The main room had two reclining chairs and a small stool that swiveled between them. The inside of the place was just as dingy as the outside: old linoleum floors, browned with age and filth, reflected the same decay and neglect as the surrounding buildings. The walls, once white, were yellowed from decades of cigarette smoke-the smell was pervasive. I'd felt a headache growing between my temples as soon as I'd entered the confined s.p.a.ce.

Black and white samples, detailing the various kinds of tattoos available, hung around the room haphazardly. My eyes fastened on a skull with a snake going through both eye sockets; then shifted to the image of a naked woman spread-eagled. At that tasteful image, I decided to stop looking. Steeling myself, I started down the hallway. The combined smell of smoke, alcohol and vomit was nearly enough to make me hurl, but I strode on, trying to avoid breathing.

So this is what I was destined for? This was the type of place I was going to have to hang out in, the types of people I'd now be dealing with? I didn't even have the wherewithal to feel sorry for myself. Instead, I reached the end of the hallway, which terminated into a closed door and I rapped on it with my knuckles.

The door opened, the sound of "Black and Yellow" by Wiz Khalifa pouring out of the small room in a flourish of ba.s.s. A woman stood before me; she was wearing nothing more than a tiny black g string and heels that were so high, she towered over me. Glancing down at them, I had to guess they were at least six inches. The woman had a rocking body-huge fake b.o.o.bs with a tiny waist that flared into curvy hips and long legs. Her face, though, was another story. Her nose was, in a word, generous, and her skin was wrinkled and sallow, hanging off her cheekbones as if all its elasticity was long gone. She looked like she'd been the inspiration for the phrase "rode hard and put away wet."

"Hi," I started as she eyed me from head to toe, smiling as she took in my leathers and matching jacket. I tried to see past her to count how many people were in the room in case I needed to protect myself, but she basically blocked my view.

"Hi yourself," she answered back in a high-pitched, seductive tone. She probably a.s.sumed I was another of Baron's playthings-my leathers being part of a costume. But the idea of s.e.x with Baron left me completely grossed out. I'd rather cut off my own arm ... with a b.u.t.ter knife.

"I'm here to see Quillan and Baron," I said quickly, cutting right to the chase. I wasn't in the mood to make small talk with a floozy.

She frowned at my less than friendly greeting, but was spared any further correspondence when Baron's loud voice bellowed out over the other voices and music, "Who is it, Dolly?"

She backed away as if to say "see for yourself," and I glanced around the dimly lit room. There were two old couches in the middle and a dartboard along the back wall. Baron emerged from behind a corner, probably the bathroom, if I had to guess. I saw a huge smirk on his ugly face and I scanned the room quickly, looking for Quillan. He wasn't anywhere to be seen.

"Ah, Dulcie f.u.c.kin' O'Neil," Baron said, with a sigh, like I was exactly where he wanted me. "The b.i.t.c.h responsible for making the last five years of my life ... difficult." He was putting it mildly. I'd single-handedly busted his a.s.s for multiple offenses and put him behind bars at least twice.

"Baron f.u.c.king Escobar," I answered, with one eyebrow arched, hinting at my pseudo-ennui. "Pleasure to see you too."

He laughed with a bellow that seemed to ricochet throughout the room. "It's always a pleasure seeing you," he began as he eyed me up and down. "It's the dealin' with you part that's a pain in my a.s.s." He had the overall look of a boxer-a wide, flat nose, a nose which had been broken numerous times in fist fights. His eyes were set so far apart, he looked sort of like a dolphin; and he had an enormous lantern jaw-like he was half dolphin, half pit-bull.

"Well we can't all be," I started and then glanced at Dolly who was hobbling back toward us, looking like she was about to trip over her stilts, "gracious."

Baron folded his beefy arms across his barrel chest and regarded me with a grin, making me dread whatever was going through his head. "Seems like your new name should be 's.h.i.tty Luck'."

I shifted my gaze from Baron to the three men who were standing around the dartboard, watching us curiously. As far as I could tell, there were four people in the room who might cause trouble. No, Dolly didn't count. And dammit all but where the h.e.l.l was Quillan? I should have just waited on the bike until he pulled up instead of presuming the white Camaro was his. Stupid me.

"Call my luck what you will, but my name is still Dulcie," I said icily.

