“Welcome. I’m to understand meeting here is not how it’s usually done? You’ll come under no harm while under my roof for the duration of this visit, unless you bring harm yourselves.”

  Dion smiled, “Well said, and thank you for the welcome.”

  Darren nodded as well, the woman just looked at me speculatively, as if I was a puzzle to be solved.

  “My name is Shawn, I understand you’re Darren, Dion, and I’m afraid I don’t know your name miss?”

  She replied almost reluctantly, “Karen.”

  The room was still so… uncomfortable. Barely restrained violence seemed to hang in the air.

  “I assume the matter that brought you here is of some importance? Maybe we should skip directly to the reason of your visit?”

  Darren nodded, “To get right to the point. We’d like to offer you the same treaty we had with the last Moore warlock.”

  Dion added, “With a couple of conditions.”

  Damn, I wish I’d read the treaty section in Sal, I had no idea what that treaty was, I hadn’t been expecting this so soon. I saw Lilliana give a subtle nod, and decided I’d trust her, rather than look ignorant. However, the amused look in Karen’s eyes, which were still studying me, clued me in that at least one person knew my dilemma.

  “What stipulations?” I asked, not sure what else to do.

  Dion nodded at Darren, “We have a problem. There is a rogue vampire out there killing shifters. There is already a provision in the treaty with us that states you would be the one to step in, to prevent war between vampire and shifter kind. Truthfully, a warlock has the best chance of stopping it sooner rather than later.”

  “So…”

  Dion smiled, “Well, we want you to take care of it before the treaty will be active between us. Sort of a… test you could say. After all, if you can’t live up to your end of the treaty, there is no point in signing it. We will give you until this time tomorrow to do so.”

  That seemed almost reasonable, if insulting. Then again, if the rogue was anything like Lilliana, I wasn’t sure I was ready to be hunting down and ending him.

  “And the second?” I asked curiously.

  Dion frowned, “I knew your predecessor for a long time, hundreds of years. We were never friends, but close allies. I’m concerned about repeating history. Not as much as Clarissa obviously, his actions were not yours, but you see my point? Warlocks eventually crave power over all other considerations, and ultimately betray, even a treaty. It may take two hundred years, or a thousand, but it is inevitable.”

  I… what the hell could I say to that?

  I glanced over at Malina, and then almost jumped, but somehow managed not to betray the fact that her voice just talked in my head.

  Malina sent, “It is inevitable, there is only one way to prevent it. A pact.”

  A pact. Right, if they desire that I don’t betray them, and it’s part of a pact, no matter how power hungry I got, I couldn’t betray them without shooting myself in the foot so to speak. But what kind of pact, and I doubted they’d ever agree.

  Malina sent reluctantly, “A pact doesn’t have to include a soul transaction, think of something.”

  I pondered that for a moment, it was hard to think of anything, especially since I didn’t know what was currently in the treaty.

  I smiled, “I think I might have a solution, but I need to check on something. Can you excuse me for a moment?”

  Darren said, “Of course,” but I could see Karen’s eyes laughing at me.

  Why was I so obsessed with what Karen’s gorgeous green eyes were doing?

  I nodded and retreated, and then moved quickly downstairs, Malina came with me. I brought up the treaty, and luckily there was only one, apparently signed by the two men up there, and my uncle. It was also about five pages long. I read fast, and hoped I didn’t miss anything.

  First was a mutual defense clause, if a coven, pack, or warlock tried to move in and take over Chicago. That clause didn’t include mages, or the mages here in the city. I had to assume they both, or at least one of them, had a treaty with the mages, so couldn’t sign one with me. I also got the idea that the mages were the group I really needed to look out for, not that I could fully trust vampires or shifters.

  The second clause was that I kept demons from harassing the vampires and the shifters. I could only assume this was the clause that made me in charge of going after a vampire rogue, but that seemed pretty thin, since the human possessed would be in charge, not the animalistic demon. Maybe my uncle had just liked them and wanted to stop them from tearing apart the city in a war.

