by Linsey Hall
Devilish Game
Linsey Hall
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Epilogue
Thank You!
Acknowledgments
Author’s Note
About Linsey
Copyright
For all of the students missing school during the Covid-19 crisis.
1
Carrow
In the last few days, my world had become nothing but bird poo and dust.
My friends and I had been cleaning the newly discovered Shadow Guild tower for three days straight, and we still hadn’t made it out of the first room.
“How the hell did those pigeons get in here?” I grumbled as I scrubbed at the floor with an ancient mop. “This tower was magically hidden for hundreds of years, and yet those flying rats still managed to get inside and roost.”
“I have no idea.” My best friend Mac dragged her forearm across her sweaty brow, her hair tied up in a messy knot as she tried to dust the ceiling. “But I must say, this place is turning into some major dead weight.”
I heaved a sigh and looked around the main room of the Shadow Guild tower. It was a lot cleaner than it had been, but it had taken us days of scrubbing.
“I’ve asked every cleaning company in town.” Seraphia, the local librarian and one of my new friends, scrubbed vigorously at the windows. “They all refused. They said the place was still too cursed.”
I like it. Cordelia, my familiar, grinned at me from her place on the only chair in the room. Somehow, she’d managed to drag the huge wooden thing in there, and she hadn’t left it since. Not close enough to the kebab place though.
“Your butt is going to become one with that chair soon,” I told her. “Why don’t you grab a rag and help me out?”
Cordelia gave a strange little chortling laugh and adjusted herself but didn’t move to help. Eve, my Fae friend, would be here after her shop closed to help out, and Quinn would swap with Mac when it was time for her shift at the Haunted Hound. There were five of us in the new guild—six, if one included Cordelia, which I didn’t since the little freeloader wasn’t doing squat to help. But Mac, Quinn, Eve, Seraphia, and I all formed the new Shadow Guild, and we needed to get our tower cleaned up if we were going to be official.
“I can’t believe all of this has been hidden so long because of Rasla,” Mac said. “That bastard.”
Rasla had been a council member hundreds of years ago—one with a serious bone to pick with anyone who was different. Since the Shadow Guild was comprised of all the weirdos in town who didn’t fit nicely into any other guild, he’d directed his ire right at it, using a combination of magic and malice to wipe it from the history books.
“I still have no idea why he hated the guild so much,” I said. “I want to figure it out, though.”
Last week, my friends and I had uncovered the mystery of the ancient guild, solving one of my biggest problems—my guildless status, which would have eventually gotten me kicked out of Guild City. Mac, Eve, Seraphia, and Quinn had all had guilds, but they’d never fit in well. As soon as the Shadow Guild had appeared, it had called to them, a more perfect fit.
Now it was the five of us, trying to make this work. But first, we needed to get it cleaned up so that we officially had a Guild Tower. Whether or not we would live there was still uncertain. Cordelia would mutiny if we moved away from the kebab place, and I liked my new little apartment.
Sighing, I looked at my phone, hoping for a text from Miranda. I hadn’t seen Grey since the battle to save the tower. Neither had Miranda, his second in command. We’d never been friendly, but she was as worried as I was. As a vampire and my Cursed Mate, he was doomed to die if he didn’t drink me to the death.
Talk about a no-win scenario.
I’d convinced Miranda to text me as soon as he returned, but I’d heard nothing still.
A tentative knock sounded at the door, and I straightened.
Grey?
My heart leapt.
Seraphia, who was closest, leapt down from the deeply inset windowsill and hurried to the door, swinging it open. An older woman with red-rimmed eyes and wild hair stood at the entrance. Even though it was early afternoon, a bathrobe hung off her shoulders.
I stepped forward. “Hello. How can we help you?”
“Are you the new mystery solver in town?” Her voice shook.
“Yes.” I gestured her inside. “Come in, please.”
Behind me, Cordelia trundled off the chair and pointed to it. She can sit.
Sometimes my familiar managed to pull some manners out of the dumpster. I gestured to the chair. “Please, sit. I’m sorry. We don’t have any refreshments we can offer you.”
“I couldn’t drink or eat if I tried.” Her voice was so thin it seemed like it would break. She ignored the chair and came to me, gripping my arms tight. “My baby has been stolen. My Katine—just nineteen. She was taken right out of her bed late last night.”
I gasped. “Kidnapped?”
The woman nodded her head, her teary eyes desperate and her grip viselike. “I heard a bit of noise but thought nothing of it. Then a few minutes later—a scream, short and fierce.”
The guilt in her voice sounded heavy enough to drag her to the bottom of the Pacific. “Did you see anything?”
Mac, Seraphia, and Cordelia all gathered around, concern vibrating off them.
“I ran to the window.” The woman’s voice nearly broke, but she stiffened her spine. “A man—perhaps a demon—was dragging her through the back garden, right into a portal he made with a transport charm.”
