by RJ Blain
Sitting most of the day reading left my body aching. Hunger gnawed at me, reminding me I hadn’t stopped to eat anything, which would likely earn me a scolding from Cleo. When work called, I answered, and forgetting to stop for lunch was so commonplace I shrugged, decided it didn’t matter, and headed to Todd’s place.
If I’d been in a hurry, I could have taken a carriage to the tram, one of the last surviving pieces of major pre-Shift technology. It rode on electric rails, which were powered by a mix of mundane and magic sources. It’d take me across the city to the central train station, which put me much closer to Todd’s house.
Instead, I walked, keeping a close eye on the bustle of the crowds. When I’d been younger, I’d watched videos of life before Starfall. Cars, planes, and trains had trivialized travel, allowing people to traverse the world in little time.
Few dared to cross the oceans; planes no longer flew. Even the strongest combustion mystics couldn’t sustain the engines for more than an hour. Some tried, and they died in their effort to prove it could be done.
Most viewed it a miracle we had trains at all. With fire so unreliable and combustion dangerous at best, mystics worked with engineers to design a viable steam engine using magical methods of heating water to power the trains. Some talked about reviving cars, but it was hard enough to find mystics willing to pump their energy into transportation.
The need for transportation provided a very convenient way to punish mystics without resorting to jailing. When given the choice between prison or community service powering the transportation systems, most chose freedom at the cost of a few hours a day of hard work.
The clatter of hooves and infuriated squeal of a horse jarred me from my thoughts. I blinked, looked up, and recoiled several steps at the rearing black stallion who slammed both his hooves down on the cracked pavement in front of me.
Bright orange eyes glowed with a light of their own, and the stallion snorted, ears flattened back, glossy black skin rippling from the tensing of powerful muscles.
When I stood still and stared, the stallion snorted again and snapped his teeth at me.
Black hair, fire-bright eyes, cranky stallion who wanted to bite me?
Probably Todd. Who else would be bold—or stupid—enough to try such a thing when I had my sword in easy reach?
Why couldn’t I have a sane landlord and hire? Hadn’t his evening entertainment with his mares satisfied him?
Carriage traffic ground to a halt, and those walking on the sidewalks stared at me. A still quiet descended on the street, and it wasn’t long before the attention shifted from me to the proud equine pawing at the aged asphalt.
“Right,” I said, adjusting the strap of my satchel on my shoulder, stepping to the side, and striding in the direction of Todd’s house.
Teeth grabbed hold of the back of my blouse, and the heavy clop of hooves followed me. Todd snorted, and his hot breath washed over the back of my neck.
“What’s gotten your tail in a bunch? You gave me a job to do. I was doing my job. Did you really think I was going to sit in your house like a pretty pampered princess waiting for her ball?”
The answering snort told me yes, yes he did mean for me to do just that.
“Insufferable stallions,” I muttered. “I was researching at the library so I had a better idea of what insanity you’ve gotten me into this time. I should be charging you triple my usual rate, Mr. Jacobson. Maybe quadruple. You offered me a room so cheap because you knew what I was getting into. You wanted my help enough you didn’t want to scare me off, knowing any sane mercenary would turn tail and walk away once they realized the banquet is a powder keg set to blow.”
I found it discouraging powder kegs could—and did—explode, often without any warning, but when the same powder was used in a gun, the weapons usually malfunctioned.
When Todd didn’t impede my ability to walk, although he didn’t release my shirt, I kept going, aware of everyone staring at me. I pegged the stallion at easily eighteen hands tall, maybe even taller, and every single sleek line of him made it clear he wasn’t a regular equine.
The real horses kept their distance, shying away whenever Todd drew too close to them, even the mares. Maybe after my first shift I would understand the dividing line between shifters and mundane animals, but neither side liked the other, although there were a few rare exceptions.
Todd marched me right back to his domain, ramming his nose between my shoulders whenever I slowed too much for his liking.
I hoped he was just displaying as part of preparations leading up to the banquet, but even on the best of days, stallions were trouble—and stubborn. My body tensed the longer I walked, and by the time we reached the gate to his home, I quivered from tension.
Cleo opened the gate, looking me over from head to toe. “Nothing happened?”
Alarm bells rang in my head, and I came to a halt, bracing in case Todd tried to ram me forward again. “What? Nothing happened. I went to the library, just like I said I would. I was on the third and fifth floors all day. What happened?”
“Did you know you have a half a million dollar bounty on your head?”
Shock and fear slammed into me and sucked the breath out of my lungs. Cleo’s words froze me in place, and when Todd shoved me forward with his nose, I stumbled and fell against the gate, grabbing for the metal bars to keep from hitting the ground. “What?”
“There’s no name on the bounty, but it’s definitely for you; the artist who drew the picture did a damned fine job of your face, and the description they used matches you, right down to your bag. Inside. Only thing they got wrong was your sword, and thank God for that.” Cleo grabbed hold of my elbow and dragged me inside, and Todd bumped me a few times to get me away from the gate.
The stallion closed it with his rump.
“The bounty is how much? Why?” I fought to keep calm, but my voice rose in pitch.