  The third clause was weighed in my favor, as I could ask for their assistance if independent vampires or shifters targeted me.

  The fourth was a do not list. Do not mess with any of the three groups hierarchy, or how they pass on power, or internal politics. In other words, if I hate Dion, I can’t help another vampire take over their coven. Same for the wolves and all other shifters. That also counts for my family and heirs, which explains why only the mages were taking those steps, and not the whole community. There was also something in here about none of the three groups, me counting for one whole group, that none of us were to seek ascendency over each other. Meaning this is where my uncle betrayed the treaty when he decided to try to rule the city.

  “Lina, can I just make this treaty a pact?”

  Malina nodded, “You could yes. If they agree.”

  I sighed, and nodded. If they agreed, and then betrayed the contract itself, their soul would be forfeit to Malina as my patron. I stood up and walked over to her, and pulled her into a soft, nibbling, and exploratory kiss. She melted against me and moaned into my mouth. When I broke the kiss she smiled up at me.

  “What was that for?”

  I smiled, “Just because I had to kiss you,” and then I headed back up the stairs and returned to our guests.

  When I got close I heard Dion talking, probably on the phone. He was reassuring a Christabel that he was safe and just fine. I walked back into the room and waited until he hung up.

  I nodded, “There is a way of course. We could make the treaty itself a pact. I’d be incapable of betraying that. Of course, if you betrayed it, your soul would be in jeopardy, but not if you followed it.”

  Darren looked really uncomfortable with that, and Dion was a mystery, he had on a poker face. Karen, whom I’m not even sure why she was here, looked shocked by the suggestion. I kind of just let it sit out there a while.

  Dion finally responded, “Explain exactly what you mean?”

  I shrugged, “The treaty would be a pact, I would use my magic and we would agree on the treaty. A pact is something I couldn’t betray, I’d be betraying myself. It’s a valid pact, because all three of us get something we want, and there are no souls involved, so when you die, or when I die, the pact will be over, and will need to be redone with whoever comes next.”

  Dion asked, “And if I go back on the treaty? I won’t of course, I just want to understand.”

  I nodded, “That’s a wise stance to take. It’s an infernal pact, if you don’t keep your word, you forfeit your soul to that beauty over there,” Malina winked at me, “and that’s all there is to it.”

  Darren asked, “And if Dion betrays the pact and attacks me, and I fight back?”

  I smiled, “You’d be fine. Once the pact is broken by one, it’s void for the other two.”

  Dion asked, “And if you betrayed the pact?”

  I shook my head, “Never happen, but if I was ever insane enough to do so, and not incidentally betray my patron by doing so, I imagine she’d pull out all my innards with hot hooks, just as a way to get started. No gentlemen, any pact I make will be inviolate for me.”

  Malina smiled and clapped her hands together, “What a marvelous idea.”

  It was my turn to wink at her. Even if I was a little disturbed. But then, the whole torturous idea had been mine. I had no one to blame but myself for her girlish delight of hot hooks and my guts.

  Dion cleared his throat, “Very well, I am willing to do so, if you take out that rogue.”

  Darren frowned, “What happens if one of my own go rogue and kills a vampire? Technically, that would violate the treaty.”

  What was life without risk? No, joking would be a bad idea. I explained instead.

  “The pact would be between the three of us, as long as that rogue was dealt with, and was not sent by your orders, it wouldn’t be violated. Let me be clear, intent matters. If you drop hints, or are wishful that someone would do that, it’s a different story.”

  Darren shook his head, “I can’t do it then. Sorry Dion, but I want to tear you to pieces all the time. I resist, but you know it’s in my nature.”

  Dion nodded slowly, not even acting shocked or objecting to Darren’s statement.

  “What if the three of us just sign the treaty, and work out a pact in some other way. Just between you and I. You promise me you won’t break the treaty, and I give you something you want, and not my soul by the way.”

