"Plus, Gregor had shown me a similar knife when I was a teenager," I added. "It was so long ago, I'd forgotten about it. But when Bones acted so strangely after being stabbed, and I could feel his pain spreading even after the knife was taken out - "
"Liar," Lucius shouted. "Gregor never had a knife like that until I picked it up for him yesterday!"
The Guardian's eyes settled on him. Too late, Lucius realized what he'd done.
"You were part of his cheating," she stated. "Take him."
Two of the male Guardians caught Lucius as he tried to run. From how strong they were, I knew Lucius didn't have a chance of escaping. Then again, neither might I.
The Guardian's knowing green eyes landed on me next, suspicion plain in her gaze. "You swear by your blood that you only interfered in the duel when you realized Gregor had cheated?"
"Yes."
After all, it was mostly true. I'd known something was wrong; I just hadn't known what it was. So in that regard, I hadn't interfered until I realized Gregor was cheating. Besides, if Gregor hadn't cheated in the first place, then there would have been no need for me to interfere, because Bones would have eventually killed him.
The Guardian glared at me for a long moment, but I didn't flinch under her gaze. Then she looked around. Bones was giving her a hard stare, as were Mencheres, Spade, and Vlad. Since there was room for reasonable doubt, if she ruled against me, Bones wouldn't accept it and this would turn into a bloodbath. She had to know that. But would it factor into her decision?
Finally, she shrugged. "I have no way to prove if you're lying, and Gregor's guilt is clear, so you are free to go."
Bones grabbed me in the next instant, holding me in an embrace that would have squeezed all the air out of me, if I'd had any. I held him back just as hard, hearing some of Gregor's allies sputter indignant objections. There'll be repercussions, I thought. There would also be repercussions for showing so many people what I could do with fire, even if I didn't know how long I'd have that power, but I pushed those concerns aside for a later day.
"We need to get the silver out of you, Crispin," I heard Spade say over Bones's shoulder.
"Not yet," Bones replied.
I shoved him lightly. "Yes, now. Are you crazy?"
He let out a snort as he released me, intensity lurking in his gaze. "No, luv. You are."
Bones knew I hadn't interfered just because I'd realized Gregor had cheated. There'll be repercussions for that, too, I thought, but first things first.
The liquid silver had to be cut out of Bones, I discovered. It was a gruesome, bloody process that made me wish I could kill Gregor a thousand times over. No wonder something like this was illegal in a duel. I wouldn't use such an insidious weapon against an enemy. Bones had his shields up between us as Spade cut into him, but I didn't need our supernatural connection for it to hurt me as well.
Lucius was executed by the Law Guardians during his process.
When they were done with Lucius, the head Guardian informed us that we owed financial restitution for the theft of a member of Gregor's line - my mother. My mouth dropped at the amount she named, but Bones just nodded and said it would be taken care of. Since Gregor was dead, I wasn't sure who'd get the check, or if it would just go to the Law Guardians, but once again, I filed that away under Future Business.
Mencheres knelt next to us in the bloodstained earth. He held out his hand to Bones, who looked at it for the space of several seconds before he took it.
"You didn't see any of this?" Bones asked Mencheres.
The Egyptian vampire had the faintest smile. "Not a single part. I find I hate not knowing what will come to pass."
Bones snorted. "Welcome to the way the rest of us live."
Spade finished digging out the last of the silver from Bones and sat back with a grunt. "Blimey, Crispin, I hope never to do that again."
Bones let out another snort. "I quite agree, mate."
"Can we get out of here?" Now that Bones no longer had silver inside, poisoning him, I figured it was a good time to leave. Gregor's allies were still giving us very hostile looks, though the Guardians' presence - and Bones's allies - kept them from acting. Still, no need to press our luck. Between Bones and me, we'd probably run through all our nine lives that night.
"Excellent idea, luv," Bones said, rising. "Where do you want to go?"
An ironic laugh escaped me. "Anywhere but Paris, Bones. Anywhere but there."