Once Bitten (Shadow Guild: The Rebel)

by Linsey Hall

  “What?” I gasped, my mind still doing an insane tornado thing inside my head.

  She gestured to the wall in front of me. “You crossed over into Guild City on your own. Only people with magic can do that.”

  “We’re…where?”

  “We’re in another realm, but we’re still on earth. Magic created this place hundreds of years ago within the city of London, a place for supernaturals to live where humans wouldn’t find them, and voila!” She gestured to the city wall. “Some say that the Devil of Darkvale himself created it, but I don’t know if that’s true.”

  “The suspect?”

  She nodded. “One and the same.”

  I tilted my head back to inspect the enormous gate. This was not happening.

  But it was.

  And I needed to get my head together and not lose it.

  Mac grabbed my arm and tugged me toward the gate. “The Haunted Hound is one of the multiple entrance points to Guild City. Once you go through the pub, you arrive at one of two gates that lead into the city itself.”

  She pulled me to the left, moving away from the huge gate toward a smaller door that was more suited to a human than a lorry.

  “There are guards in the tower,” she said, “but they don’t check everyone who enters. Your magic alone should be enough to gain you entrance, though the guards will know when it happens.”

  “They keep track?” My head was spinning.

  “Yeah. And if the city is ever attacked, they’ll defend. Along with the guilds.”

  “Attacked? Guilds?”

  “Guild City is based on the medieval walled cities in Romania.” Her green eyes met mine, excitement flashing within. “Some say that the Devil of Darkvale is Vlad the Impaler himself. That he moved here hundreds of years ago when he could no longer stay in Romania, and he designed a city like the one he left behind.”

  “So he’s…immortal?”

  Mac shrugged. “That’s what they say. Now touch the door.”

  Warily, I raised my hand. Part of me screamed to run. But a way bigger part of me wanted to shove that door open and race inside. My life on the outside was…nothing.

  This, though? This had potential.

  I pressed my hand to the door, gasping when the magic sparkled against my palm.

  “It’s working.” Mac clapped her hands.

  The door opened, and I grinned back at her.

  “Go in.” A huge smile stretched across her face.

  I pushed open the door to reveal a long, dark corridor. The top was arched, and on the other side, cool gray light shone on old buildings. Wary but excited, I stepped into the tunnel, Mac close behind.

  Again, the briefest bit of wariness prickled my skin. I’d spent too much of my life afraid and at the bottom of the heap—first with my “family,” and then at police training and in the real world—to not be afraid.

  But damn it, I wasn’t going to be scared.

  Not when there was magic at the other end of this tunnel.

  And I trusted Mac. I could feel her goodness. I’d had the vision of us as friends.

  I strode down the tunnel, excitement thrumming through me as I stepped out into a small city square. It was surrounded on three sides by Tudor-style buildings, most of them white plaster and dark wood. A few were painted colorful shades that added some cheer through the fog, and brilliant flowers tumbled out of window boxes. Gas streetlamps flickered, giving it an old-fashioned feeling.

  “What do you think?” Mac asked.

  “It’s lovely.” Most of the buildings had shops on the bottom, and all sorts of goods cluttered the windows. Here and there, I spotted clear signs of modernity, like motorbikes in the narrow roads and electric lights within the buildings.

  In the distance, tall towers loomed at the edges of the city. Each one looked different from the next—some were intimidating stone monstrosities, while others were whimsical wooden structures that seemed to spark with magic.

  Mac pointed to them. “Those are the guild towers, the backbone of Guild City. They form the government and provide protection, though that’s needed less in modern day.”

  “Who’s in the guilds?”

  “Different magical species. There’s a Witches’ Guild, a Sorcerers’ Guild, the Shifters’ Guild, and so on. Each of the guilds has a motto and specializes in something. The witches sell potions, seers sell visions. That kind of thing. The most powerful members live in the towers, and the rest of us live in the city.”

  My brows rose. “Wow.”

  She nodded. “And everyone belongs to a guild. You have to.”

