Page 32 of Malice in e minor

I jumped off the statue, but I rubbed my butthole on it one more time for good measure.

“I don’t own Misha and he can talk to whoever he wants. I only have a problem when Misha doesn’t want to talk to someone and they don’t back off. He would have walked away if he didn’t want to talk to you. You spilled your coffee on yourself when he ran into your friend trying to flee the dining hall, so I’m almost certain if someone doesn’t want to have a conversation with you, you aren’t going to try to force them to stay.”

“Is he okay? I know it’s not my business, but I know what a panic attack looks like when it’s about to start.”

“Do you know the dirty history of ballet?”

“I took dance history as an elective in undergrad, but I don’t think I know what you’re talking about.”

It was Misha’s story to tell, but if she was going to be working with us, she needed to know. I wasn’t going to give her all the details because she’d probably never work with us, but I could give her the basics. I didn’t particularly think she’d do anything to set him off, but better safe than sorry.

“So, dance doesn’t pay well and for the most part, it doesn’t pay year round. Sets and costumes are expensive, but a ballet dancer goes through an insane amount of pointe shoes and those aren’t cheap. Ask Rue how many she’s been through just this week since I’ve seen you hanging out and she’s nice. It’s probably at least three or four.

“There is a long sordid history, and it’s even made the news recently, but basically, if you’ve got rich arseholes with more money than morals and a bunch of nubile dancers without it, you can blackmail the dancers with less money if they give the rich arseholes whatever they want.

“That was Misha’s life before we met him and he was a favorite for that. He’s totally fine in most crowds, and he would be fine here if we weren’t famous. They talk about us like we’re slabs of beef and they don’t care if we can hear them. Orion and I are on stage during our shows, but Misha is the focal point since he’s dancing. Plus, he dances like that. You can’t take your eyes off him. We usually don’t go to the dining hall because of the gross things Misha has to hear. It sets him off and reminds him of things he wants to forget. It was stupid to even go that night.”

She put her hands on her hips and glared at me. Oh, she was mad, and I liked that.

“Well, if it was your idea, why did you bring him and if it was his, why didn’t you talk him out of it? I have no idea how much therapy he’s had to deal with that, but you can’t control the situation in the dining hall, so don’t bring him there, dumbass.”

I had to resist the urge to adjust my semi because there were only a few people that would call me out like that and I’d slept with all of them. I gave her a deep bow.

“It was a momentary lapse that won’t happen again. We are protective of every bit of Misha. That wasn’t why I came out here. I have a business proposal. You don’t have to say yes, just hear me out.”

“Can I hear you out inside where there’s heating, no snow, and hopefully coffee? The cold isn’t good for my violin and I’ve been out here too long already. I really shouldn’t have played in the snow in the first place and I had it timed to get out here and get back in.”

I was botching this. I didn’t know the first thing about violins, just that if you had one at her level, they cost more than a car. I’d been coming up with a plan to watch Isobel in case she decided to go for Harlowe’s violin like I heard her throw out and here I was keeping her in the cold and possibly damaging her violin.

“Come to my art studio? I have a coffee machine in there capable of brewing an entire pot of coffee so strong, you see noises and a mini fridge with an assortment of creamers because I like the American way of making your coffee taste like a sugar cookie caramel abomination.”

“You’re speaking my language.”

I grabbed her gear because I knew there was no way she wanted me touching her violin. I knew she was a muse. Her music inspired me, but she also wasn’t afraid to challenge me.

And I never invited anyone to my studio except Orion and Misha. It slipped right off my tongue without even thinking about it when I asked her to come.

Iwas going to strangle Azriel if I ever got out of this cage. He was the last person who should be handling this. And don’t think I didn’t notice him rubbing his butt all over my statue. I didn’t know how she didn’t notice. He looked like a hellhound with impacted anal glands or worms.

He also could have damaged her violin. I was surprised she had even gone in the snow to play. The visual was stunning once I saw it. She only played a few songs and only one of them had a Devil’s Tritone in it.

It was brief and I wouldn’t be let out of my cage that long. I wanted to watch to make sure Azriel didn’t blow it, but I needed to drop in on someone I didn’t like, but had use for as of now.

Faustus was sipping wine and meeting with that insufferable girl who may end up being a problem for Harlowe. I knew what he was doing. Her daddy was loaded and gave a lot of money to the school. I was pretty sure Faustus was pocketing some of it. In fact, I knew it, but the school wasn’t suffering, so I hadn’t punished him for it.

“Get out,” I said.

“Excuse me, do you mind? I was here first.”

Yeah, the mouth on this one. She didn’t have the talent to back it up. The only way she’d get a contract when she graduated was if she made a deal and I wasn’t planning on offering her one. I didn’t like nasty people. I didn’t offer them to everyone here. Just the people I planned on using to be free.

Isobel would have to find a very specific book in the library and summon Mephistopheles. Mephistopheles would have to accept her deal and have her sign the contract. I wasn’t worried. No one had checked out that book or tried to use it in decades.

I bared my teeth at her and let myself glow a bit. Not enough to smite the whole room or even tip her off I was an angel, but enough to scare her. We used to have to tell mortals be not afraid. They needed to be more afraid lately.

She scurried out with her tail between her legs because she had the good sense not to mouth off anymore. Faustus just sighed. I knew he was worried I just chased off his meal ticket. I didn’t just watch Harlowe. I had to keep an eye on this jackass too.

“Pay your own tax bill, motherfucker.”