“Sabina, please,” Slade said. “You know how this works. When the money dries up, so does the blood. No more Tiny means no more cash.”

I jerked my head toward Alexis. “Well, thanks to Stabby McStabberson over there we can’t know for sure whether Tiny used a hired gun, can we?” I said. “Or if Tiny was even behind the murders. Has anyone considered all this has nothing to do with Slade and everything to do with the peace treaty?”

“Sabina—” Slade began.

I talked right over him, warming up to my new role as devil’s advocate. “The timing can’t be a coincidence. The signing is next week. What if someone is trying to stop the alliance? It’s not a secret that some beings on both sides are opposed to the end of hostilities.”

“You’re making it sound like this is some conspiracy orchestrated by the Caste of Nod,” Orpheus said. “But we all know that is impossible.”

I went still. I hadn’t been specifically thinking about the Caste or its leader, Cain. But now that Orpheus mentioned it, I started thinking about my dream. Was it just a coincidence that I had another Cain dream just after the first murder?

I knew that the next thing out of my mouth was going to cause a scene, but I had to put the theory out there. “But… we never caught Cain. What if he’s behind this?”

The room went quiet. I looked around at the shocked faces, waiting for someone, anyone to say something. Adam had gone still and alert, as if just saying Cain’s name would summon him to the room. Slade and Alexis stared at me with puzzled expressions, as if trying to decide if I was joking. Orpheus’s frown deepened into an all-out scowl. Tanith looked nervous, like I’d said “Bloody Mary” three times into a mirror.

“Sabina,” Orpheus began slowly, “that’s simply not possible.”

I knew it sounded crazy, but I also knew this was the best way to make my case. Playing devil’s advocate was always more effective than trying to debate with people who wouldn’t listen. “Just hear me out. The other night I had a dream about Cain. He said something like, ‘We’re not finished.’ ”

Adam blinked at me. “Red,” he said carefully. “You’ve been having dreams about Cain for months now. Plus, no offense, but we both know seeing Marty’s body strung up like that dredged up some issues for you about Lavinia.”

A hot flash consumed my body. How could he bring that up here, in front of everyone?

Despite the lava-hot glare I shot in his direction, he soldiered on. “It’s understandable you’d have some disturbing dreams with everything going on. But that’s hardly proof Cain committed these murders.”

My cheeks burned at the careful, pitying stares. “You don’t understand. It’s not just the dream. Think about it: Who else would be more motivated to cause trouble than the man who tried to start the war between the dark races to begin with? Peace is the last thing Cain wants.”

Cain, in his role as leader of the Caste, wanted to start a war between the races because he believed it would bring on the second coming of Lilith. No one knew why he was so determined for that prophecy to happen, but he’d caused a ton of problems for the leaders of both races in pursuit of that goal. He’d even recruited my grandmother to his side, a move that led to her death.

“I’ll admit the timing might not be a coincidence, but Cain? You told us yourself the Caste tried to summon him and failed,” Orpheus said. “That tells me that wherever he is, he’s not free to move about on his own. He’d need help, and we’ve killed everyone we could find who owed him allegiance.”

“I know it’s a stretch,” I said, raising my hands in a pleading gesture. “But it’s not totally out of the realm of possibility.”

“No,” Orpheus snapped, finally losing patience. “But I am secure in the knowledge that every member of the Caste of Nod was rooted out and executed. I am secure in knowing that at the peace signing, we will have almost every mage, vampire, and faery guard in America in attendance.” As he spoke, his voice rose with each point. “But most of all, I am secure in the knowledge that it’s far more likely that a two-bit pimp with ambitions toward organized crime is behind these murders rather than the father of the vampire race, who no one has seen in the flesh in centuries!” He pounded the table with his fist like a gavel sealing a verdict.

Swallowing, I looked at the floor. Of course it was crazy. I knew that before I’d said one word. But Sabina’s Law stated that not sharing wild theories virtually guaranteed they’d become fact and bite you in the ass later.

“I concur with Orpheus,” Tanith said. “We must be careful right now. But we also must not allow fear and superstition to dictate our choices. Logic and reason must prevail.”