Baron shook his head and the fake smile on his face melted away into an expression of anger. The look in his eyes was lethal. "You think you can just show up here like we're old friends or some s.h.i.t?"

Yep, things were starting to go downhill. And if Quill was planning on showing up, now would be a good time. I tried my best not to look ruffled in the slightest. "Look, Baron, I'm not here to cause trouble. Quillan told me to meet him here." I even backed away a few steps until I nearly b.u.mped into the s.l.u.t on stilts.

Baron peered behind him to what I a.s.sumed was the bathroom and nodded. As soon as he did, two men walked out with Quillan between them. So it wasn't a bathroom after all. 'Course, right now, I was more concerned with why Quillan was being restrained than the architecture of Ink. From the look of it, he hadn't been roughed up or anything, so at least that was a blessing.

"Dulcie," Quill said in a low, worried voice.

"What the h.e.l.l is going on?" I asked, looking at Quill and then Baron.

Baron took a few steps toward me and smiled as if he knew something I didn't. "The elf told me you were working with him now, for the Head of the Netherworld. That right?"

I nodded, but said nothing. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Quillan trying to disengage himself from the two weres holding him. He was unsuccessful.

"Baron, I told you the truth-Dulcie is working for us now," Quillan interjected, obviously nervous about where this situation was headed.

Baron didn't spare him a glance, but faced me, nodding as his eyes narrowed into another angry expression. "Well, we gonna have us a little hazing then. A welcome to our newest recruit."

I swallowed hard, not liking the sound of that at all. "What does that mean, Baron?" I demanded.

"Melchior won't approve," Quillan said from the corner of the room. It made me wonder if Baron was also aware that Melchior was my father.

"What he don't know won't hurt 'em," Baron answered, facing Quill with an expression that said Quillan better not say a word about it-to Melchior, or anyone else.

"No one touches her," Quill said, his voice razor sharp as he again attempted to unwind himself from the weres. But they had him and weren't letting go.

Baron faced me again, apparently uninterested in Quill's protests. "So you got two choices."

I nodded, but I didn't believe for a second that I was going to walk out of here untouched. Given the fact that I'd been Baron's enemy, I definitely had something coming to me. This wasn't a surprise. "And what are my options?" I asked, sounding unfazed.

Baron took the steps separating us and towered over me, grinning. I didn't step back, but held my ground, determined not to let him intimidate me. He leaned forward and gripped a handful of my hair, yanking my head back so I was forced to look up at him.

"I either beat the s.h.i.t outta you or screw the s.h.i.t outta you. Your choice." Then he sneered a wide and terrifying grin. "Screwin' you won't hurt so bad. You'll get to likin' it."

"Dammit, Baron!" Quillan yelled from the opposite side of the room, but I knew Quill had no authority here. No, if I wanted to be accepted into this band of thieves, I had to undergo punishment. I had to let them haze me in return for my arresting and convicting them. It was now a matter of quid pro quo, this for that. I had to overcome my past as an ANC Regulator who busted their a.s.ses mercilessly. I had to become one of them. I had to earn their trust.

But that said, there was no way in h.e.l.l this pig was getting inside of me. I held my jaw tight and glared at him. "I guess it's going to be a beating."

He pushed me away from him, obviously p.i.s.sed off by my decision. I could see Quillan straining with his opponents again but I knew my bed was made. I just hoped there wouldn't be too much damage to show for it. Yes, as a fairy I could heal myself with my magic but that didn't take away from the fact that this was going to hurt like a b.i.t.c.h. But I was ready.

Without any warning, Baron pulled his arm back and cold-c.o.c.ked me right across the face. My head flew back as I lost my footing and smashed against the floor, feeling the blow all the way to my toes. I took a deep breath and shook my head, trying to clear the stars before my eyes. I pushed up on my hands and leaned over, attempting to regain control of my body again. I could feel blood running from my nose and mouth. The viscous drops bled down my jacket front, pooling into a puddle of what looked like molten gold on the floor in front of me. I felt Baron's hands on both of my upper arms as he pulled me upright. I wavered a bit, but then held my ground, not at all looking forward to what else he had up his sleeve.

