“Did Gunter ever speak to you?” I said.
“No.” Mayan buried her head in Levi’s shoulder.
“You’re upsetting her,” Miles said.
“Then the faster we get through all this unpleasantness, the better,” I said. “Did Jonah speak to the Repha’im that first night?”
“He called it Gunter and made a weird joke about my suitability as a wife.”
“Because he’s the Shidduch.” Grinning, I slammed my hand on the table. “Hot damn!”
Thinking this was some game, Mrs. Hudson rose onto her back legs, scrabbling at me with a paw. When I didn't engage, she trotted out of the room once more.
“What is wrong with you?” Mayan said.
“What do you mean by Shidduch?” Miles leaned forward, his head tilted to one side.
“I checked in with a contact of mine.” I filled them in on everything Ivan had told me. “Everyone thinks he charms people, but that’s not it at all. He’s matchmaking. Spirits to flesh. Making deals to give the deceased another chance at life in exchange for whatever his client has hired him to do.”
“Necromancy is rare but putting souls into live bodies is a new twist on the magic I hadn’t heard of before,” Miles said. “It’s involved communing with the dead or for the couple of level fives in history, puppeteering the departed spirits for a very brief period of time to carry out simple actions.”
“But I’m not powerful,” Mayan said. “He didn’t have to do this to me.”
“No,” I said gently. “He didn’t. You were a threat. That’s why he went after you and violated you in the worst way. Do you have access to a good counselor?”
Mayan looked at me as if she was seeing me for the first time. Maybe she was. “I can find one.”
“That’s part of why you want to go into Hedon, isn’t it?” Levi said to me. “How would that help to find Jonah? Gunter’s dead.”
“And I have no idea how to find Jonah. I swear,” Mayan said. “I don’t have Gunter’s memories. I’m not even sure why he hated Alfie so much. Just that he did and I was forced to carry out his revenge.”
“I believe you,” I said. “There could be another way.”
“You think Alfie knows something?” Miles said.
“Wait,” Mayan said. “You’re not allowed to go back there. The man with the sword and appallingly retro suit said so.”
“You forgot to mention that part in your debrief.” Levi pushed his chair back. “May I speak with you a moment? Alone?”
“No,” I said.
Levi did a double take. “No?”
“If you’re planning on speaking to Alfie, then in light of this new information, I’m reinstating House protocol on you,” Miles said.
“Also no,” I said. “After Moran’s warning to stay away, the Queen’ll take any House operatives accompanying me as a show of force. Besides, have any of them been there as often as me? Survived as much? Even met the Queen?”
Miles reluctantly shook his head.
“I’ve been useful enough to her that I should be given a little leeway in terms of being heard out, and she was the one who said to surprise her. I go alone.”
“You’re going to push your luck over there one day,” Levi said, “and—”
I raised my palms. “And what? You were fine with it when I told you the Queen wasn’t happy with me but you had an agenda to fulfill. You don’t get to pick and choose. I’m going.”
“No,” Levi said. “You’re not. You’re off the case. Miles, assemble a team.”
“You said this wouldn’t get messy.” I leaned forward, my hands folded on the table, and calmly met his gaze. “Think very carefully before you play that card, Levi.”
“Are you blackmailing me?” Levi’s voice had gone dangerously quiet.
“If you think so little of me that you believe I’d ever do that, then this is a mistake. I want you to make clear decisions that don’t change when your emotions get engaged.”
“He didn’t mean it like—” Miles looked at Levi and sighed. “Messy.”
“I’ll hire you,” Mayan said.
My mouth fell open. “What?”
“I don’t know what’s going on here, though I’m starting to get an idea.” She moved her chair away from Levi. “Your misguided sense of responsibility is going to blow up in your face one day, Levi. You should have told me about you and Ash.”
“You were upset,” he stammered.
“It’s okay,” I said. “If I thought I had to worry about him and other women, I wouldn’t be with him. I trust the big idiot. Completely.”
“This isn’t about trust,” Levi said.
“I’m well aware.” I drained my coffee.
“Still,” Mayan said, frowning at Levi, “by worrying you’d hurt me, you put me in an embarrassing situation. I’m sorry, Ash.”
“No apology necessary, but thank you.”
“I meant what I said. I want to hire you. You’re the best person to find Jonah and make sure he never does this to another person.”
“I am, but I’m also under an exclusive contract with the House on this investigation,” I said.
“You’d honor that, even with Levi threatening to remove you?” she said.
I nodded. “It’s Levi’s call. I won’t go behind his back. If I start justifying certain behaviors just because something isn’t going my way, I won’t be able to live with myself.”
Levi exhaled in disgust. At himself. “Your membership in the support group is revoked.”
I pursued my lips, halfway to forgiving him. “Do I still get biscotti?”
“Whenever you want, bella.”
“Am I off the case?”
Levi scowled at me. “Miles, give her the tokens. House protocol doesn’t apply. I still get to worry,” he said. “But I won’t cross the line into preventing you from doing your job.”
“I can live with that. Uh, one other thing? Don’t worry about getting hold of the Queen to pass on the information about the codename. I’ll probably end up doing it while I’m over there.”
Levi’s eyes flashed, and then he let go and thunked his head against the table. “Fuck balls.”
Progress.
Confronting some of the Queen’s guard in Hedon and demanding to speak to their boss worked
