by Linsey Hall
Suddenly, he shrieked, stumbling backward and slapping at his face. Red streaks appeared there.
Bojangles was attacking!
Lachlan and I leapt on the guards, taking them down to the ground.
Then time slowed. The guards stilled beneath us, frozen by Lachlan’s magic.
“What now?” I asked.
“I don’t think we should kill them,” he said. “We’re in their realm. They’re technically demons. I don’t know how the rules work here, but if we kill them, their souls might regenerate here.”
“Good point.” It was possible it wouldn’t happen—the rules surrounding demons and their bodies were kinda weird sometimes—but we had to play it safe. “Bojangles! Don’t kill him. Just incapacitate.”
The little cat shrieked with malicious glee. He was probably mauling the hell out of the frozen demon.
“I’m going to unfreeze time,” Lachlan said.
“Okay.” I called a mallet from the ether. I rarely used this weapon, but on a whim, I’d imbued it with the spell that would keep it stored in my personal arsenal.
As time unfroze and the demon beneath me started struggling, I swung the mallet up, then smashed it into his head. Not enough to crush his skull, but he slumped to the side, unconscious. Lachlan did the same with his fist.
“Go get the other,” he said. “He’s probably nearly dead. I’ll take care of these guys.”
I scrambled to my feet and hurried to the gate. “Bojangles! Push the big button!”
I still couldn’t see the cat, but the guard was a bloody mess on the floor. I winced at the sight of the deep scratches. Somehow, they looked even more painful than regular old sword wounds.
A moment later, the big button depressed. Bojangles appeared, sitting on top of it and grinning like mad. It was a slightly insane look, to be honest, but sweet in its own way.
The whale bone gate creaked open, and I rushed through.
“Did you kill him?”
Bojangles meowed, but I couldn’t understand him. The guard looked unconscious, at the very least. His clothing was made of a rough brown leather-type material, and he had more strips of leather tied around his arms.
“Fish Man chic,” I muttered as I yanked one of the arm bands off and tied it around his mouth. I did the same with two more bands, binding his arms and feet, then I stood and looked at Lachlan. “What are we going to do with them?”
“I’ve got a plan.” He bent down and grabbed one Fish Man, swinging him over his shoulder. He did the same with another. “Be right back.”
He stepped toward the edge of the dome, and his magic swelled on the air. The scent of evergreen with the taste of caramel on my tongue. He stopped at the edge of the dome, staring at the water. A moment later, it bowed inward, forming a space for him to walk into. The water kept pushing away from him, moving back and creating a fresh tunnel for him to walk through.
He got to an outcropping of rocks about twenty yards away and dropped the Fish Men there. One by one, he wedged them into a crevice in the rock, then he turned back and walked through the tunnel he’d made. The water closed in behind him, submerging the fish men, who were stuck between the rocks, unable to float away.
“Badass,” I said as he appeared back in the tunnel. “I knew you could control water, but that’s something else.”
“It’s one of my more powerful gifts. Someone will find them eventually. But with their gills, they should survive.”
I looked down at my Fish Man, then out at the water. I wanted to try, too.
“I’m going to try,” I said. “Will you help me drag him?”
While I could slowly drag one along the ground, we needed to move faster than that.
“Aye, I’ll help. You’ve got new magic?”
“I think so.”
Lachlan swept the Fish Man up into his arms as I stepped toward the wall of water behind me. I touched my fingertips to the tattoo of the torc around my neck, feeling it warm beneath my fingertips.
Slowly, I sucked in a breath and felt for the water around me, calling upon my magic in order to bend it to my will. Like a light switch turning on, I felt the water. Felt it, like I could feel my limbs.
A part of me.
I commanded the water to retreat, and it pressed backward, leaving an empty space for me to step into.
Wow.
Using my magic was so much easier than it had been. The torc really did help.
Victory, and a sense of accomplishment, flowed through me, making me grin. I walked along as the water parted for me, feeling like a magical Moses.
