by Linsey Hall
“Done.” He spoke the words so quickly that it surprised me.
“Good.” Mac appeared pleased.
The Devil looked at me. “I will train you.”
A shiver of heat ran through me, an icy-hot sensation that made my nerve endings light up. The idea of being trained by the Devil of Darkvale made my heartrate skyrocket.
I nodded. “Good. And I’ll help you with the guy who broke in through your gate.”
“It’s a deal.”
A wicked deal.
“Let’s get it over with, then.” I looked at Mac. “I’ll see you at home.”
She nodded, then glared at the Devil. “You be careful. I’m watching you.”
“Of course.”
I hugged Mac quickly. “Thanks again for coming to get me.”
“Yeah. ’Course.”
I said goodbye and followed the Devil through the streets, every cell of me aware of him. We were at odds, yet somehow, that made the attraction more intense.
“You really don’t know why this guy tried to break into your club?” I asked.
“No idea.”
“And he’s waiting there for us.”
“Yes. Waiting.”
His tone on the last word was weird. “Oh crap, he’s dead, isn’t he? That’s why you can’t question him, and you need me.”
He shot me a look that I could almost describe as apologetic. “He died upon passing through the gate. It’s a spell that takes out anyone who uses it that shouldn’t.”
“That’s terrible!”
“He was warned. You can feel the magic as you pass though.”
“He must have been desperate.”
“He had a charm breaker on him that he thought would work. He was too cocky. He entered my club for a reason, and I want to know what it is.”
“Fine. I’ll touch the body.” I shivered at the idea of it. I disliked touching dead things, full stop, but there was something deeper and darker at work here. I could feel it. “I’ll help you with this, and then you’ll help me practice my magic. I’m going to get good, and I’m going to do it quickly.”
“I believe it.”
We’d arrived at the tall stone tower that contained his club. The façade was dark and intimidating, and I knew the interior to be no better. It suited him perfectly.
The two shifter bouncers inclined their heads and opened the doors.
I nodded at them, then muttered. “They’re much better than Penelope and Garreth.”
“My guards will never lock you up.”
“Hmm. Not sure if I believe that.”
In the small entranceway, he turned to me. “I am serious. You are safe here.”
The intensity in his voice made me shiver.
Cursed Mates.
If he was determined to protect me—because he was, I could feel it—then why were we Cursed Mates? Where did the “cursed” come in?
I needed to learn a hell of a lot more about this. And eventually ask him.
Not now, though.
Miranda, the hostess who stood behind the podium, beamed at us. She wore the same black-pencil-skirt-and-blouse uniform as usual, looking perfectly pressed and deadly.
The Devil stopped briefly in front of her. “How are things?”
“Going smoothly as usual. The body is waiting for you.” Her gaze flicked to me, calculating. “I hope you’re right about her.”
Irritation blazed, followed by the slightest prick of jealously. There was more between these two than just club owner and hostess.
But I should not be jealous.
That was nuts.
“Thank you, Miranda.”
The Devil and I departed, and as we entered one of the many dark, labyrinthine hallways, I leaned toward him. “She’s not just the hostess, is she?”
“She’s my second in command. A banshee. Smart and deadly.”
I grinned, begrudgingly liking the idea of this Miranda. I never held on to jealousy long, and I liked the idea of a banshee second. Honestly, I liked this whole new world. It scared the crap out of me sometimes, but it was impossible not to think about how cool it was.
A frisson began to prickle at my skin as we approached a door at the end of the hall. We’d avoided the club entirely, and we were nearly to the body.
“We don’t have to stay long,” the Devil said, sounding a bit uncomfortable.
“What’s wrong with you?”
He hesitated, his brow creasing. “I…find myself uncomfortable making you do this.”
My eyebrows shot all the way to my hairline. “What?”
He just shrugged.
“Huh.” Surprising. He was so ruthless and efficient. The fact that he was feeling guilty about twisting my arm was… “That’s unexpected.”
“I could not agree more. Come.” The iceman had returned, ruthlessly dragged to the surface, it seemed. He turned and opened the door.
I followed him into the small room. There was a table in the middle, and on it was a body. It appeared to be completely uninjured, though it reeked of dead fish.
I held my nose. “What the heck is that?”
“That is dark magic.”
“Whew, it’s foul.” Mac had explained to me that dark magic had terrible signatures—it reeked, sounded awful, and felt even worse. But this was more than I’d imagined.
“It makes it easy to determine those with ill intent, at the very least.”
“And he didn’t control his signature like you do?”
“Not as well, no. Guild City is fairly unique in that. It’s part of our culture—our laws—to require all supernaturals to keep careful control of their signatures. Only powerful supernaturals can do that, which requires everyone in the city to work hard at it. The rest of the world doesn’t care as much.”
“Humans don’t notice that supernaturals have magical signatures?”
“No. Their senses are less attuned to it, and when they do pick up on it, they blame it on something else.”
“Yet Guild City is fanatic about it.”