“Half a million.” Cleo took one look at me and burst into laughter. “It’s a live bounty, and there’s a note if so much as a hair on your head is damaged, those who hurt you will have a bounty of their own to contend with. You have a fan.”
I gaped. “What?”
The donkey dragged me to the house and shoved me inside. I twisted around, blocking the doorway as I fought to comprehend the impossibility of having a bounty so absurdly high.
An electric charge and crackle of static warned me of Todd’s shift moments before the proud black stallion melted away and reformed into an infuriated and naked man. He strode forward, put his hands on my shoulders, and turned me around, marching me deeper into his home. “It was issued this morning.”
“But I didn’t do anything.”
Well, I had stolen a Starfall stone out of a man’s pants and tattooed my mark on his stomach, but I had a huge head start on Nate, who I had left sleeping off my poison in a bar in Miami. He had looked good, but he hadn’t looked rich. The wealthy and powerful avoided Florida, and why would anyone with money rub elbows with someone like me in Oyster Bay?
The Starfall stone might’ve been responsible, but every bit of my research supported the fact it wasn’t a named stone, so why would anyone go through so much trouble to have it?
Todd inhaled, held his breath long enough his face turned red, and exhaled in a loud gust. “I know. It’s not your fault, and frankly, I’m more angry with myself I didn’t think of it first.”
“You’re not making any sense!”
“You’ve been accused of stealing someone’s heart, and he’s offering half a million dollars for the privilege of your company.” Todd’s hands tightened on my shoulders. “I don’t know what you’ve been doing lately, Jesse, but you have a lot of explaining to do.”
Chapter Eight
Todd dragged me into his bedroom, slammed the door behind me, and glared at me, his eyes glowing a bright fire orange. Being trapped with a hell-spawned, angry stallion in close quarters worried me almost as much as the bounty. I flexed my hand against the hilt
of my sword.
If he wanted a fight, I’d give him one, and I both liked and hated him enough to gift him with a few scars. To scar a shifter, I’d have to cut deep—to the bone—and make sure I kept him busy for a few minutes without a mystic getting in the way and undoing my work. I clenched my teeth, shifting my weight so I could evade him or take the offensive.
Todd fisted his hands, his nostrils flaring as he breathed in my scent. “Who have you been fucking to get a half a million dollar bounty?”
My cheek twitched at his crude question. “Nobody. I haven’t been with someone for months, and he was a mystic merc with a foul mouth. He’s also dead. Got himself killed on a job.”
At first, I thought Todd’s temper would fray and snap completely, but he straightened, narrowing his eyes as he considered me. “You were involved?”
I shrugged. “Doesn’t matter. He’s dead.”
“It matters. Has there been anyone else? This is a big deal, Jesse. With half a million on the line, every mercenary in the city is going to be after you. No one is stupid enough to invade my home, but the instant anyone realizes you’re here, you’re going to be a target. You’re going to get kidnapped.”
I wanted to argue, but Todd was right. For that much money, I’d do a lot more than kidnap someone and deliver them to my hire. Avoiding capture would take more resources and energy than I had.
When beating the enemy wasn’t an option, sometimes joining them was, and I did have tricks up my sleeve. I doubted Todd would go for the idea, but if he did, we’d both become exceptionally rich. “If you give me half, you can deliver me yourself.”
His mouth dropped open. “What?”
“Half a million dollars, Todd, split between you and me. You find out who the buyer is, I’ll assess how difficult it’ll be to make my break from him, and you sell me out. You take the half a million, and after I make my getaway, you give me my half. Problem solved.”
With a low groan, Todd bowed his head. “I should have known. I should have known you’d suggest something so absolutely insane. No, Jesse. I’m not selling you for half a million dollars. There are limits to how mercenary someone should be.”
“Technically a quarter, since half of the bounty would belong to me.”
“If I’m not going to sell you for half a million, I’m definitely not going to sell you for less. Out of the question. Chances are the bounty isn’t even real. Who the hell would pay half a million dollars for a woman?”
I tensed, gripping my sword’s hilt until my knuckles went white. “Excuse me?”
“You’re not even that pretty. You’re not bad, and you’re damned good with that sword of yours, but you’re not worth half a million to anyone.”
“Do you know what they’re going to be calling you if you keep running your mouth, Todd?”
“What?”
“A gelding.”
The stallion grimaced. “It’s true, Jesse. You’re one of the best damned mercs I’ve seen in a long time, but you’re no princess. You’re a stray orphan with no family, no relatives. You’re pretty, but you’re not that pretty. You’re just too damned tough to be beautiful. If someone wanted to hire you away from me for your skills, I could believe they’d pay a lot for your services, especially if they want you for the banquet. But this romantic bullshit bounty? You’re no high class whore.”
“Are you trying to compliment me or insult me?”
“I’m just telling the truth. If you were a whore, you would have slept with me last night so you wouldn’t have to pay rent. You refused. Cleo even told me if I tried to put too many moves on you, he’d ram his hind hooves up my ass so far they’d have to be surgically removed. I can’t stomp a donkey, Jesse. That’s just rude. Worse, he’s a mystic. He’d probably bind me before kicking my ass. I’d lose to a jackass, a runted jackass.”
