"Well this changes things."
"No shit," I spat at him. "You can't just eliminate him because he probably has a ton of protection around him. And if he's sitting here with her, chances are he knows you're on to him".
"Is that your professional and connected opinion," Dimitri asked, holding my gaze.
"No, it is not my 'connected' opinion. It's a fucking logicalopinion".
Dimitri stepped forward, crowding me in the stairwell.
"And," I added, refusing to concede a step, "you quite possibly just threw my Club into some sort of war."
“So, no god or deity told you this information?” The jackass was mocking me, he looked down at me, a smirk firmly on his lips. "And there's always war Bambi, maybe that's your lesson for today," he added.
I stepped closer towards him, the smell of him even in this setting - where I wanted to throttle him - intoxicating.
“Fuck you,” I whispered loudly.
“Stop this at once, Dimitri,” Arlo’s accent was thicker as he spoke.
Turning towards me, he continued as if nothing had happened, "Can you not counter this Voodoo woman and find a solution for us?"
Dread pooled within the pit of my stomach as I stood before both Dimitri and Arlo. Did I tell them to take their job and shove it? Afterall, this wasn't what I signed up for. Or should I be even more starkly honest and acknowledge that I did not know if I could take her on.
Weighing my options, I turned to Arlo and said, "The Tarot Club works with all forms and mediums of Magick. So, I might have to call on some of the others within the Club, but we are fully capable, but," I added almost hesitantly, "this was not what we signed up for, so Charl will probably want to renegotiate terms."
Arlo held my gaze before dipping his head in agreement. Dimitri's jaw was locked, strained against the tension of this situation.
I spoke as we walked down the stairwell, each step of my heel against the metal staircase creating a clanging sound. “I have to create some form of protection for you two - I think a bracelet will be best, that way you can have it on you at all times.”
When neither of them replied, I continued, "And I will probably need to do some clearances on the both of you, as well as a reflection spell so that we can send back any harmful or negative energy you've accumulated, as well as spells, or curses."
The silence that answered me was deafening, and I didn’t realise that the two men behind me had stopped walking, not until Dimitri grabbed my wrist, pressing me up against the wall. His other hand hovered above his gun, peeking out from the waistband of his pants.
I quickly averted my gaze, realising that I've been staring at his crotch area, where the gun is near.
"Can we not just eliminate the woman?" He exhaled his question, his breath hot against my skin, and I couldn't help but think that he may be asking something else.
I smiled sweetly up at him, "Why? Do you think she is the only one who has cursed you or wished you harm?" I batted my lashes as the muscle in his jaw began to tick. "Come now, Dimitri, I can't eliminate every person who wished you harm in this city, there would be no one left standing."
He released me from his grip, but his eyes still held me firmly in place. A dull roaring sounded in my eyes as I became increasingly aware of his proximity.
Deflating, I smiled tightly, forcing myself to swallow, "She will definitely have measures in place if she's killed, and so by killing her, you may open yourself to something much worse," I explained, "In fact," I added, "I can almost guarantee that it will be much worse."
Dimitri sighed, pushing away from me as if he knew the answer wouldn't be so simple. The loss of his gaze upon my skin left me reeling as I pressed myself into the wall for stability.
"Look, go home,” I offered, “I'm going to work tonight and make some protection bracelets for the two of you. I'll do the reading and see if I can find a way out of this mess.”
Arlo nodded his head in thanks, leaving Dimitri to scowl down at the looming exit. I’d come to understand that that was his permanent expression.
When we finally reached the bottom of the stairwell, Dimitri’s scowl pivoted towards me.
"Not a fuck. You will be doing whatever the fuck Arlo believes that you can do for us in terms of the Magickal protection you keep waffling on about tonight,” he demanded.
His eyes bore into mine.
“You are not going to cause my grandfather any further stress by delaying this bullshit, so I suggest you do your little raindance or whatever the fuck it is that you plan on doing now,” his voice was low and gutteral.
I sighed. At least he wasn't doubting me, but I was quickly getting to the point where my quota had been filled for tolerating this man’s arrogance.