“It’s been that way for hundreds of years. It helps us hide better. We’re one of the few cities of our kind—enormous yet hidden within an even larger human settlement. We need to be more careful than, say, Magic’s Bend in America because our shield spell is different than theirs. That city is located far from human settlements and can be more lenient with the rules.”
“I think I might like it better there.”
“Plenty of people do.”
I’d been joking, mostly. I couldn’t imagine any place better than Guild City. But we were standing over a corpse that reeked of fish, and maybe Magic’s Bend had fewer of those.
I turned to the body and inspected it. The guy’s dark magic was so pungent and obvious that I felt a little bit less bad about his death. He didn’t necessarily look like a jerk, but I had a feeling that if he’d been alive and I’d been able to look into his eyes, I wouldn’t have liked what I saw there.
Shaking slightly, not certain I wanted to see what he would reveal to me, I pressed my fingertips to his cold arm.
The world detonated around me, a vision blasting into my head.
Black Church exploding in a fireball of blue magic. The streets around it going up in flames of green and orange. Shouts and screams, magic flying through the air. The gates collapsing, and London—human London—looking in on Guild City and seeing all our secrets.
I gasped, stumbling backward.
The Devil broke my fall. His hands were gentle on my arms as he steadied me. “What is it? Are you all right?”
I tried to catch my breath, the vision still flickering in my mind. “Guild City is under attack. It’s going to blow up.”
5
The Devil
“Blow up?” I asked. “As in, the city will explode?”
Carrow’s face had turned entirely white, and it appeared to cost her an effort to nod. “I saw it.”
“When?”
“I’m—I’m not sure.�
� She looked at the body, apprehension in her gaze. “I’m going to try to look again.”
She raised a hand toward the corpse, trembling slightly.
Something tugged in me at the sight. I didn’t like it. I didn’t want her to do anything she was uncomfortable with.
Bloody hell, I hadn’t felt anything like that in forever. Not ever.
I barely resisted rubbing my chest, as if I could drive the feeling out.
It didn’t matter, anyway. If Guild City was going to blow up, we needed to know when.
She touched the body and jerked, then closed her eyes. “Three days’ time.”
“Only three days.” Was the date significant? “Who is he?” I had an idea of who he worked for, but not who he was specifically.
“No idea. I can’t get any more information.”
“Why not?”
“Chill, okay?” Her gaze snapped to me. “I’m doing my best.”
“I apologize.” I’d said those words many times over the centuries. I’d never really meant them until now. Guilt streaked through me at pressing her. I needed to try to be more careful.
She was a…person to me.
Until now, everyone in my life had been a pawn. No more alive than a chess piece.
But not her.
And I’d had no practice at dealing with people.
I’d need to be a fast learner.
She frowned. “My magic gets tapped out. It’s like fatigue. Like, you can only run so much until you pass out.”
“That’s normal. All magic needs to be recouped. Strong supernaturals have the ability to store more magic to use, but even they run out.”
“Can practice make me stronger?”
“It can make you more skilled with the magic you have, but it can’t make you more powerful in the sense that you can’t expand the reservoir of magic inside you.”
“Oh.”
“I wouldn’t worry about it too much. You’re already incredibly powerful. I can feel it.”
“You can feel it because I can’t keep it on lockdown.”
“Precisely.”
She nodded, her expression firming. “I’m going to do better.” She turned to the corpse and began riffling through the pockets, pausing only brief to ask, “He isn’t going to be turned in to the police, right? There’s no need to guard my fingerprints?”
“You’re fine. The Council of Guilds won’t be concerned with him.”
“Good. But we need to tell them about the explosion so that they can start to evacuate the city.”
“I’ll send Miranda to alert them to the threat, but so far, we only have your vision as proof.”
She frowned. “They won’t believe me?”
“Some will. Some won’t. And even if they do, there are many people in Guild City who can’t leave. They have magical ties to this place. Others won’t blend in the human world. We could get many of them out, but not all.”
“So it’s up to us to stop this.”
“With some help, maybe. But yes. Largely so.”
Shadows flickered in her eyes as she nodded and turned back to searching the body. As she worked, I called Miranda on my comms charm and told her to go to the Council. They’d do what they could to mitigate this, if they believed us.
Carrow pulled a plain white napkin out of the man’s pocket, a frown on her face. “This was the only thing on him.”
“Try it.”
She closed her eyes, and I felt her magic swell on the air. It smelled of lavender, and the scent was stronger than ever. I wanted to roll around in it.
I was no longer surprised by it, frankly.
“I see the interior of a bar. A posh one. There’s writing behind the bar. La Papillon.”
Dread uncoiled within me. “Is the writing in gold script on top of a large, antique mirror?”
“Yes. You know it?”
“I do. It’s in Romania.”
“Where you’re from?”
I ignored the question. Townsfolk speculated about my past, but I’d never confirmed it. “It’s a popular meeting place for criminals.”
“Looks too posh for criminals.”
“Top criminals. Not the rabble.”
“Oh, excuse me.” She raised her brows. “I didn’t realize there was a hierarchy.”
“Oh, there most certainly is.”
