by Mia Strange
“Here,” Eli dropped the hanky in my lap. I was right. Pure silk.
“Thanks, but don’t need it, hardly bled at all.”
“You were bleeding-”
“A little,” I said. “Your hanky is safe.” I handed the square of fabric back to him. He took it with a frown. Yeah. I knew how he felt. So many questions about the black magic blood pumping through my veins. But I wasn’t about to get into it now.
I collected my bow and started to stand. But as the light of the moonstone swung over the planks in front of me, I caught a glimpse of sparkly, iridescent . . . what?
This was not residue from the steam magic. True to form, and borrowing a line from pop culture wizard Jin, that magic, like Elvis, whoever he was, had left the building. No. This was something very different.
“Eli. Look.” I pressed my fingers into the colors and the tiny sparkles stuck to my fingertips. He knelt next to me, holding the stone close. There was a pattern, a shape. I couldn’t place it.
“Scales,” he said. “They’re scales.”
I raised my eyebrows in amazement. I had seen fish scales before. These were nothing like them. My fingertips tingled with warmth and the scales captured the pale light to blink and wink at me. It was as if they were somehow alive.
These scales? Were magic.
“We’re close,” Eli said with hushed excitement.
He swung the moonstone around and held it high to the wall. We both squinted, trying to read a grouping of large, rusted letters. Some hung lopsided, one was missing. Another had twisted upside down. But we could still read it.
STEAM BATH
“We found her,” Eli said, his eyes lighting up. “She’s here. She is.”
8
I was not prepared for Annabel Lee.
We crouched in the shadows staring at the old corroded bathtub. The metal was rusted, chipped…a mess. Pungent, stagnate water, only a few feet deep, rippled in the tub, breaking the thin film of scum that coated the surface.
This bathwater had not been changed for some time.
I studied the small figure crumpled in the tub. Her head hung slumped on her chest. One arm hung lifelessly over the rim. Dirty chewed nails, bitten to the quick made her battered and bruised hand look even smaller. A limp and lifeless tail draped over the side, bent at where human knees would be.
So much for seashell bras, sea star crowns, and iridescent fishtails.
Judging by the thinness of her arms, the girl was starving–maybe to death. I swiped at a tear. The saloon girl ghost, who stood beside me, did the same.
“She lives,” Eli whispered.
I nodded. I too could see the rise and fall of her chest. Shallow, slight, but it was there. Movement. Breathing. Life.
Her hair may have been filthy, matted, snarled–a mess, but Eli was right. There was no holding back the brilliant color of freshly peeled carrots.
I began to count the pack of Micas that surrounded the tub. Twelve. I counted twelve, an even dozen. But there were double that in eyes alone, staring from the shadows. There were the two, hanging upside down, from the ceiling. I shook my head. Enhanced claws. What had the Tinker been thinking?
The alpha, a huge mangy nasty thing, had a coat that looked like it had been splattered with dried blood. I knew this was just their coloring, all spots, and ugly splotches. Nothing like the midnight sleekness of Dagger.
With lethal jaws and wicked iron canines, the alpha studied the girl, his coal-black eyes never leaving her. The animal salivated, drooling more than Zombie Phil.
I knew in an instant this is the one I would try to kill first.
The Micas snapped and bit at the thin veil of magic that surrounded the tub. Somehow, Annabel had managed to protect herself with a ward before she passed out. I could see a smeared, faint line of sea salt that had once circled the tub. Another attempt. On a different day. But now? Her magic was weak, dying bit by bit, right in front of us.
The veil wavered, and for a moment a hole opened. A Mica rushed in from behind the alpha. I gasped as the smaller female, teeth bared, dove through the opening just inches from Annabel’s fragile wrist.
I raised my bow to shoot, aiming for the heart, for the kill shot. To my amazement, I didn’t have to waste my ammo.
Just before I let the arrow fly, the alpha tore out the bitch’s throat. The magical hole in the veil closed. But not before blood, gushing from the dog’s fatal wound, splashed over Annabel, splattering her head and arm in crimson. She looked ashen, still. Dead.
Not her blood, my mind chanted. Not her blood. Not her blood.