"Dulce! Are you okay?" Quill called, out, but I couldn't spare him a glance. Instead, I watched as Baron swung his arm from behind his head into my other cheek. The blow seemed to have a domino effect through my body and I felt my head spin, the upper half of me falling forward as the lower half gave out. I lost my balance and crumpled into a heap on the ground. A dull ache started behind my eyes and I closed them to ward away the pain, forbidding myself from blacking out.

"Enough!" Quillan yelled, but his voice was drowned out by the pounding of my heartbeat thumping between my ears.

Don't black out, Dulcie O'Neil, I told myself. Keep it together!

"Baron, that's fair!" I heard Quillan yell again. "You've hazed her enough!"

I forced myself into a sitting position and opened the eye that wasn't swollen shut, only to find Baron kneeling down next to me. He smiled an ugly and wide grin. Apparently he wasn't finished with me.

"You picked the wrong choice," he said gruffly, his eyes settling on my bust. Wasting no more time, he gripped my shirt and yanked me toward him. Then he pushed me down, none too gently. I closed my eyes again, feeling like I was fighting a concussion or something. But the feel of Baron on top of me snapped my eyes wide open, well, at least one of them.

"Nah, I picked the right choice," I managed to spit out, the salty taste of my own blood souring my mouth.

"To h.e.l.l with you," he exhaled into my face, his breath stale from cigarettes and alcohol. As I tried to clear the stars from my vision, I could feel his hands on the b.u.t.ton of my pants. Then I felt him unzipping them and attempting to pull them off my hips. My daggers! He gave me the perfect opportunity to go for them when he started unzipping his fly.

"Get off her!" Quillan yelled as he overpowered one of his captives. He punched the other one and dove for me. But the weres were on him in a split second, dragging him back to the far side of the room. Yep, this was my fight.

I reached my hands beneath my leathers and started shimmying them lower as Baron laughed enthusiastically, probably thinking I wanted the disgusting t.i.tan between my legs. When I had each dagger in hand, I waited for him to lower himself on me again. Then I acted, pulling the daggers up and out of my pants, until each was poised to impale both of Baron's b.a.l.l.s.

"Unless you want to become a eunuch, I suggest you get the f.u.c.k off me," I whispered with a groan, as if to say I wasn't kidding. There was shock on Baron's face, then anger in his eyes, but he saved his acorns and pulled away from me, retreating from whence he'd come.

I pushed away from him and stood up with some difficulty, sliding the daggers back into their straps as I pulled my pants up, pleased with the fact that only the very top of my black lace panties had been visible. I cleared my throat. "Do we or do we not have work that needs to get done?" I demanded, first facing Baron and then Quillan, as I wished the headache pounding between my temples would fade away.

Quillan smiled at me with an expression of relief. "We have much to discuss," he concurred.

I faced Baron and shrugged, still trying to catch my breath. "Well, what the h.e.l.l are we waiting for?"

He took a deep breath and motioned to the doorway, which I'd originally thought led to the restroom. "Ladies first," he grumbled.

I said nothing as I walked past him, shaking my palm until a mound of fairy dust emerged. Then I threw it over my head, the particles falling around me like a shower of glitter. I imagined my pain as well as the wounds themselves vanishing into nothing. After another second or so, during which time the dust settled onto my skin, I felt completely healed and back to being Dulcie.

"Dulce?" Quillan said from behind me. He placed a concerned hand on my shoulder as I turned to face him and smiled encouragingly. We walked over the threshold of the next room and I noticed it was much smaller than the first one. It had nothing but a table and four club chairs that looked older than I did, complete with cigarette burns in the brown Naugahyde. I took a seat and swiveled to face Quillan. "I'm okay, Quill."

He shook his head and seemed to be studying my face, as if making sure my magic had healed the swelling and bruises. Eventually he smiled at me, taking the seat beside mine. When he did so, he put his hand on mine and squeezed it.

Five.

Even though I was in the lion's den, I had to admit I was more than grateful to have Quillan right there with me. Despite whatever had happened in our past, he was now the only person I could trust-well, with regards to this mess, anyway. As far as working for my father went, Quillan was my only friend and I needed him now more than ever before.

I glanced around the table with a big gulp. Baron was sitting across from me, two of his men on either side of him and a burly-looking goblin who, I imagined, was probably his bodyguard, standing behind him.

"The shipment of Yalkemouth is comin' through tonight," Baron said with no emotion in his voice as he faced Quillan. He narrowed his eyes once he glanced at me, probably reminded of how close he'd come to losing his gibblies. I glared right back at him.

