Magpie cocked his head. “Except for tonight.”
The bitter taste of curse words pushed at Gray’s tongue, but he restrained his temper and spoke on, “What I mean is that all this time, you could always count on me. Maybe I deserve a bonus?”
“Keep talking,” Magpie told him, tapping his cane against the floor.
Gray’s head echoed with a pulsing that originated in his heart, but he couldn’t dress his request in any more pretty words. “I need a ruby.”
Magpie shook his head. “Don’t we all.”
Anger simmered inside Gray, and the fact that he was on his back, lying at Magpie’s feet made him even more furious. “This isn’t a joke. If I don’t get him another ruby, he will die next month.”
“Yes. He would have served his purpose.”
Gray tightened his hold on Shadow, his chest contracting as if he’d been stabbed all over again. “When have you served your purpose then? Haven’t you once been just like him?”
Finally, he got Magpie’s attention. “Not exactly, but I see your point.” He turned to Shadow, rubbing his chin with fingers adorned with large rings. “So you want to stay, huh?”
“Yes, the human world is full of pain, and I’ve been so unhappy here, but Gray is here too, and that changes everything. I need to stay.”
Magpie frowned. “Pain and suffering? You really need to look for different friends. I’m having all the fun I want.”
Gray rolled his eyes. “Fantastic. Good for you. Now, can we get an adequate ruby for him?”
“You see yourself to what lengths I have to go to find any at this point. And most of those will turn out the wrong shade, or lab-made, which makes them useless to me. In this situation, do you really think I’d be willing to part with a ruby that could save this world just so that your lover can live that bit longer?”
The rational part of Gray’s brain, which had so far guided him through life so far, knew that Magpie was right—the life of one person, especially one who wasn’t all that upset with the prospect of death itself—a small sacrifice when the entire world was at stake. Magpie was the one who knew Baal and his powers like no one else, and if he was fighting for each gemstone, then maybe the margin between triumph and loss was really that slim.
But Gray was a flesh and blood human with feelings, and he knew what loss felt like. He could not lose his Shadow.
“That is exactly what I’m asking.”
Magpie leaned forward, but took painful seconds to answer. “Have you dyed your hair?”
Gray let out a roar, but the sudden tension it created in his body had him twitching in pain.
Magpie sighed. “I know of a ruby that I cannot claim. To be clear that I am not trying to trick you, I don’t know its state and it would be close to impossible to attain, but once the Pigeon Heart is safely in Beast’s hands, I will tell you where the other one is, and I won’t fight you for it. How does that sound?”
Gray sucked in air, his mind clouding from the pain that was becoming difficult to ignore despite Shadow’s warm arms around him. “Why not one of these? Throughout the years we found so many for you, and I need just one. Beast can own one in his engagement ring. Why not me?”
“Why do you think they call me ‘Magpie’? What your lover needs can’t be just any stone. It can’t be a splinter. The kind of ruby Beast owns would support his life for perhaps a few months anyway. And the situation has changed dramatically when you made a pact with Baal, so there is no comparison between the two.
“For three centuries I have served my former master, so I know what kind of power he has at his service. He now has an immense amount of gems that he can use to focus his power. I realized too late what would really happen to this world once the ritual was completed. The rubies I’m collecting are our lifeline, so I will only offer you this possibility once. The one ruby no one else has managed to retrieve, or nothing. It’s your call. If we all survive what Baal has planned, you can reach into my coffers. Until then, I’m not giving away anything.”
Shadow gently stroked Gray’s arm. “It’s okay. There’s still a month to go.”
Gray looked at him, suddenly too choked up to speak. It was only a month. Maybe to Shadow it seemed like a long time, but Gray knew how quickly time could pass by. He rubbed his thumb against Shadow’s palm, but it didn’t seem like he had much choice.
“Could you make him like Vars then? Immortal, I mean.”
“I can only make pacts with humans.”