by Linsey Hall
I gave a disgusted sigh and grabbed my beer, then stalked away from the bar. Apparently I didn’t look as threatening as I hoped, because no one cleared a path for me as I walked. I threw a few elbows and cleared the way, then stepped into the gambling hall.
Maximus appeared behind me, not saying a word. But I could tell it was him. I’d sense him if he were a mile away. And that annoyed me even more. Whatever connection we had between us was damned inconvenient. I didn’t even know the guy. I shouldn’t feel like this.
I took a big gulp of my icy beer as I surveyed the dimly lit interior of the building. Bare light bulbs hung from the ceiling, illuminating rickety tables and chairs. Almost every single one was full, gamblers hunched over their cards and staring intently at those around them.
“She’s there.” Maximus pointed toward a woman in the corner.
Her purple eyes glowed from all the way across the room, making her look like she was lit from within. Holy cow, the bartender had been right. You really couldn’t miss Eloa. She had dark hair and skin and was ethereally beautiful. But her eyes… They blasted like they were lit with LEDs.
I slipped through the crowd, eyeing an empty chair at the table across from her. It was a four-top, and from the spread on the table, she was playing blackjack against the house. I’d played a few times as a kid, before I’d been abducted, and was damned good at it.
We stopped in front of the table, and Eloa looked up. The dealer was a hulking brute with magic that smelled like tree sap.
“Eloa?” Maximus asked.
“Who’s asking?” she purred.
I’d almost guess she was some kind of cat shifter, but didn’t think that was quite on the money.
“I’m Maximus, and this is Rowan Blackwood. We’re looking for a ride up the river.”
Her gaze shuttered. “I’m busy.”
“We pay well,” he said.
Her purple eyes sharpened on him. “How well?”
“Ten grand for a ride up to El Dorado.”
Her two companions choked. She just laughed.
“Twenty?” he asked.
“It’s not the money, big guy. No way in hell am I risking my life to get up to El Dorado. It’s a death wish.” She turned back to her cards, clearly done with us.
I glanced at Maximus, who frowned grimly. Eloa was deadly serious. No way was she going to take us up to El Dorado.
I slipped into the chair across from her. “Can I play?”
Maximus’s strong hand gripped my shoulder. He didn’t seem to like this, but I didn’t care.
I had a plan.
Eloa gave me a critical look. “Why?”
“Because I want to win some money?”
“You need to have money to play.”
I raised a hand so that it hovered over my shoulder, a signal to Maximus. A painful second passed as he decided if he was going to give me the money I was so obviously demanding. I was about to kick him in the shin when a wad of bills landed in my palm.
A tiny flare of warmth lit in my chest. He trusted me. Or he was bad with money.
Either way, I was in.
I looked down at the bills he’d handed me. Eloa’s sharp eyes narrowed on the wad of cash I sorted through. Greed glittered within.
It was a ton of freaking money, and I peeled off two hundred-dollar bills and passed them to the dealer. He handed me some chips, his eyes bored, then dealt out the cards.
I looked at my card that lay face-down, then smiled. Not a bad pair. That would make this quicker. The first rule of card sharking, as I’d developed them when I was a kid, was to be totally average. Not good, not bad. I was a good actress and even better at counting cards. Math had always been my thing, and for a while, I’d supported my sisters with my abilities. At least until the local bar had figured out what I was doing. I’d only been thirteen, so they hadn’t given me the usual beating. But I hadn’t been able to play anymore.
I looked at Eloa. “So, you’re good at this?”
She grinned, shark-like, and pride radiated from her. “The best.”
Right then. I’d have to be good. But she was proud, and that could work in my favor.
The first round went quickly. I almost won, and that was the point. We both lost the next to the house, and I spared a glance up at Maximus. He looked annoyed, which was to be expected.
Eloa’s sharp gaze kept darting between the two of us. “Why do you want to go to El Dorado?”
“For the gold, of course,” I said.