  I said slowly, “That sounds fair. Let’s do this, I assume you have a treaty with you now?”

  Dion nodded.

  “Let’s add that proviso now at the bottom, to kill the current rogue, and then sign. I’ll go out and kill the rogue, and the treaty will be valid from that moment on right? Then give me a little time to decide, I’m not going power hungry anytime soon. The problem is, I have no idea what to ask you for once I have the treaty. Unless you have a suggestion?”

  Dion shook his head, “No, it’s wise to wait anyway, if you can’t hold up your end, there is no point in a pact if the treaty never happens. I’ll give you some time to decide what you want from me.”

  He pulled out a sheaf of papers, and we sat down at the small table. I took the time to look through it, and it was an exact duplicate of what I read in Sal earlier, except that last proviso, so I signed it and passed it over. I signed three times in total, and we each had a copy.

  I had it in the bag, except of course, now I needed to hunt down a rogue in the next twenty-four hours, and I had no idea where to start. It wasn’t all bad though, I thought I knew the right questions for Sal to find those answers. We all stood and I walked them to the door.

  Darren said, “Stop by at this address,” and passed me a card, “You’ll need to see the remains of the shifter the rogue killed.”

  I nodded, like I knew what the hell he was talking about, and had one more complication as I let them out. What the hell was Karen doing here? All she’d done was watch and study me.

  “Karen, will you stay a moment more?”

  She nodded reluctantly, and the four of us watched Dion and Darren leave.

  I asked, “Something to drink?”

  I’d have offered them all something earlier, but I wasn’t really sure how to handle that in Dion’s case, so I’d decided to just avoid the issue until I talked to Lilliana.

  She replied in a pleasant tone, “Yes, please.”

  We walked back into the den together, and I looked at Lilliana, and she glared at me, though I wasn’t exactly sure why.

  Malina snickered, “Water, soda, or something alcoholic?”

  “Water’s fine,” she said once more in a very pleasant tone.

  I hadn’t heard Karen talk much, but her voice had an attractive lilt to it.

  Malina headed out and the two of us sat down at the table, Lilliana chose to stand and obviously didn’t trust the mage. That’s when I realized why Lilliana had glared at me, she just didn’t want to get the drinks and leave me alone with a strange mage woman. I supposed I should have thought that through better.

  I asked rather bluntly, “I was just wondering why you joined us is all. What do you want?”

  She studied me again, intently, as if judging me somehow. I didn’t detect any magic so she wasn’t casting a spell, so I just waited. Finally, I guess she saw something in me that made her decide. Malina came back in and handed her a water, which she sipped a couple of times before starting.

  Karen said softly, “Please be a little patient, it’s a long story as to why I’m here…”

  I almost smiled, if there was one thing I could do, it was listen to her voice for a long time.

  “The mages, as a group, have grown weaker over the last thirty years, and unstable as a result, corrupt.”

  Lilliana snorted loudly and Karen turned and shook her head before continuing.

  “Oh, we are still strong, but it’s all wrong and backwards. Clarissa took the head council seat which gave her the power to run things many years ago. It was about thirty years ago things seemed to change. I don’t know exactly what happened, I wasn’t born then, but something caused her to change how things are done.

  “In the past, power determined leadership, and she’d fought off several challengers. Perhaps thirty years ago she almost lost? I’m not sure, but she changed the laws at that point, and challenges are no longer a valid way to determine one’s place. When she made those changes, it all sounded high minded and like a good way to go, she’d argued that power doesn’t necessarily equal intelligence, and this would give smarter but weaker mages the opportunity to hold council seats and guide us into the future.

  “In other words, she gave everyone a line of political bullshit.