Oh, shit. This was so much worse than a normal kidnapping case. In the human world, you had twenty-four hours to solve the case before your chances plummeted. In the magical world, with portals and transport charms, you had minutes.
They could be anywhere by now. I could see the thought reflected in my friends’ eyes, but none of us spoke it aloud.
“You didn’t go to the police?” I asked.
“I did. I’ve just come from there. But they’re slow. And I’ve heard what you’ve done for Guild City. If you can save so many, surely you can save Katine.”
Oh God, that was a lot of pressure. But I had to try. “What did the kidnapper look like? Did he leave anything behind?”
I tightened my hands into fists, wishing that my power didn’t require something to touch.
“He looked human for the most part, but he had terrible red eyes. Evil eyes.” She bared her teeth in a snarl, as if she could reach through her memories and strangle the kidnapper. “He was tall—dreadfully so. Two meters if he was an inch. And he wore a dark cloak that concealed almost all of him except a shock of dark hair and the red eyes. Like blood, they were.”
I looked at Seraphia and Mac. “Have you ever heard of anyone like that?”
They shook their heads.
I looked back at the woman. “And you have nothing of his? Nothing from the scene?”
“I can go search again. I didn't spend long before I went to the police. But they….” She shook her head, clearly irritated. “They’re working on it, but too slowly.”
“I can try.” I really needed somet
hing to touch, though. I held out my hand, palm up. “May I touch you?”
She frowned. “I suppose so.”
“Thank you. My gift relies on touch.”
She thrust out her hand. “Anything for Katine.”
Gently, I laid my palm on hers, trying to corral my magic into doing my bidding. Show me what she saw.
An image blasted into my mind. A young woman, pale and terrified, was being dragged backward by a cloaked figure with brilliant red eyes. She screamed, fighting his grip, but he was too strong. He slammed a transport charm to the ground, and a poof of orange smoke burst up next to them. He dragged Katine into it, and the vision ended. I shuddered, withdrawing my hand from the woman’s.
“The portal was orange. Is that strange?” I’d only been in the magical world a short while, but all the transport charm portals I’d seen had been silver gray.
“That is strange,” Mac said. “There could be some residue left behind if you’re lucky.”
“Could Eve track that?” My Fae friend was a potion master. In this strange, magical world, she was a combination of forensics and weaponry.
“Maybe,” Mac said.
“Do you want me to take you?” the woman said. “It hasn’t rained yet, and the garden is shaded from the sun.”
“All right.”
“Come.” She turned, her bathrobe flapping.
“Wait, I don’t know your name,” I said.
“Oh, of course.” She turned back, eyes weary and face drawn. “I’m Martha Templeton. Mother of Katine Templeton.”
“I’m Carrow Burton, Martha.” My phone buzzed in my pocket, making me jump. I pulled it out, my heart leaping when I saw the two little words from Miranda.
He’s back.
Mac’s eyes zeroed in on my face, knowledge sparking in her gaze. “I’ll go to Martha’s and get a sample if there is one. You go see what’s going on there.”
I hated not going with Martha, but for all I knew, Grey was at death’s door. The curse had an unknown time frame, but soon it would drag him to hell. He already wasn’t healing normally, his immortality draining away because of our Cursed Mate bond. I’d appeared in his life, and now he was fated to die.
I suppressed the shudder and nodded. Mac could get the sample and, if I needed to, I could visit the site as soon as I’d seen Grey. “Thank you, Mac.”
“No problem.”
“If you need anything from the library, just let me know,” Seraphia said.
“The library?” Skepticism sounded in Martha’s voice.
“You never know what secrets can be revealed by research,” Seraphia said.
Martha nodded, but the skepticism didn’t fade from her eyes.
We split up, Martha taking Mac to her home while I raced through the streets to Grey’s tower. It was a quiet afternoon, the shops doing a slow business as people ambled around the historic streets browsing for magical objects. Normally, I’d window shop while walking down the ancient roads, but not today.
I had eyes only for Grey’s tower, and I darted through the sparse crowd, reaching his headquarters in record time.
The tall tower loomed against the steel gray sky, the black stone ominous in the hazy light. Two massive shifter guards stood outside the doors. Depending on how you looked at it, they were bouncers for his club or bodyguards for the most powerful criminal kingpin in Guild City.
Also known as my Cursed Mate.
How my life had taken this turn so quickly, I’d never know. One day I was a poor wannabe detective living in a shitty flat in a bad part of London, no friends and no prospects besides the raccoon who lived in the alley outside my place.
Now, I was a magical sleuth living in an enchanted, medieval city—full of the modern conveniences, of course—with friends and a man who was going to break my heart if we didn’t fix this Cursed Mate tragedy.
The only thing that had remained the same was the raccoon, and even she was vastly different than I’d expected.