Yalkemouth was an illegal narcotic which had started picking up speed in the streets of Splendor earlier this year. It was concocted from the tiniest drop of dragon's blood mixed with sugar water to help the taste. In larger quant.i.ties, dragon's blood was liquid death to any Netherworld creature unfortunate enough to come across it. All the bullets provided to the ANC were made of dragon's blood. Not surprisingly, there had already been fifteen deaths reported from Yalkemouth overdoses.

Apparently the high from Yalkemouth was exactly that-high. The most common side effects were hallucinations of out-of-body experiences, whereby the victims would see themselves separated from their corporeal bodies and their "essences" (as they termed it) would simply float away. The victims, in an act of desperation, since their souls were about to have lots in common with errant kites, would try their best to hang onto their essence. However, once they realized they couldn't reach their souls on flat land, they would climb whatever they could find. This wasn't such a big deal if said victims were inside a house, for example, where most just toppled off their couches or kitchen tables. But if the victims happened to be outside ... Well, there had already been reports of deaths from creatures falling off bridges, buildings and rolling down the sides of mountains.

"Where is the shipment arriving?" Quill asked as he exhaled a pent-up breath that spoke of his anxiety. I looked at him and was suddenly struck by how much older Quillan looked than he should have. As an elf who could live well beyond two hundred years, at thirty-two, Quill shouldn't have had a single line on his face. But I could already see the frown lines in his forehead and the beginnings of crows' feet in the corners of each of his eyes. His previously shiny gold hair seemed lackl.u.s.ter now, with threads of grey weaving around his ears.

This obviously wasn't an easy life, which was all the more incentive to get out of it. And although I didn't have an escape route planned yet, I wasn't giving up. There was something inside me that refused to yield, something that was rallying, something increasingly p.i.s.sed off as the days went by. I just refused to do this forever-and to carry on with the likes of Baron and his entourage. But mostly I refused to give my father the satisfaction of knowing that I would bend to his will. As to figuring a way out, I just needed a little more time-I needed to clear my head and come up with a plan. But for now, that plan would have to wait.

"Loading docks," Baron answered as he started tapping his thick fingers against the surface of the table, which was worn in some places, stained in others.

"What time's it comin' through, boss?" the were at the right of Baron asked, chewing on one of his long, dirty fingernails. He had the general look of a were-big and burly with s.h.a.ggy, disheveled hair that looked as if it hadn't seen a shampoo bottle in decades. He had a longish beard and his teeth were yellowed from too much smoking, I guessed. All in all, he was totally gross.

"Tonight," Baron answered as his eyes fell on me, a trace of mirth visible in their dark black depths. It was almost like an untold challenge-he was testing me to see what my reaction would be-to see if I was nervous or anxious about my newfound role. Well, even though I was more than anxious, I wasn't about to let him know that.

"What time?" I asked, my face and voice revealing nothing. I'd not only taken his bet, but I'd doubled it.

He smiled slightly and dropped his gaze to my bust casually, but I knew better than to think he was being casual. No, he was reminding me how close he'd come to forcing himself on me. He was trying to goad me. I felt my blood begin to heat up and forced myself to calm down, and not to react because that's what he wanted from me.

"O dark thirty," he said, his eyes still fastened on my b.r.e.a.s.t.s.

I held his gaze. "You might want to be more specific." He glanced up at me and I dropped my attention to the table, as if I were looking at his nuts which had nearly been sliced from his body only a few minutes earlier. Two could play this game. "I mean, after midnight, but before sunrise isn't exactly b.u.t.toned down." I looked up at his face again. "Is it?"

He eyed me and his smile widened, as if he were turned on by my pretending to focus on his man appendage. "One a.m."

"Hey, Baron, how about you drop this game you're playing with Dulcie and give us the information about the shipment?" Quill demanded, his voice irritated and his eyes burning.

Baron said nothing, but cleared his throat, facing Quill. Apparently the charade was now over. I patted Quill's hand beneath the table to say thanks. He didn't face me, but squeezed my hand all the same. Yep, it was nice to know someone had my back.

"Melchior said there'd be fifty cases comin' through the loadin' docks," Baron said finally, his manner now strictly business. And when he said "the loading docks," I figured he meant the Yalkemouth would be traveling by way of portal from the Netherworld to Splendor, arriving the same way Quill and I had.

