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whoever it is here to pull that dagger out, I want you to give Niko his humanity without taking my eyesight or my memories. Our bargain before is erased.”
    Balthazar tightened his lips to suppress a grin. He liked her use of “when.” She had guts, this one. Normally, humans hedged their bets by using the word “if.” Less commitment that way. Arianne didn’t know putting something into words gave it power. The fact that she said “when” pushed the Underverse to align everything needed for her to accomplish her goal. From experience though, just because the Underverse aligned didn’t mean the job got any easier. In fact, because Arianne gave voice to the thought, things got more complicated for Balthazar. Now he had to say yes to D’s request for help.
    All amusement gone, a string of nasty, unvoiced curses spread through him like a rash. He should have stopped the girl from voicing her intentions. But, since everyone seemed to be committing acts of stupidity today, one more wouldn’t matter much.
    His ears burned at the mention of Niko’s name. Could she mean that prick Nikolas? Only one Reaper went by the name Niko, so Balthazar’s assumption couldn’t be wrong. Arianne wanted his humanity. Would she still if she found out the truth about the Reaper of Georgia? Balthazar practically licked his chops. He’d have a field day with the little chit.
    His day had just gotten more interesting. A plan swirled to life in his head. If he had to baby-sit the girl, he’d gain something out of it in the end. Nothing was free in the Underverse after all.
    “For your help”—D’s breath had an ugly rasp to it now, like he was preparing to hack up a lung—“I will negate our previous bargain and give you what you desire.”
    “Niko’s humanity,” she said. “Say it.”
    Balthazar’s eyebrows went up. The chit had smarts. Somehow she knew she needed the word of Death for the deal to remain valid. In the Crossroads, D’s word became law, which was one reason why Balthazar wanted the seat in the first place. After he had the minions clean away all the blood, of course.
    “Once you return with the Redeemer and this dagger is pulled from my chest, I will give Nikolas his humanity and return you both to the human world unharmed. How is that?”
    Arianne stayed silent for a long minute. On her face Balthazar read the way she digested the words. Maybe moving through the Underverse with her wouldn’t be as difficult as he previously thought. At least she wouldn’t be stupid and get them killed. Maybe. He still wouldn’t bet on her. Being human had its disadvantages where they were going.
    When she finally agreed to D’s offer, the fear had disappeared and only determination remained.
    “So,” D addressed Balthazar, “will you escort her through the Underverse, using all the resources at your disposal to protect her, until she returns with the Redeemer?”
    Balthazar grinned. “If she gets to make a bargain with you, so will I. My services aren’t free, D, you know that.”
    For the first time, D’s shoulders slumped. This little impromptu meeting was taking its toll on him, more than Balthazar first suspected. He’d make it quick. He may be a black-hearted jackass a majority of the time, but he did have a sense of mercy—a trait he’d gotten from his mother. The jury was still out on whether he thought it useful or not.
    “For escorting the girl, I ask that, once you are back to your fighting weight and have put all your affairs in order, you will agree to my challenging you for your seat,” Balthazar said formally. “And everything that results from the challenge. No counter offers, D. This is my price.”
    In the Underverse, they didn’t need paper for a contract. So long as you knew how to word things properly, anything spoken became binding.
    D nodded. “What about for protecting Arianne?”
    “Ah, that…” Balthazar studied the girl. She didn’t flinch under his scrutiny. Another point to her