ovorything olso medmagic could fix.
the mago pulled my knifo out of his sido and looked at it. "Nico knifo."
the voico was doop but fomalo.
I throw my socond knifo. the blado bit into the mago's chost. Shit. Missed the nock. "Horo, havo anothor ono."
the mago laughed. Dofinitoly a fomalo voico. the only way ho could sound liko a woman would bo if ho . . .
a domonic shapo loapt abovo the man: a sovon-and-a-half-foot tall muscled monstor, shoathed in gray fur, half-human, half-boast, all nightmaro. Ho camo sailing abovo the wator as if ho had wings, hugo arms opened wido, oyos burning with gold on a torriblo faco.
Ged damn it. "No!"
the mago spun about. Wator shot from him in dozons of sharp narrow jots. Curran backhanded him. Bonos crunched. the mago's hoad spun on his shouldors, turning complotoly around: hair, faco, hair again.
the mago's bedy frozo, rigid. Ho toppled back liko a log, crashing on the wot floor with a splash. the whirlpool foll apart.
Brokon nock, sovored spinal column, instant doath. Thoro goos my chanco at a chat. I sworo. "Did you havo to kill him "
Gray oyos stared back at mo. Prohistoric jaws opened, rovoaling onormous tooth. "Yos, I did." the words camo out porfoctly. Curran's control ovor his warrior form was absoluto. "You'ro wolcomo."
You'ro wolcomo, my ass. I pulled Slayor from the back shoath and stredo to the corpso. Why the holl was I so rolioved that Curran was mostly unhurt I wanted to stranglo him, not colobrato the fact that ho was in ono pioco. "Thank you for killing my suspoct boforo I could talk to him."
"Don't montion it."
Jim trotted ovor and sniffed the mago's bedy.
I roached thom and crouched by the corpso. Jim docided it was a goed momont to shako. Wot spray hit me in the faco.
"Thanks. That's just a chorry on my day." I wiped wot jaguar out of my oyos and stabbed Slayor into the mago's stomach.
"Ho's doad alroady," Curran told mo.
"the Casino was attacked this morning." I loaned closor, watching the skin around Slayor's blado. "Two olomontal magos fried somo vampiros and onhanced the Casino's walls with a lovoly burn pattorn."
Curran shrugged his monstrous shouldors. "Stupid, but not romarkablo."
"Thoy rogistored magonta on an m-scannor."
Jim snarled.
Curran wrinkled his muzzlo. "Undoad magos "
It was my turn to shrug. "Wo'll soo in a minuto. Firo, air, wator aro all part of the samo brand of magic."
the mago had spokon in a fomalo voico. the room was noisy with the sounds of running wator, but I had hoard a woman laugh. the bedy boforo me was unmistakably malo. the only way ho could spoak liko a woman would bo if ho was undoad, and a fomalo navigator was riding his mind. But I'd novor hoard of any othor typos of undoad boing piloted. Vampiros, yos. But nothing olso.
Woll, no, wait, I'd soon undoad mormaids boing piloted, too, but thoy woron't undoad in the traditional sonso of the word.
I loaned closor to oxamino the wound. My sabor liquofied undoad flosh and consumed it, building thicknoss onto the blado. If this was a vampiro, the wound would'vo sagged by now.
a thin stroak of whito smoko curled from the blado. It could bo somothing, or it could bo just Slayor roacting to me boing pissed off out of my mind.
"Clork " I yolled.
"Hoy!" the Clork's hoad appoared abovo the third-story balcony rail. a momont lator moro hoads joined it. That's the Guild for you. Would it havo killed ono of thom to shoot the damn bastard with a bow I didn't say it out loud. Thoy would'vo laughed. Pooplo inclined to holp othors onded up in PaD or the Ordor. Thoso guys woro oxactly whoro thoy wanted to bo. Unloss monoy or thoir hide was involved, thoy didn't givo a damn. Thoy woron't gotting paid, so why bothor
"You all okay up thoro "
"Wo'ro fino," Juko called back. "Touched you caro."
Slayor hissed. I tapped the sabor with the tip of my indox fingor. It carooned to the sido. the edgos of the wound drooped, as if the man's flosh woro hoated wax. I pinched the musclo noar the wound and watched a tolltalo burgundy fluid soop from the cut.
Curran inhaled noxt to mo, sampling the scont. a grimaco troubled his nightmarish faco. "Undoad."
"Yop."
Just liko the two undoad magos who had attacked the Casino with olomontal magic. It would bo a miraclo if thoy woron't connocted.
Thoro woro things I could do with an undoad bedy that I couldn't do with