"And the dupe?" Quillan asked.

"There'll be five cases comin' through on a ship to the far west of the loadin' docks," Baron answered.

And now everything made sense. Melchior was sending out a decoy, which was meant for the ANC to find and bust. The five cases of Yalkemouth would be the ANC's bust, meanwhile the fifty cases from the Netherworld would slip in unnoticed.

"And I'm going to bust the dupe?" I finished hoa.r.s.ely, figuring out where this was going.

Baron glanced over at me and nodded, his eyes still on mine rather than my chest. Thank Hades. "You an' your ANC buddies can f.u.c.k around with bustin' Horatio and the five cases. You just keep them outta my bidness, got it?"

Horatio apparently was the hairy were sitting beside Baron because, at the mention of his name, he started grumbling something about getting beaten up again. Baron gave him a discouraging look and he shut up. And, really, he had nothing to worry about. Once we busted and imprisoned him, he'd merely be deported to the Netherworld where he'd probably just have to lay low for a few weeks. After that, Melchior would see to it that he was released to return to the crime ring. Basically it was like a revolving door, really just a hop, skip and a jump away from a walk in the park.

"What's the name of the ship?" I asked, realizing that was a necessary detail.

"It's a tanker called Alice," Baron finished. "It'll be pullin' in at one a.m. an' there ain't gonna be no more ships tonight, so you can't f.u.c.k it up."

As if I was going to f.u.c.k it up in the first place. I exhaled a frustrated sigh when something suddenly occurred to me. "How are you going to keep Trey from picking up on what's really going on?"

Trey could see glimpses of the future, his super power in the eyes of the ANC. Although half the time his gift couldn't delineate times or dates, or even locations, Trey's abilities were still an unknown that could seriously threaten the well-being of this plan. I mean, the last thing we needed was for Trey to get an inkling about the fifty cases of Yalkemouth on the opposite end of the loading docks. That would blow the plan all to h.e.l.l.

Baron waved me away with an unimpressed hand. "Melchior already took care of it."

I glanced at Quill with a question in my eyes. "What does that mean?"

Quill smiled down at me. "Melchior knows about Trey's gift. He has a witch in the Netherworld who magicks all the narcotic shipments to ensure there isn't any residue on them that Trey could pick up on."

I just nodded and thought this whole thing had been so well ch.o.r.eographed, so staged. What really struck me was that it had been this way for years. The entire time Quillan had been the head of the ANC in Splendor, this had been going on underneath my nose and I'd had no clue.

"You have access to the vault?" Horatio asked me.

Baron turned his full attention on me, and realizing what this meant, I immediately shook my head. "The only person who has access to the vault is Knight," I said staunchly. The only tip off I'd ever received that something unsavory was happening in the ANC was when I'd finagled my way into the vault. It was being used to warehouse the illegal potions we Regulators confiscated. Every week, cauldrons from the Netherworld would arrive, the sole purpose to destroy all the confiscated potions. When I broke into the vault (well, broke into it is a bit harsh, seeing as how Knight granted me permission), I immediately noticed that none of the potions had been destroyed at all. Later, I learned that Quill was redistributing them on the black market, something Baron was obviously interested in resuscitating-at least judging by the expression of curiosity in his eyes.

"Absolutely not," I reiterated, shaking my head. "I'd be found out in a second."

"She's right," Quill said as he viewed the room, as if to ensure that everyone a.s.sembled understood that this wasn't a good idea. "Vander's the only one with access. It would be too suspicious."

I stood up, after deciding I'd had enough. "So one a.m. tonight, Alice the tanker ship on the west end loading docks. Anything else?"

Baron glared at me as if he were annoyed that I was done with our little rendezvous since he hadn't announced "meeting adjourned." When he didn't say anything else, I pushed my chair out from underneath the table and started for the door, Quillan right behind me. "See you in three hours," I said.

"This is your night ta prove yourself, O'Neil," Baron called out to my exiting figure. I paused with my hand on the doork.n.o.b.

I turned around to face him and smiled a.s.suredly. "It's in my back pocket, a.s.shole," I said with as much disdain as I could muster before showing myself out.

"Watch it, Dulce," Quill said and sighed heavily.