  “No misfits?”

  “Not in Guild City.”

  Shit. I’d always been one. Not that I was going to join a guild. I was just visiting.

  Mac’s eyes widened at something over my shoulder, and she twitched.

  I frowned, worry spiking through me. “What is it?”

  She grabbed my hand and pulled me with her. “I just saw one of the Devil’s men. He’s got spies everywhere.”

  I looked over my shoulder, catching sight of a man lurking in the shadows. He was big and broad, but not in a good way. He had snake eyes. I looked away from him, following Mac.

  She led me across the square and down a narrow street. The buildings loomed on either side, most only two stories tall, with the occasional three-story structure tossed in for variety. They all looked like something out of a medieval fantasy movie, but the wares inside the shop windows seemed almost pedestrian until I read the signs. One store seemed to specialize in enchanted clothing, advertising everything from trousers that would make you run faster to dresses that made you float. Another sold boring office supplies but stated that they were weapons. My fingers itched to explore.

  “We’re here.” Mac stopped abruptly and dug into her pocket.

  “Where?”

  “My place.” She shoved the key into the lock of a small green door, then slipped inside.

  I followed her up the narrow stairs to the door on the next level. She let us in, then shut it behind her, leaning against it. “We’re safe.”

  “We weren’t safe before?”

  She shrugged. “Not safe to talk about the Devil. That guy wouldn’t have hurt us. Not in broad daylight without reason. But we can’t be gossiping about him in front of his men when you think he might be a murderer.”

  “Fair enough.” I studied her, confused. “Why are you helping me?”

  Mac looked at me like I was crazy. “You’re hunting a murderer. One, that seems important. Two, it’s cool. And three, I like you.”

  “You don’t know me.”

  “I’m a seer. I see you. You’re cool.”

  “Well, that was easy.”

  She grinned and shrugged. “Being a seer has its downsides, but it’s handy for that.”

  “You can control your gift better than I can.”

  “Maybe. Our gifts are different, though. It’s possible yours is just the way it is—no more control necessary, no more learning required.”

  “Hmm.” I wasn’t sure I liked that response—I wanted to have more control—but it didn’t matter right now.

  I turned to her flat, which was tiny but charming as a hedgehog wearing a flowered hat. From where I stood, I could see the living room, along with a hint of kitchen through a door. The ceiling appeared to be slanted—a product of old age, not design—and the plaster walls were painted a soft white. The dark wood floor was ancient, covered with colorful carpets. It looked like she’d decorated using stuff from a thrift store, but that she had fantastic taste and luck. “Your place is nice.”

  She grinned. “There’s one above that’s for rent if you need a place to live.”

  I thought of my life on the outside—how I was currently the subject of a police manhunt. I had nothing but a cell waiting for me out there, and a flat with some books I’d left behind.

  I also had almost no money.

  Mac’s eyes softened, and I frowned. “Can you read my min
d without touching me?”

  “No. But you’re an open book, and I’ve been in your spot before.”

  “Oh.” I felt weird but didn’t know how to describe it.

  “I’ve got your back.”

  “Well, thanks?” Making a friend so quickly was weird, but she just felt right.

  “No problem.” She collapsed on the couch. “So, what’s your plan?”

  I sighed and sank into the armchair. “I need answers, ASAP. So I figure I should go talk to this Devil.”

  “Even if he’s the killer?”

  “He doesn’t know that I think he’s the killer.” But… “He can probably see me in the visions where I see him. So going undercover is unlikely to help.”

  “He’s going to be suspicious.” She frowned. “Almost no one has the guts to go right to his office.”

  “I do.” Not that I was particularly brave, but I didn’t have great options. “And he wouldn’t kill me where people would see him, right? So the office is perfect.”

  “Sorta perfect. They’re loyal to him there, so it will be dangerous. But it’s also a bar, so even if he is a murderer, he’s highly unlikely to kill you there. Bad for business.”

  “That’s it, then. I take the risk. I need to know why he was at the scene.”