“Nicely done,” Lachlan said from behind.
“Thanks. I can feel the difference in my magic. It’s amazing.”
As soon as we reached the outcropping of rock, Lachlan stuffed the Fish Man in with his buddies, then we returned to the dome.
Bojangles was gone, no doubt off in search of something to eat.
“Your crew comes in handy,” Lachlan said.
“I know. Lucky to have them.” I started down the tunnel toward the main part of the city, my pace brisk. “We just need to disappear into the crowd before anyone finds the missing guards.”
“Aye. Hopefully there will be more humans than just us.”
12
As it turned out, there weren’t more humans. Almost everyone that we saw when we reached the main part of town—the big bubble, as I liked to think of it—looked like a demon. Many of them had a fishy appearance, with gills and weeds for hair.
But some of them were more of the regular demonic variety. These were the bad guys of Celtic myth, and they looked it.
Fortunately, no one paid us too much attention as we walked down the street. There were a few glares, but otherwise, people ignored us. Apparently, they needed traders from the outside. Thank fates for Shen and his costumes.
Lachlan stuck close to my side as we passed buildings made of white stone that looked like bleached-out coral. Sea shells decorated some windowsills and doorways, but it didn’t look cheery and beachy. Far from it.
Maybe it was the roofs, which dripped with dark seaweed. Insulation?
I had no idea.
The whole place was creepy, though. And the air felt way too wet to be comfortable.
“Shen said the Daggered Heart was on the other side of town, right?” I asked.
“Aye. We’re getting close.”
We passed a shop selling clamshells of all sizes, and another that specialized in pearls. There was a potions shop that looked like something out of The Vaults, and another that sold carriages pulled by giant seahorses. Or at least, that’s what the sign said. I saw no trace of giant seahorses. The carriages were cool, though.
A man with a snail’s shell for the back half of his body slimed past us, glaring and muttering, “Disgusting humans.”
“He’s one to talk.” I turned around and checked out his slime trail, which gleamed behind him, then turned back to Lachlan. “This place is wild. No wonder Caro wanted to come.”
“Aye, once in a lifetime.”
“That’ll be enough for me.”
Something in the nearby shop window caught my eye. Muffin, sitting on a pile of fish. He had a skinny silver one chomped in his mouth and looked like he was in heaven. The shop owner was nowhere to be seen, and I didn’t want to know what had happened to him.
“Muffin!” I hissed.
He turned to look at me, green eyes gleaming with excitement. He spat the fish out. Come on in, the fish is great!
“We have a job to do,” I said.
He scowled. I find paradise, and the first thing you want to do is drag me away? Buzzkill.
I shook my head and kept walking. If I really needed help, I was confident that Muffin would show up. For now, I’d let him enjoy the fruits of his labor. Or murder. Or whatever it was he’d done to get that shop to himself.
“I think that’s it.” Lachlan pointed to a sign up ahead.
It hung off the door, protruding over the stre
et. The thing was made of wood and carved to look like a dagger stabbing straight into a heart.
“Yeah, let’s hope Jonnie is here.” I turned into the bar, immediately impressed.
It was done up like an old timey dance hall, or something like it. I didn’t have enough experience with bars to say exactly what is was styled like, but there were cancan dancers on a stage at the back, their legs flying in the air beneath ruffly green skirts decorated with seaweed. They had fish heads, though, instead of human, and I kinda liked it.
The bar stretched along the wall to the left, and it was crowded with people. There were more humans in here than there had been out on the street, but they were still massively outnumbered by the Fomori. Tables full of demons played some kind of game with shells or watched the dancers while drinking green liquid that looked like sludge.
“Let’s get a drink,” Lachlan said. “Or at least stand near the bar so we don’t stick out.”
“Good plan.”
We didn’t have any Fomorian money, and I doubted they took cards down here, so we hovered at the bar behind a group of people waiting to order. They bought us some time to scout out our surroundings.