“Well, our bloke was there. And maybe he got his marching orders while meeting someone else. I think we should look into it.”
Surprise flashed through me. “You would want to help?”
“Of course. This is my new home. And investigating crimes is kind of my thing, anyway.” She pointed at me. “Not to mention, you need to help me with my magic. This is the perfect opportunity.”
“Excellent.” Pleasure flashed through me.
“Just give me one more moment.” She lifted the man’s shirt to check his skin.
“What are you looking for?”
“Any distinct marks.”
She moved toward the short sleeves on his shirt, about to pull one up. I reached out to stop her, but she was too quick. She lifted the left sleeve, revealing an intricate tattoo that looked like the compass rose. North pointed toward the man’s triceps, as if he were leaving it behind.
Shite.
“That’s a strange tattoo,” she murmured.
“It is.” A familiar one, in fact. One I’d hoped she wouldn’t see. One connected to my past. “Just a bit of pretty artwork.”
Her gaze flicked to mine, suspicious.
Damnation. I’d laid it on too thick.
“How did you know he might be a threat to Guild City and not just your empire?”
“They’re one and the same.”
“Hmm.” The suspicion didn’t fade from her eyes.
“When you’re done here, we’ll need to prepare for a visit to La Papillon.”
“Prepare?”
“Dress for it.”
“What do you mean, dress for it?”
“You aren’t with the police anymore, Carrow. We can’t walk in there dressed in our street clothes.”
She looked me up and down. “Those are your street clothes?”
“It’s a casual suit. And we need to blend in to get our information.”
“Hmm. I don’t have any clothes that are posh enough for that place.”
“That won’t be a problem. I’ll drop you at a shop that specializes in the kind of clothes you’ll need.”
“I also don’t have any money.” She grinned and shrugged.
“It won’t be a problem. Tell the proprietress that it’s on the Devil.”
“Just like that? I don’t need to give her a card or some fancy password?”
“That will do.”
“Wouldn’t people in town just charge stuff to you all the time?”
I laughed. “No, I’m not worried about that.”
“They wouldn’t dare, would they?”
“They wouldn’t.”
“All right then, but beware, I’m going to be expensive.” Her eyes gleamed. “And I prefer to shop with friends. Mac is going to join me.”
“Fine.” She was going to ring up a serious bill, I could already feel it. I didn’t mind a bit.
Carrow
The Devil walked me to a shop near his tower that looked like the poshest dress boutique I’d ever seen. I’d called Mac, and she was waiting for us when we arrived, leaning against an ancient tree that grew out of the pavement.
I turned to the Devil. “See you in an hour.”
He nodded, then strode back toward his tower.
“What’s going on?” Mac asked.
I looked at her, my brows raised. “We’re going on a shopping spree.”
“Really?”
“Yes. Which is the second reason I asked you here. The first one is that I’ve got info. I wanted to be able to tell you, and this was the best way.”
“Works for me. What’s going on?”
I filled her in on the explosion, watch
ing as her face went pale. “Really?” she said.
“Really. But we’re going to stop it.”
“Hell yes, we are.”
“There’s another thing, though. I don’t trust the Devil.”
“Good.” She drew out the word in a way that implied that was the obvious thing.
“The guy on the table had a tattoo that the Devil didn’t want me to see. And I still don’t get how he knew that this guy was a threat to Guild City. He says that the city and his empire are one and the same, but…”
“It’s too much of a coincidence.”
“Exactly.”
“And you’re still going with him to this bar?”
“The alternative is Guild City blowing up, so yes.”
“Fair enough. I’ll ask around and see what I can find out about this, but I bet’s its nil. The Devil keeps his business close to his chest.”
“I can imagine.”
“At the very least, I can snag a transport charm from Eve and be ready to come get you if something goes wrong in Romania.”
“Thank you.” Relief surged through me. Something deep in my soul told me that the Devil wouldn’t hurt me. But the situation we were walking into was totally unknown and seemed to be related to magical criminal underworld dealings. I liked the idea of having a way out.
So, are we doing this or what?
Cordelia’s voice sounded from down below, and I looked down to see the little raccoon. “You’re coming with us?”
I’m always here for the good stuff.
“And the bad stuff.” I thought of Black Church, of her worriedly watching from the shadows.
I looked at Mac. “Can Cordelia come in the shop?”
Of course I can!
“Don’t sound so offended!” I said. “In the human world, raccoons aren’t allowed in shops. They aren’t even allowed in this country, in fact.”
Cordelia huffed.
“She’ll be allowed in this one,” Mac said. “Guild City doesn’t have restrictions like that. Too many familiars.”
“What is this place?” I looked up at the sign, which read Fae Couture.
“The nicest shop in town, if you want a deadly dress.”
“Deadly dress?”
“Yes. The Fae are known for their beauty and style. They use that to their advantage, along with their charm and quickness. Their guild tends to sell spy services and other types of physical intelligence gathering. Not all of them are spies, though. Some turn their talents towards shops like these where you can look your best and be your most dangerous.”