“Hello, Perowall.” Grey’s smile did not reach his eyes.

Perowall’s brows rose. “Devil. It’s been a while since you’ve dined with us. But I’m afraid we’re not open.”

Dined? Opened?

Mac must have spotted the confusion on my face. Leaning closer, she whispered, “They run the most famous restaurant in town. The Cellar.”

“Could you please make a special request of Ogden the Bold?” Grey’s voice was firm. “We’d very much appreciate it. We’ll make it worth his while.”

“I’ll see what I can do.” He disappeared behind a heavy velvet curtain.

“I’ve never eaten here,” Mac said. “I hear it’s really quite good.”

“And it’s doing double duty as a meeting place to beg for help in stopping the apocalypse,” I said.

Mac shrugged. “That’s Guild City for you.”

“I doubt we’ll be eating, Mac,” Eve said. “So get your head out of your stomach.”

“Fine, fine.”

I met Grey’s eyes, but they were unreadable.

A few moments later, Perowall returned. “If you’ll please come with me, Ogden will see you.”

Thank God.

We followed Perowall down a wide staircase to a lower level. The air cooled as we descended, and I got the impression of a huge underground space, even though we were only in the stairwell.

“No one knows how big their tower really is,” Mac whispered. “It extends underground. Not to mention The Below.”

“The Below?”

“The tunnels.”

“Right.”

Perowall led us into a long, narrow room with an arched brick ceiling. Small tables lined each side, covered in creamy linen with lovely flower arrangements. Golden light glowed throughout, giving it a distinctly romantic feel.

Perowall led us to a large table at the end, where he gestured for us to sit. He slipped away before we’d done so, but Ogden appeared a moment later. His beard was even longer and more intricately braided than Perowall's, studded with dozens of gleaming gems. It looked like the dwarven version of a crown, albeit upside down. His suit was as fabulous as Perowall’s, a brilliant cobalt with a canary yellow tie.

“Devil.” Ogden inclined his head in greeting and sat at the head of the long table. “To what do we owe this pleasure?”

To what do we owe this pleasure?

He was really playing it cool, considering the situation.

“We’re here to request your aid.” Grey gestured to the three of us. “I’m sure you know Mac and Eve. This is Carrow.”

Ogden nodded at my friends, then pinned me with a gaze. “Never met you before.”

“I’m new.” His intense scrutiny made me uncomfortable. Could he sense my magic?

“Hmm.” He turned his attention to Grey. “What kind of help? Does this have anything to do with those miserable sorcerers and that magical dome outside?”

“They’ve been here?” Grey sounded surprised.

“Indeed, they have.” He grumbled. “Bastards.”

I leaned toward Mac and whispered, “What’s the deal there?”

“Longstanding grudge. Hundreds of years old.”

“What did they want?” Grey asked.

“The same thing that you want, I presume.” Ogden gave a knowing smile. “They wanted help navigating the tunnels to Black Church. But we’d never help those bastards.”

So the sorcerers were trying to help. Mariketta must have convinced them of the threat. Except these Dwarves were damned stubborn in their dislike of the sorcerers.

“It’s a matter of life and death,” I said.

“For you, perhaps,” Ogden said.

“Don’t you care that the city could be destroyed?” I demanded, unable to keep my mouth shut. “Your home?”

“This is my home.” He gestured to the restaurant around us. “And the rest of The Below. The explosion can’t reach underground.”

I tried to keep the horror off my face. “You’d live under a city of corpses and rubble.”

He shrugged. “That is not ideal, but we’ve got all our manpower busy shoring up the surface portions of our domain. We don’t have time to help you.”

“We can stop this,” I said. “If you can get us there, you won’t have to worry about bodies or destruction.”

Grey leaned forward. “I know you’re not particularly fond of the surface and that you’d survive down here even if it disappeared, but life would be better for you if that never happened. You can’t deny it. Just spare us one person to lead us to Black Church. That’s all.”

Ogden scowled and muttered to himself, then said, “You’ll have to pay.”

“I’ll take care of it,” Grey said.

The Dwarf looked at the four of us. “All of you.”

I frowned. “What do you want?”

“Money from him.” Ogden nodded to Grey. “Potions from Eve, a vision from Mac. And what can you do?”

