A Council of Betrayal (27 page)

She laughed, “Juiced up on succubus power? I
don’t think so.”

I narrowed my eyes. “That only works for
vampires.”

She cast a glance at Amin before rounding on
me. “You lie, you want me dead.”

“Um, yeah, duh.”

“You see!” she cried triumphantly to
Amin.

“You did try to kill me first,” I reminded
her. Something wasn’t right here, and I was hoping I could use it
to my advantage. Djinn were such a fucking pain to kill.

She waved her hand. “That was The
Conferences. Who wasn’t trying to kill you?”

“The rest of the Compass Alphas,” I answered.
I crossed my arms over my chest, letting my hands rest close to my
guns.

“Bah, those fools! The Shifter Nation has
been crumbling under Logan’s reign. We are weak! Prime for the
taking over by the vampires.”

“Why are the vampires taking over?” I asked,
honestly curious. I mean, the fact a war was coming had been
dropped repeatedly, although no one was giving me an actual
target.

Sage drained her glass, holding it out to
Amin to refill.

“You saw it firsthand, the rogues they are
creating. We need the pure beasts to compete with that.”

“That was a crazed demigod named Nari, not
the vampires.”

She smiled at me, bringing her full glass to
her full, ruby lips without breaking eye contact. “Who do you think
bankrolled him?”

“What proof do you have?” I challenged,
resting my hands on my hips.

Sage laughed, throwing her head back,
exposing the throat I wanted to slice. “My darling girl, who do you
think bankrolled me?”

I blinked at that, surprised. “Why would the
vampires bankroll you to make a serum that creates a beast, if you
intend to use it against them?”

She laughed. “My dear girl, you prove how
poor a choice you are for Mate. The vampires only see me weakening
the shifters, nothing more.”

“I can’t believe I am going to say this, but
I don’t think the vampires are that dumb.”

She scoffed, “You don’t think the shifters
would pay for such an expensive place, do you? Oh no, they’re all
about the secluded, cheap, rundown, rustic homes.” Her face
contracted with disgust. “I deserve more than that. I deserve it
all.” She examined her nails. “The real trick was convincing the
blood suckers to give me Amin.”

“If you wanted it all, you should have
challenged Logan. Challenging me does nothing to advance you with
the shifters.”

“No, but killing you will greatly weaken
Logan.” She sat regally, with perfect posture. “I can kill him
then.”

“Just to clarify, you aren’t strong enough to
kill Logan healthy, but you think you are the strongest choice to
run the shifters? Please tell me you see the flaw in that
logic.”

“The only
flaw
I see is you.”

“I couldn’t agree more, but I do have one
additional question. How did you make Amin your bitch?”

She stood, furious. “You will not speak to
him that way.” Regaining her composure, she said with a flourish,
“He was a gift from Zachariah.”

I groaned, “I should have fucking known.”

“He has grand plans for you,” she
taunted.

I was done with this evil mastermind
dialogue.

“So Amin, if I kill her, are you going to be
a problem for me?”

“If you kill her, I will become your
possession,” he answered, his dark gray eyes watching me
closely.

I grunted, “I’m not really into keeping
Supernaturals as possessions.”

“As if you will win!” Sage screamed, shifting
forms to fight me. “Amin, I wish to be the victor of this
battle.”

With that, she morphed into a jaguar.

Alright, I’m willing to admit that was
impressive. Her black lips peeled back, exposing sharp teeth. But
what really had me worried was that wish. I’d be fighting them both
when I got the upper hand.

Sage growled low in her throat and stalked
toward me, before pushing off the ground, leaping at me.

I set three daggers into her soft stomach,
quickly rolling out of the way as she crashed down, destroying the
wood coffee table, sending splinters scattering. With a cat howl,
she twisted up. Amin waved a hand and the knives fell harmlessly
onto the pile of wood.

Fuck, where was that chopper when I needed
it?

As if summoned by my thoughts, Sage turned,
looking at the ceiling. I smiled, “That would be backup.”

She snarled something at Amin. “I can’t
understand you in that form,” he replied nonchalantly, having no
concern over the life and death fight happening.

Sage snarled once again and came at me, teeth
snapping. I pulled both guns, training them at her. She paused,
looking at me, before charging again. I managed to squeeze off a
few shots, none of which did any real damage, as she pinned me
under her.

