“I am a prince of the two most formidable Houses in the realm,” he said. “You would do well to stay on my good side.”
The bastard had a good side? “I’ll keep that in mind when consulting my schedule.” Oops. It seemed my sarcasm was stronger than my will to live.
He dropped the paddle next to the board and walked away.
An invitation to the palace? I felt like Cinderella, except instead of a gown and glass slippers I’d be dressed in my finest armor with a cache of weapons tucked in all available crevices in case the prince got too frisky. I couldn’t possibly go to the palace and yet it seemed I was unable to refuse. If the Demon of House Duncan demanded your presence, you showed up or risked him coming to find you. I definitely wouldn’t want him angry when he tracked me down. I thought of how easily he snapped the selkie’s neck and discarded her like a broken toy. Prince Callan was notorious throughout the realm for his power and cold indifference to life.
Retrieving my sheath, I shivered, but it wasn’t because of the wind.
For the first time in many years, I was terrified.
5
I climbed the steps to my flat on the fifth floor that I affectionately referred to as the penthouse suite. The building itself was fairly rundown and maintenance never seemed to respond to the many requests, but it was in a prime location near the Euston train station and within walking distance to museums and the library, a place I liked to frequent. I was overdue for a visit. It wasn’t exactly a home away from home—the staff recognized me, but our conversations didn’t extend beyond pleasantries and the Dewey Decimal System.
I unlocked the door. It had been sticking lately, so I leaned my body weight against the edge to force it open. I spilled into the flat and nearly tripped over the red panda who was waiting patiently on the other side of the door. Red pandas were close to extinction and not native to the region. This one ended up coming home with me after a job involving a seller of endangered animals on the black market—for food.
“Hey, Big Red.” The name was a misnomer since he was no bigger than a domestic cat, albeit with a slightly longer body. I scratched his reddish-brown fur. “I bet you’re hungry.” Like the others, Big Red was always hungry.
Jemima clucked as she made her way across the living room floor to greet me. The Bantam hen’s diaper was droopy and I felt a stab of guilt. One of the reasons I resisted keeping a menagerie of animals was because…Well, the most important reason was because they violated the terms of my lease. I was allowed one pet and one pet only. The second most important reason was because I never knew how long I would be gone and I worried about leaving them too long. It couldn’t be helped though. Jobs took however long they took and I didn’t have the luxury of turning down work.
That particular thought stuck with me. Yes, I’d broken my own rule and turned down the prince’s offer but that was different. Working for vampires—for House Lewis, no less—was too risky. My life wasn’t worth the payout.
“I’ll change that diaper in a few minutes, Jemima. Let me sort out the food first.”
I sauntered into the kitchen where the rest of the crew awaited me. Their bellies were empty like clockwork. Hera, the calico cat, lorded over the rest of the animals even though she was the smallest. Her fierce attitude gave the illusion that she was much bigger. Her tri-color coat was the envy of the other animals. She was gorgeous and she knew it. She’d appeared outside the building a few years back during a brutal cold snap. I took pity on her and brought her inside. She never left.
The noise must’ve stirred Sandy from his slumber because the fennec fox appeared in the doorway, blinking and slightly disoriented. He tended to avoid the other animals, which was no small feat in a flat of this size. He acted disinterested in them, but I guaranteed if someone tried to mess with his flat mates, Sandy would be the first line of defense. When I met him, he was trying to take down a mischief of rats in Notting Hill. They’d backed him into a corner and he was not going down without a fight. I could’ve walked on by and let nature take its course, but his scrappy attitude compelled me to intervene. I thought he might turn on me the moment I finished clearing the path of rats. Instead he flicked those big ears and followed me home. I had no idea where he came from because he certainly wasn’t native to England, but Sandy was one of us now and he seemed content with that.
“It’s been quite a day,” I announced. “I’ll tell you about it as soon as we’re settled.”
In the living room, Herman bleated for my attention. Dissatisfied with the speed of my response, the black and white pygmy goat trotted over and pushed his horns against my side. I scratched behind his ear.
“Hello to you, too.”
I set to work filling bowls with food and water before a mutiny occurred.
“You’ll never guess what happened to me today,” I rambled. “I fought a selkie and a vampire.” I paused for dramatic effect. “Guess what else? This was no ordinary vampire. He’s the Demon of House Duncan. He’s so terrible that his own father sent him to live as a member of House Lewis.” Not that King Casek was a lovable lamb. The ruler of House Lewis was fearsome in his own right and the only reason Callan was sent to live here was to pay penance for past aggressions. The offering of the only son and heir was a show of good faith that the Highland king would behave.
I fell silent and let everyone enjoy the contents of their respective bowls in peace and quiet. No one wanted my voice as the soundtrack that accompanied their meal.