Bounty

by K. N. Banet

  “Okay,” he said, jumping off.

  “Do you want to talk about—”

  “No,” he snapped before getting into the car’s backseat and slamming the door shut. I got in more carefully, thanks to the cobra I had hanging on me. She would stay there until I let her know she could go somewhere else. Once I got her into a temporary enclosure, I would release the charm, giving her back the independence she deserved. I didn’t want to haul her across a major city in a pillowcase. She was more comfortable with me, and I was more comfortable as well, knowing she was safe with me instead of sliding around the trunk, wild and afraid. Plus, she could escape, and that would be incredibly bad for everyone in the car.

  Cassius got in last, handing me the keys.

  “Can you drive with her?”

  “Yup.” I turned the car on, driving away from my home. “It’s going to take at least two months of renovations to get that place back to where it was.”

  “Let me upgrade it while it’s getting fixed,” he said, dialing Imani on his phone. “Please. I know I…disappeared on you after leaving, but if Sinclair or that fae get away at the end of this, they will always know where you live. While I think it’s paranoid of you to be this secretive, I also understand why. You make enemies like the rest of us meet people at parties to hand out business cards.”

  “Fine. When the physical renovations are done, you can come by and add an extra layer of security.”

  “I don’t know why I never did to begin with,” he mumbled.

  “Because I told you no. I didn’t want someone else’s magic stinking up my property,” I reminded him. “Well, specifically yours, but…” I gave a one shoulder shrug and was greeted by a glare when I glanced his way. I watched him hit the call button.

  For the rest of the drive home, Raphael and I had to listen to him argue with several humans who worked for the Phoenix vampire nest. All I could hope for was that come sunset, Carter would be in a secure location.

  20

  Chapter Twenty

  Night was nearly upon us when I pulled into Cassius’s garage, and Leith came running in to meet us.

  “Madam Sahni, the terrarium awaits. I contacted someone at the Phoenix zoo and a local snake expert for advice. Between the two of them, I was able to round up what you needed…” He stopped as I rose out of the car, and he could see the snake winding around me, searching for the most comfortable spot. She picked under my shirt at my back, absorbing the warmth that had built there while I was sitting in the car.

  “It’s fine. Don’t freak out, Leith. She’s completely calm, and she’s going to stay with me until I can look at the tank.”

  “Leith, you help her,” Cassius ordered. “Raphael, you and I will talk in the dining room while they work this out. We should stay out of the way.”

  “Lord, I put the snake’s terrarium on the dining table…”

  “We’ll go to the kitchens, then.” Cassius started walking away, and Raphael followed him, giving me a look I couldn’t discern as he left.

  “Let’s go,” I said to Leith, and he led me to the dining room, not that I needed him to. I knew Cassius’s mansion like the back of my hand. Once in the dining room, I saw the enclosure Leith had put together on the fly.

  “It’ll work, but I wouldn’t want to keep her here permanently,” I said, sighing. It was smaller than I liked, but it was appropriate. “You found good people to help you put this together.”

  “Thank you. It cost a small fortune.”

  “Bill me,” I said, knowing that’s what he intended to ask. Naksha wasn’t my snake, but Leith knew never to spend any of Cassius’s money on me without giving me the option to pay them back. I didn’t want to be financially beholden to anyone. “Speaking of, bill me for the clothing Cassius stocked my room with. I know I didn’t purchase any of it. It’s not stuff I accidentally left here.”

  “Ah…”

  “Leith…”

  “Well, Lord Cassius is fine with you paying my household accounts back when it’s an emergency, but he bought those with his personal accounts. I don’t have access to those…”

  “He’s getting married. He can’t be spending money on me,” I muttered, shaking my head.

  “He cares about you. You have a long history, and his fiancée is fine with it. She knows he keeps a room for you here.”

  “Just as long as neither of them gets the idea I’m some mistress he intends to tuck away.”

  “Madam Sahni!” Leith gasped. “You know Lord Cassius would never.”

