Whitechapel
Alex
I angled towards her, trying not to scoot further away. “Study Knight’s aura. If he’s rotten to the core, stand next to me. If he’s a decent fella, stand behind me.”
She nodded.
“Let me do the talking,” I said to Graves.
“As long as Knight returns what is mine, I’m happy to stay silent.”
Not what I wanted to hear.
We stopped at the edge of Whitechapel in a small square surrounded by low buildings.
The smell of blood wafted from a butchery and that of flowers from the flower shop.
A decrepit building leant against its neighbour as if tired.
Another stood tall and shiny with fresh paint.
That was Whitechapel—gore and beauty entwined.
Graves growled when Knight walked over to us, flanked by two werewolves. I wasn’t small by any means, but a fleeting sense of danger went through me. In a fight against him, I wasn’t sure I would win, and if Knight unleashed his inner wolf, he would grow even bigger and stronger.
Graves shifted his weight, his fangs making an appearance.
“Stop it.” I shot him a glare. “You aren’t helping.”
“Ravenhill.” Knight surveyed us with a keen look but didn’t linger on Graves. “You asked me to see you, and here I am.”
Irene stood behind me. At least Knight wasn’t a thug.
“After today’s meeting, I have a proposal. A collaboration with the Dark Court.”
Knight’s smile was all teeth and no joy and twisted the scar, making it more evident. “The Moon Court doesn’t need the Dark Court.”
“Is that so? You haven’t listened to my proposal. My mage Darius will help you control the spread of the rabies that has already killed a few members of your pack.”
Graves whipped towards me, his shock palpable. The men behind Knight muttered, losing their confident stances.
I continued, “After what Esmeralda told us, I suppose you’re eager to solve the situation as quickly and as discreetly as possible.”
Knight’s smirk died. “How do you know about the outbreak?”
I held up an impatient hand. “We help you, and Graves and his werewolves will get back their homes, and Esmeralda will be none the wiser.”
“There was a war, and Graves lost it.” Knight didn’t sound as assured as before.
“I’m not here to discuss whether those homes belong to you, but if you’re clever enough to accept my help for a price.”
He didn’t turn towards his men to ask their opinions. “Is your wizard strong enough to produce a safe and effective remedy?”
“Mage.” Darius thrust his chest out, basking in the attention. “I’ll stake my reputation on the success of my potions. No pun intended, Alex.”
Silence thickened. Only the sound of the heartbeats of the people around me reached me.
Knight gave a brief nod. “I want to see if the remedy works. If it does, Graves will have his bloody home back.”
I returned the nod. “It sounds fair.”
He stretched out his arm towards me, and Darius intervened, shaking his hand.
“We have a deal, Knight.” Darius didn’t allow the werewolf to get close to me.
He deserved a raise.
“Another thing.” I distracted Knight from trying to shake my hand. “We’re searching for a wizard who curses people. He forces them to turn into animals during the day. They return to humans at night. His name is either Sean Lewis or Johnny Riley. Does that ring a bell?”
He regained his boldness. “No, it doesn’t.”
I didn’t insist. “We’ll see each other soon.”
Knight swept his sharp gaze over us before leaving with his two bodyguards.
Irene started to talk, but I stopped her and nodded towards the carriage.
When we were inside, I checked that Knight and his men were gone and waited for the coachman to drive us out of the square.
“Knight has exceptionally good hearing.”
“He was lying.” Irene sat next to me. “When you mentioned the wizard, his aura changed shape and colour. He was frightened.”
I regarded her with awe. “Brilliant.”
Graves grumbled. “I didn’t know about the rabies. We didn’t need to make a deal with Knight. We should have waited for the disease to spread and do the work, or we could have struck him when he was weak.”
“You disappoint me, Graves.” I moved away from him. “Would you let children die?”
He stared at his hands. “No.”
“Helping Knight in a moment of need will make him feel indebted to me,” I said. “A werewolf duke ready to repay his debt will be useful.”
“I don’t care about politics.” Graves clenched a fist. “I care about bringing Knight down.”
“Unfortunately for you, I’m the duke, and politics is part of my job. You should understand. Your father was the Duke of the Moon Court.”
“My father would never have made a deal with Knight,” he said.
“And look what happened.”
He shot forwards to grab me, and panic silenced me. Darius intervened with a shimmering protective shield he conjured in front of me. There was a thud when Graves smacked against it.
The mage definitely deserved a bloody raise.
“You tricked me!” Graves was shaking with rage.
“You idiot.” I forced my voice out. “You wanted your home back, and that’s what you’ll get. I’ve always told you I wouldn’t go to war with Knight.”
“Coward.”
I pinched the bridge of my nose. “This is called common sense, which apparently isn’t very common.”
I remained tense even when he calmed down, but I wondered if I should apply my strategy to Graves as well.