“It’s cursed.” She shuffled the next hand. “Take one piece of it, and you become the walking dead.”
“I’m not worried about that.” I accepted my cards and peeked at the one that was facedown. Only a moron would lose with these. Looked like I was going to win this round.
“Then you’re a moron.”
“Occasionally, but not in this.” I rejected another card. “Also, I’m desperate.”
The round finished, and I won. It was the victory of a lucky idiot, however, and she knew it. So far, I’d mostly sucked. Not so badly that she’d expect card sharking, but bad enough that I’d probably lured her into my trap. I scraped my winnings toward me.
We played another round, which she won. I made sure to keep Maximus’s entire lump of cash sitting right in front of me on the table. Eloa’s eyes kept darting to it.
Yep, she was desperate. Maybe she had some debts.
Once again, Maximus’s strong hand landed on my shoulder. He was getting annoyed, but I wasn’t done yet. We were on our third round since the dealer had shuffled, and I had a good idea of what was coming. He dealt our cards, and I peeked at mine, pleased.
I looked at Eloa. “Want to make a side bet on this hand?”
“Why?”
“You could win some more money.” I set a pile of cash on the table between us, then looked at the dealer. Though we were betting on the outcome of this game, the money wasn’t technically part of the game. He looked away, apparently used to such things.
Eloa’s eyes narrowed. “So if I win this hand, I get that money. And if you win, I suppose you want a ride upriver to El Dorado?”
Eloa wasn’t stupid, that was for sure. “Yep.”
“What if the house wins?”
“Then we’re both out of luck. I keep my money and you don’t go up the river.”
She debated, chewing her lip. Eloa peeked at her cards, then nodded.
I tapped the table. “Hit me.”
Tension crackled across my skin as I waited for the dealer to hand me the card. I’d counted right and the odds were in my favor, but you just never knew.
The next card landed in front of me, and I stifled a smile.
Jackpot.
Eloa took her card, then grimaced and pushed her cards across the table. “You win.”
I stood. “Let’s get a move on, then.”
Eloa rose, eyeing me suspiciously.
I ignored the look. “Lead the way.”
She nodded sharply, and pushed her way through the crowd. I collected the cash from the table and handed it back to Maximus, then followed Eloa out of the crowded bar.
The jungle embraced us in its damp heat as we stepped out onto the boardwalk. Eloa had exited through the side of the building, and it was quiet, the roar of the crowd dampened to a dull roar.
“My boat’s docked at the river.”
“Do we need to wait until morning to depart?” Maximus asked.
“Nope. No good time to travel that part of the river, so might as well get this over with.”
“I like how you think.” I grinned, squinting into the distance and hoping to see some monkeys. I’d never been to the jungle that I could recall. There were a lot of times during my captivity with the Rebel Gods that I couldn’t remember, but I didn’t count anything from that time as a real experience. “How long have you been running your boat on the river? And what is it you do?”
“Smuggling, mostly.” She grinned at me. “Been doing it about six mon
ths.”
“Just six?” Shit.
“Yep. You sure you want to throw your lot in with me? Not sure I’m the most qualified.”
“I like a challenge.”
Eloa scowled. I had a feeling she was lying about the whole six months bit, anyway. At least I hoped. I shot Maximus a glance. He shrugged, clearly thinking the same thing. What other choice did we have?
“What are you?” I asked.
“Bruxa.” She glanced at me and must’ve caught sight of my confused expression. “Witch.”
“Ah.”
“You?”
“Um.” Well, shit. Of course she’d return the question. I had been a telekinetic. Now… “Potion master.”
Kinda. She accepted the answer, though, so I took it.
She led us down to the river, where two dozen boats of various sizes and styles were tied off to the old wooden docks. The water moved sluggishly along, the river so wide that it could have been a lake. Night animals were even louder over here, with a cacophony of monkeys and bugs and birds that all blended together to create a riotous symphony.
“That’ll be the Kilbourne right there.” Eloa pointed toward a boat that was tied off to one of the middle docks.
