Dirty Lying Sirens

Chapter Nine

Caspian

Maddie was safely at the bar, enjoying some concoction of chocolate cake and wine while our contact approached. His shaggy orange hair and matching beard stood out against his green and black flannel shirt. His eyes looked as though they had seen a great number of years beyond what his physical appearance would assume, and he carried himself with an all-encompassing air of confidence. He strode through the Port and Mast without a care to anyone looking his way, heading straight for our table with a knowing stare.

He stopped at the end of our table, looking between me and my cousin for a long moment before pulling a chair out with one booted foot and sitting down.

"You lads are persistent, you know that?" he asked.

Nikkos exchanged a look of worry with me and I poured our guest a glass of the wine, scooting it to the mercenary while keeping my eyes on him.

"If we came off as persistent it's only because of how notable your skills are, Gavin," I offered. "When I heard you were in North America I knew we had to reach you."

Gavin nodded, eyeing the wine for a moment before knocking it back in one go. Nikkos made a choking sound, probably internally screaming at the treatment of an expensive vintage, but Gavin just set the empty glass aside and stared me down. "I was here visiting a friend. You're lucky the witching network could get ahold of me at all. I don't pay them much mind as they aren't on good terms with someone I care about."

"Then it's fortunate for us the message got through," I said. "You have an impressive record of finishing difficult jobs, and what we ask might be very difficult."

He scratched his chin under his thick beard, eyes narrowing on me as he was clearly assessing both me and my cousin. "You've got me here now," Gavin said as he leaned forward. "I suggest you get to the point."

I could feel Nikkos's foot bobbing up and down under the table, only his toes connected to the floor in a nervous tick of his. I couldn't blame him, this man radiated intent and skill. In all the political and mental games Dimitris played that made him dangerous, Gavin was dangerous in a very physical way.

"I'll get straight to it then. My people are seeking an artifact, and I believe it's a vampire relic of power."

Gavin raised one thick eyebrow, crossing his arms as he leaned back in his chair. "I don't know what you've heard about me, but those cunts don't like me much. There'll be no waltzin' in and borrowing great-granny's teacups or whatever the fuck you're after."

"They don't like anyone, and your chances are much better than mine to locate such an item," I answered.

Gavin nodded slowly, a smile spreading across his face that was both eager and unsettling. "Aye, so they don't. Tell me one thing first. When you say your people need this item . . ." he trailed off, leaving me to fill in the blank.

And it was a risk to tell him anything. Few in the supernatural world still knew of Atlantis as more than a legend, and if I had my way I'd keep it that way. But it was a calculated risk from Dimitris himself, and there was no arguing with him once he'd made up his mind.

"My people, in Atlantis." I kept my eyes on the mercenary's face, watching carefully for any tells of surprise, greed, suspicion, anything. But he kept his expression too well trained because it revealed nothing. My heart was in my throat with the gamble, but now that it was out in the world there was nothing I could do about it.

"So, you bastards really are out there. I wondered as much," he murmured. "And what relic could you possibly want from the leeches?"

I shared a look with Nikkos, who pulled out a scrap of paper from his coat. It was a copy, exact as we could make it, from an old tome in Atlantis. Intel that our ancestors kept on other kingdoms in the lost worlds millennia ago. Possibly forgotten by all but ourselves, and the owners of the relic.