‘Failure carries the same outcome as refusal.’

Figured. ‘What if I am not capable of the task, let’s say if I am asked to stirand casta simple spell, which is impossible for me to do’ – and wouldn’t my life beso much easier if that wasn’t true –‘would that be classed as failure?’

‘The task is one you are known to be capable of.’

Which sort of narrowed it down to absorbing, cracking, or seeingwhen it came to magic. Or ripping the gnome’s heart out and stomping on it. Only I didn’t think I was going to get that lucky. ‘What happens to me, and that which the Forum has taken, if I succeed?’

The gnome opened his mouth, then closed it and glanced over at the Emperor. Obviously I wasn’t expected to worry about succeeding. I doubted many did. But I’d got Viviane’s heads up about the Forum’s nasty punchlines.

The Emperor lifted one finger then leaned forwards, raking me with his alien look. I suppressed a shudder. ‘If you succeed, Genevieve Nataliya Zakharinova,’ he said softly, ‘the lot corresponding to my coin tendered will be returned to you.’

Way too unspecific. ‘Will the lot be returned in the same physical, psychic, emotional, mental and magical health as when the lot was taken?’

His left eyelid twitched; almost a flicker of impatience. ‘I cannot give you an absolute answer to your question.’

Fuck. What had they already done to Katie and Freya? Don’t think about that now. Keep stalling.‘Will the lot be returned in the same physical, psychic, emotional, mental and magical health as the lot is now, with a guarantee of no harmful ramifications arising in the future to the lot, the lot’s nearest and dearest, or to me?’

He stared at me unblinking for a long minute then mild interest sparked in his flat green eyes. It turned my gut liquid with terror and made me want to run away and hide. The only time I’d seen something scarier was the demon last Hallowe’en. I forced myself to keep meeting his gaze.

‘I would be a fool to guarantee a lot’s emotional health,’ he said in his soft voice. ‘But I will guarantee that the Forum, which includes all who are a permanent part of it, but not those who are peripheral, will not intentionally change the physical, psychic, mental and magical health of the lot, from the point of your surrendering my coin until that time when your task is completed. If you succeed, I will further guarantee that no harmful ramifications will arise in the future to the lot, the lot’s nearest and dearest, or to you from the Forum.’

As he finished speaking, I made a pretence of studying the dead grass in my circle. His guarantee was about as good as I was going to get. Better than usual really, since it appeared to nix the Forum’s future deterrent. Though the fact he was prepared to give it was scary in itself. He really wanted me to do his ‘task’. It also meant I couldn’t stall any longer. Except—

‘One last thing,’ I said. ‘I want you to tell me how to find that which is lost, and how to join that which is sundered, to release the fae’s fertility from the pendant and restore it back to them as it was before it was taken.’

The Empress stiffened. The Emperor made a choking sound. It took me a moment to realise he was laughing. ‘If you believe I have the answer you require, Genevieve Nataliya Zakharinova, you have been misinformed.’

I froze. He didn’t know? But he had to. He was the Emperor. The tarot cards— I hadn’t been misinformed. I’d been played for a fool. As had Tavish. Viviane had somehow lied, despite the cards being sidhe-made. Fuck. If she thought I’d burn her cards and set her free now—

Unseen fur brushed against my cheek telling me Gold Cat was finally back, reminding me Viviane’s fate could wait. After all, I’d got her cards in my back pocket; she wasn’t going anywhere.

An Unseen head nudged my shoulder; Gold Cat had been successful. Relief washed over me, making me dizzy. I swallowed back the fear closing my throat and stood, hands cupped behind my back, feeling her whiskers tickle my palms as she carefully spat out what she carried.

I composed my words, sent another prayer to the gods and held out my fisted left hand to the Emperor.

‘I return to you your coin. I agree to perform your task. And when I succeed, you will return that which the coin is payment for under the guarantee you have offered.’

The Emperor treated me to his alien stare, then nodded. ‘Agreed.’

A small chime sounded, startling me. I hadn’t intended making a sidhe bargain, but looked like the magic was taking an interest in proceedings. Well, I’d just have to suffer whatever the consequences turned out to be; then, as a perplexed line appeared above the Emperor’s hawk-like nose, I felt a grim satisfaction. Whatever happened, he’d suffer some sort of consequence from our bargain too, and, if there was any justice, by my hand.

‘A sidhe bargain. It will suffice.’ The Emperor lifted his finger again. ‘Come, Genevieve Nataliya Zakharinova. Give me my coin. Then we shall begin.’

The etched silver and copper chain was swallowed by the earth, and the circle broke with an audible pop.

I strode forward, lifted my hand up and slapped it on the shoulder-height stage, quickly spreading the gold coins (slimy from the Gold Cat’s mouth and my sweat) into a ragged line.

Ten gold coins.

Dismay filled me. She’d missed two, or their owners hadn’t wanted to give them up.

I took a breath. With the empty chain circle, three lots weren’t included in my deal. Fuck.

‘You said coin.’ It was the Empress who spoke.

I looked up. She was frowning, and the gnome was watching avidly. I hadn’t a clue what the shadowy bidders could see, but the blankness of the Emperor’s face told me he understood what I’d done. But hey, his problem if he didn’t bother to clarify the semantics of the deal.

‘Yep, coin,’ I agreed, pushing the ten gold coins back into a heap. ‘What’s the task?’

Chapter Fifty-Nine

It took a few minutes for the imperial pair to vacate the stage, along with a guard of vamp centurions and three tongue-lolling wolves. Then, with the Empress holding the black wooden box like it was about to explode, we all trooped to a large tent half-hidden in the lee of the stage. The tent’s sign said: ‘Green Room – authorised personnel only’. At the entrance, the imperial pair turned and barred the way, and I had an errant idea that maybe I wasn’t ‘authorised personnel’. But the churning in my gut told me I wasn’t going to be that lucky.

The Emperor held a hand up, one finger pointing towards the sky. Did anyone else have the urge chop his damn finger off, or was it just me? I swallowed back a hysterical snort and told myself to get a grip. As on cue, the Empress adjusted her white-knuckled hold on the black wooden box, opened it and held it so I could see the contents. A knife lay in the black velvet interior; shiny silver blade, twisting horn handle with a teardrop of amber embedded in its end. The hair on my nape stood up as I recognised it.

‘Genevieve Nataliya Zakharinova.’ The Emperor fixed me with his alien gaze. ‘This is Janan, Beloved of Maluk al-Maut, the Bonder of Souls. Forged by the northern dwarves from cold iron and silver, tempered in dragon’s breath, with a handle carved from a unicorn’s horn and set with a dragon’s tear.’

‘Yeah,’ I said flatly. ‘I know what it is.’ Though not how you got it out of hell . . .unless it hadn’t gone there with the demon at Hallowe’en. Which meant someone had snagged it then and kept it until now. I had a choice of someones, but as most were dead, or wouldn’t have known what Janan was, only two counted. One was Tavish, but it wasn’t him; no way would he let Janan fall into the vamps’ clutches. The other was Malik. I didn’t like where that thought was taking me, so I didn’t follow it.