Dumber Than Dirt: Jane confirms with Bruiser that she is being accused of the murder of de Allyon’s Enforcer, and because of that, she will be going to trial, where the vamp plans to use the Vampira Carta to his advantage. However, at this parley/trial, Sabina will force the Vampira Carta rules on de Allyon. In the meantime, Leo’s scions will rescue Katie. One very disturbing fact: if Jane is found guilty, de Allyon gets to turn her and she will be subject to him forever. Bruiser tells Jane that if she allows Leo to bind her again and not undo it, he can use her.
Jane goes to do a security check at Grégoire’s clan home, where Leo and the others would be kept safe during the daytime. When she arrives, Brian greets her and gives her a book that is a present from Leo and Sabina: a history of the Mithrans in the Americas. Sabina wants Jane to go to a particular page, and she finds some illustrations—of de Allyon killing and feeding from skinwalkers. This makes the war between them more personal. Jane also notices that the vamp in the picture is fat, not slim like most of the vampires she knows, deciding this has something to do with him being Naturaleza, and the name under one of the pictures translates to “Death’s Rival.” She also realizes that de Allyon will know what she is the moment he smells her.
I’d Save the Last Bullet for Me: Jane tries to think of a way to solve the various problems and situations she is caught up in, but Beast decides she needs sleep. When she gets ready for the parley, she weapons up and wears her leathers, along with some eye makeup (applied by Christie, one of Katie’s Ladies) and contacts, to hide the color of her eyes. Bruiser arrives to escort Jane, and he is as decked out as she is. Bruiser returns Jane’s silver protective necklace, taken from her the night of the forced feeding. Eli, Leo, Bruiser, Jane, and Grégoire all make their way to the Nunnery, a downtown warehouse. Derek, Wrassler, and the other men follow, with Derek waiting for word from Alex on where Katie is being held. Worried that the set parley time of two hours will not be enough to rescue Katie, Jane has come up with her own plan, which she shares with no one.
Leo and his group greet Sabina when she arrives, and she announces that at the gathering she is the emissary of the Outclan Council, not Leo’s Outclan priestess. Then de Allyon makes his entrance, with more vamps than the twelve he is supposed to have with him. Jane scents that some of those in his party are sick, and lets Bruiser and the others know. De Allyon and Leo introduce themselves, and then Sabina tells de Allyon that he must get some of his scions to leave to meet the number restriction. He picks out the ones who are sick. De Allyon questions the involvement of the Outclan Council in the proceedings, and Sabina responds that his attack in Natchez drew undue attention to Mithran matters.
When Sabina announces that they are gathered, Jane speaks up and says she was acting in self-defense when she killed the other Enforcer and, citing two cases from history, says she wishes to settle the matter in mortal combat. Jane knows that accepting the challenge as issued will require de Allyon to be subject to the Vampira Carta, which she believes will be the best for Leo and his people, whether she makes it or not. Then Jane discovers that the other Enforcer, the one she will have to fight, is a vamp. Bruiser backs up Jane’s claim of self-defense, and then Rick walks in, representing PsyLED, which Jane is pretty sure is thanks to Sabina. The two combatants get to choose different aspects of the battle. De Allyon’s man wants to fight bare-handed, with no weapons, which Jane gets clarification on to mean abilities given by nature, so she is not so worried, even though it means exposing her skinwalker nature. Jane picks the location, City Park, and asks to be able to keep her personal jewelry with her. Both parties head out to the site, while Jane tries to think of some type of advantage she can use in the fight.
Beast Saw Gorilla on TV: At the park, the contestants are told to remove their weapons. Jane does so, along with a lot of her clothes. Unbinding her long hair, Jane bends over a lion statue, using it to cover her marking the statue with her gold nugget. When Sabina says, “Begin,” Jane races off on the path into the woods. Jane holds the tooth in her hand, saying she needs to shift quickly. Beast says she wants to be big, and can use the stone lion, but Jane tries to stop Beast by saying the lion is concrete, not organic matter.
Beast gets her way, pleased with herself and thinking that she is smart to hide things from Jane. Beast finds a tree branch strong enough to hold her, and waits for her prey to arrive. When he does, Beast sees that he is cheating by carrying a knife, but she drops down on him, almost killing him, but knows he will heal unless she takes his head. Then Beast hears someone coming—a human with two knives. Beast hides and waits for the man, then attacks him also, and feels the tingle of magic, which she traces to an amulet and tries to remove it from the man’s pocket but ends up tearing his flesh. She stops, as she knows this is something she is not supposed to do. Beast then manages to bite the head off the vamp Enforcer, rewarding herself with some birds in the lake.
Jane comes back to herself and goes to the two bodies. She figures out pretty quickly why there is a dead human there along with the vamp, and is worried about Beast having eaten human flesh. Remembering her grandmother’s words about how that makes them (skinwalkers) sick, Jane realizes that she was referring to the insanity that turned skinwalkers into liver-eaters.