My head snapped up at the word “superstition.” She knew damned well Cain was more than some dark-races boogeyman. I’d seen the Caste of Nod attempt to summon Master Mahan—their title for Cain as the leader of their secret sect—to that cemetery. I’d seen his spectral form begin to coalesce into flesh. And I watched as the Caste members lost the connection when they were attacked by the revenants I’d summoned to kill their asses. Oh, yes, Cain was real. But whether he was behind the murders? Well, I wasn’t convinced either, but their stubborn insistence that Tiny was the killer chapped my ass.

“Sorry, Red,” Adam said, “but I have to agree with Tanith and Orpheus. Other than your dreams, we’ve seen no sign of him.”

“You don’t believe this is Cain’s doing? Fine. But you have to admit that we don’t have enough evidence to say without a shadow of a doubt that Tiny was behind those murders. We cannot afford to shut this case just because we all want the matter settled.”

The High Councilman cleared his throat. “Granted, Miss Vega’s actions were premature, but I have to wonder if in this case the ends justify the means.”

“You can’t be serious!” My voice rose and echoed through the chamber.

Orpheus’s eyes narrowed to two sharp slits. “Sabina, I have tolerated your impertinence as far as I’m willing. I understand that you disagree with Miss Vega’s methods, but unless you can show me evidence that proves Mr. Malone was not involved, I am going to trust that justice was served.”

“By evidence, do you mean someone else dies? Because that’s what’s going to happen if she killed the wrong guy.”

“Lazarus, I suggest you take your partner out of my sight before I lose my good humor.” Orpheus refused to look at me. “Miss Vega, you are also dismissed.”

I opened my mouth to argue, but Adam gave me his patented don’t-do-anything-dumb look. Alexis turned to go and Slade turned, too, but Tanith spoke up. “Mr. Corbin? A word, please.”

I shot Slade an apologetic glance. No doubt, my outburst had soured the leaders’ dispositions and he’d pay the price. But Slade wouldn’t look at me. So I had no choice but to follow Adam out like a dog with my tail between my legs.

The minute we reached the hallway outside the chamber, Alexis started in on me. “Nice try, mutt. Too bad you made yourself look like a jackass before you tried to throw me under the bus.”

“Fuck you, Alexis.”

She laughed. “That’s the best you got? Oh, right. I forgot. You’re nothing but a burned-out mage lover.”

“All right, that’s enough,” Adam said.

I pushed him out of the way and got in Alexis’s face. “You want to go?”

“Please don’t embarrass yourself. You might have red hair now because your boyfriend performed a little spell, but it can’t hide your greatest weakness, mixed blood.” Her lips curled into a mocking smile that showed fang. “You’ve gone soft.”

My vision blurred red. How dare this bitch accuse me of losing my edge. Before I stopped to consider the ramifications, I delivered my very hard fist to her very fat mouth. The impact of fang to knuckle hurt like hell, but I relished the pain. The adrenaline rush. The satisfaction of making her bleed.

“Sabina!” Adam grabbed me from behind.

Alexis recovered quickly. She wiped the back of her hand across her lips and her knuckles came away bloody. Her smile revealed teeth and fangs coated red. Her tongue ran over the enamel as if relishing the coppery taste. She took a step toward us.

“Back off, Alexis.” Adam was struggling to hold me still. He’s a strong guy, but I wanted more blood.

“Relax, mancy. I’m not going to ruin my victory with the Despina by beating your girlfriend’s ass.”

“What victory?” I demanded. “When the next body shows up she’ll nail your ass to the wall.”

“There won’t be another body. Not on my watch.” Alexis smiled then, totally sure of herself. “And as a reward for disposing of Tiny, she’s going to put me in charge of New York’s vampires.”

My shock made me go slack in Adam’s hold. Adam’s shock made him loosen his grip. “Wait a second,” he demanded. “You’re angling for Slade’s job?”

She nodded. “If my guess is correct, she’s in there right now relieving him of his duties.”

“What makes you so sure she’ll give you the job?”

“Because she promised it to me.”

The door opened then and Slade emerged, looking shell-shocked.

“Slade? What happened?” I asked, ignoring Alexis for the moment.

He ran a hand through his hair. His once-pristine white shirt was covered in blood and black smudges. I’d never seen him looking so disheveled. “They’ve relieved me of my duties.”

“Did they say who your replacement is?” Miss Sensitivity demanded.

Slade looked through her when he answered, like he couldn’t quite believe this was all real. “No. They said they need time to discuss who would be the best fit.”

That gave Alexis pause. Obviously, she’d been expecting to be called back into the room to hear she got the job.