The word of greeting never got out. I blinked once and Boris was halfway across the parking lot. I blinked again and he was looming large in my vision, red lips snarling, teeth jutting. I felt something connect with my jaw and my head snapped back, everything exploding in a cascade of stars. Another fist connected with my stomach once, then a second time.
Everything happened so fast that I didn’t have even any time to react. Blindly, I managed to catch another punch and wrenched hard, jerking Boris around and throwing him against the side of my truck. I could barely think, let alone speak, but I managed to get out, “What the fuck is wrong with you?”
I’m a strong guy. With my blood up, I’m worth three normal humans. Boris, however, was something beyond me. He shoved against my truck, pushing us both back and away and spun out of my grip. He retreated to a half dozen paces and lifted his fists like a boxer, baring his teeth. I licked my lips, tasting blood, only now feeling the pain of my tusks jutting out through my gums. I spat out blood on the concrete and snarled at him. I was hurt and I was angry, and I could feel that red mist descending over my vision. It took a concentrated effort not to use the power of my tattoos – it wouldn’t look good to kill a client, after all.
Boris took advantage of my hesitation. He darted in, smashing fists against my stomach and ribs at an astonishing speed, snatching the breath out of me. I tried grabbing for his arms, but he didn’t fall for that again. He was suddenly up close, snatching me by my shirt and baring those damned fangs again. He snapped at my neck. I felt his hot breath, then the needlelike jabs just above my collarbone.
Fuck that, Maggie suddenly said. I felt something hot flare from my right hand and, in a moment of clarity, I slapped Boris in the back of the head. The world exploded once again, this time in a fire that hurled me backward, head over heels, slamming against my own truck. Boris and I were separated, and I didn’t even waste time to breathe before I was scrambling to my feet, looking everywhere for him.
He’d landed a couple dozen feet away and was writhing in pain, slapping at the flames still smoldering on the back of his head. Despite the hit Maggie had given him, he managed to get the fire out and stand. Though most of his hair and the skin on the back of his head was missing, he looked more angry than in pain. I reached for my endless wallet again, wondering if silver bullets would even put this guy down, when there was a loud bang and Boris jerked sideways. He howled, turning to his left, where Ted the rent-a-cop now stood outside his cruiser with a romance novel lying on the hood and an automatic shotgun held to his shoulder.
“You so much as twitch toward me with those teeth,” Ted warned, “and I’ll switch from rubber bullets to silver ones.”
Boris stiffened up but didn’t move. I let out a long sigh of relief and took a long walk around the perimeter of the parking lot to cool myself down. By the time I got back to stand beside Ted, the red mist was gone and I’d managed to retract my tusks.
“Thanks,” I told him.
“No problem. You want me to put this fucker down?”
“He’s a client, unfortunately.”
“No kidding?” Ted didn’t sound impressed. “Since when does Ada allow this kind of bullshit from a client?”
I didn’t answer, walking gingerly over to where Boris stood, still looking furious but with his hands held slightly out front. He must have gotten that preternatural sense that Ted wasn’t quite human, because he didn’t seem ready to test Ted’s resolve. Boris glared at me, then glared at my ring.
Hope you didn’t give yourself away there, I told Maggie.
Me too. But hell if I was gonna let him bite you, even if he wasn’t biting to kill.
He wasn’t?
Don’t think so. Not even he is that stupid. He is incredibly powerful, though. That blast I gave him should have taken his head off.
“You want to explain yourself?” I asked him.
He snorted and touched the burnt crispiness that used to be the back of his skull. “You stole my property.”
“I don’t have the slightest idea what you’re talking about,” I retorted. Eddie, I swore to Maggie. I resisted the urge to glance toward my truck where, as far as I knew, Eddie was still snoring away.
“You came to my lair without permission. You tricked my thrall into letting you have access to my inner sanctum. Then, just to insult me, you allowed the sphinx to go free.”
I looked briefly toward Ted. I wasn’t sure if he could hear us. I wasn’t sure if he really cared what we said, but he was still eyeballing Boris as if he wanted to put a silver bullet in his head. “You have a sphinx?” I asked, feigning ignorance, “because I understand that they’re rare – and they’re very expensive.”
“That little shit cost me two hundred thousand dollars. You will find him and return him, or I will …”
“You will what?” I cut him off. “Try to kill me? Because you better believe this attack is going in your file, and if I wind up dead you’re going to have an OtherOps sweeper team kick in your front door, and I don’t think Sam is gonna do much to protect you.” I could feel myself getting angrier as I spoke, my voice rising. “And go ahead and report the missing sphinx to OtherOps. You know that keeping an intelligent Other captive is against the Rules, right? Are you that dumb?” I shook my head, continuing before he could retort. “No, you’re going to write the whole thing off. I’m going to pretend to my boss that this wasn’t as big of a deal as it sounds, and you’re going to never, ever accuse me of stealing from a client again. Or next time, I will take your fucking head off. You understand?”
He glanced warily at Maggie’s ring. He might or might not have guessed what was in it, but he certainly knew where the sorcery had come from. “Fucking rockskin.”
“There’s the Boris I know. Angry slurs. Unhelpful and shitty. Ted, thanks for the help, but you can go. I think we’ve got an understanding.” Behind me, Ted yawned loudly and got back into his cruiser. I didn’t take my eyes off Boris, watching for any sign that he might try for me again. I said, “Look, I don’t really give a shit what’s considered ‘rude’ in vampire culture. I went to your house to talk to your thralls because you’ve been expecting me to do this job without any information whatsoever. If you don’t want Michael found” – I spread my hands – “then feel free to fire me right now. I don’t give a shit.”
Boris stared at the ground. He’d gone from furious to sulking. It wasn’t a pretty picture, and for a moment I could imagine Dracula weeping into Maggie’s arms. Without looking up at me, he said, “An example must be made.”
“Oh, I get it. But I’m not one of your thralls. I’m a goddamned professional. You punch me and I punch back.”
Am I getting through to him at all? I asked Maggie.
Hell if I know.
“How much?” Boris suddenly asked.
“How much for what?” I asked, taken aback.
He glanced toward Ted’s cruiser, then at me. “You find Michael, you kill him.”
“Are you fucking kidding me?”
“He has … stolen property from me. Valuable books.”
I felt my head jerk back. “What, like grimoires?”