  I gritted my teeth and looked at the butler.

  “But most fae do, and I’m not willing to get that reputation, which would be easy, especially since he and I used to sleep together. Please let him know that all the money he’s spent on me needs to be billed to me. I don’t want to fight with him about it, but I’m not going to budge on this either.”

  “What about expenses for Mister Alvarez?”

  “Those too,” I mumbled. “All right, I need to focus.”

  He didn’t respond, standing back from me and the cobra hanging on me. Singing a song of goodbye, telling Naksha her time with me was over, that she could go, I guided her gently into the temporary home. She found a fake log to hide under as I sang. Once she was completely inside the terrarium, I pulled my arm out and closed the door at the back.

  “She doesn’t need to be fed. Just keep her here and check on her every so often to make sure she hasn’t squeezed out. I’ll replace her water dish nightly. Do not, under any circumstances, open her enclosure. Tell Annie-Lyn and Terry as well.”

  “I shall. Is it okay if they come in and see her? She’s beautiful.”

  “Yeah, they can come look at her but no tapping the glass like a child at the zoo.” I ran a finger over the glass, her head following the movement. “You are beautiful, aren’t you?” I whispered before stepping back. “She should be willing to stay in there and find a good place to sleep most of the time. She ate a few days ago, so there’s no reason she needs to be fed. Just…check on her.”

  “Does she spit?”

  “She does, another reason you need to keep the glass between you and her.” I looked around. “They went to the kitchen, right?”

  “Yes. Should I tell him now or later that you expect a bill for the clothing?”

  “Later, when I’m not here.” I didn’t want to be around if he put up a fight when he realized I was trying to pay him back. Leith would make my opinions clear, and that would be the end of it. Cassius wasn’t willing to fight with Leith about things. The butler could commit murder, and if he had a decent reason, Cassius would just shrug and ask for it be cleaned up. He was incredibly lenient with his staff, something I always respected…and exploited.

  Both men looked up when I walked into the kitchen. I hadn’t heard them talking, which had me worried. Had they been sitting there in silence the entire time?

  “Any word from the nest about Carter?” I asked, heading for the fridge before Leith could jump into action and start making anything.

  “Not yet,” Cassius said with a heavy sigh. “I can’t believe you used Carter to get at Sinclair.”

  Yes, you can. You’re just trying to avoid being angry at me. Eventually, you won’t be able to hide it, and we’ll fight.

  “It was supposed to be completely safe. The Mistress of Phoenix hates Sinclair, anyway, so I promise you, she had her own spies, trying to figure out what the hell he thought he was doing in her city and her club. She would never turn him away because her club is the safest place for vampires to feed here, but she doesn’t like him.”

  “She doesn’t like you, either,” Cassius pointed out once again.

  “Why does it seem no one likes you?” Raphael asked, giving me another strange look.

  With a sigh, I pulled out a bottle of water. Looking at the two men, I didn’t think I could imagine a less likely audience. Cassius, uptight, perfect suit, flaming red hair, and those nearly cold blue eyes. Raphael, dark, warm, massive in
leather, the typical bad boy look. They didn’t fit together.

  “I’m confrontational and politically outrank most people in the city. I can say ‘fuck you’ and almost always get away with it.”

  “She’s rude and has no sense of decorum,” Cassius translated.

  “Okay.” Raphael practically rolled his eyes. “Of course, I get saved by the one person everyone in the state hates.”

  “Yes, your luck has run out,” Cassius said with a heaping helping of pity. “But, like most Executioners, she’s very good at defeating an enemy. There are better killers out there, but the best killers don’t want to fight against each other. They want to keep a wide berth. If you need a weapons expert in your corner, you have one right now.”

  “Is there anything…” Raphael narrowed his eyes on me. “Is there anything you’re good at besides killing things?”