“That works,” Eli whispered behind me. “One down-”
“And too many to go.” Shit. There I go with the negative thinking again. “But we can take ‘em,” I added lamely. I think I even did an arm pump. Embarrassing. I looked at Eli. “I didn’t sell it, did I?”
“No.”
“Sorry.”
“You were only stating the obvious. There are too many of them. And, Skye?” He spoke softly. “No matter what, no Chaos Magic in here.”
“Yeah. Not a great place for the walls to come tumbling down.” I moved my fingertips, mimicking rain. Not a good idea, whispered the brick and the stone around me. Not a good idea at all, Skye.
This part of my magic always startled me. When the elements that I manipulated with such chaotic ease spoke to me? It freaked me out. It’s not like we ever had long conversations.
“I hear ya,” I whispered. I figured it would be kind of rude not to answer back.
The veil shimmered and faded. In a few minutes, tops, it would be gone.
“Ideas?” I whispered to Eli.
“Only that leaving here without her is not an option.”
I nodded. “Damn right.”
Annabel still hadn’t moved, let alone wiggled those delicate fingers that hung so precariously over the rim. Another hole opened in the veil. This one, thank God, was too quick for the dogs. It closed before they could pounce. But the new hole gave me an idea.
“What if I give you a foot up? There. Into the veil.” I pointed to another lopsided circle that was growing bigger by the minute. “Shouldn’t be hard-”
“And you protect the veil from the outside.” Eli caught the plan immediately. “I’ll jump in, strengthen the ward-”
“And you pull me in,” I interrupted.
“Yes. I’ll pull you in.” His blue eyes filled with excitement. Eli nodded and put his arm around my shoulders, holding me close. My body warmed, tingled. “I’ll always pull you in,” he whispered in my ear.
Somehow, I thought those words meant more than just getting yanked into a magic veil while being chased by a pack of blood-crazed, heart-snacking, enhanced, crazy-ass dogs. But whatever the meaning? Coming from Elijah Dark? The words were downright pure sex and lust all wrapped up in tangled sheets. I was about to run headfirst into danger, face an enemy that scared the holy living shit out of me, and all of the sudden? I felt pretty pumped up about it.
Wow. This lust thing, wanting to make out thing? Sure could fire a girl up.
“We’ll surround ourselves in the veil along with Annabel,” he continued. “We’ll go from there.”
I looked at the near frenzied pack of salivating, wild-eyed dogs. “Go from there?” I raised my eyebrows. “That’s the best ya got?”
“Yep. Look.” Eli pointed toward the bathtub.
More holes had opened in the translucent magic curtain that surrounded our mermaid. For now, they looked like tiny bubbles, like the kind floating in Jin’s ceramic pink fishbowl.
The bubbles were spreading, melting into each other, making bigger and bigger holes, one after another. Like the last leaf on a tree in winter, her protection would drop, and Annabel wouldn’t have a chance. Our mermaid would be ripped opened, her heart devoured, right in front of us.
“Ready?” Eli asked. He maneuvered his trace wire over his head and positioned his crossbow for action.
“Ready.”
&n
bsp; “Take this.” He pulled his belt from the loops in his jeans and handed it to me. I looked at it, dumbfounded.
“Use it like a whip. It’s loaded with silver. Here,” he pointed out the small circles. “In the grommets.”
The belt suddenly made perfect sense. Silver could kill a Skinwalker, and these monsters were born from Skinwalker magic.
Eli nodded and took a step toward the Micas. I grabbed his sleeve just before he bolted. “Wait.”
“What?”
“An alchemist can cast a ward, right? I mean no offense, but you’re not Dru.”
“Dru taught me a few things.”
“A few?”
“One is enough.”
I took a deep breath and nodded. “On two.”
“Not three?”
“Wanna get it over with.”
“Me too. Be safe. One, two-”
He burst from the shadows with the grace and speed of an athlete. He sprinted toward the tub. His arrows flew. Mica after Mica dropped. Their jaws clanking together in death, sending deafening echoes thundering down the boardwalk. The alpha dodged the danger with uncanny speed. The monster still lived.
