Page 51 of Wicked Enemy

“Tell me what you need me to do, sir,” was what he at last settled on.

“I don’t know,” I admitted.

Firelight continued flickering over the metal map between us as we both just stood there in silence, staring at it. Helplessness whirled inside my soul, which tugged the insanity closer to the surface. Clenching my jaw, I forced it down again.

“What if we give him another healer?”

Shifting my gaze back to Shinji, I scowled at him. “What are you talking about?”

For a second, he hesitated, as if he was worried that I was going to punish him for what he was about to suggest, but then he drew in a breath and pressed on. “Killing a worldwalker is impossible. Even for someone as powerful and skilled as you. Because White could just disappear in the middle of a battle and reappear halfway around the world or right behind your unprotected back. But maybe we don’t need to kill him.”

I raised my eyebrows in silent question.

“I know you prefer to settle your scores, and killing White after what he did to our people is your first instinct,” he went on. “An eye for an eye, and all that. And normally, I agree completely. But we can’t afford to get blinded by the need for revenge. Not when we’re already in such a vulnerable position.”

Dread flickered in his eyes as he paused, as if he was waiting for me to strike him down for even daring to utter such words to me.

But all I said was, “Go on.”

Some of the tension disappeared from his body, and he drew his fingers through his straight black hair before continuing. “What if we made a deal with him instead? Because he doesn’t want Gemma specifically. He just wantsahealer. So what if we find him another healer and trade that person to him in exchange for him backing off from Gemma?”

I ran a hand over my jaw.

As much as I hated to admit it, Shinji was right. I wanted revenge, but in my current state, I couldn’t take down a worldwalker and still accomplish everything else I needed to do, like getting my people out of jail and taking over the entire south side. But if I made a deal with him, I would at least solve one of my countless problems right now. A problem that would allow me to bring Gemma back to Malgrave so that she could actually use her healing powers for my benefit, which was something that I would need desperately if I was going to survive everything else I had to do.

“Another healer, huh?” I said.

“Yes. The only problem is of course, how do we find the location of one?”

A sly smile spread across my lips. “Oh, I think I know just who to ask.”

* * *

The mouthwatering scent of fried street food drifted through the air as I approached the small wooden stall up ahead and the old woman selling stekta behind it. Colorful light shifted across the whole street as the oil lamps above swung on their wires.

It was a strange feeling, walking through the Entertainment District. Up and down every street I passed, people laughed and drank and enjoyed life as if nothing was wrong. As if my life hadn’t been turned upside down and left on the brink of ruin.

Shaking off the uncomfortable emotion, I closed the final distance to the food stall.

The woman behind it looked up and gave me a sweet smile, as if she had no idea who I was. Her gray hair that reached down to her shoulders and curled a bit around her face rippled slightly as she wiped her hands on her apron.

“What can I get you?” she asked, that kind smile still on her face.

“Information,” I replied as I stopped on the other side of the narrow wooden counter.

“Information?” She laughed. It was a light sound, full of disbelief. “I think you might have the wrong booth. I’m just an old lady selling stekta.”

I let a knowing smile curl my lips. “Did you really think that I don’t know exactly who and what you are, Maggie?”

A second passed. Then she dropped the sweet little old lady act, and that wickedly intelligent glint appeared in her sharp blue eyes as she chuckled.

“Well, I always knew you were a perceptive one,” she said before adding with a little more emphasis, “King of Metal.”

I glanced around me, but no one was close enough to overhear. Narrowing my eyes, I slid my gaze back to one of the most dangerous people in Malgrave. “Why did you pretend that you didn’t know who I was?”

“Why have you let me continue to sell information, which I make a lot of money from, on your territory without collecting the extra dues?”

“You pay me a percentage of your stekta sales, which is what your business is registered for. What you do in between is up to you.”

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