  “Possibly, but I haven’t had a hobby in a few decades. You should be grateful. I could have just…not saved you.” My fangs ached in protest. “You weren’t my business. You should be glad I stuck my nose where it didn’t belong. Sinclair would have had you if I hadn’t convinced you to come with me. If you couldn’t tell, Sinclair is the bad guy.”

  “I could tell,” he bit out.

  “Maybe we should get the werewolves involved,” Cassius considered, sipping on something Leith put in front of him the moment the butler walked into the kitchen.

  “Absolutely not. And we can’t get a werecat on Duty, either,” I said, frustrated even with just the idea of involving more parties into the mess. As it stood, it was me, Raphael, and Cassius; Sinclair, and his friends(I was certain the witch was already being replaced);the city’s vampire nest, and Paden with the crew at The Jackalope. Mygi the mega pharmaceutical company, and the Tribunal were on the outskirts, watching everything happen. There didn’t need to be any more.

  “Duty?” Raphael once again was lost by where the conversation went.

  I gave Cassius an exasperated look he recognized. I had told him Raphael knew nothing and asked a lot of questions, and part of me was starting to get incredibly annoyed.

  “Werecats are duty-bound by parts of the law pertaining to them. They can’t interfere in the affairs of other supernatural races, mostly werewolves, but they can be called to Duty,” Cassius explained.

  “They used to make it their personal business to protect humans from the supernatural world,” I continued. “It caused…problems. If a supernatural mistreated a human, the werecats took it as a personal offense and stepped in to fix it, mostly when the human was somehow connected to the werecat, even if it was just living in their territory or growing up nearby. Where they got that mentality, I don’t know, but it caused a lot of problems.”

  “A war,” Cassius cut in. “It caused a war with the werewolves. Nearly wiped out the werecats and exposed the supernatural world at large to the humans. It was probably the biggest supernatural conflict that’s ever happened. The only thing that comes close is the vampire and fae situation, but it’s never boiled over into open conflict.”

  “And…” Raphael looked between them.

  “Essentially, a human, if they know how, can find and beseech a werecat for protection from a supernatural problem. The werecat can and will fight to the death to protect said human. It gives the werecats a sense of purpose.” I lifted my hands in a shrug. “The problem? You might smell human most of the time, but the moment a werecat knows you aren’t human, and it will happen, they aren’t bound to protect you. If anything, they will want to get the fuck away from you. They don’t like trouble being brought to their doorstep and do their best to handle everything internally concerning their species, without involving anyone else. They self-govern better than most of the supernaturals.”

  “I’m going to need all this written down,” the not-human mumbled, rubbing his temples. The concentrated, pained look on his face made me want to smooth the worry lines on his forehead and calm him down.

  “I have a copy of the law as it currently stands,” Cassius said. “You can read through it.”

  “Oh, gods, Cassius. Don’t torture the man,” I said, shaking my head. “That thing is awful.”

  “He needs to know,” Cassius replied, walking out of the kitchen.

  “How bad is it?” Raphael asked me once Cassius was gone.

  “There are several supernatural species. You’ve heard of many already. Werecats, werewolves, fae, vampires, nagas, witches. There’s also kitsune, nymphs of different types, demigods, mermaids, and so many more who never left the land of their birth, keeping small communities. Nearly every legend exists, hidden under the surface of the human world, carefully crafted to keep us safe.” With a deep breath, I continued.

  “For nearly every supernatural species, there’s a portion of the Laws dedicated to them, specific to that species’ needs and their abilities. No two species are covered by the exact same Laws. Some pay more attention to the Tribunal than others. Some aren’t covered by the Laws because the leaders of their species don’t want to bow down to other supernaturals, and that’s okay too, as long as those out of the governing of the Tribunal don’t mess with those who are. It started out with…four species.” I couldn’t quite remember, but I hadn’t been alive at the time. As humanity exploded globally, so did the Tribunal and the Laws. Now there were dozens.

  “Five,” Cassius corrected as he walked in. “The problem children, werewolves and werecats, and those of us most impacted by their war in present day Eastern and Western Europe and Northern Africa; the fae, witches, and vampires. The Big Five.”

