Black Widow

by Jennifer Estep

  * * *

  Madeline’s face paled again, and shocked gasps rang out through the crowd, louder than any others that I’d heard all night long. I didn’t know if it was because everyone had already seen how strong Madeline was in her magic or the black gloves I’d tossed onto the floor. They knew what the gloves meant, even if she didn’t.

  “A duel?” Madeline scoffed. “You’ve got to be kidding me. Nobody fights duels anymore.”

  “If you’re going to try to take over an entire city, then you really should read up on your local history,” I said. “Elemental duels have been fought in Ashland for more than a hundred and fifty years. They’ve always been a popular way to settle disputes, especially during the Civil War. A lot of the old family feuds started back then, since whole generations killed each other off one by one by one in various duels. I’ve always wondered if that was how our families, the Snows and Monroes, started their own blood feud. But I guess we’ll never know for sure.”

  She scoffed again, not appreciating my history lesson. “But you can’t challenge me to a duel. I won’t allow it.”

  I gestured at the black gloves. “I just did. And we all know what that means.”

  All the underworld bosses started nodding their heads, realizing exactly what I was talking about, but confusion filled Madeline’s face.

  “Hey, Jonah,” I called out. “Your boss doesn’t seem to understand how things work around here. Why don’t you explain it to her, since you’re such a legal expert?”

  Everyone turned to stare at the lawyer, including Madeline.

  Jonah winced. “Once a black glove is thrown down, and the challenge issued, the other person has no choice but to accept the demand for a duel.”

  Madeline’s eyes narrowed. “Or what?”

  Jonah cleared his throat. “Or that person immediately forfeits everything that she owns to the challenger—money, jewels, land, homes.”

  I made a deliberate show of looking around the ballroom. “I always wanted a mansion. I’d have to do some serious redecorating, though. White’s not my color—red is.”

  Madeline stared at me, her mouth gaping open, wearing the same look of horrified shock as I had when the cops shut down the Pork Pit. Like I’d told my friends, Madeline had tried to legalese me to death, so I’d decided to return the favor. That was the reason I’d gotten Silvio to dig up all those old Ashland Municipal Codexes. So I could see exactly what antiquated duel laws might be on the books and how I could tiptoe around them. To my surprise and cunning delight, I’d discovered that almost all of the old laws relating to duels still remained on the books in Ashland, even if they hadn’t been enforced in years. I’d been particularly happy about the forfeiture clause, knowing that one would upset Madeline the most. She hadn’t gone to all this trouble to take over the town just to have everything she owned ripped away from her now.

  I beamed at Madeline. “And do you know what the best part about a duel is?”

  Jonah opened his mouth, but I held up my hand, cutting him off.

  “It’s not technically a crime to kill someone during an elemental duel,” I purred. “Apparently, there were so many duels back in the old days that the po-po got tired of hauling all the survivors off to jail. Or they knew better than to try to arrest powerful elementals who’d just magicked their enemies to death. So the cops just decided to let them go.”

  Madeline thought that she’d been so clever with all her little legal maneuvers, but I’d found a way to kill her in front of every underworld boss in the city—and get away with it. Even she couldn’t top that trick.

  “So it boils down to this,” I continued. “You can either give me everything you own and slink out of town like the coward you are, or you can accept my challenge and fight me face-to-face like you should have in the first place. You wanted a return to the old ways. What could be more old-fashioned than a duel?”

  Madeline stared and stared at me, her green eyes narrowed, thinking, thinking hard. But the black widow had nothing on this Spider, and I’d trapped her in my own tangled web, as neatly as she had caught me before, and she could do nothing but accept my challenge. Otherwise, the other bosses would see her as weak and start plotting against her. They might even put aside their differences long enough to unite to take down their common enemy. Oh, I had no doubt that Madeline could put all of them in the ground, but it would be an annoyance to do so, and there was always the chance, however small, that one of them could get lucky and kill her instead.