It was one of the bigger vessels, at least forty feet long, with a low, flat deck and a steamship stack right in the middle. A huge paddlewheel hung off the back.
“Holy crap, it’s a steamboat?” I asked. “Aren’t those extinct?”
Eloa shrugged. “I like it. And it runs partially on magic now, anyway. Not like I’m chopping a ton of wood or hauling coal or anything.”
I followed her onto the boat. There were no structures on the deck other than a pilothouse and the thing that burned the wood for the steam engines. A boiler, I thought it was called.
There was a flat wooden roof built overhead, but there were no walls. A hammock hung right in the middle, no doubt where Eloa slept.
Near the bow, a monkey sat, eating what looked to be a ham sandwich. I grinned. I’d wanted to see one of these suckers, but I hadn’t expected him to be eating a ham sandwich.
“Hey, Ted,” Eloa said. “We’re headed upriver to El Dorado.”
The monkey just glared at her.
Eloa turned to us. “We’ll get started now. Stay alert. Things should be fine for the first little bit, but it could get sticky after that.”
The monkey gave a wheezy laugh.
“Ted has a weird sense of humor.” Eloa went to the middle of the boat and reached into a barrel that was strapped down to the deck. She pulled out a blue rock, then chucked it in the boiler. The thing blazed to life, and the engines started pumping. The paddlewheel creaked and groaned, finally spinning and kicking up water.
Eloa threw off the lines and steered the boat away from the dock.
I joined Maximus at the bow, leaning over the rail to look out at the dark river. Moonlight gleamed on the water, and the jungle rustled on either side.
My skin prickled with awareness, and I spoke to distract myself. “This is not what I anticipated.”
“I’m not sure anyone could anticipate a steamboat on the Amazon. Not these days, at least.”
I glanced back. Eloa stared out of the pilothouse, her eyes keen on the river. Ted the Monkey sat in the hammock, glaring at us. Mean monkey.
We rode in silence for a while. Though I stood only two feet from him, it felt closer. He had such a presence that it was impossible to ignore. His power radiated from him, feeling like a caress against my skin. I scowled into the distance.
“Speaking of not anticipating,” he said. “You are definitely not what I expected.”
Honestly, I wasn’t what I expected. This new magic shocked the hell out of me, too. Not that I could tell him that.
“Not just the dark magic, which we can discuss later.” His gaze turned serious at that. He wasn’t going to forget, and he didn’t trust me. The truth was clear enough. “But you did well in the fight at the Protectorate.”
“Of course I did.” That was one thing I was confident of.
“Why are you such a good fighter?”
“Training.” I didn’t want to mention that my missing magic was why I’d dedicated myself to becoming such a good fighter. Anyway, I’d always had a knack for it. No harm in telling him that bit of my history, to give him something to throw him off the scent. “I spent my teenage years in Death Valley. My sisters and I made trips across the desert, driving people out to Hider’s Haven.”
I could feel his gaze move from the river to me. “That’s one of the most dangerous stretches of land in the world. You did that as a kid?”
I shrugged. “Didn’t have much choice. Had to make a living, didn’t we?”
“Not traditionally, no. Most kids have parents to take care of them at that age.”
“Well, we didn’t. Our dad had been gone since we were babies, and my mom died when we were thirteen. We were on our own at that point.” And running from the Rebel Gods, who’d killed my mom in their hunt for us. We’d had to keep a low profile, and Death Valley had been the way to do that. It was so miserable, almost no one went there. “Anyway, it was a good time, and it taught me some stuff.” I shot him a sidelong glance. He looked damned good in the moonlight, all strong and manly and highlighted by the moon. His suspicion of me radiated from him, though, kind of killing the mood. “I suppose you had nice parents? PTA, home-baked cookies, dad home at six for dinner?”
“No. I grew up in a different time.”
“What do you mean? Like, the eighties?”
He chuckled and the low sound reached inside me and tugged. I cleared my throat, suddenly awkward.