Close behind, I ran after Eli. I jumped over fallen, dying bodies, while iron teeth still snapped. The copper smell of blood filled the room, the stink of their mangy hides made me gag. My arrows followed Eli’s in rapid succession. They too found mark after mark. I silently thanked Pilot for the hours of patient instruction.
A Mica lunged, catching my boot, its fangs tangling in my yellow laces. I went down from the sheer force of yanking teeth grabbing my shoestrings. My crossbow clattered to the floor.
I whipped the belt from over my shoulder, flailing the animal. The Mica’s hide sizzled and ripped, the ragged wounds oozing a sickening sulfur smell. The dog, bred without the ability to howl or bark, squealed in pain. With silver coursing through its system, the Mica shuddered, took its last breath, and died.
I stood, yanking my foot from under the beast. I heard the snap of the metal tooth as it broke off, where it stayed, still caught in my laces. Grabbing my bow, I kicked the carcass out of my way. The body slammed into another Mica, sending the animal flying and rolling, like a tumbleweed in the Ash Lands.
A short distance away, the alpha watched. His attention was on me. The animal sniffed the air, panting, and bared his teeth. I could smell his rancid breath. I could taste my own fear.
He never took his eyes off where my heart was beating hard against my ribs. I knew at that moment that Annabel was no longer on his menu. I was.
“Skye. Now.”
I spun, and Eli was right behind me.
Kneeling on one knee, I laced my fingers together, cupping my hands. Using my palms as a platform to jump, Eli dove into the hole above us. His crossbow caught on the edge, snagged, and the weapon flew over my head, skittering off somewhere in the darkness. He landed inside, silent, on cat’s feet, crouching right next to Annabel’s slumped head. The moonstone rolled out of his hand and wedged against one of the copper claw feet. A soft glow seeped into the darkness.
The hole immediately squeezed shut.
I was locked out.
Fuck. This was not the plan.
Catching a fleeting look of surprise on Eli’s face, I could tell what he was thinking. Fuck. This was not the plan.
Shit. What a time for us to be on the same page. He lunged forward, bare hands clawing at the veil.
The ringing of snapping iron jaws assaulted my hearing. Not as bad as the automaton bats, but close. I felt blood seep from my left ear canal. No time to think. Only to react.
Turning, with my crossbow drawn, I faced the alpha. He was but an arm’s length away, standing right in front of me. I heard the Micas on the ceiling as they skittered closer, until they were right above me. The remaining pack crept from the shadows, surrounding, waiting for the alpha’s move. Waiting for his kill.
Too many, my mind said once more. Too many. And for once, my negative thinking was right. Outnumbered, I steadied my arrow, aiming it at the alpha’s heart. Aiming for the kill shot.
Nothing, not even death was going to stop me from killing this animal. From stopping this evil. In a minute I may be headed for Hell, but this Mica? Was going with me. The Underworld would have a new Hellhound. Soon.
I let the arrow fly.
Black magic shimmered around the dog, and I knew instantly that my arrow would not find its mark. The Mica had consumed too much magic, had eaten too many magical hearts. And now that magic, held captive, mislead and confused, protected the animal. My arrow did little more than bounce off his hide as if hitting rubber.
What I wouldn’t give for Traveler Hale’s Athame. The knife would slice through this magic and kill the monster, the moment I plunged it into its black heart.
The alpha lunged, iron jaws gaping open, aiming for my chest. For my heart.
I dropped my bow and grabbed the belt. The Mica, landing from his leap, stepped on the bow, snapping it in two. He slammed into me, nearly crushing my chest. I struggled to breathe.
My flesh burned, as the dog’s claws grazed my arm while digging into the planks beside me. Just like an insect on a collector’s board, I was pinned.
With my one free arm, I managed to hook the belt over the Mica’s muzzle, looping it under the jaw. The magic shattered and steamed. It drained off the dog in large dripping, droplets of black goo. Pooling on the floor, the magic crawled away, leaving a singed, stinking trail behind it.
I had just witnessed the reality of one of Elijah Dark’s lessons. Silver and black magic? Do. Not. Mix.
Silver and Black Magic.
