“Your turn for what?”
“You need to prove you can provide something to the cause.”
Brigette continued to pretend boredom as she inwardly cursed. She’d known that this moment was inevitable, but she’d hoped she could put it off until she knew more about Maryam’s plans. Or at least had a clue as to who was controlling the rebellion from behind the scenes.
“You want me to release the darkness?” She shrugged, holding up her hand in a dramatic gesture.
Maryam jerked back. “Not here.”
“Then where?”
“The Viper Club.”
Brigette lowered her hand. She didn’t have to pretend her confusion. “Never heard of the place.”
“It’s a demon club in downtown Chicago.”
“Why there?” Brigette demanded. She’d expected the woman to order her to attack Styx’s lair.
A grim smile curved the female’s lips. “Let’s just say it will strike at the very heart of the Anasso.”
“Okay.” Brigette conceded to the inevitable. “I’ll rest up, and then tomorrow—”
“Tonight,” Maryam commanded.
Crap. “Tonight?”
“Is that a problem?”
Accepting that she had one last chance to figure out what the hell the rebels were plotting, Brigette sent the older woman a suspicious glare.
“Yeah. If we strike at the Anasso, he’s going to come here and squash us like cockroaches.” Brigette pursed her lips. “Unlike the rest of you, I’m here for profit. I have no intention of taking one for the team.”
Maryam paused, studying Brigette with an icy expression. “How would he know we’re here?”
Brigette snorted. “You have dozens, if not hundreds, of demons in and out of here each night. Do you truly trust all of them?”
“No. I trust no one. Which is why I have…” The word trailed away, as if Maryam had abruptly recalled that Brigette wasn’t on the need-to-know list. “. . . protections in place.”
“What protections?”
“Nothing for you to worry about.” There was an edge of warning in the vampire’s tone. She wasn’t going to answer any questions. Period. “You just take care of your business.”
“You do know I can’t actually control how far the darkness will spread?” Brigette warned.
A humorless smile curved Maryam’s lips, revealing her snowy-white fangs. “Let the chaos begin.”
Yikes.
Chapter 7
Xi used the hidden tunnel to return to Brigette’s room. Dusk was swiftly approaching, and the demons were beginning to roam the labyrinth of passages. Less than five minutes later, Brigette entered, her expression one of extreme frustration.
“So I guess that’s that,” she muttered.
Xi shook his head. From the second that Maryam had mentioned the Viper Club, he’d been working on a plan.
“Not necessarily.”
She scowled. “Even if I was willing to infect the Viper Club––which I’m not––I can’t do it. The darkness was locked away with the Beast.”
“You don’t actually have to do anything,” Xi pointed out, pleased by Brigette’s outrage. She didn’t want him believing she was the same female who was willing to sacrifice her own pack. That meant he mattered to her, right? “We just need Maryam to believe you did something.”
A portion of her defensiveness faded as she watched him move toward the opening and cautiously peer into the outer tunnel.
“How are we going to do that?”
“We’re going to see Viper,” he said, waiting until the nearby demons headed toward the exits before leading her through the abandoned tunnels.
Styx had paid the local sprite tribe a fortune to keep a hidden portal open 24/7. Just in case of an emergency. Xi hadn’t taken it as a lack of faith in his abilities. They both had been around long enough to know that whatever shit could go wrong would go wrong. Especially in a battle.
“What’s a viper?” Brigette demanded once they were far enough away from the populated passages.
“Not a what, a who.” Xi ignored the stagnant water that gathered in greenish pools. It smelled better than the trash littering the main tunnels. “The clan chief of Chicago.”
“I assume he’s connected to the Viper Club?”
“The owner,” Xi clarified. “We also need to warn Styx that we haven’t managed to discover the hidden snares.”
Brigette leaped over a puddle. “You think he might attack them?”
“It depends on the provocation,” Xi admitted. “He would never take unnecessary risks with his soldiers, but he’s not going to ignore a full-out assault on his city. I don’t want any unfortunate mistakes.”
They reached the end of the tunnel, and trusting that the magical portal was waiting for him, Xi walked straight forward. Thankfully, a darkness surrounded him, and by his third step, he was magically whisked out of the tunnels and to an empty parking lot. He didn’t see the sprite holding open the portal, but he could catch the scent of lemons coming from a nearby tree.
He barely waited for Brigette to step into the lot before he grabbed her hand and pulled her down the dark side streets. They moved too fast for the human eye to track their passage, but that wasn’t the reason for his speed. Maryam had managed to gather hundreds of demons in the tunnels right beneath Styx’s feet. That meant she was not only a persuasive leader, but that she was extremely clever.
Just because she’d sent Brigette out to cause chaos didn’t mean she didn’t have a dozen other attacks planned. He wanted to speak with Viper as quickly as possible so he could return to Styx’s lair. The Anasso was different from most leaders. He had no interest in personal power and detested being treated like a king, but he was fiercely protective of his people. If the aggravating diversions turned into mass causalities, he would go into the tunnels with guns blazing.
Figuratively and literally.
Brigette seemed equally anxious to reach their destination. Either because she wanted to discover his plan, or because she was ready to get back to the tunnels and get rid of him. He was hoping it was the first reason.
Minutes later, they reached the club, which was hidden behind a subtle glamour. Most humans would walk right past the brick building, which looked as if it was impatiently waiting to be condemned. As they stepped through the magical barrier, however, the full glory of the place was revealed.