I forced myself to relax and lifted my hand to rub my brow. While his words stung and bothered me, I couldn’t argue with him. I knew a lot of women who’d do a lot to avoid paying rent and live in a house as nice as Todd’s. “So your solution is to lock me in your house until this bounty magically vanishes?”
“Yes.”
At least I could trust the stallion to be honest and stubborn. “I’m not okay with that.”
“You don’t have to be okay with it. You need to be safe.”
When a stallion felt threatened, his instinct was to gather his mares, keep them together, and defend them. Most shifters struggled to fight the base instincts of their inner beast, and after a while, most didn’t even attempt to resist certain impulses. “I’m not one of your mares.”
Todd sighed. “No, you’re not. You’re one of my friends. Think, Jesse. The bounty is huge, and to make matters worse, every goddamned fucking romantic in the city is going to be joining the hunt for you. Join my herd, Jesse. When a male comes around you want, I’ll concede to him with the bare minimum of a fight. I’ll permit him to take you out of my herd. If you’re in my herd, I can protect you.”
While I was sure he meant everything he said, if I allowed him to have his way, he wouldn’t just let me go, not without a real fight. Stallions couldn’t, not without losing prestige, rank, and pride. At the very least, any man I considered would have to pass muster with him, and I doubted there was anyone alive who lived up to Todd’s standards. I’d seen him considering stallions for his daughters before, and it always ended in bloodshed. Unless the opposing stallion gave Todd a run for his money, his daughter stayed.
Few matched Todd’s expectations, so very few.
“No, Todd. I refuse. I’m not going to use you like that, and if I do find a man I want, the last thing I want is to have to ask you for permission. Forget it.”
“Can’t you be reasonable about this?”
“No.” I focused on my breathing, and when my lungs ached from filling them so much, I peeled my fingers off my sword. “Fine. I flirted with someone down south.”
Todd leaned against his door, crossed his arms over his chest, and waited in silence.
“He watched me kick the snot out of three guys who were bothering me. We had a beer. I may have done something a little mean to him on my way out and left him sleeping it off.”
Groaning, Todd lowered his head. “You beat up four guys in a bar.”
“They were asking for it.”
“I’m sure they were. You didn’t tell them your name?”
“I’m not that stupid.” Okay, I was that stupid, but not even Todd knew I had a side career as an assassin. “I left town and didn’t look back. I’m even sure no one followed me. I took the short cut.”
“Short cut?”
“I went through Fort Lauderdale.”
“Of course you were in Florida. Only insane idiots go to Florida. Next you’re going to tell me you met your date in Miami.”
I flinched.
“You were in Miami.”
“Maybe.”
Todd sighed, turned so his back faced me, and banged his head into his door. “Why were you in Miami?”
“Vacation.”
“What kind of psychopath has a vacation in Miami?”
“The kind who beats up men in the city’s worst bar, takes their cash, and leaves?”
“So you robbed them?”
“They deserved it. They got in my personal space without my permission.”
“Do you have anyone else in the wings I should know about?”
I thought about it. “I don’t think so. None of them seemed rich or even competent, Todd. The one looked delicious, though.”
“Okay. You’re seriously telling me you liked one of the men you beat up?”
“Hey, a girl can look, can’t she? It’s not my fault he was so good looking. I didn’t sleep with him. I was too busy leaving his unconscious body on the bar. That’s not a good start for a relationship.”
“Unless he’s a predator shifter and got a whiff of your interest. Give it to me straight, Jesse. If you were aroused and he was a shifter male, he woul
d’ve smelled it on you.”
I thought about that for a few long minutes. “Huh. So much for keeping that a secret, then.”
“You’re killing me here, Jesse. Were you or weren’t you?”
“Maybe a little.”
“Did you at least think to find out what species he was before you beat him senseless and left him on a bar?”
“No.”
“That’s just fucking fantastic. So there are potentially four men who might be after you. Anyone else you beat up recently without giving them your name?”
“I don’t keep track of every idiot I beat up. I’d be at it forever. I was traveling alone for months. I’ve left a lot of unconscious men around. When they don’t take no for an answer, I beat them up and leave. I can’t help it. If I wanted to sleep with them, I would!”
Todd banged his head into his door a few more times. “Why couldn’t you be an equine? Why couldn’t you be a reasonable species? I should have known. You haven’t changed a bit. You’ve been pulling this shit since you stomped your way into my guild and beat up a pair of my recruits because they couldn’t stop staring at your chest.”
I stared down at my breasts. There were women with larger, but I always thought mine were just right. They didn’t get in the way too often, although they did ensure I’d never be a master archer. “What’s wrong with my breasts?”
“Nothing, and you know that.”
“If I wanted them to stare, I would have invited them to my flop for an up close and personal look. I was teaching them their manners.”
Todd sighed. “You’re really not going to stay around the house until the banquet, are you?”
“I have things to do. Prep work. Questions to ask, people to see. You know, the usual. I can’t slack on this job, and you know it. You knew it the instant you saw the guest list and the number of high ranked clan leaders in attendance. If this blows up, you know who is going to show up to clean up the mess, right?”