he said, his voice tight, fraught with tension. “So, what is it you do? You said you were a Tribunal Executioner. You kill people?”
“I kill a lot of people. If a supernatural breaks the law, it’s normally punishable by death, and I’m just the person who gets that done for the big guys at the top. There are investigators as well, your standard detectives who investigate potential criminals. They’re also the prosecutors in the Trial. They gather evidence and present their case to the Tribunal. The Tribunal is both judge and jury, holding the court and passing a guilty or innocent conviction. I just come in at the end.”
“Does it happen a lot? You needing to kill people for them?”
“Depends. I go to Trials when the potential guilty party is there, so I can act swiftly once the judgment is passed. Most of the time the Tribunal will call a trial, and the criminal has two choices. Either go speak in defense but die faster when found guilty, or use the Trial’s distraction as a chance to cover their tracks and hide. If they’re found guilty, my kill on sight list is updated, and I memorize the face and species. If they ever run into me by accident or vice versa, I am legally bound to act and end their life.”
“Do you ever…go looking for them?” He was too curious, in my opinion, but since he was dragged into the supernatural world, it was only fair to tell him all of it.
“Sometimes. Depends on their crimes and how invested I am in their case. Some Executioners patrol their areas nonstop, looking for people. Since my area has so much open desert, it’s a bit harder. If they go out there and want to starve to death or die of dehydration, I’m not going to stop them. It’s not like they can get much done in the desert, where they probably won’t have a connection to the internet or running water.” I shrugged. “I’m on a long leash when it comes to how I perform my duties.”
“So, killing is okay in your world.”
“Not really.”
“But—”
“I’m a sanctioned executioner through our ruling government. Assassins and hitmen are murderers, and the people who pay them are as well. They are just as guilty in the supernatural world as they are in the human one. Bounty hunters aren’t allowed to kill anyone, though it happens sometimes. Capture only. If it happens, they’re brought in front of the Tribunal and have to plead their case. Self-defense normally works for bounty hunters. The people we go after can get dangerous.”
“Okay. So, you’re going to use your connections to help me. I can maybe live a normal life again one day.”
“That’s what I’ve been trying to say.”
“And if I drop you off somewhere and reject your help?”
I’ll knock you out, throw you in the trunk of this car, and keep you under fucking house arrest in my desert.
“You’ll have to figure out how to survive on your own,” was the answer I settled on. I couldn’t tell him what I really thought because I was damn near positive he wouldn’t appreciate it. “Let’s get to my car. It’s faster and humans tend to ignore it.”
“Where are you parked?” he asked, keeping his eyes on the road. I glanced at his profile, and my fangs ached uncomfortably. He was frustrating—too many questions, too little trust—but damn, he was nice to look at.
I answered his question and started searching through my bag to grab my phone. I sent a quick text to another naga, asking a couple of questions. In the middle of everything else, I had to have some personal questions taken care of. Since we were relatively safe in the car for the moment, it seemed like the perfect time. As I put the phone away, the car rocked.
My head snapped up, and I looked out the windows. Beside me, Raphael cursed, turning down another street. I checked the back and hissed.
“We have a tail,” I snapped without taking my eyes off the SUV behind us. “Do you know how to lose them?”
“I’ve done it once or twice.”
I narrowed my eyes on the SUV as Raphael hit the gas and began to fly through traffic. It kept pace. I couldn’t get any sort of thermal information through the SUV’s windows and the heat of the vehicles on this warm evening. I knew it was useless to try to catch a smell.