  “Werewolves, fae, and vampires hold the strongest numbers,” I said, sighing sadly as we were caught explaining even more for the new guy. This was why I was glad I wasn’t one of those species who did this on a regular basis. It was tiring to have to explain everything. “Werecats are considered one of the most powerful, even if they have low numbers. Witches are…nosy and important at the same time.”

  “They bridge the world between human and supernatural in a way no one else can because they have a foot in each world,” Cassius said, smiling at Raphael. He dropped a small book on the table. I wanted to snort. That was a dirty little trick.

  “That’s it?” Raphael frowned at the book. “This won’t be so—”

  Cassius snapped his fingers, and the book began to grow…and grow…and grow some more. After a few seconds, it was a foot wide, two feet long, and nearly a foot deep. Thousands and thousands of pages. Some supernaturals invested in becoming experts on the Law, but I knew even they had to reference the book on many occasions.

  “Bad…” Raphael finished. “This…this is worse than every college textbook I had.”

  “You’re college educated?” Cassius asked quickly. “Human college?”

  “I was just about to graduate when everything happened. Unless the school expelled me for the incident, there’s no reason to think my records aren’t there, and I could get my diploma,” Raphael answered. “Why?”

  I groaned. “Cassius has always wanted to go to a modern human college but work and his family keep stopping him.”

  “A place of higher learning beyond my fae education? Of course I want to go.”

  “It’s not all that great,” Raphael said with a chuckle. “A lot of studying, a lot of hard work.”

  “What did you go to college for?” I didn’t check when I looked into him. I only knew he was going to be going into the military as an officer when he was done.

  “Law,” he answered with some chagrin. “I was going to be a lawyer.”

  “You were almost done with law school at twenty-two?” I asked, frowning. “I don’t know much about human education, but that seems young.”

  “No, I was leaving for Harvard in the fall. I was fast tracking my way through school, but I had to keep my grades up to keep the Navy’s promise to pay for college when I was done,” he said, looking at me, his eyebrows coming together.

  “Fuck, how did I miss that?” I asked,
looking at Cassius. “He’s smart.”

  “Miss…did you look into me?” he asked.

  “How do you think I knew your real name the night we met? I knew you had some sort of deal to join the military when you were done with school. I just assumed you were going to ship off to boot camp, or whatever they call it, the moment you graduated.” Shrugging, I dismissed my mistake. “Not like it matters. I don’t ever plan on going to a human college.”

  “Neither of you have ever been to a school?”

  “You’re the only person on this property who has gone to a traditional school the way you think of schools,” Cassius answered. “Except maybe Terry. He was once human, but that was seventy-five years ago.” Cassius sat down next to Raphael and checked his watch. “Since we’re still waiting on Imani, we can keep talking.”

  “Oh, joy,” I muttered.

  “Most supernaturals are homeschooled in the basics—reading, writing, arithmetic, and supernatural history. We’re taught survival knowledge, magical knowledge, and how to blend in, which is very important.”

  “We’re taught what to know and to know when we need it,” I said, rolling my eyes. “Like don’t move to a country before understanding the country and its people. Know its landmarks and its politics if you’re interested. Anything that can help you blend in.”

  “We receive less formal education as we get older, but we’re expected to educate ourselves. Some supernaturals choose to look at human schooling, but most of us do private research and teach ourselves skills as time goes along.”

  “Can we find something less boring to—”

  Cassius’s phone rang before I could finish my complaint. He looked down and nodded.

  “It’s her,” he informed us.

  21

  Chapter Twenty-One

  I found a seat as Cassius picked up and greeted Imani, chuckling softly. I knew she must have hit on him the moment the conversation started.

  “I’m engaged, Imani. You’ve missed your chance,” he said with enough grace to make him seem irresistible without being conceited. “Has anyone told you why I’ve been trying to reach you? I’m worried about the safety of one of the vampires in your nest, Carter.”