Lachlan faced the bar, trying to look like he was considering his options, while I turned to face him. I leaned against him casually, like we were just a couple, out for a nice date at a weird fish bar full of demons. But instead of looking at him, I peered around at the room behind him, trying to find Jonnie.
Most of the humans in here were women, which narrowed my options down. When I spotted a young guy sitting in the corner, scribbling into a notebook, my heart leapt.
“I think I see him.”
“He got red hair?” Lachlan asked.
“Yep. And a tattoo of a bird on his neck.”
“Bingo.”
I stepped away from Lachlan, and he turned. Together, we walked toward Jonnie, who was obsessed with whatever he was writing in his notebook. He didn’t even notice when we stopped at his table.
Or at least, I thought he didn’t notice.
“Have a seat,” he said without looking up.
He hadn’t seen us, and we’d walked with silent footsteps, but somehow he’d noticed us. As I sat, he looked up, his eyes a piercing blue.
He squinted at me. “Who are you?”
Lachlan’s magic swelled on the air, so faint I almost didn’t recognize it. He was blocking the sound of our conversation, I thought. I glanced at him, and he nodded.
I turned to Jonnie. “I’m Ana Blackmore. You’re Jonnie.”
He nodded. “Yeah.”
“Jude sent me.”
His eyes flicked briefly. “Don’t know any Jude.”
“I’m from the Protectorate.”
His face scrunched up in confusion. “No idea what you’re talking about, mate.”
He was deep undercover, and Jude had had no way to get him a message about our visit. And he’d left the Undercover Protectorate to come on this assignment before I’d ever showed up at the castle. My mind raced. I’d have to tell him something that made him believe me.
“My friend Lachlan here is blocking this conversation with his magic. No one can hear us. But Florian sends his regards. And the Pugs of Destruction.” No one could know about Florian or the pugs unless they’d lived at the castle. “And Hans said he wishes you’d drink more juice. It’s good for you.”
Disbelief flashed on his face, then a small smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. “You a new member?”
I nodded. “Trainee. They let me out early for a special assignment.”
“Something here, I gather?”
“Yes.” I nodded my head toward Lachlan. “This is Lachlan Munro. He’s helping me.”
“I’ve heard of you. Potion genius, Mega Mage.”
“Arch Magus,” Lachlan said. “But I like Mega Mage better. Let’s go with that.”
Jonnie laughed and leaned back, closing his book. “What do you need here?”
“Help. I’m looking for three powerful figures who came here to hire an army. They’re women, and they look like they’re made of shadow. But they wear Roman armor.”
“Like, ancient Roman?”
“Yeah.”
“Weirdos.” Jonnie shook his head. “Well, I can’t tell you anything about the women, but there’s only one place you want to go if you need an army. The Mercenary Guild.”
“Where’s that?”
“Edge of town, in its own annex near the theatre.”
“How would we recognize it?” Lachlan asked.
“Oh, you’ll recognize it. But you can’t go alone. Won’t stand a chance without me. It’s hard for a human to pass here. I’ll help you.”
“Thanks.” I smiled at him.
“No problem. I’m at a lull in my job anyway. Waiting for my own sources to come through. And if Jude let you out of training early for this, it must be important.”
“Oh, it is.” I shivered at the memory of what was happening to Otherworld. The Three might be gone, but their magic was probably still eating the land there, destroying it. And whatever they wanted their army for…I couldn’t let them have it. No question.
“Can we go now?” Lachlan asked.
“Sure. This stuff is always a hurry, isn’t it?” Jonnie said.
“Always.”
We left the bar, following him out onto the street. It was still just as packed as ever, but Jonnie was adept at slipping through the crowd without drawing attention. He was like a ghost, the perfect undercover man.
We passed more strange shops and bars, along with houses that looked like something out of a creepy dream.
When we reached the theatre at the edge of town, I caught the sound of singing from inside, which was the most godawful racket I’d ever heard. Screeching and caterwauling like mad.
