upper level. “Fighters aren’t permitted to use the main entrance. Security reasons. At least if someone sneaks in the way you came, they’ll be trapped in the ring.”
“What about leaving? I can’t climb up that slide.”
“We have taken every security measure,” Audrey said. She had the soothing, refined tone of one of those BBC narrators. “Pablo, you can leave us.”
Audrey moved away from the doorway as Pablo made himself scarce. The slit up the front of her black evening gown showcased her creamy-white legs. Like before, her orange hair was styled in the same wavy do, and when she turned, the light glinted off the diamonds on her halo-style emerald earrings.
“Robin, charmed to see you again.” She held out her flaccid wrist, and again I stared at it with no idea what she wanted me to do.
I lightly shook it, and she chortled.
“Darling, we’ll have to work on your manners. You seem absolutely lost, and we need you fit for polite society.”
“I’m fighting. What does it matter?”
“We do have the occasional request from elite clients to have a private meeting with our fighters.”
“For free?”
“Everything has a price.”
“I don’t.”
Her slender eyebrows arched. “Then why are you here?”
“To fight. I didn’t realize prostitution was part of the deal.”
“That’s absurd. I would never allow my clients to get that close to my best fighters. They could tamper with the product.”
I folded my arms. “Tamper?”
“Bribe. Ask them to make things happen in the fight that would yield that individual more money in the betting pool. I don’t play those games. If I catch you or anyone having relations with my clients, you’ll have a memory wipe as a parting gift and a one-way trip to Lithuania. All private interactions are supervised. They’re not interested in dim-witted women who ask inane questions. The more refined you are, which is in opposition to what they see in the ring, the more intriguing you are, and the more they’ll pay for a private introduction. This is not an uncommon practice.”
“So they’re not afraid I might expose their identity?”
Audrey tilted her head to the side. “Exposing their identity would mean exposing our operation. You wouldn’t be foolish enough to do that, would you?”
“No, but someone else might. What assurances do they have?”
Audrey branched away and neared the wall. “If you ever receive such an offer, I’ll make you aware of the repercussions.”
“These are pretty gruesome weapons,” I said, scanning the room. “Doesn’t seem like the fight would last long. Most people surrender when there’s an axe against their neck.”
“You’d be surprised how long a fight will last when your life is at stake.”
I blinked. “Are you talking about death matches?”
She held a long chain between her fingers before letting it clink against the wall. “You’re a bright woman. Surely you considered this as a possibility.”
“Most of these weapons wouldn’t finish the job. The axe is small and would take too many strikes to sever a Mage’s head.”
What really got me thinking was how none of the victims were beheaded. In fact, none of them were reported to have the type of grisly wounds that these weapons would cause.
She gave me a look of reproach. “Perhaps you’re not as bright as I thought.”
I dropped my bag and stared at the chopping block. “This isn’t a Mage fight, is it?”
“The topside matches are simple to arrange. The worst the higher authority can do is lock me away for life, but I have more money than you can imagine and plenty of inside contacts to keep me safe. Keeping me safe keeps them safe.” Audrey glided along the surrounding walls. “But there are ancients who hunger for more than a fight. They want to see pure domination. They want to witness one Breed rule over another, and that Breed is you, Robin. Shifters once played a crucial role in our rise to power. They worked the fields in both human and animal form, they drove and pulled carriages, they acted as bodyguards, and they contributed to an immortal’s fortune. Eventually, they rose up. As bodies of law were created, one country after another capitulated. It was even worse here in North America. The higher authority purchased so much land in the early days, and when Shifters were emancipated, they were given a larger share and first choice. They still are. And their behavior is so entitled. Despite the plastic smiles you see topside, animosity lives beneath the surface. As a Sensor, I can feel it. We all can.”