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You re going to try to talk your way out of death? Danaus guessed, sounding incredulous as he sat forward on the edge of the
bench.
I plan to bluff, cajole, grandstand, and outright lie if necessary to save my skin, I said, and laughed, throwing open my arms.
One of the most powerful nightwalkers in existence wanted me dead. I had nothing to lose any longer.
And sacrifice me when the opportunity presents itself, Danaus finished, shoving to his feet. I rose as well and stepped closer so
only a couple of feet of empty space were separating us. It felt odd being that close without weapons drawn.
I bear the Elders no love, I said. Jabari was the only one who once resided in my heart and he crushed that before departing
Themis. On the other hand, you ve saved my life on more than one occasion. I don t know your rationale behind it and at the
moment I don t care, I quickly finished, holding up my hand before he could interject any of his reasons for prolonging my life,
which I m sure were on the tip of his tongue. It didn t look good for a hunter of his caliber to go around saving nightwalkers. We
will walk into Venice together and we will walk out together, I promise. I held out my hand to him. Danaus stared into my eyes
for a long time, weighing my words before he finally took my hand and shook it, sealing the bargain.
And after? he demanded, his hand still tightly gripping mine.
After Venice? Assuming we both actually survive, we get back to the business of trying to kill each other like nature intended, I
mocked, releasing his rough, callused hand. A half smile briefly lifted one corner of his mouth as he sat back down.
All I ask is that you keep your mouth shut and trust me, I said, looking down at him. It s not an impossible task. You re a
hunter. I have no doubt that you ve slaughtered countless nightwalkers. You re not exactly winning over many friends.
It s not my goal in life, he said, sounding grumpy.
I believe that, I muttered as I returned to my seat. Draping my body over the bench, I listened to the roar of the engines. Even if
I did live long enough to finally gain the ability to fly, I would still use my pretty little jet. Besides the obvious comfort, I liked
listening to the moan of the air rushing past the windows and the roar of the engine.
As the plane carried us closer to Italy, Danaus bent down and started digging around in the large black duffel bag near his feet. I
could hear the clang and ping of metal striking metal as he sifted around in his trusty bag of weapons. I was sorry that I d left the
sword I used at Themis behind, but my hands were full of Tristan at the time. My mind hadn t been on proper weaponry for our
trip to Venice. Lucky for me, Danaus remembered to grab his bag of tricks from the hotel. He might have even made a pit stop
for extra toys at the Themis town house where we met James Parker.
After a moment he sat back with a gun in his hand. He quickly checked the magazine before standing and walking over to me. My
eyes briefly flit from the gun he was holding out to me and back to his face questioningly.
Guns seem to be effective against the naturi, he said when I had yet to move. I stared at the gun for a second, frowning. I didn t
like guns. They were so impersonal. They were also ineffective when dealing with nightwalkers. Being shot just pissed vampires
off and didn t slow them down much. We also hadn t fought the naturi on a regular basis in several centuries, so most of us never
bothered to learn how to use a gun.
With a frown, I finally took the weapon from him, holding the grip between two fingers away from my body like a piece of rotting
garbage. Growling in frustration, Danaus took the gun back and sat down next to me. It s a Browning Hi-Power loaded with
9mm bullets, he explained, letting it rest in the palm of his hand. The magazine holds fifteen bullets. With a couple of deft
motions with his fingers, he showed me how to load the magazine and turn off the safety. My knowledge of guns didn t extend
much further than pointing and squeezing the trigger. I had no desire to learn any more than that, but if I was faced with another
naturi, the Browning was going to feel a whole lot better in my hand than a knife.
I m guessing you can manage that, Danaus taunted, trying to get a rise out of me.
I ll manage, I almost growled, the two words squeezing between my clenched teeth. Holster?
He returned to the opposite bench and pulled a leather double shoulder holster out of his bag. He tossed it across the jet and I
caught it with my empty hand. It was made of a supple, dark brown leather and was adjustable so I didn t have to worry about it
being too bulky. Unfortunately I wasn t wearing a belt so I wouldn t be able to use the belt-securing ties. While I was strapping on
the shoulder holster, Danaus brought over a second gun.
It s a Glock 17 with 9mm rounds, he said as I accepted the gun and placed it in the right holster. The Browning went in the left.
I looked down at myself and frowned. A nightwalker carrying guns. It seemed almost sacrilegious, if that was possible. We were
graceful creatures from the Old World. When we killed, it was either with our bare hands or a blade.
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