  Madeline knew all of this as well as I did, and I saw the moment when she realized that she was going to have to play the game by my rules, not hers. Her jaw tightened, her crimson lips flattened out, and her hands balled into fists again, although no more acid drops trickled out from between her clenched fingers. She didn’t like how I’d cornered her. She didn’t like losing control. Well, that made two of us.

  But she recovered quickly, forcing herself to seem unconcerned. Her jaw relaxed, her fists unclenched, and her crimson lips curved up into that cruel, satisfied smile I knew all too well.

  “Very well,” Madeline purred. “You want a duel? You’ve got one. But I want this to be a true elemental duel. Otherwise, what’s the point?”

  “Meaning?”

  “Meaning that just you and I participate in the actual duel—no one else.”

  “Agreed.”

  Madeline’s smile widened, as though she’d thought of something that I wasn’t expecting. “And we only use our magic—no weapons of any kind. Which, sadly, means no knives for you, Gin.”

  She waited, expecting me to refuse. She didn’t think that I could beat her without my knives. Maybe she was right about that. But I’d made the challenge, and I couldn’t back down now. Besides, I had one thing that Madeline didn’t, and she wasn’t even going to realize it until it was too late.

  “Agreed.”

  Madeline blinked, as if she hadn’t thought that I would give in so easily, but she kept that same confident smile plastered on her face. She was strong in her magic, and everyone here knew it, especially given what she’d done to Montoya. But I was strong too, and I was determined to end the Snow-Monroe family feud.

  Once and for all.

  “So we’ve set the terms, and the time is now,” Madeline said. “I say that we get started, don’t you?”

  I smiled again. “Nothing would please me more than the pleasure of finally killing you.”

  26

  While the Ashland underworld looked on, Madeline and I both readied ourselves for our duel.

  Sophia stepped out of the crowd, since she’d be watching my back. I picked up my black satin gloves and handed them to her, along with all five of my knives. My fingers lingered on the last knife, the one that I’d killed Mab with, the one that still contained my Ice and Stone magic from that fateful battle. I hated to let it go, but this was the path I’d chosen, and I couldn’t turn back now. So I passed that weapon over to the Goth dwarf as well, then stripped off my suit jacket, revealing the tight red tank top underneath. Even though we were going to be fighting with our magic, I didn’t want anything to restrict my movements.

  “Watch Emery,” I said in a low voice. “I wouldn’t put it past her to try to take me out during the duel, especially if it looks like I might actually kill Madeline.”

  Sophia nodded. She stuffed the gloves in her pocket, then secreted my knives on her body much the same way I always hid them on mine. Jo-Jo took my jacket from her.

  Meanwhile, my other friends kept their backs to the walls and their guns trained on the crowd. The underworld bosses kept looking from me to Madeline and back again. No doubt some of them were thinking about how they could kill both of us while we were fighting, but my friends and their weapons should discourage the bosses from interfering.

  I slipped off my black stilettos and handed them to Jo-Jo. Under my bare feet, the cool white marble muttered at the unease and worry that was slowly sinking into it, along with those drops of acid that were s
till eating through Montoya’s body and the stone beneath one layer at a time.

  Across the dance floor, Madeline also stepped out of her white heels and passed them over to Emery. The two of them started whispering, with Madeline’s gaze on me the whole time. No doubt she was ordering Emery to kill me no matter what happened. I’d told Finn the same thing—to put a bullet through Madeline’s head if I lost the duel. One way or another, she was dying tonight.

  But all too soon, we were both ready, and there was nothing to do but get on with things. I stepped out into the middle of the dance floor, and Madeline moved to face me. The crowd circled around once more, the whispers and chatter of conversation getting louder and more excited. I even saw some money exchange hands, just like it had before my fight in the bull pen.

  For a moment, I looked at the necklace ringing Madeline’s throat. The lights made the gold crown-and-flame rune gleam brighter than ever before. Then I focused my gaze on the acid elemental. The hate glittering in her eyes matched my own hard expression.

