Magic Strikes(43)

«Simple. We kill one.»

Saiman pondered this.

Talking through it was a piece of cake. Doing it would be a completely different matter.

«We know that the Reapers travel in packs, which makes them difficult to follow. We also know

that they disappear into Unicorn Lane, which makes them difficult to track by scent and magic.

However, we're in possession of a tracking unit whose range covers the entire Lane. We kill a

Reaper and plant a bug into his body. Once they leave, we track them to the exact spot in Unicorn

and approach it at our leisure. We observe their headquarters. There are all sorts of interesting

questions that can be answered. How many of them are there? How are they organized? Do they

have guards? Are these guards human? How do they get food? What do they eat? Is there a crew

that goes out to forage? Can we apprehend the foragers and»-tear them apart a shred at a time

until the damn bastards tell me how to fix Derek-«and question them?»

«You seem sure you can kill a Reaper.» Saiman stared into his empty glass, seemingly amazed

by the disappearance of his martini.

I thought of Derek dying slowly in the tub of green liquid. His bones broken, his face gone, his

body hurting . . .

Saiman shifted in his love seat. «Kate, your sword seems to be emitting a vapor.»

I put a leash on myself. «Get me into the Pit. I'll take care of the rest.»

«I would love to, but I can't.» Saiman waved his arm in disgust. «The Reapers are scheduled for

one final bout before the tournament, which is a team event. The bout has been advertised as Stone

class. You don't qualify.»

«I can do it,» Jim said.

Saiman shook his head. «As much as I would love to have the Pack's chief of security in the Pit,

you wouldn't qualify either. Stone class means an extra-large fighter.»

True. Jim was never a heavyweight. Even in his half-form, he was lean, quick, and lethal, but not

bulky.

«I do have a Stone fighter available.» Saiman smiled. «Me.»

That beating I had taken from the Pack must've done permanent damage to my hearing. «Me

who?»

«Me as in myself.»

I squeezed my eyes shut.

«What are you doing?» Saiman asked.

«I'm counting to ten in my head.» It worked for Curran; surely it would work for me . . . Nope,

not feeling any better.

I opened my eyes. «I kill on a regular basis. So please understand that I say this with the full

weight of my professional expertise behind it: you've gone off the deep end. You're enthusiastic but

unskilled, and you lack the physical strength and reflexes needed to kill a Reaper. If you enter the

Pit, you will die horribly and in great pain and I won't be able to jump in there and pull you out.»

«You've never seen me fight in my original form.»

A vision of golden-haired Adonis dancing through the snow flashed before me. «Yes, but I saw

you dance. Your original form, while devastating to horny women and gay men, isn't likely to slay

any Reapers. You'll get your head bashed in and we'll lose an opportunity to plant the bug.»

Saiman smiled, a thin stretching of lips without any humor. «That was not my original form.»

Touche. «In that case, I hope your original form is a two-headed dragon spitting fire.»

«Give me an opportunity to fail,» Saiman said. «I promise that my corpse won't interrupt your 'I

told you so' speech. The bout is tonight. May I count on the two of you to act as my crew?»

What choice did we have? «Fine.»

Saiman rose. «I'll have to make a formal appearance for the first part of the evening. After the

fight, provided we accomplish the actual kill, the Reapers will be grounded by the Red Guards for

one hour to allow us a head start. The House doesn't wish any friction between fighters outside the

ring. That will give the two of you ample time to arrive in Unicorn and make the necessary

preparations. I'll stay the night in the Arena, in my private rooms, to recuperate.»

Or he would stay the night in the morgue. The thought hung in the air like a funeral shroud.

None of us mentioned it.





CHAPTER 15



AFTER JIM AND I WERE FINISHED WITH SAIMAN, Jim dropped me and the Pack horse at

my apartment. I wanted to go back with him. I wanted to be there in case Derek woke up. I had this

irrational idea that my staying close would somehow fix him.

But it wouldn't. If I had gone back with Jim, I wouldn't have slept, and I needed sleep and food

badly. The Reapers wouldn't take kindly to having one of their own knocked out of their lineup. If

Saiman managed to deliver on his promise, they might come after us. I needed to be rested and