Without hesitating, I strode up to the large double doors. The bouncers inclined their heads, recognizing me, and opened the doors.
“Thanks, guys.” I hurried in, spotting Miranda standing at the tall podium in the foyer. It was the only piece of furniture in the room, and she the only person.
Miranda guarded Grey’s kingdom from this room, funneling people to his club or to his office, depending. As usual, she was dressed in a trim pencil skirt and buttoned up blouse, her hair in a severe knot. She was beautiful and competent, as cold and sharp as a knife.
Usually, anyway. At the moment, she looked worried. I’d never seen her with a creased brow and shadowed eyes, but right now, she vibrated with concern. Her gaze landed on me. “He’s in his flat.”
I nodded and turned down the appropriate hall. Normally she would escort me, but she stayed where she was. It took a minute to navigate my way to the back of the tower and, as I went, my heart began to pound louder and louder.
Finally, I reached his doors and knocked.
Please be okay.
2
Carrow
The door swung open, revealing Grey, pale and skinnier than I’d last seen him, with shadows under his eyes and sharper cheekbones that made his full lips look even more sinful.
Worry twisted in my chest. “You look like hell.”
“And you look like heaven.” A worried frown flashed in his eyes. “I shouldn’t have said that.”
“I like it.” I entered, reaching up to cup his cheek.
He moved back before I could make contact and hurt flickered inside me. “You don’t want me to touch you?”
“It’s not wise.”
I nodded, knowing he was probably right. Last week, we’d had the best night of my life. But we couldn’t do that again. Not with the way our future was shaping up.
Worry twisted my heart as I entered his beautiful flat. Austere, yet gorgeous, the space had a high ceiling and an enormous wall of windows that looked out on a tormented, wave-capped beach. It was magic, of course, but I couldn’t help but think that the tumultuous beach represented the state of Grey’s soul or . . . whatever.
He was a desperate mess, like I was.
I turned to him, taking in the broad shoulders that were still capped with heavy muscle despite the weight loss. His suit still fit perfectly, of course. It should be impossible. “Where have you been?”
“Worried?”
“Yes.”
The corner of his mouth tugged up in the smallest smile. “Don’t be. I’ve found a solution to our problem.”
“Is that why you look like hell?”
“It wasn’t easy, true. But it’s also just the nature of the curse. Hell is calling my name.”
I couldn’t believe it. He was a good person. True, he had a terrible past and was involved in some seriously shady dealings, but he was fundamentally good. But even if heaven called his name, that still wasn’t a place I could go. Not yet.
If ever.
I shook the thought away. “What is the solution? Will it save you?”
“I believe so. I’ve found a spell and a sorceress in town who can break our Cursed Mate bond.”
Hope flared. “So we won’t be cursed anymore?”
“We won’t be mates.”
Disappointment surged, but I tamped it down. If this was the only way, then . . . of course I’d do it. I wasn’t even sure I believed in fated mates anyway. It wasn’t like I’d been born to this world and grown up with it.
“If we’re not mates, then we can’t be cursed,” I said. “That’s how it works?”
“Precisely.”
“Who is it? Can they do it now?” As much as I didn’t want to break the bond, Grey looked like hell. He needed all the help we could get, and he needed it soon.
“They can. Immediately. It won’t take long.”
Mac was on the trail of the kidnappings. I had to take the time for this. “Let’s go.”
He nodded, his gaze lingering on me for a moment. His l
ips parted, as if he wanted to say something, but no words came out. I swallowed hard and moved toward the door. “Come on. No time to waste.”
“Of course.” He followed me out of his flat, and I couldn’t believe we were already on our way. How was this happening so damned fast?
I looked back at him, catching sight of the exhaustion in his eyes.
This only feels fast to me.
“You’ve been going nonstop since we parted, haven’t you?” I asked. “Looking for a cure.”
He nodded.
I reached for his hand and squeezed. “I’m glad you found one.”
He squeezed back, just briefly, then dropped the small embrace. Hurt pierced me, and I tried to shove it away. He was clearly ready to be rid of me and this bond. After the night we’d spent together, though…
It was hard to believe.
Well, believe it, cookie. Life is full of disappointments.
“Where are we going?” I asked, wanting to get my mind off the miserable train of thought.
“To Hellebore Alley, not far from my tower. There’s a blood sorceress called Cyrenthia who can help us.”
“Blood sorceress?”
“A magic that teeters on the edge of dark. The key ingredient to her magic is blood. Taken willingly, her magic falls on the right side of the law. Taken unwillingly . . .”
“Dark magic.”
“Precisely.” He nodded at Miranda as we passed, and she watched him with steely eyes. The worry that I’d seen on her face earlier was gone, hidden no doubt when he was around.
Grey led me out into the square in front of his tower. The clouds had grown even more ominous, dropping lower in the sky, and taking on the shade of gunmetal. It was almost as if the weather agreed that sad shit was about to happen.