by Linsey Hall
Her gaze dropped to something behind me, and I turned to see Muffin sitting there, shooting the woman a toothy grin.
“Don’t smile at me,” she said to him. “I know it was you who stole my jade necklace.”
Muffin put on a fake innocent expression that was the worst I’d ever seen. I could just see him dragging the necklace out of her bedroom. I’d have to have a talk with him.
I looked her. “I’ll make him return it. I promise.”
She gave me a hard look, then nodded. “See that you do. Now, come this way.”
We followed her to a door in the back. I shot Muffin a couple of disapproving glares. “You really need to return that.”
He wouldn’t look at me.
“Muffin!”
He glared at me. Fine.
“Good. I know I can’t change you, but don’t steal from people who help us.”
She wasn’t helping us then.
I rolled my eyes.
The woman pushed open the door, leading us into a room with slightly better light.
It was the most fabulous library I’d ever seen, second to the one at the Protectorate, of course. Though it wasn’t huge, the shelves on the walls were packed full of books and scrolls. There had to be thousands of books in here, their spines illuminated by the golden light shining from the lamps. But it was the scrolls that caught my eye. They gleamed, pale white and cream, and I itched to open one up and see what was inside.
I had a feeling I’d never get the chance, though. Iron statues stood guard in the room, positioned in front of the shelves. They looked like the Terracotta warriors but made of metal. I’d bet big bucks that if I touched a single book without permission, they’d come alive and jump me.
A movement from the back of the room caught my eye, and I turned to look. A young man stood there, his form slim and his eyes dark. His hair was expertly cut in a sweep across his forehead, and he’d look like a young movie star if it weren’t for the hardness on his face and the aura of danger that surrounded him.
“Yes?” His voice was cold.
“Shen, these people are here to see you,” his mother said. “Be nice.”
He gave her a look that was somehow loving and exasperated while still holding on to that cold edge. Then he turned to us and scowled. “What do you want?”
“We’re here from the Undercover Protectorate. We were told you could help us get into the realm of the Fomori.”
His face softened just slightly, and when he spoke, there was something heavier in his voice. Almost like longing, though I felt crazy for thinking it. “Jude sent you?”
“She did.”
He nodded, most of the coldness fading from his face. He looked like a different person now. Still not someone I’d want to mess with, but he didn’t look like he’d make a snack out of my heart anymore, at least.
I heard the door shut behind me and realized that his mother must have left. “What is this place?”
“Family business.”
“Doing what?” As soon as the words were out of my mouth, I realized I shouldn’t have asked them. “I mean, this is a great library.”
“Knowledge is power.”
That was true. And while I had no idea what these folks did, they clearly had a lot of power.
“How do we get to the realm of the Fomori?” Lachlan asked.
“First, you pay. And it won’t be cheap.”
“That’s fine.” Lachlan stepped forward and pulled out his wallet.
While he made the transaction, I inspected the shelves, my fingertips itching. It was so danged hard not to reach for one of the volumes, but I was used to not getting what I wanted. I squeezed my hand into a fist.
“Now that that is settled, we can get down to business,” Shen said. “I can give you a ride to the main gate of Fomori. But once there, I won’t enter. You’re on your own. You’ll need a disguise, though.”
I shuddered at the memory of the nasty, dark-magic soaked cloaks we’d had to wear when looking for Grimaldi’s. Please not that. “We don’t have to pretend to be Fomorians, do we?”
“No. And you wouldn’t pass even if you tried. Your best bet is pretending to be traders. Go in with something so valuable they won’t turn you away.”
“Any suggestions?” Lachlan asked.
“Energy stones. They’re always looking for more power down there. It’s not easy keeping an underwater world running. Electricity doesn’t do so hot underwater. Same with the fumes from gas engines. And there’s no sun. So they rely on energy stones, but they’re in short supply.”
“That sounds like a good plan. Where would we get some?” I asked.
He grinned, and it was vaguely shark-like. “I can help you there. They’re expensive, though, and rare. I can only spare two, so you’ll go in with some fake ones as well. If you get stopped by guards, show them the real ones and hope they don’t check the rest.”
“What happens if they do?”
“You don’t want to know.”
After getting us each kitted out with a leather bag full of stones and some hats that looked like Indiana Jones rip-offs, Shen led us out of Jade Tiger and onto the main street.
“I have a preferred entry point at the river,” he said. “We’ll go there, then get started.”
“How are you taking us?” He hadn’t mentioned before.
“I’m a dragon shifter.” He gave me a look and raised his brows.
“A sea serpent?” Lachlan asked.
“Exactly.”
Understanding dawned. “So we’re going to ride you down?”
“That’s the idea. I hope you’re ready to hold your breath.”
“Can we? For that long?” I asked. “How long will it take, by the way?”
“Not more than ten minutes.”
“Yeah, that’ll kill us,” I said. Though, maybe not me, given my new ability to breathe water. Would that magic still work? I hoped so.
“I have something that will help,” he said. “It won’t be pleasant, but you’ll get there. I wouldn’t kill Jude’s staff.”
I had a feeling he’d do a lot more for Jude if she asked. I was dying to find out what was between them, but no way I could poke around there.
