Page 97 of Ravenous

“Chaos and fate are no’ the same thing,” Thane pointed out.

Enya laughed. “Spoken like a male favored by fate.”

He forced himself not to glance at his cannibal mate. “Have I been then?”

Yet Enya’s focus slid toward Ditch. “Not all here are.” She said the words with an understatement’s tone.

Ditch’s own eyes narrowed, so Thane cut in: “I have a question for Pemphre.”

The sorceress’s gaze flowed over him, both avaricious and lustful. “And what will you pay? Already you’ve broken our rule. Not only did you comeunalone, you brought clever power to feast on our sorcery. Unalone, you must atone.”

He thought about asking if their last victim had come alone, but he focused on his mission and offered the coin from his pouch. “Oldest coin in my kingdom.” He crossed to Pemphre. He avoided touching her, but she gripped his hand with her claws and rubbed her arm against his. He drew back with a shudder; her skin was cold and damp like a dead fish.

“I love fish,” Ditch said dreamily.

“Gods save me,” he hissed under his breath.

Pemphre turned the coin over. “This is from the Skein. Not Gaia. The gold is old, but not old gold.”

The other two sisters said in unison, “Not old gold. Unalone, you must atone.”

“What else can I pay?”

“Entertainment,” Pemphre said, excited. “So few visitors…so many years.”

“So few visitors,” the others chimed, “so many years.”

“You live in the Helter,” he said. “What sort of visitors did you expect?”

“Handsome ones. Like you. Entertaining ones. Like you.”

Ditch flanked him, tail twitching. “And if he doesn’t feel like entertaining you? Maybe I’ll torture the three of you, nibbling on your toes until you give him his answer.”

The sisters’ masked faces turned toward her. In creepy unison, they replied, “We would like you to nibble.”

“Not the way I do it.”

Damn it, woman.

“You are full on our power,” Pemphre whispered. “Glutted on sorcery, yet you still hunger. Nearly as much as your delicious wolf.”

Delicious. A further attempt at flirtation? Or did they think they’d be dining on him? His inner beast roiled, and his Instinct screamed, —Both. Get your mate away from here.—

For fuck’s sake, when did cannibalism become a thing?

“It’s classic horror for a reason,” Ditch said. Then she faced Pemphre to add, “And Ialwayssave room for more,” taking up the degree of hostility a few thousand notches.

“We too hunger,” came the reply of three. “Immortals usually do.”

He reached for his sword, about to slide it free—

Caaawww!

A crow burst into the cave. Pemphre snatched it from the air with impossible speed and dashed it against a slab. The bird writhed amid slimy viscera. Those whitish lengths slinked slowly, then all at once to the floor.

When Ditch laughed gaily at the sight, he rolled his eyes.The hells am I going to do with these people?

Pemphre used one claw to slit the crow’s belly.