It was the helpless bleating of prey cornered by a wolf.
Cruzal probably had enough money to pay the man squirreled away in a safe somewhere in her office. But I knew that if she gave in to Grimaldi now, he’d be back again wanting more. And more the month after that. He’d hold the annex hostage forever, and the cost would spiral up and up until he’d bled the headmistress dry. The first time she missed a payment, Grimaldi’s men would burn it to the ground. That was the way predators worked.
If I didn’t change the deal, Rachel was doomed.
“I’m surprised you’d settle for so little,” I said. “I’m even more surprised that she’d pay it. The annex hasn’t been profitable for the School.”
Cruzal and Grimaldi had both frozen when I spoke. The headmistress’s eyes went wider, and Grimaldi’s narrower, with every word that tumbled out of my mouth. Neither of them was sure what I was up to, and that was how I wanted it. The only way out of this mess was to shift the power dynamic between me and Grimaldi.
“That’s not what I heard,” the mobster responded. “My people tell me the kids you train in there turn out a small fortune every day.”
I had no idea where the thug had heard about the hollows, or their ability to generate purified jinsei. That was a mystery I’d have to figure out down the road. I filed that information away and kept my face neutral to hide my irritation.
“You think we’d leave students that valuable in the annex?” I gave him a dismissive chuckle. “We’re not stupid. The number of kids who can do what you say is vanishingly small. Those we’ve discovered are already out of your reach. My dragon friend here will verify that.”
Tru looked surprised to be included in conversation. She didn’t know what I was up to, and I had no illusions she’d protect me beyond what was required by my deal with the First Scepter. She did, however, know how to tell the truth.
“Mr. Warin is correct,” she said. “The Scaled Council has given shelter to several students. They remain under protection in our territory.”
While information about dragons wasn’t common knowledge, Grimaldi had to know he’d never get those kids out of Shambala. He eased back into his seat and hid his face behind another puff of cigar smoke.
“The building—” he started, but I cut him off.
“It’s rented,” I lied. “If anything happens there, we’ll pull our people out. I’m sure the students’ parents will be thrilled that you drove their only source of education out of the neighborhood. And the landlord who owns the building won’t be happy that you burned it down.”
Grimaldi held his tongue and considered what I’d said. Thugs survived by bribing cops and keeping the locals pacified. Squeezing the School had seemed like an easy score from his point of view. Now, though, I could see he had reason to reconsider that position. He wouldn’t meet my eyes anymore, and his cigar’s cherry glowed and dimmed faster and faster like the beating of a panicked heart.
“Then why was she willing to pay me?” he said, clinging to any hope he could still turn a profit from this meeting.
“Because—” Cruzal said, and then I cut her off.
“The headmistress prefers to avoid conflict,” I said. “I like to fight, and I really like to fight if it means protecting my friends.”
Grimaldi inhaled from his smoke, and the cherry glowed red. Before he could send another foul-smelling cloud my way, my serpent lashed out and drained away the flame aspects and killed the cigar.
The mobster’s hand clutched his chair’s armrest so tightly the leather and wood creaked. The gangster wasn’t used to defiance, and he hated being pushed into a corner. It wouldn’t be long before his rage bubbled over.
I had the man right where I wanted him.
“You can’t win this,” Grimaldi snarled. “I have more men and money than you’ll ever have. Pay up or kiss the annex and everyone in it goodbye.”
The threat against the annex’s staff was a dangerous play on the thug’s part. It was one thing to threaten the school, but promising mass murder raised the stakes. It proved Grimaldi was willing to go to extremes.
And it also showed he was desperate. He needed this deal. That was interesting and gave me a new idea.
“That’s a lot of trouble to cause for so little money,” I said. “Killing teachers and students will draw attention. Law enforcement, neighbors, maybe even the overcity’s Guardians could get involved. They’ll want to know who was dumb enough to attack the School of Swords and Serpents.”
“They’ll think heretics did it,” Grimaldi said with a dismissive wave of his cigar. “No one cares what happens in the undercity, Jace.”
The gangster’s confidence in his plan was a bluff, I was sure of it. He’d come here expecting Cruzal to be a pushover. I was only here because he wanted me to watch him take what he wanted from the School. It was his way to assert dominance. But I’d turned out to be a lot more than he’d expected. His threats now were a feeble bid to save face.
My plan had worked.
“Look, we’re wasting our time with this.” I stepped back from the table and threw my hands up in exasperation. “You want three grand a month to watch over a rental building. That will not happen.”
Grimaldi and Cruzal both tried to talk over me, but I silenced them with a jinsei-boosted shout.
“Listen!” The word echoed through the office. “There’s no money in the rock you’re squeezing, Mr. Grimaldi. Let me make you a much more lucrative offer.”
All eyes were fixed on me.
“I need men,” I said. “Not full time, not even often. But I want a solid force ready to move