“No. I was born in AD 89.”
“Wait, what?”
“I grew up on a farm in southern Germany. Life was different then.”
“Holy shit, how are you alive now?” None of this made any sense.
“It’s a bit of a long story. Not very interesting.”
“Somehow, I doubt that.” Though I definitely believed he didn’t share it often. “You’d have to be a god to live that long.” In fact, his power had been strong. I eyed him up and down. Was he a god? “I want to know the story.”
So do we.
The voice sounded from near my feet. I glanced down to see the raccoon from the Grassmarket sitting there, along with a possum and a badger friend.
My jaw dropped. “How did you get here? And who are they?”
You promised us your trash, remember?
I remembered that ‘ours’ he’d said as I’d walked away from the alley, but hadn’t expected a badger and a possum. “Yeah, but—”
“Are you talking to that raccoon?”
I looked up at Maximus. “I am, but it’s not as weird as it looks.” Okay, maybe it was that weird, but I didn’t know what else to say.
I’m not weird, I’m—
The boat shifted underfoot, cutting off everyone’s words.
“Hang on!” Eloa called.
“What’s happening?” I gripped the railing tight as the boat heaved on the river, the bow dipping low then coming up again.
“No idea!” Eloa shouted. “Get ready, though. Probably not gonna be fun!”
In front of us, the water rippled, then exploded outward as a giant snake reared up. The creature was bigger than the boat, its fangs as long as my arms. It loomed above us, death incarnate, then reared back to strike.
6
“Merda!” Eloa cried. “It’s the Boitatá! Don’t look into its eyes for more than a few seconds! It could blind you!”
I caught only the barest glimpse of flame-red eyes and quickly looked downward. My heart thundered as I jammed my hand into the pouch of potion bombs slung around my hip. I grabbed the first one and kept the snake in my peripheral vision. Panic prickled my skin as I hurled the bomb at the snake’s head. As it flew, I saw that the glass was blue.
Good, my strongest one.
I called it the Murder Bomb because it was full of a rare venom from a
tiny lizard, and it would take out even the strongest demons. It should at least stun this guy.
The glass exploded against the upper part of the snake’s body—he was as wide around as a truck—but he didn’t even flinch.
“Nothing can penetrate its skin!” Eloa shouted.
Crap.
Maximus sprinted toward the side of the boat, his sword gripped in his hand. He must have drawn it from the ether or something, because he hadn’t been carrying it earlier. Or maybe he’d conjured it. Either way, he seemed determined to leap onto the snake, but as soon as he heard Eloa’s words, he halted.
He searched the surrounding jungle, and I did the same, looking frantically for a plan.
The snake reared its head back to strike.
Despite Eloa’s warning, I couldn’t help but sneak a peek at it. Slowly, my vision began to dim, and I forced my head down.
I caught sight of Maximus. A large shield appeared on his left arm. Conjured, I had to bet. My sisters and I had bought expensive spells to allow us to store our weapons in the ether and draw them when necessary, but it looked like Maximus had another skill entirely.
The snake pulled its head back a bit farther, then struck. Eloa screamed and jerked the wheel, but the boat was too slow to maneuver out of the snake’s way.
As the beast’s head neared the boat, moving so fast it was hard to see, Maximus sprinted toward it and leapt into the air. He slammed his shield against the side of the snake’s head, and the creature spun away, stunned. It crashed down through the bushes and slammed to the ground.
Maximus landed back on deck with a thud, then whirled to face us. The snake lay still, its massive head resting on a bush near the river.
“It won’t stay down for long,” Maximus said.
We needed another plan.
My gaze caught on the massive vines hanging from the trees that towered alongside the river. The snake shifted, blinking groggily.
We were out of time. “Let’s tie him up with the vines. Hold him back.”
Maximus turned to inspect the vines. The snake was slowly rising, shaking its head back and forth as if trying to get its senses together.
We can help! The raccoon’s voice sounded from behind me.