A fleeting thought whispered through my mind about the danger awaiting Traveler Hale tonight. Awaiting me. It was gone the moment it arrived. Hard to concentrate on anything else other than the terror in front of me.
Yanking the belt hard around his muzzle, the alpha’s hide began to melt away. He squealed in pain, and once again I was treated to the stomach-turning smell of sulfur, rotting eggs, and decomposing flesh.
The alpha reared back, nearly dislocating my shoulder. He shook his huge head and the belt, like it was no more than a fly on his nose, flew from my grip.
Iron jaws opened above me.
This was it.
I had nothing.
Nothing left to fight with. Nothing.
Except? My fury. My rage. And my love for the Academy. For Elijah Dark.
And that? Was enough.
Chaos Magic roared to life inside my mind’s eye. I felt it swirling up deep from my gut. Saw it pulling from my heart. Feeding my soul. I felt it climb into the air around me, real, tangible. Present.
The dog noticed too. He lifted his massive head and looked around, jerking to and fro, as if chasing an errant wasp. That pause, that fraction of a heartbeat, was the alpha’s fatal mistake.
Trace wire whipped around the dog’s neck at lightning speed.
“Miss me?” I heard Eli say. I wanted to reply, hell yes. But I could hardly breathe, let alone talk.
The trace wire, swinging like a jump rope, circled and circled, until the thin wire bore into the Mica’s neck fur, cutting deep into the flesh below. Eli, with his chainmail gloves on, twisted the wire around his fist and yanked the dog off me.
I rolled onto my side, gasping for breath. Pushing to my knees, I saw Eli kick the Mica with those lethal boots of his. Like a crab threatened by a gull, I scooted backward on all fours, moving toward Annabel. I stopped when my back hit the tub.
Eli let loose of the wire, grabbed an abandoned two-by-four, and with one amazing, powerful swing, crushed it into the alpha’s skull. The old wood splintered. A long, jagged piece fell at my feet. I grabbed it and hoisted myself up.
I sprinted to the downed alpha. Plunging the makeshift spear into its heart, I sunk to my knees, all the while pushing the shaft deeper into the monster’s chest. The alpha let out a foul breath, jerked, and lay dead, its iron jaw clanking to a close, one last time.
Except for the small gasp of the saloon girl ghost, we were met with blessed silence. Eli’s eyes met mine. Relief flooded his expression. Grasping my hand, he pulled me up. We backed away from the body slowly until the back of our knees hit Annabel’s tub. I looked at her over my shoulder. She still lay in that filthy water. Listless. Unconscious.
The veil was gone. The ward, broken.
“Ward?” I whispered.
Eli shook his head. “Nothing remains to work with. I got in too late.”
“Didn’t know there could be a, ‘too late’ for a ward.”
“Yeah. Well, me neither.”
I shook my head. “You’re so not Dru.”
He quirked a smile. “True.”
We watched the remaining dogs close in. The two above us flipped off the ceiling in an uncanny somersault, landing before us with a resounding thud. The floor shook beneath my feet. Dripping jowls and hate-filled eyes glared at us as they circled the body of their fallen alpha.
“We have a few minutes,” Eli said. “Until a new alpha steps up.” He nodded toward a huge, reddish-colored male, one of the two that had been hanging off the ceiling. “That one.”
“Great.” I sighed. “The circus acrobat. Mr. Upside-down.”
“This Mica is powerful. Magic favors him. Unfortunately, he’s smart, too. Staying out of harm’s way, until the alpha was dealt with. Genius.”
I hated that we were now dealing with a Mica that might be a genius. Don’t know how I felt about getting eaten by a dog smarter than I was. Just shit. We had to get out of here. “Time to move?”
Eli pointed toward the entrance. “We’ll make our way back toward the wrought iron gates. Close them behind–”
“They’re huge. They must weight a ton-”
“They do–”
“They haven’t been moved for decades–”
“We can close them.”
“We can?”
“You can.”
I met Eli’s gaze, and an unspoken understanding passed between us. Chaos Magic would be used after all. I could close the gates. We both knew it. I just had to pray that nothing else would ‘move’ with them. Like the entire Seattle Underground, caving in, and burying us alive.