“Yes, scurry away like rats in a sewer,” the Queen’s voice raged. She shook an extremely pale fist toward the errant sorcerers. “Tell your High Priest he owes me restitution for this attack or he will pay the price in blood.” To punctuate her statement, the tires on one of the vehicles blew and the thing did a triple spin in the air. Her magic had manifested physically in a shock of white. The same shock of white that had hit me in the chest just a short time ago. I knew how powerful she was and now so did they.
The vans carrying the sorcerers peeled out, tires screeching as they went. I turned discreetly, trying to stay out of the Queen’s line of vision, and edged my way back toward the wall. I needed my team in here with me.
“You,” the Queen called. “Little Wolf Girl. You play with fire coming to my door unannounced, trailing trouble right behind you.”
I turned to face her, moving into her sight line. No use pretending I wasn’t here. “I apologize,” I replied. I had to play this right. Even if the sorcerers had temporarily left, the demons would be here soon and I still needed to bargain for shelter for the night. “Our Pack became separated on the road and it was either come here or risk death. I figured you were interested in keeping me alive, at least for a while. My duties to you don’t start for a few weeks, but as you can see, I’m ready and willing to meet with you now.”
She cocked her head at me, calculating. “You may enter, but know that I am not bound by our oath until three weeks from this date. You come into my Coterie at your own risk.”
“Hmm, as tempting as that sounds,” I responded, “how about we make a deal instead? I’m not entering without my companions, and we enter as your guests for the duration of twenty-four hours and are free to leave alive and unharmed at this same time tomorrow.”
“And what would interest me enough to welcome you into my home and keep all your lives intact?” she asked.
“If I die, you don’t get what you want. It’s pretty simple.” She moved to the edge of the railing that ran around the portico. I had chosen to call her bluff right from the get-go and I had her attention. “The sorcerers want my power and so do you. You want it through my blood and they want to somehow pull it out of me, but it’s the same thing. So if you keep me alive, you keep the power alive. Next, if you don’t offer us shelter, you risk war with the wolves. By denying us, you act against us.” That wasn’t technically true since we weren’t formal allies, but if she denied us and I was harmed as a result, it would be a valid enough reason for my father to declare war. “You already know my father is itching for a fight after the last time we met.” I tried my final tactic. “He would do almost anything to keep me away from you, including fight you before I’m due to honor my deal. But I’m here right now. This might be your last chance, Eudoxia. I wouldn’t let it slip through your fingers.”
She didn’t try to deny any of it, which earned her a few points. “What are your terms?” she asked coolly.
“I will agree to follow your rules once inside and you agree no harm comes to me or my team. I think that’s fair enough for now.”
“Ah, but you seek protection, do you not? Protection comes with a fee.”
I exhaled slowly. Of course she was going to make me work for it. “Then I guess the bigger question is, what do you want from me, Eudoxia? If protection comes at a cost, what is it going to cost me?”
Her face showed a hint of surprise. She hadn’t expected me to turn the tables so quickly. “The sunlight is burning my retinas. I will meet you all inside the foyer.” She flicked her wrist once toward the perimeter and left her perch without glancing back.
I turned to see the boys coming into the yard, Rourke in the lead.
“Jess,” Tyler called as he ran forward. “You can’t do this. You can’t make another deal with her. We don’t need protection that badly. The sorcerers are gone for now. We can hit the road and take off. Anything you agree to once we’re inside will put us at too great a disadvantage.”
“I believe he’s right,” Danny added. “We’ll be sitting ducks if we take up with these biters without a prior agreement. Anything you offer the Vampire Queen to keep us safe will be too high a price in my estimation. I say we cut and run.”
“Cut and run where?” I asked them both as they came to a stop, lowering my voice to barely above a whisper. “Right now she thinks the threat is sorcerers. We don’t have to mention we are having another issue. And don’t forget Naomi and Ray are inside. I’m not leaving here without them. It’s not ideal, but I agree to her terms and we stay. For one night. Enough to get in touch with my father, get the rest of our team, and come up with another plan.”
“We can’t forget the child oracle said we had to be in New Orleans,” Rourke added, directing his words at Tyler. “The sorcerers know we’re here. As soon as we leave the grounds, they’ll hunt us down. Even if we get out of town, there’s not another sanctuary near enough. I support Jessica. We stay here overnight, and if things improve, there’s a possibility we can head out tomorrow. If not, we renegotiate with the Queen. Jessica’s in more danger out there”—he pointed over the wall—“than she is in here at the moment.”
Tyler’s anxiety pinged through my system. He knew Rourke was right, but we all hated being in this predicament. This was a little more dire than being stuck between a rock and a hard place—it was more like being stuck between fangs and death. “Fine, but I’m not putting up with any of their shit. If they try to bite us, it’s going to be anarchy,” he growled. “I will kill any vamp who comes near me, no matter what we agree to.”
“They won’t risk biting us if their Queen doesn’t want a war,” I said. “And maybe it’s no accident we’re here.” I pondered that. “It makes the most sense. This is the first place Dad would look for us.” I glanced around the group. “I have to trust my instincts, and this feels right—”
Like a cue from a B movie, the massive front doors of the Coterie slowly creaked open on their own, signaling us to enter.
“Well, that was a bit creepy,” Danny said. “Let’s go on, then. We’ve reached our decision. And I don’t like the idea of leaving our mates in there any longer than necessary, so I guess it’s time to have a little fun fraternizing with the enemy.”