongue and looking pointedly at my bent arm. “However will you find that sister of yours if you kill me now?”
“First of all, there’s no way killing you wouldn’t be the best thing that happened to me ever.” The sweat-slicked surface of my palm slid across the butt of my gun. “And as for Maisie, well, you let me worry about that.”
She crossed her arms and regarded me with a tilt of her head. “If I may offer another suggestion?”
I hated myself for hesitating. I should have already put a bullet between her eyes, witnesses be damned. But concern for Maisie and, frankly, plain gut-twisting fear stilled my hand. My eyes narrowed. “What?”
“Surrender.”
A laugh escaped from me. A harsh, angry sound. “You’re unbelievable.”
“And you’re naive if you think you’ll emerge victorious if this comes to a battle. Besides, do you really want your sister’s death on your conscience—”
“Please. Drop the patronizing act, okay? We both know you’ll kill Maisie if I surrender.”
She pursed her lips so hard they turned white. “Do not interrupt me again, child. You forget to whom you speak. Do you think I achieved the rank of Alpha Domina by being nice? I have spilled a river of blood in my lifetime. One mighty enough to rival the one behind you.”
I raised my chin. “I killed Tanith.” If I couldn’t tell her the truth, I’d use a lie to my advantage.
Her expression flickered. “So I heard. A regrettable loss. Tanith had a killer instinct for business, but she was no fighter. Do you honestly think you can best me?”