Page 4 of Devil May Lie

Madden waved toward the mini-fridge tucked under the long table on the other side of the room. “Help yourself.”

“Thanks.”

“What now?” Muse asked.

“Clean this up,” Madden replied, rubbing at his forehead. He was starting to get a headache as well. Not because there was currently a dead body oozing in his safe space—it wasn’t the first, wouldn’t be the last—but because he was so over this whole conversation, it wasn’t even funny.

He needed something entertaining immediately.

“What?” Great scrunched his nose. “He made the mess, why are we the ones cleaning it up?”

“The Butcher never cleans up after himself,” Madden stated plainly.

Berga propped himself against the edge of the table, a glass of water in his left hand, a small vial of pills in the other, and shrugged at them. “I’m squeamish.”

Muse stared as though waiting for the punchline.

“He’s not joking,” Madden saved him from waiting an eternity and said.

“He just stabbed someone through the jugular without blinking,” Muse pointed out.

“Of course I blinked,” Berga corrected. “On average, I blink eleven times per minute. Oh.” He reconsidered. “I suppose it didn’t take me that long to incapacitate him. Is that the period of time you’re referring to?”

“Just,” Madden sighed again, “clean up and go.”

The two of them grumbled but otherwise did as they were told. Muse dragged out the body while Great got the mop from the far corner. Despite their protests, this wasn’t their first time dealing with a spill either, and they got the job done quickly and, mostly, silently.

“Does Kelevra know you’re here holding court without him?” Berga asked as he sipped at his water, and it took Madden longer than it should have to realize the man was teasing him.

Kelevra Diar, the Imperial Prince third in line for the throne, was the leader of the Retinue and, in fact, the only reason the Retinue even existed in the first place. All of the members were handpicked by Kel, chosen to help support his position on the planet and keep him safe.

He also happened to be Madden’s best friend since they were children.

“The Docks are my own personal kingdom,” he played into the joke with a shrug. “Which means you’ve crossed into my territory, Butcher. What do you say, want to bend the knee?”

“Sure,” Berga surprised him by saying, until he pointed at Muse and added in an even tone, “As long as I can cut that guy’s off. He’s a Craz, correct? Some pieces of their body have toxic properties when ground up and added to—”

“Bro,” Muse straightened from his task of drying up the water left over from the mop, “I’m literally within hearing range. I can hear you.”

“That’s good,” Berga didn’t skip a beat. “Then you can answer for the Mad King. Are you from Crazimer?”

Mad King?

Madden straightened a bit in his seat at the odd nickname. He hadn’t thought they were close enough for those. But also…Where the hell had it come from?

“We’re done,” Great slapped a protective hand on Muse’s shoulder and said to Madden, “and we’re leaving.”

“Probably for the best,” Madden replied. Even he couldn’t tell if Berga was serious about the kneecap thing. Muse was one of his top racers. Better for them all to play it safe and get him away from the Butcher. “Shut the door on your way out.”

The main entrance to the docks was a large roller door, with an opening big enough to fit a boat, though the space had been converted into Madden’s home of sorts. As soon as the metal door hit the floor, he gave all of his attention to Berga, curiosity getting the best of him.

“Thought you came around to ask about Flix?” Which he’d already done, and Madden had already given a reply to. Why was he still here? “What’s up? Don’t tell me you suddenly want to get to know me better.” Doubtful, considering they’d technically known one another for over a decade, having met when they were both children.

“It appears as though I used the wrong pill,” Berga stated cryptically, holding the vial up to one of the swinging lamps so he could peer in at the contents. “I thought I was taking a regular pain medication, but instead, I took Impression.”

“Impression?” He’d never heard of it.

“It’s an aphrodisiac,” Berga said bluntly, tearing his eyes off the pills when Madden sucked in a sharp breath at that.