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just been thrown through the door of the bar into the street. He lay sprawled out on the sidewalk, not moving and maybe even dead, and I was sure he was part of the other problem I was supposed to fix: Sage.
    Sorrel and I got out of the car. I didn’t stop to see if Refrigerator was breathing. It wasn’t that I was heartless, but he wasn’t the first unwelcome person to be tossed out of the Wild Hare. I couldn’t see how this would be causing pagans to flee from this part of Underworld, and the blacksmith’s shop wasn’t exactly around the corner. These businesses were abandoned and not even run by pagans, so whatever Sage was up to, it didn’t have anything to do with the other problem. I also found it odd that Sorrel hadn’t noticed the closed businesses, but we were already at the Wild Hare, so the issue with Sage needed to be handled first.
    I walked into the bar just as another pagan was about to be thrown out. I stepped aside just in time for his body to fly past me, but Sorrel wasn’t as lucky. The new guy slammed into him with enough force to knock Sorrel to the ground. Angry, he threw the unconscious pagan off of him.
    “Thanks for the warning, Claire,” he said, knocking dirt from his pants.
    “Man up.” I smiled, not sure what he’d really expected me to do.
    There were a few gasps as I entered the bar. Sage, who was clearly drunk, was staggering back to his seat at the bar after tossing the pagan out the door. He gave me a bleary-eyed look of disgust before motioning for the barkeep to pour him another drink.
    Before I could confront him, my path was blocked by several of the newly-turned Fallen. The three men and one woman went down on one knee before me.
    “All hail the queen,” the man in front said.
    “All hail the true ruler of Fallen,” the woman added.
    Sorrel snorted behind me. Ignoring him, I motioned for the newly aligned to stand. “Thank you, please carry on with your day.” Scanning the room, I spotted more than one patron with eyes that shined green. They bowed their heads when our gazes met. I nodded and smiled, but other than that, I had no clue how to treat them.
    With a drunken laugh, Sage said something that sounded derogatory, which reminded me why I was here. I headed over to the hot mess that was Sage on whiskey.
    “Hello, my queen,” he slurred.
    Looking at the bartender, I said, “Cut him off.”
    The dark-haired pagan was the same bartender that had been here last summer when I came looking for Ronin. On that visit, I’d thrown a guy through the wall and then the building next door. Glancing to the right, I noticed the wall had been repaired. The bartender’s eyes were wide, obviously remembering the same event. Luckily, he didn’t know I wasn’t strong enough to do it again. I just shrugged and mouthed, ‘No more for Sage.’ The bartender nodded before scurrying away.
    “Pussy,” Sage bellowed at the retreating man. “Yes, go get my brother. She has no power. No control here. More drink,” he slurred, slamming his glass on the bar and sloshing some of the amber liquid over the rim.
    A few chairs behind me scraped the floor, followed by the sounds of feet shuffling away and exiting the bar.
    Glancing at Sorrel, I asked, “Did you know he was like this?”
    Before Sorrel could answer, the throbbing pain of Gizelle’s reminder kicked up a notch. I was aware of Mace’s presence before I heard or saw him.
    “What the hell is going on out here?” Mace barked.
    Sage chuckled and continued to drink his whiskey.
    Slowly I turned to face Mace, ignoring Gizelle’s curse, which seemed to react only to him. I raised an eyebrow just as his gaze fell on me.
    He stopped in his tracks. My vision flashed green and I sensed his anxiety increasing as the impact of our meeting fully settled in. This was, after all, the first time I’d laid eyes on him since I threatened to kill him. Considering how poorly he had treated me in the past, he should have been thankful I