Apparently she didn’t have any problem identifying him, but if she was trying to use a touch of hypnotic vampire seduction on him, it wasn’t working. Maybe werewolves were immune to it. Ignoring her question, Cody showed his badge again. “We have reason to believe there’s a minor on the premises.”

Lady Eris’s eyelids flickered ever so slightly. “I’m sure that’s not the case. My people are under strict orders.”

“People make mistakes, my lady,” I said.

Her gaze shifted back to me, and this time I felt its weight. “Last time, you came seeking a favor and I granted it freely, Hel’s liaison,” she said in a silken voice filled with playful menace. “What will you give me for this one?”

Oh, gah! That shouldn’t be effective, but it was. I could feel my skin getting warmer, my blood rising. Clearing my throat, I let my mental shield grow from a tiny spark to the size of a mirror in a makeup compact and held it between us, trying to play my cards close to my chest. Lady Eris gave me the eyebrow arch anyway. “The courtesy of your response was noted in Niflheim, my lady,” I said to her. Total lie, but I needed to put my own spin on it. “However, I am tasked by Hel herself to mediate between eldritch and mundane authorities, and this matter pertains directly to the House of Shadows.”

I thought that was pretty damn diplomatic of me, not to mention well phrased, but the mistress of the manor was unamused. “In other words, this is not a request.”

Inclining my head a few degrees, I kept my mouth shut.

“No,” Cody said bluntly. “It’s not.”

Lady Eris came off her stool with blinding speed to slap him across the face with an open hand, her nails raking his cheek. Her attendants scattered out of the way. Cody’s head snapped sideways, his face distorting in a snarl, his mouth suddenly full of too many teeth, hands clenching into fists. Hairy, hairy fists. She stood imperiously before him, unmoving, unbreathing. “Mind your manners, wolf. This is my territory.”

He growled at her in response, blood trickling down his cheek.

“Whoa!” I found my voice. “Whoa, whoa, whoa, people! Let’s not go all Underworld here.” No one was listening to me. “Cody!” I thumped him on the back. He glanced at me with a low growl, his face still distorted and his eyes glowing with green phosphorescence. “Hey! You’re in uniform.”

I’m not sure what made me choose those words, but they worked. His features shifted back into human form. “I could arrest you for assaulting an officer,” he said in a hard voice. “You’re not above the law.”