Bitten in Two

“Three so far.”

“Add the two who have remained by the plane portal door and, of course, the demon,” Vayl reminded him.

“She’s not with them?”

“No.” He turned and stood in one smooth motion, raising his cane in such a way that I knew instantly we were in trouble. Without ful y understanding why I needed to, I came to my feet and pul ed steel. Then I caught sight of Kyphas standing across the roof from us, her flyssa hanging at her side.

“You wil never win this fight,” Vayl said, pointing the cane at her like he was already seeing the sword it contained carving through her flesh.

“I’m not here to battle,” Kyphas said, glancing down at the figures slithering among the vats like she thought they might overhear us. She held out—what the hel ?

“That’s the map,” said Cole, unnecessarily, because we could al see the raggedy-edged scrol rol ed tightly in her fist.

“She can’t decode it,” I said. “She’s brought it to us so we can find the tool and then she’s taking it back with her.”

“No, of course not. Wel , I mean yes to part of that. We can’t decode it. But I’m here because—” Her eyes lit on Cole like a butterfly lands on a flower, so lightly he never felt their touch, before moving on to Sterling’s, mine, Vayl’s, even Kamal’s. She ignored Yousef so completely he might as wel have been a roof vent, standing completely stil , shocked to immobility in the face of her absolute beauty.

“We have a contract,” she finished.

“You said it was finished,” Vayl reminded her.

She took a step forward.

Vayl’s hand tightened on the jewel that would release the spring-loaded sheath. I raised my sword. Cole wrapped his hand around the hilt of his. Sterling—relaxed. Only Vayl and I knew he was now at his most dangerous, with his hands resting in his lap, one crossed over the other so that his bracelets were touching.

“Kyphas.” Vayl made her name a warning even she could understand.

She responded by tossing him the map, her eyes flashing yel ow as she said, “Did you think your little scheme would go unnoticed in hel ? That Torledge hasn’t been aware of every move you’ve made since you landed in Marrakech? He knows this is his best chance to retrieve the Rocenz and he wants me to be the dog that fetches it for him. I may be the laughingstock of Lucifer’s court after letting your Seer slip through my fingers, but I wil not bow down to that rabbit fucker.”

Vayl and I raised our eyebrows at each other. Either she was one badass actress or—

“I knew it!” said Cole.

I wanted to slap myself on the forehead. But that would just hurt me. And Kyphas was the one I wanted to mutilate.

Physical violence would only make Cole do the white knight act, however. So I appealed to him one last time. “Dude, you did hear what she just said, yeah? That the contract stil holds? Think back. What was her upside in that deal?” He actual y had to take a second. Then he said, “Oh.

Souls. She’s going to get Brude. And the Oversight Committee.”

I nodded. Good boy, maybe I should give you a sticker. Positive reinforcement so you’ll remember your damn lesson. “She’s stil in the biz. Always wil be. And that face, that incredible face that makes you long for her to reform and become Little Bo Peep, is what makes her so good at what she does.”

“What are you saying?” Cole asked.

My sigh came out more like a huff. “Quit thinking with your dick for, like, ten seconds. I think that’s al you need to save your life here.”

He grimaced at her. “Are you going to take those souls when Jaz gets the Rocenz?”

She shrugged. “Of course.” When she saw his face tighten she held her hands out to him. “Look at it this way.

It’l make Jasmine’s life so much easier. Brude wil never be able to hurt her again. Those senators won’t be able to manipulate the Agency to make themselves look better.

Which means your jobs wil be secure and your country wil be safer. Where is the disadvantage in that?” My hand crept to my chest, pressing against the pain in my heart as I watched Cole accept defeat. He seemed to age every second as he said, “Souls, Kyphas. You’l never get it because you see them as, I don’t know, purses to be snatched and stacked in your closet because you’re like some kind of crazed klepto. But they’re way more than that.” She tried to speak, but he held up his hand and, amazingly, she let him go on. “Yeah, some of them belong in hel . I’ve only worked with Jaz for a few months and I believe that to my bones. Maybe even the ones you bargained for should be there. But I can’t be with the kind of person who yanks them out of people’s bodies, throws them into the pit, and doesn’t even understand the kind of misery she’s causing.”

“Cole—”

He turned his back to her. And I understood, just like she did, that it was the ultimate insult. So you think you’re a dangerous beeyotch? You don’t scare me. After what you’ve done? You don’t even rate a glance over the shoulder.

Kyphas stood there for a second. And then her eyes flared to bright yel ow. No tel ing what she’d have done if we hadn’t been there with him. I stepped in front of him.

Sterling jammed his bracelets together.