Jane searches the man’s body and finds the amulet, which looks exactly like the one she took from the blood-servant in Sedona. Jane gets dressed, picks up the head, and goes back to the gathering of vamps and humans, claiming victory for Leo, and accusing de Allyon of cheating because his Enforcer had a knife and a human helper. Jane looks at de Allyon with her eyes their natural color, and he cannot believe it, saying he had killed all of her kind. Jane attacks de Allyon, and a battle breaks out. Jane kills the vamp, taking his head. Sabina ends the fighting, and offers sanctuary to any of de Allyon’s people who will give up Naturaleza and commit to Fame Vexatum. Jane thanks Leo for giving her the chance to avenge her people. Sneak Cheek is identified as the mole. Jane feels the need for cleansing, so she goes out into the lake. She submerges herself several times, calling upon her ancestors, God, and Hayyel. Rick comes into the water toward Jane, and she remembers his words about her not ever doing anything that makes him have to shoot her. She realizes what he is about to do, given the dead human. Rick’s hand comes up, and Jane feels pain in chest—a heart shot. Beast tries to get her to shift, but Jane thinks at her that there isn’t time.
I Was Alpha. I Was Big Cat. Wanted to Eat Gator: Jane comes to, tasting blood in her mouth, realizing it is Leo. Jane drinks the blood, then sees the dark spot in her soul where Leo bound her getting stronger, and Jane pushes away. Beast forces a shift, gets out of the car, and runs into the woods, giving Leo a little love swipe with her claws on her way out, thinking she will take him as a mate someday. Beast looks in her mind-den, and sees the chain—no longer connected to Jane, but to her. Beast knows she needs to think about the chain but does not want to now.
Jane wakes in an alley, near a homeless man, from whom she tries to buy a blanket. While she is bargaining with him, Rick arrives. Jane turns slowly toward him, and then Rick realizes that Jane thinks he shot her. The shooter was El Diablo, one of Derek Lee’s men. Rick leaves, giving Jane his coat, and she follows.
Later that day Jane helps round up de Allyon’s humans who were suffering from a sort of PTSD after his death. Leo’s lab starts working with the CDC on a cure for the vamp disease. Rick and his team leave the city without saying good-bye. Two weeks later Jane gets a job offer from Hieronymus, the vamp-master of Natchez. De Allyon’s leftover Naturaleza are on the loose in the area, and the council is offering a lot of money per head to take them down. Jane is considering the offer.
When shifting that night, Jane sees the chain—the one binding Leo to Beast rather than to her, realizing it must have happened since she shifted while ingesting Leo’s blood. Beast does not seem particularly bothered by this situation, and even states that Leo will be a good mate, which Jane is not thrilled about.
Book Six, Blood Trade
Been There, Shot the Place Up: Jane, out riding Bitsa, wishes she could leave New Orleans and her depression over her life (no Rick, no Molly, being bound to Leo) behind. Reach calls, with a job offer from Hieronymus, MOC of Natchez. It seems that too many Naturaleza vamps are on the loose, and over one hundred people are missing from the area. Jane agrees to take the job if she can get the house she wants as lodging. When she gets home, Jane tells Eli and the Kid about the job. During the conversation, Jane learns that the two were planning on leaving, given Jane’s recent foul mood and the ensuing lack of activity. After the guys agree to stay on, Jane calls Reach. Hieronymus has agreed to Jane’s terms, but Reach cautions her about not angering Leo and tells Jane she has an appointment with a reporter, a woman writing a book on vamps—a woman Jane knew in her days at the Christian Children’s Home.
You Might Have to Kill Something: Jane receives a phone call from Leo, who tries to convince her that she may not leave the city or his employ without his permission. Jane points out that Hieronymus is really Leo’s problem, so she should be helping him. Though Leo is not satisfied, Jane leaves anyway. Once she arrives in Natchez, Esmee, the owner of the house, greets Jane and states that the last time Jane and company were in town was the most fun she’d had in years, despite her house getting shot up. After greeting Jameson, the butler, and eating a robust meal, Jane goes to her room and thinks about her upcoming meeting with Misha and Bobby. Jane remembers Misha as a quiet girl, and recalls often defending the slightly slow Bobby from kids who picked on him. Jane dozes off, but when she wakes leaves for her meeting. Bobby greets Jane with a bear hug at the hotel room door, and introduces her to Charly, Misha’s young daughter, who is obviously sick.
I’ll Break Every Finger . . . One By One: When Misha comes into the room, she reminds Jane of an incident from their youth where Jane stood up for her, threatening a bully. Misha thanks Jane for what she did back then. Over tea and chocolate, the two women discuss Misha’s book, which is basically a study on vampires: their history, hierarchy, and even how to kill them. All of this worries Jane, but she is most upset by the discovery of her name in the book. Misha promises she will take out anything Jane does not agree to, but she needs reliable information so she can finish her book and receive payment to pay for her daughter’s treatment. Jane has the Kid research Misha’s human contact who had promised her information on the vamps, Bryson Ryder. Eli and Jane go to the man’s office, which appears to not have been visited in weeks, but his files show that he had done taxes for some local vamps. A visit to Ryder’s home leads to the discovery of dead bodies.
