Another innocent life will be lost. Bones, splintering, one by one. And that terrible uncertainty, breath heldwhich element will it be ?
Veah has a plan, I remind myself.
The devil over my left shoulder whispers, You’re an idiot to think poisoning Okami is going to work.
The angel over my right shoulder says, Veah knows what she’s doing.
Devil : Oh, yeah ? Please tell me how you think poisoning the Big Bad Wolf is going to go. Please. No, I’m not kidding. Enlighten me.
Angel : Everything will work out just fine.
Devil : Right after Okami decides to slaughter you and all your friends. She’s going to see it from a mile away.
Angel : What do you suggest we do instead ?
Devil : Kill Okami. Putting her in an unconscious state for the next week isn’t solving any problems. It will only delay the deal. If you kill her, poof. Problems solved.
Angel : Murder is wrong. And it’s not necessary. Things will go perfectly. Justice will prevail. Good always defeats evil.
I think I need to calm down.
Thanks, I think to the little angel.
PositiveI need to be more positive.
I focus on Ren and Maiko. Veah, on the other side of the banquet hall, is greeting Okami and her table full of viper-like businessmen.
You hear that, God ?
Good always defeats evil.
Please make sure this plan works.
If God had listened to that prayer, I’m pretty sure I’d still be alive.
Mai’s voice snaps me out of my haze. So why, exactly, were you nearly two hours late ?
Technical difficulties, I lie.
Ren tilts his head. Like getting the strap on ?
Mai punches him. That’s rude, she scolds. To me, she asks, Like preparing the handcuffs ?
I try to say, No, like minding my own business.
Neither of them seem to hear it.
Like trying out student-teacher roleplay ? Ren offers.
Like getting really hot and steamy on every surface of the apartment ? Mai proposes.
Like making a collection of sex tapes ?
Like acting out a kinky BDSM fantasy ?
Like going doggy-style on the kitchen counter ?
Like trying to beat that recordwhat was it ? Twenty-three times ?
You guys, I hiss. Across the hall, Veah kisses Okami on the cheek and stands up, beginning to make her way towards us. Shut up.
Okami hasn’t killed her. Or maimed her. Yet. She must still trust Veahshe has to think that we’re still loyal to her.
She doesn’t know who burned down her precious church. Yet.
The plan is working so far.
As Veah begins to cross the room, her steps are lined in predatory, feline power. She walks like she knows that if this entire crowd were to challenge her in a fight, she would come out on top.
Focus, Kaya.
Think of somethinganythingbut how hot your girlfriend is and how much you want her to push you against the wall, Mafia be damned, and
For the first time, I take in my surroundings.
The banquet hall is elegant with gilded black walls and crimson ribbon, laced throughout the satin tablecloths and the chandeliered ceilings. I swear even breathing the air here feels like I should be paying for it. There are intricate designs of dragons all around the room, and the art is so beautiful I almost forget about the danger around us.
It seems that almost the entirety of the Kogu-Ryu gang is here tonight.
And that isn’t counting the Europeans.
Who, I have realized, are actually the Italian Mafia.
My eyes flick up towards the bar. Where a certain warm, friendly boy I know is sitting. The one who I met only earlier todayand told me about Bastian’s type for curvy gingers.
For a moment, it doesn’t hit me.
But he was in the club. The club that burned down. And if he saw who did itif he saw ushe knows who betrayed Okami.
What was his name ?
Elliot.
Problem, I say under my breath, once all four of us are seated at the table. Over at two o’clock. Sitting at the bar. Looks kind of French. Maybe German.
You mean Elliot Samsara ? Mai says.
Yes, I whisper. He was down in Okami’s temple today, which means
Somehow, he escaped, Ren finishes grimly.
I tilt my head. From a distance, there is something about Elliot. Something familiar, almost. I know I only met him earlier today, but
You’re looking at Kogu-Ryu’s second boss, Veah tells me.
There’s more than one ?
It’s a hierarchy, she explains quietly. Okami is the leader, the highest power. As the boss, I take care of the gang. I have the authority when it comes to the rest of the members. But after me, there’s Elliot. The next in line.
He knows, I say hurriedly. He knows. That means he has the most to gain if you lose Okami’s favour.
I’ll take care of this, Mai announces. Rising from her seat.
With her backless sapphire dress, she glides her way over to the bar. Ren leans over the table, watching her with a dreamy look on his face. She’s so beautiful, isn’t she ? he murmurs. I just . . . I wish she felt the same way about me.
I decide to ignore that one.
To Veah, I say, Why does Elliot look so familiar ? I swear I know him from somewhere, and not just from the club earlier.