Shen led us through the street and out into the main part of the city. I assumed we were heading toward the river, and from the way Muffin was licking his chops, I had a feeling he was looking forward to it.
Why are these demons so afraid of missing out, anyway? he asked.
“What do you mean?”
FOMOrians. FOMO. You know. FOMO.
“What the heck is that?”
FOMO.
“Repeating it doesn’t help.”
He gave me a disgusted look. You’re really not hip with the youth, are you?
“I think we’ve established that I’m not. And I don’t think you are, either, if you say things like ‘hip with the youth.’”
He hissed at me but continued speaking. FOMO is Fear Of Missing Out. These Fomorians must have some real issues with FOMO.
I laughed. “That’s a terrible joke.”
I kind of liked it.
“At least you’re hip with the youth.”
Exactly.
11
We arrived at the edge of the river a few minutes later. It was in a more industrial part of down, with large barges pulled up to docks about a hundred yards down. We stopped in front of a chain-link fence.
I’ll be back in a bit. Muffin crouched low and launched himself off the ground, little wings carrying him up and over the fence. He barely cleared it, but he managed. Maybe practice would help.
He flew over to the river, disappearing from sight.
“That’s quite the familiar you have,” Shen said.
“He’s something else.”
“He could have come this way.” Shen pressed a hand to the fence, and magic flared on the air. “But I imagine he was excited about the river.”
“He’s always looking for tuna.”<
br />
Shen gave the river a skeptical look. “I think he’s going to be disappointed.”
A door appeared, and we stepped through.
Shen led us to the edge of the river, where the water gleamed darkly under the moon. I shivered at the idea of what was down there.
Bodies. Definitely bodies.
I hadn’t had much time for pop culture, but the mob and the big city always sprang to mind first for me.
Pretty morbid, really.
Shen turned to us. “I’ll take you as far as the main gates. From there, you’ll use your disguise to get in. You’re traders, heading toward the market, and you’re only there for a few hours.” He dug into his pocket and handed me a small piece of silver attached to a chain. “When you need a ride back, press this. You can’t transport out of there, so you’ll have to wait for me. I’ll be there within forty minutes. Maybe less. You’ll be able to talk to me and get updates.”
“Where will you pick us up? The drop-off point?”
“There’s a tracking beacon on there. If you have to, you can depart their city anywhere, and I’ll find you.”
“Good.” If we got in trouble while hunting The Three, we might need to bail quickly.
“Your contact will be Jonnie, a kid that you’re most likely to find in the Daggered Heart, a bar that’s popular with outsiders. He’s got red hair and a tattoo of a bird on his neck.”
“What language do they speak? Will we be able to find the bar, or will the sign be in Fomorian?”
“You’ll recognize it, don’t worry. I think it’s at the back of town, far from the entrance.” His gaze hardened. “Whatever you do, don’t let them know you work for the Protectorate.”
Lachlan nodded. “No problem.”
Shen dug into his pocket and handed us each two tiny pills. “Take one of those. It’ll help underwater.”
I grinned. “Give us gills?”
“No, but it will keep you from dying. Take the other right before I pick you up.”
I nodded, popping the pill in my mouth. I thought maybe I could breathe underwater. But now wasn’t really the time to experiment. We needed to get this right. Warmth flowed through me as I swallowed the pill, a spark of magic that changed my body.
Shen’s eyes widened. “Okay, you did that quick. Let’s get moving.”
As soon as he said the words, breathing became harder. Oops.
I struggled to gasp in a breath as Shen leapt into the water. As he splashed in, blue light bloomed around him, billowing out into the darkened river.
A second later, a dragon’s head popped up. It had that distinctly Chinese look that was so different from European dragons. A broader head and brilliant emerald eyes, along with long whiskers. Sort of. I didn’t know enough about Chinese dragon anatomy to guess what exactly they were called.
He was long, nearly thirty feet, and shaped more like a snake, with horn-like protrusions coming off his back.
With my lungs burning, I leapt into the river. The cold shocked a gasp from me, and as soon as I stuck my head in the water, I could breathe. It wasn’t easy—more like sucking pudding into my lungs—but at least I could feel oxygen moving to my muscles.
Lachlan splashed in next to me, and we grabbed onto the dragon’s back horns. I straddled him, with Lachlan a few feet behind me, and clung on.
Shen turned his head around, eyeing us with his gleaming emerald eyes. This close, his fangs glinted white. I really didn’t want to get any closer to those giant chompers.
Then he plunged into the river. Cold enveloped me as he sped through the water.
At first it was dark. I couldn’t make out anything beneath the Hudson River. Which, given my preoccupation with mobsters and bodies, was fine by me.
The water seemed to race by at an unnatural speed. Faster than any kind of man-made submarine could go, at least.
By the time we made it out into the ocean, I could feel the difference. It felt cleaner down here, almost easier to breathe. Still pudding, but thin pudding.
And I realized that two massive beams of green light shot from Shen’s face. His eyes, illuminating the water. The river must have been too full of mud and other crap for the light to cut through. Or he hadn’t wanted humans spotting us. I had no idea.
