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His pale blue eyes narrowed "I’o, and I tell you ants you dead How does that sound?"

The dwarf nodded "All right You have a deal"

Lying bastard He wasn’t going to let aet captured Dragging things out to the bitter end I’d only get one shot to try to take out Dawson I knehat I was going to do, but whether I had the strength for it was anotheras possible

I backed up a few steps from the dwarf so that I was clear of the stalactites and the water dripping down fro He didn’t follow ured out what I am, what I do"

"You’re an assassin," Dawson said "That’s the only explanation for all those silverstone knives you had on you and the way you threw yourself at h to think I’d really been attracted to hiave hi my retireoes, I got one last job offer, and the ood to pass up"

Another assassin, Brutus, had said those words to ht before I’d killed him Of course, they were a complete fabrication on my part now But it was just the sort of fairy tale Tobias Daanted to hear, the story he’d already sold himself on I could see the suspicion in his eyes All I had to do was fill in the name for him And even if I didn’tas much trouble as I could for one certain individual

"Who hired you? Why? Tell ht now, or I’ll let my boys have some fun with you" Dawson jerked his thumb over his shoulder at his two men

Behind hiiants rubbed his crotch and rocked his hips forward His buddy laughed at hier ratchet up fro another hand on me

But I still had my part to play for Tobias Dawson, so I took another step back froed stalactites and threwfor? Who else knows about this little diamond mine you’ve stumbled upon? Who else have you told about it? Why don’t you think about that for a few seconds and get back to me"

The dwarf frowned and spit out another stream of tobacco juice His blue eyes turned inward as he reviewed the list of folks he’d shared his underground discovery with I illing to bet it was a real short list - with only one woman’s name on it

"Mab," hefor?"

I shot er at him "Give the man a prize"

Dawson frowned "But ould she hire an assassin to kill h A loud, h that echoed off the walls "Because, you idiot, she wants all this for herself All these lovely, lovely dia with the way you’re working for Mab She wouldn’t turn on me like that"

I snorted "Take your head out of your ass Of course Mab would turn on you like that It’s what she does She’s made a career out of it, as a friend of mine would say You’re just the latest casualty in her ever-expanding empire"

Dawson paced back and forth in front of ht about it I took another small step back Ten feet now separated me frooing to have to do After a few seconds, the dwarf stopped pacing The doubt in his eyes faded away, replaced by sparking anger I’d sold him on the lie Even if I didn’tstupid and go after Mab Monroe himself She’d probably kill him, but at least he’d feel her wrath before he died And he htly Either way, it was the best I could do, given ," I said

"What?" Dawson asked

"The old man at the store Why did you brace him like that? Why do you need his land so badly? We’re in this cavern right noith all these gorgeous stones I know you don’t own the hts to the diamonds, but why not just quietly take them out of the walls yourself and be done with it?"

Dawson shook his head "All that Stoneabout your own ele suit"

The dwarf pointed to the ceiling, where water dripped off one of the stalactites "This whole cavern is directly underneath a creek that runs through Fox’s property The ceiling’s strong enough as it is, but if I start digging dia will collapse in, leaving a giant sinkhole right in the er than the one that’s there right now"

He wasn’t telling uessed, but it was nice to have some confirmation

"And you couldn’t risk that," I said in a soft voice "You couldn’t risk hi out about the diamonds that are on his own land"

"S," Dawson h there was no real protest in hed "Ah, the foolishness of youth But I’et out of here"

"Really? And hoould I do that?"

Dawson stared at me "All you have to do is beat me - in an elemental duel"

Chapter Thirty

"A duel?" I asked

He nodded "A duel That’s how I take care of my problems Haven’t lost one yet in more than two hundred years" He looked over his shoulder "You boys iantsDawson standing by hih they’d seen their boss do this a dozen times before They probably had

The dwarf stood relaxed with his knees slightly bent

He tipped his cowboy hat back on his head to give hi down by his sides, fingers flexing and unflexing He rehter who’d just called the town sheriff out into the dusty street for a noon shon

Yeah, I could see how eleht in with Dawson’s cowboy fetish Too bad it was going to be the death of hiain

"A duel," he repeated "You and ic is You ht beat me"