Chapter 2 A Deal to Remember #2
Victor dismissed him with a casual wave of his hand. “Thank you, but we can dispense with formalities tonight.”
The guard hissed but retreated as commanded. Victor took another sip of his drink, wincing like he didn’t like the taste before speaking again.
“Mr. Blackthorne, I need you to find someone.”
It took all of my willpower not to roll my eyes. Yeah, no shit.
I cocked an eyebrow, waiting for him to continue.
“A witch omega has stolen something priceless from me. The deal is for you to find her and bring her back—alive, untouched, and unharmed—within ten days. For every day sooner that you can get her here, I’ll pay an additional one hundred thousand runics.”
I lit up at this. A majority of my bounties took less than a week to procure anyway, and the total rewards were way less than just his incentive. I could make some serious money, here.
“How much is the base payment?” I asked.
“Five million runics.”
I caught my gasp before it escaped my lips. Five million with a possibility for hundreds of thousands more wasn’t just enough to take some time off, it was enough to retire on.
“But only if she is brought back alive, do you understand? I wish to… punish her myself for her crimes.”
I nodded, trying not to appear too eager. That stipulation wasn’t too unusual.
“So what’s the catch? What did she steal?”
He bared his teeth at me, his power leaking into the air. “That is none of your concern. I will deal with the stolen item in private. Your only job is to bring her here.”
Damn, touchy. She must have really embarrassed him.
Garrick cleared his throat. “Premier, sir, what can you tell us about the target?”
Victor looked to one of his guards, who stepped forward and handed me a woefully thin file. “Everything you need to know is in there.”
I opened it to find a couple of pieces of paper clipped together with a photo of a beautiful witch on top.
Sage Hexwood.
She had long, curly, chestnut brown hair, green eyes, a smattering of freckles, and a bright smile. The scent in the room began to tease me again, and I closed my eyes to compose myself before I started to skim through the rest of the information.
She was thirty, had moved to Noctis from Cindralis to go to Umbris University, but then dropped out five years ago. No known associates, no recent job history, no arrest records.
Her MAT scores showed above-average levels in magic, but they weren’t remarkable.
This definitely wasn’t one of my typical cases, and I wondered how this little omega could even get the drop on the Premier in the first place.
She was gorgeous, but not in the way alpha vampires typically liked—more cute than sexy—so a honeypot trap seemed unlikely.
And she wasn’t powerful enough to have tricked him through magic, especially since she didn’t even have a registered familiar.
Which was strange enough already, but regardless, without one at her age, she wouldn’t have been that strong.
Yeah, I could see why the Premier was pissed now. If word got out that someone like her had managed to steal from the strongest vampire in Lundaria, he’d likely be challenged for his position.
“Ten million,” I said, Garrick swallowing nervously beside me. “And an extra hundred fifty thousand for every day sooner I bring her in.”
Victor narrowed his eyes, his tongue playing with the end of a sharpened fang, before swinging back the rest of the blood and handing the flute off to one of his guards, his face contorting with disgust before replying, “Fine, but now you have eight days.”
He snapped his fingers and an elven beta came scurrying in from another room, a contract in hand.
They corrected the amounts and the timeline, and I read each line three times to make sure everything was in order.
…The Subject must be delivered in a state that is alive and physically unharmed at the time of transfer…
Get her here whole so the Premier can break her himself, got it.
…The nature, condition, or identity of the item associated with the Subject is not the concern of the Contractor and shall not be questioned or pursued…
Yup, very touchy.
…The Contractor shall operate independently and bears full responsibility for their methods…
Yada yada yada…boilerplate whatever…
…Failure of the Contractor to complete the terms outlined herein shall result in forfeiture of life, wherein the Contractor’s existence shall be nullified by infernal law upon expiration of the deadline.
And that was it. My thumbnail elongated and sharpened, and I sliced open my index finger, signing in blood. Victor nicked his finger with his fang and signed his name next to mine.
I took his hand and pulled him close, staring straight into his crimson eyes while a swirling cloud of red surrounded us, taking a lethal amount of my soul and driving it straight into the contract. The paper began to glow.
“Our pact is sealed—if I falter, may hell unmake me.” Then I grabbed his cheeks and planted my lips on his, feeling him squirm with surprise and discomfort until I finally released him with a little push.
He coughed, straightening his tie and then turning around, wiping my saliva off his mouth. He headed back towards the window, looking down on the city below, his hands folding behind his back. “Eight days,” he reiterated.
“Eight days,” I confirmed. I tucked the folder under my arm and walked out, winking at the scowling security guard before pressing the call button on the elevator.
“Why do you always kiss them?” Garrick whispered.
I shrugged as the doors opened, stepping inside. “Because it’s funny.”