  “Well, if you insist on going, we can get you some potions to protect yourself. He wouldn’t see that coming, and you’d be pretty safe.” She looked me up and down. “And we’ve got to get you ready.”

  “Ready?”

  “When I say the guilds provide protection, I mean that they also protect us from ourselves,” Mac said, her voice slightly bitter. “Not that we need it. Sometimes, I think they’re too heavy-handed.”

  “How so?”

  “Remember those magical signatures I talked about? How we can smell or hear each other’s magic?”

  “Yeah…”

  “Keep yours on the down-low if you can. Try to control them so others can’t sense what you are.”

  “I’m not doing that already?”

  “No, you let them all hang out.”

  I laughed. “So, how do I do control it?”

  “You practice, which you don’t have time for now. A potion will help conceal your power from the Devil.”

  “Is he really a vampire? Like, drinks blood and can’t walk in the sun?”

  “Yeah. A powerful one. He does drink blood, but he can also walk in the sun. The sun thing is a myth made up by humans to comfort themselves.” She stood. “And, ah…he can compel people to do his bidding.”

  “He can what?”

  “Yeah. He’s got some kind of crazy ability to make folks do stuff. It’s his voice or something. It’s how he’s accumulated so much power in Guild City.”

  I rubbed my forehead. “Of course.”

  “Just…be careful. It’s impossible to fight it, and there’s no potion that protects against it. Your only option would be to incapacitate him. Stay alert. If you think he’s going to use that power against you, you’ll feel it in your mind. You’ll have a few seconds to throw a potion bomb and run.”

  “Oh, man. This is just getting creepier.”

  “Don’t worry. For the most part, he doesn’t use the ability. He’s a scary bastard, but he’s got, like…rules. Honor. He only really goes after those who are as powerful as he is. Or evil.”

  I nodded, trying to imagine walking into this guy’s lair.

  Was this a terrible idea?

  “Trust me,” she said, “there are way worse people in Guild City than him. Assuming he’s not your murderer.”

  “Yeah. Assuming that.” I swallowed hard.

  “Come on. We’ll get you set up with what you need. I’d go with you, but if you get in trouble and don’t come back, someone needs to be around to get your ass out.”

  “Thanks, Mac.” I stared at her, unable to process how good it felt to have backup. “Just…thanks.”

  She shrugged. “No problem. Now come on, we’re headed back out.”

  I stood and followed her to the door, feeling like I was about to walk into an insane world of magic. Sure, it was dangerous. But I loved it.

  6

  Carrow

  “We can hit up one of the shops.” Mac led me out of her house and down the stairs. “There’s a little local one for things like this.”

  “Like, a magic shop?” I stepped out onto the street behind her.

  “Honey, it’s all magic.” She waved a hand around at the street.

  “You’ve got a point.” I caught sight of a dark shadow across the road. An animal of some kind, small and concealed in the shadows. It almost looked like a raccoon. Like Cordelia.

  I shook my head. No way. That was nuts. Had to be a fat cat. I stared hard at it, and a connection surged between us.

  Oh yeah, I was losing it.

  The creature disappeared, and I hurried after Mac. She stepped into a store a few doors down from her place, and I followed her into a tiny shop covered in shelves. Thousands of tiny, colorful bottles lined the walls, and a small woman sat on a stool behind the desk. She had brilliant purple hair and green eyes.

  And wings.

  Holy fates, those were wings. Like real, true wings. They fluttered and glittered behind her back. A gleaming black raven sat on the shelf behind her, watching me with onyx eyes.

  “Hey, Eve.” Mac gestured to me. “This is Carrow.”

  I waved. “Hi.”

  Eve gave me a long look, pursed her lips, then nodded. “Hi, Carrow. What do you need?”

  I looked at Mac, a question in my eyes.

  She turned to Eve. “We need a suppressor potion for her signature and something from the back room.”

  Eve’s brows rose. “The back room, you say?”

