Dark Champion (Flirting with Monsters #4) - Eva Chase Page 0,55
body for me to resist the urge to cringe. As easily as I could have ripped the goblin—who was still watching all this, gaping dopily, the dimwit—into a pulp so mangled it would have taken centuries for it to reassemble into his proper being, the Highest could flay me to shreds even faster. The only reason they hadn’t in the first place, all those years ago when we’d made our deal, was that they’d believed I was of more use to them in one piece. I had to make sure they continued to believe that.
“What possible reason could I have for making this up?” I asked, holding my ground. “I’m on the verge of completing my deal with you. No good could come from reminding you of my old association with the sphinx if she didn’t pose a real threat now.”
The rumbling that followed sounded at least slightly agreeable. My hackles came down, but I stayed braced where I was.
“What is this plot the sphinx is carrying out?” the first speaker demanded. “How much danger could she pose when no word of her has reached us all this time until now?”
“That’s probably what she wants you to think. She wanted to lull you into complacency.” A prod to their dignity couldn’t hurt. “And this scheme is so dangerous precisely because she’s spent so much time putting the pieces in place. She intends to see as many mortals dead as she can—and knowing her and her methods, it could be more than remain alive in the entire mortal realm after she’s through—and to sicken and kill nearly every shadowkind who’s ventured mortal-side as well.”
Another of the Highest spoke up. “You’ve mentioned this sickness before. You said there were mortals creating such a thing.”
“Apparently Tempest has been directing those mortals—and ensuring it’ll come around to bite them in the ass,” I said. “But she made it clear to me that shadowkind will die too, and she doesn’t care how many. I’d imagine if she can find a way to have the sickness spread all the way to your doorstep, she’ll do her best to make that happen. She’s carrying a bit of a grudge after the whole nearly-slaughtered-by-wingéd incident.”
The gawking goblin gave a shudder. Really he should have been more worried about himself. Somehow I suspected his constitution wasn’t up to resisting Tempest’s manufactured disease.
The grandiose goliaths muttered to each other some more. It’d been a thin line between offending them by suggesting they were vulnerable and driving home the threat Tempest posed as hard as I could. They sounded as if they were taking my report at least somewhat seriously.
“You have been in much communication with the sphinx,” one said finally. “We presume you convey this information to us with some concept of how she might be brought down.”
For once, they’d played right into my hands. I smiled as well as I could in my hazy state and bowed my head. “Of course. It would be an honor to not only present the problem but solve it for you as well. I do think, though, that combating a being of such experience and proven power goes well beyond a typical walk in the park. I thought perhaps you might want to adjust your orders to account for that.”
“In what way?”
They were going to make me spell it out, were they? Typical. “Your original instruction was for me to notify you of Ruby’s location—but this Ruby hasn’t caused any noticeable trouble that anyone’s been aware of in decades. Tempest, on the other hand, is days away from unleashing the worst catastrophe any shadowkind has wrought on the realms. If you would rather I pursue her, I would happily take responsibility for—”
A booming laugh cut me off—and reverberated down to my bones, turning what shadowy gut I had into water. What in darkness’s name was funny about my proposition? The question rose up with a rankling irritation, but at the same time I hesitated to ask.
I didn’t need to. The same being who’d laughed turned a waft of attention onto me that fell even thicker and darker than before. “Of course you would be happy to do so. This has been your scheme all along, hasn’t it? You had to invent the sphinx’s resurrection so we would take your crusade more seriously. Did you really think we would fail to see through such a deception?”
Well, I probably wouldn’t have if it’d actually been a deception. Now that he put it that way, it