But I liked the view of the ocean. It was pitch black anywhere that the light of his eyes didn’t shine. But within the emerald gleam, I occasionally caught sight of a shark or a school of silver fish.
Normally, a shark might scare the crap out of me. But we were going so fast that the animals didn’t stand a chance of catching us. I barely had a half second to even look at them before Shen dodged around.
As we cut through the ocean, deeper and deeper, my lungs began to burn. The pill was wearing off. Or it didn’t like the depth.
Panic tugged at my mind briefly, but then my new magic seemed to kick in. Suddenly, breathing was a bit easier. As if Shen’s charm wearing off had helped my own magic break through.
We needed to get there soon, though, because Lachlan didn’t have this kind of helpful magic. Worry bloomed in my chest.
In the distance, I caught sight of a massive glowing dome.
Holy fates.
A city was built within, towers spiraling toward the top of the dome. Smaller domes were connected via little tunnels that made it possible to reach the annexes.
Was this what ancient scholars had meant by Atlantis? I had to assume so.
Shen slowed his approach as we neared one of the annexes. It was about the size of a large house, and inside, I could spot three guards.
Shen pulled to a stop at the edge of the annex, swimming right through an open spot in the water. A bubble of air. He made sure to keep his head out of the air, but the middle of his body, where we were sitting, was suddenly within the bubble.
I gasped, grateful for my first full breath. Beside me, Lachlan drew in a ragged breath. We climbed off of Shen, and he zipped away, disappearing into the water.
I looked up, awed. The dome itself wasn’t made of plastic or glass, but rather magic. There was nothing between me and the ocean except this magical bubble. It made the air cool and humid, as if there was a ton of water mixed up with the oxygen.
“What’s yer purpose?” a gravelly voice demanded.
Startled, I looked toward the other side of the bubble. There was a gate made of a strange white material—almost like bones. Whale bones?
I shivered and stepped toward the gate.
Three guards stood behind it, eyeing us suspiciously. The guards looked like fish demons of some sort, with green skin and gills at the sides of their necks. Their hair was made of seaweed, or something like it. They were probably perfect for this job, able to swim out and grab anyone who tried to take a water route.
Behind them, the tunnel stretched toward the main part of the city.
“We’re here to trade energy stones at the market,” Lachlan said.
Three pairs of brows rose at that.
“Energy stones?” demanded the gravel-voiced demon. “Those are rare.”
“That’s why we want to sell them.” Lachlan grinned, and for the first time, it almost looked a little sleazy. He was trying to put on an act, I realized. He wasn’t bad. “We’ll get a pretty penny for something as rare as this.”
He dug into his bag and grabbed something, then held up the only energy stone that was actually an energy stone. I had the other one in my pocket. It gleamed with a bright white light, and I couldn’t help the covetous surge inside me. There was just something about these things that was so danged appealing.
Apparently, the guards agreed, because they opened the gate.
I stepped forward.
“Hold up!” Fish Man held up a hand, his face imperious. “Got to inspect the cargo.”
Uh-oh.
There was a whole heck of a lot of greed on his face. More than he should have had, if he were just letting us through.
Nerves thrummed inside me. I shot Lachlan a glance as tw
o of the three guards strode toward us. From the crease in his brow and the stiffness of his shoulders, I had to guess that Lachlan sensed the threat, too.
The gate slammed shut, leaving one guard behind, presumably with the button that would allow us entrance.
“Show us your cargo,” Fish Man growled.
“He meant to say, give us your cargo,” said the other guard.
Well, triple crap.
My gaze darted between the two guards who’d stopped in front of us, and the one who stood behind the gate. He had to press that button to let us through, so I couldn’t kill him. And I couldn’t alert him to our intentions by killing these guys either.
What the heck are we going to do?
“How about one stone?” Lachlan bargained.
“All of them.”
If they got all of them, they’d realize we were frauds.
“Two stones,” I said. “Our best ones.”
“There is no best. There’s just stones,” said Fish Man. “And we want ‘em all.”
“Then we’ll have nothing to trade and no way to pay our ride out of here,” I said.
“Not our problem.”
Crap. Okay, this was trouble.
My mind raced as my eyes darted all over the space. When they landed on Bojangles, who sat behind the guards who were hassling us, I almost gasped.
I bit it back.
The guard behind the gate couldn’t see Bojangles where he sat.
Push the button! I begged with my mind, praying that Bojangles could hear me or understand me. Or at least interpret the situation for himself.
If this were Muffin, or even Princess Snowflake III, we’d have no trouble. But sweet Bojangles who chased his tail and maybe only had two brain cells to rub together?
I wasn’t feeling super confident.
He grinned briefly, his white fangs glinting in the light, then his form shimmered and he disappeared. He was using his new invisibility power, I realized.
Was he doing what I’d asked?
“Well, hand it over!” Fish Man demanded.
Slowly, I began to remove my satchel, hoping to buy us a bit of time to see what Bojangles would do. Or if any of the other cats would show up.
Fish Man made a grabby-hands gesture, and I scowled. My heart thundered as I watched the guard behind the gate.