I kept shooting, emptying both clips into her
chest. Her eyes widened, mouth hanging open slackly, before Amin
stepped in again. The bullets dropped harmlessly from her body.

I took advantage of her hesitation, though,
dropping my guns and slamming my palm against her left paws, which
had me pinned down. No wonder she was willing to take such chances
with her life. The fucking djinn made her a fucking god.

But I wasn’t done yet.

I rolled quickly, feeling her hot breath
against my neck. I pulled another dagger from my boot, launching it
while I ran. I heard it clatter harmlessly to the floor. I needed
to play it smart. I was losing weapons and not gaining any
ground.

Claws slashed at my back and I arched,
sliding around the counter into the kitchen. There goes my
jacket.

I also needed to stay alive until Mark and
Jerry got here, preferably in one piece.

I pulled a kitchen knife from the counter,
turning and plunging it into her flank. She in turn clawed at my
thigh, her claws raking deeply.

I went down in front of her gaping jaw and
she fucking smiled. I yanked the kitchen blade out, thankful she
kept her knives sharp. I used both hands to slam it through her
brain. It wasn’t silver; it wouldn’t kill her.

Her surprised yelp made me smile. I left the
knife, knowing I didn’t have long before the djinn pulled the steel
blade out. Pulling my silver dagger from the small of my back, I
wheeled and wrenched the blade through her neck, yanking it to the
side. She lolled to her side, half her head hanging off.

Sage rolled away from me. Following her, I
slammed my blade down to sever the remaining tendons.

I wasn’t moving fast enough. The djinn had
removed the blade lodged in her brain. If I didn’t finish removing
her ugly head from her body—yes, that was jealousy—then I was done
for. The wounds on my back and legs were weeping blood. I may heal
fast, but not shifter fast.

The pressure against my blade disappeared and
my momentum kept me going until I landed hard on top of Sage’s
corpse in her human form.

I sighed, leaning back, keeping my knife
gripped tightly in my hand.

A door burst open and my name was screamed
out.

I lumbered up, smearing blood on the quartz
countertops.

“Olie,” Jerry cried out, running to me.

“Nice of you to join the party,” I grunted,
taking a tentative step, finding it more like a limp.

“I’d like to hear it now,” I continued.

“Hear what?” Jerry asked.

“I’m right, you were wrong.”

Mark looked between me and Amin, not sure if
he was a threat or not.

“You were right?” Mark offered
uncertainly.

“Thank you. Mark, Jerry, meet Amin. He’s the
djinn bound to Sage.” I groaned as Jerry set me down onto a white
couch, where I just kept seeping out bodily fluids. I was enjoying
ruining the dead bitch’s furniture.

Alright, so I was jealous. But just to be
clear, I was still right.

“Amin, you going to be a problem?” Mark
asked.

“Only if my new mistress requires it of me,”
Amin replied, totally unfazed by Sage’s decapitation.

“Amin, I don’t want to be your mistress—“
Jerry clamped a hand over my mouth.

Amin’s eyes glistened with hope. “Do not free
him,” Jerry whispered.

I looked at him. “Why?”

“Because he will kill you.”

I grunted, looking at Amin. “True or
false?”

He shifted, looking mildly perturbed. “Truth,
I am required to kill the one who frees me.”

“That’s stupid,” I grunted.

Amin shrugged.

“So what happens now?” I asked.

“Make no wishes, command him to do nothing,”
Jerry informed me.

“Didn’t I already do that?” I asked.

“No, you asked a question. He wasn’t forced
to answer because of how you asked it,” Jerry informed me.

I sighed. “Amin, what would you like to do
now?”

He looked at me, surprised. “Anything?”

“That doesn’t involve harming humans,
Supernaturals, or animals,” I amended.

“But I have to stay close in case you need
me,” Amin stated, coming to stand closer.

“She won’t.” Jerry was adamant.

I pressed a hand against my stomach, feeling
a little lightheaded. “Get a cell phone, Amin. I can call you if I
need something and you can check in if you have any questions about
the arrangement.”

Jerry nodded.

“Great, now can someone stitch me up before I
lose all my blood?”

