It crouched, the motion eerie and alien, and tilted its head almost entirely to the horizontal, first one way, then the other, as it looked at us. Then its stomach heaved. For a second I thought it was throwing up, as a yellow-and-pink mucus began to emerge from its mouth. After a second, though, it lifted its clamplike claws and gripped its head, then peeled it back and away from the mucus, the motion disturbingly akin to someone donning a too-small turtleneck sweater. A human face emerged from the mucus and gunk, while the split carapace of the head flopped about on its chest and upper back.

The Denarian looked like she was about fifteen years old, except for her hair, which was silvery grey, short, and plastered to her skull. She had huge and gorgeous green eyes, a heart-shaped face, and a delicate, pointy chin. Her skin was pale and clear, her cheekbones high, her features lovely and symmetrical. The second set of green eyes and the sigil of angelic script still glowed faintly on her forehead.

She smiled slowly. “I wasn’t expecting the chain. I thought fire and force were your weapons of choice.”

“You were standing on top of someone I knew,” I said. “I didn’t feel like burning her or blasting her through the wall.”

“Foolish,” the girl murmured.

“I’m still here.”

“But so am I.”

“You have five seconds to get to the fucking point,” I said. “I’m not going to let you stall while your buddies get into position.”

Mantis Girl narrowed her eyes. The eyes on her forehead narrowed as well. Très creepy. She nodded at Hendricks and Gard. “My business is with them. Not you, O Warden of the White Council. Give them to me. You may leave in peace. Once they are dead, I will gather my compatriots and we will depart the city without harm to any innocents.”

I grunted. “What if I need them alive?”

“If you wish, I can wait until you have interrogated them.”

“Yeah, that’s what I want: you, standing around behind my back.”

She lifted a talon. “I give you my solemn word. No harm will come to you or your companion.”

“Tempting,” I said.

“Shall I add in material reward as well?” Mantis Girl asked. “I’ll pay you two hundred thousand, in cash.”

“Why on earth would you do that?”

She shrugged a shoulder. “My quarrel is with the upstart Baron and his subjects—not the White Council. I would prefer to demonstrate my respect to your people, instead of causing an untoward altercation with them over the matter of your death.”

“Uh-huh.”

Her smile turned sharper. “If it pleases you, I might offer to entertain you, once business is done.”

I let out a harsh burst of laughter. “Oh,” I said, still chortling. “Oh, oh, oh. That’s funny.”

She blinked and stared at me, uncomprehending.

The expression made me laugh even harder. “You…you want me to…I mean, Hell’s bells, do you think I don’t know what happens to a mantis’s mate once the deed is done?”