Page 53 of Evil Eyed
“Ye bleedin’ idjits!” Doran roared, slinging his chair aside so hard it exploded into a pile of kindling. “I’m the greatest warrior at this table. The curadmír is mine!”
“I don’t need to draw the Sword of Light to cut through that lie,” Ivarr yelled back.
Keane hopped up on top of the table, flamethrower on his hip. “I’ll roast you all back to Tír na nÓg.”
:Now.:
Warwick pressed the hag stone to my eye. Magic billowed all around me, cascading translucent rivers that showered us with brilliant sparks. I avoided looking at anything except the table directly in front of me, though I had to blink several times to focus my eyes. There was so much magic involved in this so-called feast. I had to pull back thick layers one by one like an onion, each layer tougher. Nastier. Like trying to wipe away sludge that blended to feces to something even worse.
Crispy pig skin flickered to red hair. I leaned closer, running my hand over her, helping to break the illusion. Vivi lay on her stomach, appropriately hogtied, with an apple gagging her. Her makeup had smeared and run all over her face from her tears, but as far as I could tell, she was unharmed, at least physically. I slipped the tip of the heavy blade beneath the ropes binding her wrists to her ankles. As soon as I got one hand free, she reached up and yanked the apple out of her mouth.
Sobbing, she scrambled up toward me. Dropping the hag stone back against my chest, Warwick helped me get her down off the table. I pressed her behind me, holding the knife up before me.
Keane kicked the strange floppy meat sack that had disguised Vivi off the table. “No one has left your table satisfied, Evil Eye. Thus there has been no hospitality. You failed.”
Lounging in his chair at the head of the table, Boss Man somehow still managed to look amused. “Such a shame, Cauldron. I could have accomplished much with your magic. And you, mighty Sword of Light. Even the darkest fae can make use of the gift of truth.”
“Only when it serves you, twisted and corrupted to your cause,” Ivarr replied. “You can’t face my truth. That’s why you always make sure I die before I get too close.”
“Indeed, you all die so easily. It’s become rather boring. I had such high hopes this time around. After all, you have a treasurekeeper finally worthy of the magic that first brought you together. Do you even know what you are yet, sweet Riann?”
I grimaced at the fake sugary sweetness in his voice. It was almost as bad as when Jonathan had called me honeybun. “I do.”
He shook his head. “I think not, or you wouldn’t be standing here debating the life of one pitiful human, four washed-up warriors who’ve lost every battle they’ve faced in thousands of years, and one greedy leprechaun who can’t see beyond the glint of his gold.”
“I beg your pardon.” Warwick sniffed loudly and tossed his head, making his hair flutter about us. “Aidan could definitely use a bath, but I think about quite a lot of things other than gold.”
Aidan grunted. “Like how good it was to treasuremo stóron top of your bar.”
“Exactly,” Warwick replied in unison with the other treasures.
I laughed, keeping my voice light as I backed Vivi further away from the table. “Well, you are pure gold in your pants.”
“I weary of this game,” Boss Man said with a sharper edge to his voice.
“So do I,” I shot back. “It’s time for you to keep your word.”
He chuckled, but it wasn’t a sound of amusement. The harsh tone jangled my nerves, making me wince deep inside. As if I’d accidentally bitten down on a piece of metal on a raw nerve. Chills raced down my arms and my hands trembled.
“My word? You want me to keep my word? Are you quite sure, treasurekeeper?”
The edge of his laughter cut sharper, deeper, increasing that sense of wrongness and raw twinges of nerve pain through my body. “Yes, I want you to keep your word. You said if I came to Dún Bhalair that you would explain everything. You wouldn’t kill us, and you would let Vivi go.”
“I never said that she would be free to go. I promised that Viviana would remain unharmed.”
“Do you call being bound on the table like a roasted pig waiting for someone to cut you open unharmed?” I retorted.
He huffed out another vicious laugh that stole my breath like a slap of icy wind. “Iwould not have been the one to harm her, so I am absolved of any harm that may befall her. You disappoint me, treasurekeeper. I thought you would be more intellectually challenging.”
“Same, actually.”
His laughter cut off and his eyes narrowed. “Perhaps I was wrong. Perhaps you’re as big a fool as Slaughterer.”
I nodded, inclining my head toward Aidan. “I count that as a compliment, but you’re the fool, Evil Eye. Did you think we wouldn’t see through your thinly-veiled hospitality ruse? How about that so-calledveilyou so carefully parted for us? Or the giant, tacky, very fake replica castle you call home?”
He shrugged and flashed a magnanimous smile of too-sharp teeth. “So you’ve passed a few of my tests. I assure you that there are many more ahead.”
“Enough.” Doran’s voice thundered. “You’ve taunted us long enough. Allow the women to leave and let the battle begin.”