  “You won’t win, Gin,” she crowed. “You might have been able to defeat my mother and her Fire magic, but I’m even stronger than she was, thanks to my father and his giant blood. Even if I wasn’t, nobody’s ever been able to withstand my acid magic for more than a few seconds. I don’t expect you to be any different.”

  I crooked an eyebrow. “And that’s where you’re wrong. Because I am different, and I’m certainly stronger than you are. Maybe not when it comes to raw power, but in other ways—the ones that really count.”

  “Well, then, let’s get on with it.” She raised her hands.

  I did the same. “With pleasure.”

  Madeline smiled, then threw her acid magic at me.

  * * *

  Even though I was expecting the attack, even though I could see all those green, glistening drops of acid arcing through the air toward me, the hot, caustic feel of Madeline’s magic still took my breath away. In the Pork Pit, just picking up the money she’d touched had made me want to scream in agony. But having so much of her power fully directed at me . . . realizing how strong she was . . . knowing that even a few drops of acid hitting my skin in just the right place would kill me instantly . . .

  I didn’t know if I could survive it or not, despite my plan.

  I brought my Ice magic to bear, holding my palms wide open, and using my power to create a shield to block Madeline’s attack. But the drops of acid burned through all my Ice, obliterating it, and I had to use even more of my magic, much more than I wanted to, to freeze the acid in midair before it could touch my skin.

  Madeline lowered her hands, and so did I. Wisps of steam curled in the air between us, creating a cold, eerie fog that kissed my cheeks. I could feel the burn of Madeline’s acid magic even in the steam, and I had to blink back the tears it brought to my eyes.

  All around us, the crowd whispered, debating who was going to win, even as more and more money slipped from one hand to the next.

  Madeline shook her head. “One little taste of my magic and you’re already crying and playing defense. So sad, Gin.”

  “You want offense?” I growled. “Well, how about this.”

  I shoved my hands forward and let loose with a cold, bitter burst of Ice magic, trying to take her by surprise. Hundreds of sharp, daggerlike needles erupted from my palms and sliced through the air, heading straight at Madeline.

  She laughed, brought up her hand, and flicked her fingers again, sending out another spray of acid. The second that the acid hit my Ice, the deadly needles of my power dissolved into nothingness. A second later, all that remained of them were the few drops of water that had managed to escape Madeline’s magic and hiss against the floor.

  “Is that really the best you’ve got?” she asked in a bored tone. “How very weak you are.”

  My hands clenched into fists. That hadn’t been a weak attack. I’d put a good chunk of my magic into it, and so had she. Despite her seemingly effortless defense, I could feel how much energy she’d expended to block my strike. Madeline was strong, but I was right up there with her. Our magic wouldn’t determine who killed the other. Not really. How we used our power, who was more clever and resourceful with it—that was what would ultimately decide the winner.

  And it was going to be me.

  We exchanged blow after blow, insult after insult, as the duel raged on. She flung acid balls at me, I tossed Ice daggers back at her. She focused on my face, I went after her knees. She stepped back, I moved in. Ice and acid flew through the air as our attacks and counterattacks grew quicker and more furious, and our voices and taunts dissolved into low, vicious snarls. But neither one of us could get the upper hand in our deadly dance, and neither of us could break through the other’s magic to do any real damage.

  Stalemate.

  The crime bosses scrambled out of the way of our explosive blasts of magic, but they didn’t go far, and their faces were cold, eager, and calculating as they oohed and aahed with every bright burst of power. From the snippets of conversation I’d heard, most of them were hoping that we would kill each other outright and save them the trouble of trying to do it themselves.

  My friends watched too, torn between cheering me on and worrying about whether I was going to survive. But they didn’t interfere. I’d asked them not to, explained all the many reasons why I needed to face Madeline myself, and they’d reluctantly agreed. Besides, they couldn’t have gotten between me and the acid elemental now, not without dying in the cross fire.

  But they weren’t the only ones who were worried—so was I.