  “The truth is back room deals, trading, and blackmail have become the new standard. As a result, Clarissa was able to fill up the council with people who just blindly follow whatever she wants, as long as she continues to scratch their back, or holds her tongue on whatever blackmail she has on them. As a result of this, the strongest, who incidentally are usually the smartest, we are not human after all, serve at the whims of the foolish.

  “I was fired today, or at least suspended indefinitely, and apparently there’s going to be an investigation. All because she needs some patsy to take the fall for her, and a stooge’s son, as to why you’re still alive. I’m also convenient because my family isn’t important, and I have a little too much power for them to feel good about.”

  Lilliana broke in, “How is that his problem? The mages have always been the one to take shots at the Moore warlock. It’s always your race that tries to end him, or creates problems. The vampires and shifters aren’t exactly friends, but they are smart enough to use him and leave well enough alone.”

  Lilliana had a good point, but then this wasn’t really about the mages right now, it was about why Karen was here. Still, I kept my silence, curious how she would answer.

  Karen shook her head, “But don’t you get it? If Clarissa hadn’t become a paranoid backstabbing bitch with nothing but dogs on the council, she never would have gotten permission to assassinate the entire Moore family. The mages being corrupt is exactly your problem, and why the Moore legacy hangs on the last heartbeat of one man.”

  I asked, “So what’s to stop a bunch of you more powerful unimportant mages from dethroning Clarissa?”

  Karen sighed, “It’s been tried twice. Even though most of the council is weaker, Clarissa is very powerful, and with all those other circled with her she is formidable. Plus, she controls the wards in the building which gives her an even greater edge. We’d need to gather many people to overcome that. The two times it was tried, they were betrayed by one of the conspirators and led into a devastating trap.

  “My plan had been to simply wait out her death, and then try to fix it from within, but I couldn’t even last a few years inside without coming afoul of those politics. Which I guess is at the heart of what brings me here. I thought… I don’t know what I thought. I felt betrayed, and decided to see if I could find a place somewhere else. You seem like an honorable man, and from what I understand I’ll be dead long before you go crazy.”

  I smirked, nice.

  She’d sounded a little lost there at the end, so much so that I felt the urge to try and comfort her, but I pushed that feeling down ruthlessly. I was guessing it was also why she’d been studying me so hard today, probably to see if I was worth jumping ship on the mages. Either that, or it’s all a scam to put her in a place to betray me, but I didn’t think it was. Clearly though, Lilliana was skeptical at best. Still, what would it gain her to join my side, at best she’d be one of a few, and separated from her kind.

  Then I had a crazy idea, and I wondered if part of my thinking was from my other head. She was very attractive to me, and obviously vulnerable. A perfect cocktail to bring out that hero complex that Malina said I had. I thought it through carefully, and although my idea was nuts, it almost addressed every single issue I currently had.

  Including a highly personal one.

  I said carefully, “It sounds like you’re here because you no longer have a place at the mages, and feel you don’t belong anymore. I don’t think you would be happy serving me and my house, no matter how favored or well treated you’d be among the few who are here.”

  Lilliana visibly relaxed, and I almost smiled. She was being premature.

  When Karen had digested that, and looked a little crestfallen, I continued, “I do however have an idea, and would like to work with you toward a goal. Something for both of us.”

  Lilliana tensed again, and I did smile this time, couldn’t help it.

  Karen frowned, “An idea?”

  I nodded, “I will never trust Clarissa, and she has a good amount of years left. Perhaps her open war on my family is over, but I don’t care for the idea of dodging her assassins for the next thirty years, which seems to be the ongoing habit for the mages in this town.”

  Karen’s eyes widened, “Are you suggesting you would help me replace her?”

  “Yes. It would take time before we were ready of course, I have a lot to learn. In that time, you could find a home here. When we are ready, we will take out Clarissa, and her corrupt toadies, and let you rebuild mage society as it used to be. Of course, I’d essentially be making the mage society stronger, and handing you power over them for perhaps a century to come, I’d need something in return. Something just as large as the favor I’m talking about.”