Ilona Andrews - Magic Binds

I nodded. “He wants the shapeshifters to see their relatives die in gory detail.”

“We could use help,” Curran said.

“We’ll be there,” Nick said. “As an independent force.”

“Thank you,” I told him.

“This doesn’t mean I like you,” he said.

“I don’t need you to like me, Nick. I need you to show up at the battlefield and kill as many of my father’s troops as you can.”

Nick smiled.

Outside Adora looked at me. “Did that man tell the truth?”

“Yes.”

“And your father, Sharrum? He lied?”

“Yes.”

“There is no heaven?”

“I don’t know if there is a heaven,” I said. “But I know that you won’t get there by serving my father. There are many different kinds of evil. Some people are evil because they like to cause pain. Some people are evil because they are selfish and care only about themselves. He is the worst kind of evil. He believes he knows how to bring about a better future, and, if he has to, he will pave the road to it with corpses of innocent people. He has no boundaries. There is nothing he won’t do to get his way.”

“What about you?” her eyes narrowed.

“I’m trying not to be evil. Sometimes I succeed. Sometimes I don’t.”

“So you’re like him?”

“Yes. When I didn’t kill you the first time, it was because I acted exactly like him.”

“But you saved me the second time, too?”

“Slavery is wrong, Adora. People should be free to make their own choices. They might be bad choices, but it doesn’t matter. I didn’t want you to die before you realized that there’s a whole life you could live on your own terms. You don’t have to take anyone’s orders. You are in charge of yourself. I broke my father’s hold on you. I’m responsible for you. I’ll try to help you as much as I can.”

“Because you feel guilty?”

“Because it’s the right thing to do,” Curran said.

She narrowed her eyes. “How do I know you and that man aren’t lying?”

“You don’t,” I said.

“You have to look at what everyone has to gain,” Curran said. “Kate says that Roland is an evil liar. Roland says that his blood is divine and will get you to the happy afterlife. One of them has to be lying. If we suppose that Roland is lying, what benefit does he derive from it?”

Adora frowned. “My loyalty.”

Curran nodded. “He gets to use you and your skills. And if you suppose that Kate is lying?”

“She derives no benefit,” Adora said. “If I believe her, I won’t serve her.”

“Yes. She has no incentive to lie. People go through the trouble of lying to get something they want. Kate doesn’t want anything from you, but she feels responsible for you. She wants you to have a life that’s your own.”

She pondered it. “I’ll follow you, Kate. I need to follow someone. It’s too much change all at once. But I’ll think. And I’ll find out more, so I can decide who’s lying. And if I decide not to follow you anymore, I will leave.”

“Fair enough,” I said.

“And I won’t call you Sharrim anymore, even in my head. You’re not my queen.”

“That’s fine.”

“And you will ask me if you want me to do something.”

“Will you please come with me to the Casino to impress the Masters of the Dead?”

“Yes,” Adora said. “Yes, I will.”

WE STOPPED BY the Guild next. Curran went to talk to the mercs and I made a beeline for Barabas’s office. Barabas had posted the sign-up sheet for the battle. There were seven names on it already. It was hanging between next week’s menu and the petition to add free weights to the training yard. There was a deep and meaningful life lesson about the nature of human existence in there somewhere, but I didn’t feel like looking for it.

“How are we going to pay them?” I asked.

“Battle spoils,” Barabas said.

I stared at him.

“It’s a time-honored tradition.” Barabas bared his teeth at me. You could almost see the mongoose under his skin.

“Can I talk to Christopher?” I asked.

“He’s his own man.”

I lowered my voice. “How are things?”

“Horribly awkward. Also confusing. I used to have to keep track of when he bathed and ate. Now he’s patrolling the grounds. We discussed your father last night. Christopher may be the smartest man I’ve ever spoken to.”

“And that’s bad how?”

Barabas heaved a sigh. “It’s complicated.”

“I thought you found intelligence attractive.”

“I do. As I said, complicated.”

I stepped outside the office and waved at Christopher on the beam.

He dropped down. His wings snapped open at the last moment and he landed gently on the floor.

“Show-off,” Barabas muttered.

“I’m going to the Casino,” I said. “I’m going to try to convince them to fight on our side.”

Christopher frowned. “It will be difficult.”

“The alternative is for them to reinforce Roland.”

“You could kill them.” He studied me.

“Yes, that would be the smart thing to do, but I’m not going to kill them. If I fail, I will let them leave the city.”

“Why?”

“Because there is a difference between war and murder. Killing them would be murder.”

“Do you want my help?”

“Yes. No pressure. I understand if you say no.”

Christopher looked down at his bare feet, worn-out jeans, and white T-shirt.

“I’ll need different clothes. A suit.”

“We can get that.”

“Okay,” he said, and started toward the exit.

I leaned into Barabas’s office. “Do you want to come help pick out a suit for Christopher?”

“No,” Barabas said firmly, tapping a stack of papers against his desk to even it out.

“Why?”

“Because I don’t need to see him in a suit.”

Curran walked over to me. “Parks came back from the Casino. He says they are refusing customers.”

They had been given the order to evacuate. We had to get to them now.

I SAT IN the passenger seat of our car and watched Julie walk toward the Casino. The beautiful white palace all but floated above the parking lot. She strode between the long stretches of rectangular fountains carrying the green and blue standard.

Next to me Curran sat quietly, watching Julie. He reached over and covered my hand with his.

“Nervous, ass kicker?”

“No. I don’t want to kill them.” I would if I had to. I wished I didn’t have to. The technology was up. If I went in there during magic, I could’ve used it to impress the navigators.

“You can do this. You will walk in there like you own the place and you will kick ass. Don’t let them think and don’t give them any reason to doubt. Walk in and hit them with everything you’ve got.”

In my head, I kept going through the People’s leadership. The lineup had changed over the years. Currently, there were eight Masters of the Dead. First, Ghastek and Rowena. Orlando Beasley, a trim, short black man with smart eyes and a quiet, cultured voice. Constance Hyde, an older woman with a platinum head of hair who always looked mildly displeased. Ryan Kelly, tall, well-built and well-groomed, every inch a CEO, except for his purple Mohawk. Filipa, a Hispanic woman, about my age, who wore glasses with a red rim and never said anything in my presence. Toakasu Kakau, a dark-eyed woman of Tongan ancestry, in her forties, with a white smile and the kind of no-nonsense gaze that stopped you in your tracks. Dennis Pillman, a tall, thin man with a two-thousand-dollar haircut, whose suits were always a size too large.

Julie walked through the gates into the Casino.

“It’s time,” my aunt said in my ear.