Jonnie glanced back at us. “Something, isn’t it?”
“Sure is.”
He stopped at the edge of town, where the dome pressed up against the sea. There was a tunnel leading outward, into the ocean.
“It’s down there,” Jonnie said.
“How do we break in?” Lachlan asked.
“We don’t. Impossible. We’ll have to be invited in. You got something to trade?”
“Yeah.” I patted my bag. “Energy stones. How’d you know?”
“Shen’s favorite disguise. I didn’t think those silly hats were your choice. It works, too. Most of the time.”
Hopefully this time.
“Give me a moment to change. I can’t be recognized.” He slipped into an alley that I hadn’t noticed. There was a slight rustling sound, and he appeared a moment later, looking entirely different.
“You look like a demon.” I eyed his bald head and horns, the yellow eyes and black fangs. “Why don’t you stay like this the whole time you’re in town here? They’d probably hassle you less.”
“Can’t hold it for that long. Transforming ain’t easy, and the process isn’t pretty. But if we’re going to do something shady at the Mercenary Guild, I can’t blow my cover.”
“Fair enough. Thanks.” I smiled at him.
“Let’s go.” He led the way down the tunnel, which narrowed as we reached the other end. “Let me do the talking, all right? Once we’re in, we’ll ambush the guard and go hunt down your answers. The code word is kelp.”
“We attack on kelp?” I asked.
“Yep.”
“No problem,” Lachlan said.
The tunnel ended at an annex that was far bigger than the guard house we’d entered through. A freaking fortress fit within here, as big as the Protectorate castle and about eight hundred times creepier. It was built of bluntly carved black stone that was studded with barnacles. Seaweed dripped from the walls, gleaming with water and smelling like rotten vegetation. There were no windows that I could see.
A massive iron gate barred the front, dripping red with rust. The humidity in the air had to be killer on the iron.
“Why iron?” I asked. “Stainles
s steel would be so much better down here.”
“Their main enemy are the fae,” Jonnie said.
“Ah, right.” Fae didn’t like iron, from what I’d heard. Or it didn’t like them. Either way, the two didn’t mix.
“Wait here.” Jonnie started toward the gate, and Lachlan and I obeyed.
“Oy! Guild!” Jonnie shouted. “Got some goodies for ya!”
About twenty feet up, one of the stones in the castle wall shifted. A figure peered out, green eyes blazing down at us. The guard was another Fish Man, but he was bulky with muscle. A massive sword glinted in his hand.
“What goodies?” he demanded.
“Energy stones. From some traders. Desperate traders.”
I wanted to scowl, but it was actually a nice addition. They’d think they’d get a good price from us.
“Real energy stones?” Fish Man demanded.
Jonnie turned to us. “Hold up the goods.”
Lachlan raised a hand, and the energy stone glowed bright within his fingertips.
Fish Man grunted and slammed the stone window shut. Then the iron gate began to creak, shrieking like a door that hadn’t seen WD-40 in a decade. I almost had to cover my ears.
“Let’s go,” Jonnie said.
We followed him through the gate. Flecks of rust rained down on me, coating me in a weird red rain.
Four guards waited for us in the dark tunnel, their weapons raised high. Two had swords, while the other two held spears. Dark magic glowed around them, an inky black signature that I’d never seen before.
“Show us,” the original Fish Man said.
I dug into my pocket and held out my one good energy stone, mimicking Lachlan. Tension thrummed in my muscles, waiting for the attack. What would I use? Weapons or magic?
My water power had worked. Did that mean I had flame and wind as well? Earth?
“That doesn’t look like a lot,” Fish Man said, shaking me from my thoughts.
“It’s not.” Jonnie grinned. “Now it’s time for you to eat kelp.”
Kelp.
I sprang into action as Jonnie sent a blast of blue magic hurtling toward them. It slammed into the Fish Man on the right, and he went rigid, his eyes rolling back into his head as he slammed to the ground.
