“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.

“How can you tell I’m on the run?”

“Like knows like.”

I nodded. It would be good to have friends. And damn if this place wasn’t cooler than normal London. “I don’t know if I could afford it.”

“You can.” She squeezed my shoulder. “You’ve got a powerful gift. You could definitely set up shop with it.”

“There seem to be a lot of magical shops, though.”

“Not a lot with skills like yours, if you’re hunting a murderer. You could be a PI.” She made finger guns with her hands, and somehow, it was charming. “Magic PI, here to solve the case. Or a bounty hunter.”

I laughed. “Let me catch this murderer first.”

“Well, you’re about to have your chance.”

We walked down the charming streets, passing supernaturals of all sorts. My head spun from the variety.

“What was Eve?” I asked. “She had wings.”

“She’s Fae. Without a court, of course. Since she lives here.”

“What does that mean?”

“All Fae are members of Courts. Magical—magical realms located all over the earth. There are Sea Fae, Fire Fae, Unseelie and Seelie Fae. Lots of others, too. If they leave their Courts, they can go a bit insane if left on their own.”

“Insane?”

“Yeah. They need the company of other Fae. At least a little. So a lot of them come here and join the Fae Guild.”

“Eve lives in her guild tower?”

“No. She’s like me—a loner. It’s enough for her to be a member of the guild. She lives next to me, actually.”

“That’s cool.”

Mac stopped, and I realized we’d appeared in another grassy square at the edge of town. We stood amongst the shops and restaurants on one side, staring at the tower on the other. It was situated in the middle of the huge wall that surrounded Guild City, and it was easily one of the creepiest towers I’d seen, black-painted stone with windows of red glass that glinted in the sunlight. The one door was guarded by two huge men who looked like bouncers.