  We’d only been fighting a few minutes, but I’d already used up most of my magic, more than I’d wanted to. Plan A had been to kill Madeline outright with my own power, but that wasn’t going to work. Time to change tactics.

  So when Madeline raised her hands again, I charged at her. She flung a ball of acid at me, but I managed to sidestep it and get in close enough to slam my fist into her jaw. That made the crowd roar.

  Me too, since my hand exploded in agony the second that my skin touched hers.

  It wasn’t any real pain from the punch. I’d thrown more than enough of those in my time to be accustomed to that sharp, smacking sting. No, this was much, much worse. Too late, I realized that not only could Madeline create acid, but that, in a way, her skin was coated with the caustic power that she could control. So much for my Plan B of beating and strangling her to death with my bare hands.

  I screamed and lurched back, clutching my hand to my chest. That only made the crowd cheer louder.

  Madeline’s eyes glittered with sly satisfaction. “What’s the matter, Gin? Can’t use your usual tricks on me? I bet you really wish that you had one of your little knives right now, seeing as how you can’t so much as touch me without your flesh melting off your bones.”

  I shook my hand, as if that would get rid of the burning sensation and the angry red blisters that had formed across my knuckles. “I don’t need a knife to kill you—”

  She jerked her hand, flinging acid at me in a quick sneak attack, aiming at my eyes and trying to blind me. I whipped my head to the side and reached for my Stone magic, wondering if that would work any better than my Ice power had. The hard shell of my skin kept the acid from destroying my vision, and it even kept the green drops from blistering my skin.

  But it didn’t keep it from hurting like hell.

  The drops were small, little more than a faint spatter of rain against my left cheek, but Madeline’s magic slammed into my own like a red-hot sledgehammer, scorching through all the many layers of Stone power that I’d brought to bear. My skin might be hard as a rock, but even acid could corrode a stone, and that’s what Madeline’s power was doing to my skin. So I sent out a quick blast of Ice magic, freezing the drops and then cracking them off my face. That got rid of the acid, but the caustic feel lingered, the scorching pain so intense that black and white spots winked on and off in my field of vision, even though none of the acid had actuall
y gotten into my eyes.

  Madeline surged forward and punched me in the jaw, putting some of her giant strength into the blow. That was bad enough, but the worst part was that her skin touched mine, and her acid magic washed over me again.

  Once again, I screamed and staggered away from her—and right into Emery’s waiting arms.

  Even though she wasn’t supposed to interfere, the giant’s arms clamped around me like a vise, squeezing, squeezing tight. Emery knew that a cracked rib could puncture my lung and kill me as easily as Madeline’s magic could.

  I threw my head back in a desperate, half-assed head-butt, and it surprised Emery enough to get her to loosen her grip. But before I could slither away, the giant twisted my left arm, and I yelped in pain as she dislocated my shoulder with that one great, heaving wrench. More delighted jeers rang out from the crowd. They’d be perfectly happy if Emery tore me to pieces.

  Suddenly, Sophia was there, shoving Emery away and making the giant land on her ass on the floor. Sophia grabbed me, holding me up while I tried to focus through the pain.

  “Okay?” she rasped. “Your shoulder?”

  “Put it back into place,” I snarled. “Do it. Now.”

  Sophia nodded, her black eyes locked with my gray ones. She reached out and wrenched on my shoulder. I yelped, but at least I could feel my arm again. I opened and closed my fingers, making as tight a fist as I could before releasing it, trying to shake off the lingering shock and discomfort of the dislocated joint.

  By this point, Emery had gotten back up onto her feet. The giant glared at Sophia, but the dwarf simply stepped in front of me, crossed her arms over her chest, and gave her a flat stare.

  “Don’t worry,” Sophia rasped, still glaring at Emery. “She won’t interfere again.”

  I nodded, staggered back out into the middle of the dance floor, and faced Madeline again.

  “What’s the matter, Gin?” she crowed. “Feeling a little . . . out of joint?”

  She snickered, and several folks in the crowd howled with laughter.