  “Yep. And I’m not telling you why.”

  “You never share the good gossip until way after the fact.”

  “True.” Mac leaned on the counter. “But you love me anyway. Can you help us?”

  “Yeah, yeah.” Eve hopped down off the stool and went around to a shelf nearby. She pulled a potion down and handed the little pink bottle to me. “That one’s for drinking. Come on, this way.”

  Mac and I followed her to a small pink door just tall enough for her to slip through. She was over a meter and a half, but not by much. I wasn’t that much taller, but I had to duck to follow her.

  “I’m only letting you in here because you’re friends with Mac.” She flipped a switch, revealing potions that glowed with an unearthly light. “The witches specialize in a lot of these potions, so they’d kick my ass if they knew I was selling them.”

  “You do not want to get on the bad side of the witches,” Mac said.

  I imagined being hexed by some old crones and nodded.

  “So, what do you need?” Eve asked.

  “I’m thinking a freezing potion,” Mac said.

  Eve raised her brows. “Going somewhere dangerous?”

  “Maybe,” I said, hoping that Mac wouldn’t share my destination.

  She didn’t.

  “Well, this is what you want.” Eve pulled a potion off the shelf and handed it to me. “Uncork that thing and dip your finger in it, and you’ll be immune. When you need to get the heck out of dodge, throw it to the ground hard enough to break it. The mist it gives off will freeze everyone else in the room.”

  “Thank you.” Dread uncoiled in my stomach. We were at the payment part, and I had no idea how much magic could cost. I had some cash in my bag and the wad in my pocket, but it wasn’t a lot. “What do I owe you?”

  Eve tilted her head, studying me. She seemed unsure at first, and I wondered if she was trying to read my expression. “What can you do?”

  “Like, magically?”

  “Yeah.”

  “I can touch things and people and get a read on their past and future. Sometimes on their present.”

  “You can’t control which you see?”

  “No.”

  “You should work on that. But
yeah, if you want, you can trade me in service. Two object readings, one for each potion.”

  I glanced at Mac for advice. Was this a good deal? She nodded encouragingly.

  “Yeah, thanks,” I said. “I can do that. Now?”

  “No, later.”

  “Time to take your medicine,” Mac said, nodding at the potions in my hand.

  I opened the suppressor potion swigged it back. The sour taste made me shudder, then it felt like all my clothes tightened horribly, holding me in. My gaze flicked up to Mac’s. “That’s weird.”

  “Yeah. That’s why you’re going to want to learn to control your magic on your own. Suppressing potions are no fun. Now do the other one.”

  I shoved the vial in my pocket and opened the other, dipping my finger into the icy liquid. I shivered and recapped it, then stored it in my pocket.

  An idea flared. “What about a truth potion?”

  “Oh, those are hard to come by.” Eve chewed her lip. “I don’t have any on hand, but I can make one and give it to you later. It won’t be powerful, and I only have enough ingredients for one. Still, that should get you a single answer from a person . . . if they’re willing.”

  “And if they’re unwilling?”

  “You’re shit out of luck. Like I said, truth potions are super rare and hard to come by. That’s why I don’t keep them in stock.”

  “Okay,” I said. “I’ll take it. Who knows? It might come in handy in the future.”

  “No problem. I’ll let you know when it’s done.”

  “Thank you.”

  “Ready to visit the Devil’s lair?” Mac asked. “I can take you to the entrance.”

  “His lair?”

  “It fits, doesn’t it?”

  “Yeah.”

  We said our goodbyes to Eve and headed for the door. A shiver ran down my spine. I looked back and found the raven watching me.

  “What’s with the bird?” I asked Mac.

  “I’m not sure. Eve says she doesn’t see it, but I don’t buy it.” She shrugged. “I want to push her for more info, but I don’t.”

  “Clever.”

  “You sure you don’t want to move in over my place?” she asked.

  “Um…”

  “I can tell you’re on the run from something, and this is a good place to lie low. And it’s fun here.” She led me down the narrow streets.