Amin waved a hand and pain disappeared. I
ripped open my shirt, finding my wounds perfectly stitched. “Nice
work,” I commented.

“Are you certain you don’t need me?” he asked
with longing.

“Look, Amin, I’d be perfectly happy fr—”
Jerry slapped a hand on my mouth. I looked at him and he lowered
his hand cautiously. “But since I can’t do that, I’d like you to
live a pleasant life without harming anyone.”

Amin nodded, pulling a cell phone out of his
pocket. “I am unfamiliar with this technology.”

Jerry took it cautiously. “Here, let me show
you.”

After a twenty-minute demonstration on how to
use a phone and a few test calls to make sure he had our numbers
programmed in, Amin disappeared.

“Well, that was fun,” Mark grunted.

“Not even a thank you,” I added, annoyed. I
leaned against the couch, my eyes drifting closed.

“You gotta see what we found, Olie,” Jerry
said, helping me stand.

We made it to the roof and I looked around at
the hundreds of potted St. Helen Olive plants.

“No flowers,” I whispered, wandering though
the rows.

“What do we do, Olivia?” Mark asked me
softly.

“Burn it, burn it all.” I looked to Jerry.
“You got enough juice for it? Everything has to be destroyed, we
have to torch her apartment, too. Actually, we should probably
check the entire building.”

Jerry nodded, looking around.

“The rest of the building is rented. I can
hear the others,” Mark said, bending down to inspect a plant. “How
could she have gotten these?”

“The djinn, she must have wished for it.” I
rubbed my temple, pulling out my phone, “The real issue is, how
long has she been experimenting and how long has Zachariah been
bankrolling her?”

I dialed Logan’s number and he answered
groggily. “You okay?” he slurred.

“Yeah, but I need to you to wake up. We have
a situation.”

He cleared his throat. “Go ahead.”

“Sage had a djinn that she was controlling.
She told me the vampires have been funding her experimentation on
how to make insta-beast, Zachariah to be specific. That he was also
bankrolling Nari.” I paused.

“Is there more?” he asked, now fully
awake.

“A roof full of St. Helen Olive without
flowers.”

“Fucking hell. You have to destroy it.”

“Duh, Logan. Jerry is going to light it up. I
just wanted to call and fill you in.”

“Oh, are you hurt?”

“My leather jacket is done for,” I admitted.
“Amin, the djinn, who is now mine by right of my winning the death
match, stitched me up.”

“Wait, you have a djinn?”

“Yeah, apparently it’s not a good thing.”

“Take care of the plants and come home,” he
urged, his voice earnest.

“Will do.”

“Oh, and Olie?”

“Yeah?”

“I love you.”

I stopped breathing for a moment before my
smart ass kicked in. “Hmpf, you should be saying I was right about
her.”

He laughed, “Yeah, that too.”

I delayed saying goodbye, not wanting to say
the L word, but needing to say something else. “How’s the nanny
working out?”

“Great, she even came back for my emergency
call when the kids were watching Ginny. I’m having her babysit
tomorrow as well.”

“Good, I’m glad.”

A squawk sounded.

“Alright, take care of our girl.”

“Will do.”

I turned to see Mark looking at me like a
lovesick puppy. “Your love, it’s trickling down the packs.”

“I didn’t say I loved him.”

Mark shrugged, patting his chest.

“Whatever. Jerry, you ready to light it up?”
I asked.

Jerry was looking at Mark with longing. “Can
you mate mark me, Mark?”

I looked at Mark, having no idea what the
answer was.

He shrugged. “I can try, but I didn’t even
know it worked with a succubus. I have no idea what the effects
would be on a mage.”

Jerry nodded. “Give me a minute.” He walked
to all four corners, muttering.

“Alright, let’s get back into the penthouse,”
Jerry instructed.

Jerry repeated the same four corner muttering
in the apartment, while Mark and I looked through the rest of the
penthouse. We didn’t find anything of interest.

“Let’s get out of here,” I instructed.

I leaned on the back wall of the elevator,
ready to get some food and some sleep to help my body heal. I hoped
I hadn’t made a mistake with Amin. I knew I didn’t with Sage. I
groaned, now we had to fill the North Compass Alpha’s spot.

“Any chance you guys wanna take over here?” I
asked, closing my eyes, feeling the downward momentum.