“What were the shows she was talking about?”
“Oh, are you going to a show?” a new voice, sultry and smoky, asked.
I twisted to find another woman there, small black wings from her back, hooved feet and furred legs up to her thighs and hardly any fabric to cover up the rest of her. She had blonde hair and one hell of a smile for Hunter.
“Lucifer is holding more of them lately. He had an elder demon a week ago! Have you ever seen one of them?” She leaned in, setting a hand on the table and bending so her breasts became more of a centerpiece to the table.
“Yeah, I’ve seen one,” Hunter said with a soft laugh. “Last time he brought one of those, I backed the hell out of the competition.”
I sat straighter. “Backed out? Wait, you participated in these things?”
Hunter turned his gaze to me. “Sure, shadow-girl. There isn’t a lot to do here, and whoever hosts the competition sets the prize. Lucifer usually just offers a favor, but a favor from him is worth it.” He chuckled. “Well, it is when the opponent isn’t an elder demon, at least. The second I heard he’d gathered up one of those, I withdrew.”
“Lucifer lets you just back out?”
“Only before a round starts. Once it’s going, everyone is stuck until the end.”
Just when I felt like I had a handle on things, they changed.
Hunter tore his gaze from mine and looked back to the woman. “Sorry, Mella, but no shows for me.”
“But I haven’t seen you in one for years.” She stuck out her bottom lip in a pout, before exchanging it for a salacious grin. “Of course, we could have our own show, couldn’t we? You could put those skills of yours to other, more fun uses.”
Oh, I was going to give her a piece of my mind. How dare she try to pick up my… well, whatever Hunter was—right in front of me!
Before I could, though, Hunter answered. “Sorry, Mella, but I don’t do those shows either, anymore.” He cut a glance my way, a loaded look there.
She sighed but nodded, then took the orders.
Once she’d left, I glared at Hunter.
“What?” he asked as if he had no idea why I might be annoyed.
“Have you screwed everyone here?”
“Not everyone,” he said, then pointed at a man at another table. “Not him. Wait, never mind.” He turned his head as if getting a better view. “From this angle, I think maybe I have.”
I sat back in the booth, the ease of my relationship with Hunter suddenly not quite so easy.
“Come on, you can’t be mad I’m turning people down.”
I was pretty sure I could be annoyed, at least, so I didn’t answer.
Mella brought the drinks a few minutes later and gave the entire table one hell of a show as she leaned over.
Though, from my glance around the table, it seemed I was the only one who noticed.
She left, probably since she didn’t seem to be getting anything she wanted and tried at another table.
“I don’t think I should drink anymore of that alcohol,” I said, recalling how I’d passed out against Kase the last time.
Hunter nodded. “This close to the palace, it isn’t smart. Lucky for you, this is one of the few places where I could get you safe water, so enjoy it.”
I hesitated as I took a sip, glad to see it was in an actual glass but not sure I entirely trusted him. I didn’t think he’d give me something that would hurt me, I just wasn’t sure he knew what water actually was. I recalled whatever he’d put into the waterskin for me, and while that had worked in a pinch, it certainly wasn’t what I’d consider water.
Yet, when it hit my lips from the large cup, I could have cried with joy. It was not just water but cold and entirely pure-tasting. I sent out an apology to water for all the times I’d passed on it before, the times I’d thought I’d rather have coffee or something else.
I took big gulps, finally able to fully quench my thirst.
The men drank their items, though none of them ordered water. Then again, supernatural metabolism meant they didn’t get hit hard with alcohol like I did.
Plus, Grant handed out more tablets.
“Do you really think Lucifer will just have the bridge ready?” Grant asked.
“Well, he’s the one who sent for her.” Troy leaned back in his seat. “Why send for her and make it more difficult for her to get there?”
“Why have her arrive all the way out at the boundary anyway?” Grant asked. “When I come here, I portal directly to where I’m headed. Only an idiot would go to the boundary then walk.” He cut a look toward Hunter, then grinned. “Well, I mean, you do that.”
Hunter blew a kiss back. “I do it because I can’t make random portals like a lazy mage. I can only cross the boundary line.”
“How do you end up where you want, then?” I asked.
“The space between the realms, the boundary, is like this nil space. It connects to the living realm anywhere, really. I follow the trail I want, and it takes me to where that being is, or at least pretty close to it.” He shrugged. “Travel like that is always iffy.”
The conversation went on, back and forth, but I wasn’t sure how useful any of it was. In the end, it was really just guessing. Guessing what Lucifer had meant to do, how we’d get across the dead zone if there was no bridge, how to deal with Lucifer.
So I drank glass after glass of the water, since each time I