“I can read information from objects and people.”

“A psychic, eh?”

“Yes.” It wasn’t an exact description, but let him believe it. “I’ll read any object you like.”

He pursed his lips. “Good. Payment first.”

“No.” Grey’s voice was firm. “You’ll have the money first—I’ll see to the transfer—but we need to begin immediately. Time is of the essence.”

Ogden grumbled, then nodded. “Make the transfer.”

Grey stood and strode toward the stairs, raising the comms charm at his wrist to his lips. His voice drifted away as he spoke.

Mac pulled out her mobile and began to surreptitiously type a text message. I caught sight of Quinn’s name. She was telling him that it was time.

Ogden’s eyes moved to me. “You’ve got quite a bit of magic there, girl.”

Girl?

Normally, I’d bite a man’s head off that, but this wasn’t a normal situation. We needed his help. I gave him a pinched smile and doubled down on my signature.

Fortunately, Grey returned a moment later with another Dwarf attired in an emerald-green suit with a magenta tie. I was starting to sense a trend.

“It is done,” Grey said.

The shorter man next to him nodded. “The money has gone through.”

“Thank you, Fortirue.” Ogden nodded. “Devil.”

“Shall we leave?” Grey asked.

“It seems it is time.” Ogden clapped his hands and hopped up. Grabbing a last bite of cheese from the plate, he popped it in his mouth.

“Excellent,” Grey said. “My men will be here in one moment.”

Ogden frowned. “Your men?”

“We’re attempting to break into Black Church to stop a black magic bomb,” he replied with a raised brow. “Wouldn’t you bring backup?”

15

Carrow

A black magic bomb.

Grey’s words echoed in my mind.

This was the real deal. Just a week ago, my life had been normal. Now I was here, running toward a black magic bomb.

We returned to the main tower where we’d entered the Dwarves’ Guild. Grey’s security forces arrived a moment later, a dozen shifters wearing identical black special-ops wear. There were roughly equal numbers of men and women, strong and capable looking, with firm jaws and serious eyes. The shifters were perfect for this work.

Quinn arrived last, nodding at the other shifters before joining us. His dark hair was tousled, as if he’d run all the way.

“Are we ready?” Ogden grumbled.

Grey nodded. “Ready.”

Ogden turned and led us through another door. Grey and I followed closely, my friends behind us. His shifter guards took the rear, and we made our way deep underground, following the wide staircase to an even wider tunnel.

“This is The Below,” Ogden said. “Territory of the Dwarves, and don’t you forget it.”

“Thank you for permitting us entrance,” Grey said.

Ogden muttered and started down the stone-lined tunnel. As he walked, his clothing transformed from a dapper suit to rugged clothing suited to a miner—albeit in the same bright blue and yellow. It should have looked silly, but somehow, Ogden pulled it off.

The underground space was lit by golden lamps that shone on the stone walls and ground. A fine carpet ran down the middle of the hall, and the doors on either side were made of beautifully carved wood. All were shut, but magic seemed to spill out of the cracks, different scents and sounds that lit up my imagination.

What was happening behind those doors? This whole place made me want to explore, but we kept up a fast pace that made it impossible.

One door was open, however, revealing an enormous cavern and a glowing blue waterfall. Gems seemed to glitter from the stone in every shade of the rainbow, and the pool of water looked inviting.

“Wow.” I leaned toward Mac and whispered. “Have you ever been here?”

“No. It’s hard to get past the restaurant.”

We passed another open room. I peered in, spotting a gorgeous library full of thousands of books. The shelves soared toward the ceiling, dotted with tall ladders here and there. Plush armchairs sat in front of a roaring fire, and magic seemed to sparkle in the air. It was utterly fantastic, and I itched to get inside.

“That looks amazing.” Eve’s eyes gleamed with interest, and I remembered her book collection from earlier.

For the first time ever, I didn’t see her raven at her side. Now that I thought of it, the bird had disappeared once we’d entered the Dwarves’ Guild. “Your raven isn’t here.”

She shot me an annoyed look. “I’ve told you and everyone else a million times, I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Her tone was so exasperated that I believed her, though how she could miss the raven was beyond me. Did it appear to everyone but her?