And Jack would have warned me. He might have faith in Liander's skills, but he still would have told me Gautier was on the loose in the estate, simply because he knew Gautier was the one person who could blow the whole mission wide open.
My gaze rose to that of my nemesis, but those muddy brown depths held none of the hatred, none of the sick evil that was usually so evident in Gautier's gaze. This wasn't him, but yet another clone, one who shared his image and his smell. Relief swept through my system, leaving me momentarily shaking. Some guardian I was.
Not that I was one. Not a kill-on-order one, not yet.
"That almost has to be a record for going through the course," he said. "How did you sense the vampire?"
I sniffed, feigning a confidence I didn't feel. "His scent gave his position away."
"And the spirit lizard?"
"What the hell is a spirit lizard?" I knew, but Poppy wouldn't have, so the question had to be asked.
"The black creature who first attacked you. How'd you sense him?"
"The hiss of air as he whirled the nunchakus." I studied him for a moment. "You the guide to the next stage?"
His smile had a decidedly nasty edge. "And the bearer of the final set of rules."
"More rules? Haven't we enough already?"
"Babe, the boss is paying you extremely well for your services, so you'd better get used to doing what he wants."
I guess he had a point. I shrugged.
"You have two choices of clothing during your time here. The overalls that you will find in your wardrobe, or your skin."
I raised my eyebrows, though I was neither surprised nor particularly worried. "You mean run around naked?"
His glaze slid down my body, then came back up to rest on my tits. He grinned. "And those would look pretty damn special without the hindrance of a bra."
Yeah, and he wasn't getting his mitts anywhere near my D-cups. I might be a wolf, but I did have some taste—and vamps who smelled worse than offal were definitely off my "to-do" list.
But I kept my mouth shut on that particular topic. Until I had more of a feel for who was who, it was better not to comment on anything, whether or not Poppy was a renowned mouth. He motioned me to follow him as he turned and headed for the door.
"Why the choice? Seeing we're getting paid big money to fight and have sex with your boss's lieutenants, I would have thought nakedness would have been a prerequisite. You know, a bit of viewing pleasure for those who can't touch."
He opened the door and ushered me into a long white hall. A polite stinker—not what I expected to find here. "Those who parade around in their skin are given the choice of saying no. Those who wear overalls aren't."
"That's not what military man said in the bus." Nor was it what Dia had suggested. But then, maybe she didn't socialize with the fighters, and therefore didn't know the entire truth. Which might also mean she didn't know the entire truth in other areas.
And wasn't that a fantastic thought?
He flashed me another nasty grin. "Didn't want you all leaving now, did we?"
"And the arena fighting is all naked?"
"And in mud." He hitched his pants in that way all men did when in the presence of a woman they were attracted to. "Very exciting."
"I bet," I said dryly.
We moved into another corridor, and from down the far end came raised voices. One of them was Berna's.
"Your quarters," he said. "You can pick who you wish to share with. We don't care."
"Cool."
"Dinner is at seven in the main dining room and is not optional. Other meals are." He stopped near the first door. "You are free to explore or use any of the facilities before and after the dinner show. Myself or one of the other guards will be here to escort you to the dining room at six forty-five. Don't be late."
"Or what?"
He gave me another nasty grin again, and I seriously had to resist the urge to smack it from his thin lips. "We'll dock your pay or punish you in other ways."
"What other ways?"
"You'll see an example tonight, over dinner." Anticipation gleamed in his eyes, giving me the bad feeling that it was something normal, sane people wouldn't like.
I nodded. After another look at my breasts, he spun around and left. I followed the sound of Berna's voice, passing several rooms that were already full, and stopped in the last doorway.
The bear-shifter stood in the middle of the room, her large paws on her larger hips, and her short dark hair fairly bristling with anger.
Nerida, the fox lady, stood in front of her, defiance written all over her red features. She was game, I had to give her that. Berna was twice her height and four times her girth.
"I got here first," she said. "The window is mine."
"I need fresh air or I snore. Believe me, if you cherish sleep, you would not want me snoring."
All this angst and noise over a damn window? "Really ladies, this is easily settled."
Berna gave me a dark glance as I walked in. "We don't want thieves in this room."
"The thief doesn't steal from friends, and there are no other beds left anyway, so tough." I walked across to the bed in question and stripped off my coat. "To settle the argument, I'll take it."
Nerida glanced up at Berna, then the two of them stepped forward as one. Something about that itched at my senses. There was just a little too much precision in the way they did that—like it was a move they'd practiced more than once. Maybe Nerida was also a wrestler.
And maybe something else was going on.
Dia had mentioned that someone in this group wasn't who they pretended to be. Maybe there was more than just one pretender.
And why would they fake a fight? To make it seem they weren't friendly to watching eyes, perhaps? Now, why would they want something like that?
"I'm at least three times your girth, wolf, and probably twice as strong. I could thump you into the floor without even thinking."
"You could try," I said mildly. "I doubt you'd succeed."
She bristled. "That a challenge?"
I shrugged, and kicked off my shoes. Feigning disinterest when every sense I had was tuned on the both of them, waiting for a move. Any move. "Take it any damn way you please."
I half-turned, and that's when the fox sprung. I dropped, moving under her leap, then grabbed her and whirled her quickly around before letting go. I had no time to see if she'd hit the bed I'd been aiming for, because the air screamed with the warning of an approaching blow. I surged upright and caught Berna's fist in a two-handed grip. Held it and stopped it, even if the force of her blow sent Shockwaves up my arms and rattled my teeth.
"Looks don't always indicate strength," I said softly, as surprise flitted through her brown eyes. "Do not try and attack me like that again." I looked at Nerida, who'd landed beside the bed rather than on it and was currently rubbing her hip. "Either of you."
I pushed Berna backward and released her, then got back to the business of stripping off. "Do you know what's happened to our bags?"
"Coming once we've sort sleeping positions out."
I glanced at her. "Which we have."
She sniffed. Whether that meant acceptance, or whether it meant I was going to have to turf her out of the bed when I got back was anyone's guess.
"Why are you stripping?" she asked.
"I'm going to explore."
"Trust a wolf to do the naked thing," Nerida said, contempt heavy in her voice.
"Better naked than having no choice."
"They're paying me to fight and fuck. They are not paying me enough to flaunt myself to all and sundry."