Green Flame Assassin (Demon Lord series, book 2) Read Online Free Page A

smiled too, which scared me just a little.
I said, “Okay, why can’t the PRT take care of this?”
Kimberly met my gaze.  Her eyes seemed to swell, becoming endless pools of amethyst.  The depths tugged at me like doors to strange new realities.  “The Oracle Stone was stolen from the Dream Courts.  My Mistress can feel it being used in Sacramento.  She needs it back.  This will be next to impossible if we have to avoid federal agents and the mystics that aid them.”
“Your Mistress is a seer.  So are you,” I said.  “Why can’t one of you pop in, grab the stone, and pop out again?”
“My Mistress has made a lot of enemies over the ages, mostly because she won’t help many fey courts that only want to kill for power.  Her powers are limited now, having long been tied to the stone.  She’s vulnerable.  Chasing down the stone personally, openly, would invite enemies to attack her when she’s too weak to fight back.”
Explains why she sent an envoy and didn’t come herself.
Achill said, “So she sends a human who has even less power than herself?”
Kimberly’s eyes flashed with angry heat, resenting the criticism.  “The Oracle has concealed the loss of the stone by officially retreating from her court for a time of meditation and renewal.  And I am not helpless.  She has been teaching me to use my powers.  I can see several minutes into the future, giving me more than enough warning to get out of harm’s way.”
Maybe.  A lot can happen in a split-second . 
I didn’t like any of this.  The Oracle—Hell only knows how long she’s been alive—is old, and old fey are strong fey.  How did she get that thing stolen?  It must have taken major magic.  She wants me to go in and get it back from someone matching her strength? That’s a death sentence for anyone else than me.
I said, “Yeah, I don’t think she can afford me.”
Kimberly reached into her purse and pulled out a princess-cut blue diamond the size of my fist.  I couldn’t believe my eyes.  Staring, even Old Man and Achill were stricken mute.  She set the diamond on the counter, her gaze a fierce demand.  “The Oracle says, ‘A stone for a stone.’”
I grabbed the diamond.  The new tattoo on my back burned like hellfire, a violent rampage pulling my senses to superhuman levels so I could tell the diamond had no flaws.  The cut was perfection, the coloration perfect, unassisted by dyes, lacking impurities except for trace amounts of boron that gave it its blue color. 
My greedy inner child spoke up, “Okay, I’ll do it.”
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
THREE
 
“I don’t care, for free.”
 
                                                —Caine Deathwalker
 
The Old Man plucked the stone from my hand, knowing I’d be deaf to his words while enthralled by the jewel.  “Caine, recovering the Dream Stone is just half the job.  You can’t go up to Sacramento and just ask around for the stone.  You’ll need a cover.  Setting up a new Master of the City needs to be an equal priority.”
I eyed the diamond in his hand.  “What am I getting for the second job?”
“My eternal gratitude,” Old Man said.
“No, really?” I asked.
“For one thing, I’ll give this back to you.”  He moved the diamond, left and right, watching my eyes track it.  “For another, the Witch’s Court is throwing an enchanted item into the pot.”
I looked him in the eyes.  “What kind of item?”
He tossed the diamond into the air, knowing I’d snatch it at warp speed.  I did.  As his hand came back down, shadows churned in his palm, becoming a glittering dagger.  He used it to stab the bar.  Pulling his hand away, the dagger remained upright.  I’d have been pissed about the damage to a very expensive bar, but I knew Old Man would magic up a repair.  Besides, the parrying dagger held my interest.  I put the