He turned to us, face tight. “I don’t recommend that. Hurts like hell.”

I approached, staring at him through the barrier. It made his form appear wavy, as if I were looking through water.

“Step aside.” A gravelly voice sounded from behind me.

I turned to see the biggest of his shifter guards preparing to run through the barrier. Quinn shot him a look like he was crazy, then got out of his way. I did the same, clearing the path.

The shifter charged, transforming into a bear as he ran. His gleaming brown fur rippled over enormous muscles as he hurtled toward the barrier. He moved like a steam train, and I watched in awe as he slammed into the barrier.

And bounced off.

I stumbled back, forced by the reverberation of the shockwave.

The bear groaned, then rolled over and stood on shaky legs.

“I’m out,” Mac said. “If the bear can’t do it, none of us can.”

I looked toward Grey. He was the strongest by far, but he couldn’t face down Ivan’s whole team alone.

From the look in his eyes, though, that was exactly what he planned to do. Frustrated, I approached the barrier again.

“Carrow, don’t.” He held out his hand. “It’s too difficult.”

“I’m not going to try to blast my way through like you did.” I knew my limitations.

And my strengths.

I just needed to understand the barrier better.

I raised my hand, hovering it over the shimmering surface, not quite touching.

How do I get through you?

Would my magic work without touch? Could I possibly figure this out?

A vision flashed in my mind, bright and pure: a light, gleaming from a tiny crystal.

Orion’s Heart, hanging on the chain around my neck, suddenly felt heavy and solid. I reached for it, pulled it up, and slipped it over my head. The chain dangled from my hand as I raised the crystal to the barrier.

“Careful,” Grey said.

The barrier pricked painfully against my hand as I pressed the crystal into it. It was definitely weaker down here, as Mariketta had said. It felt even weaker than it had been when I’d touched it just moments ago. Dusk must be fully here.

Orion’s Heart seemed to warm, softening the barrier, almost melting it. I pushed hard, forcing my entire arm through the now gelatinous barrier. I kept pushing, and soon, I stood on the other side.

Grey’s eyes moved between the crystal and me, and I shrugged.

“Hey, help a girl out,” Mac’s voice sounded from the other side of the barrier, and I turned.

She grinned at me and stretched out a hand.

I wrapped my fingers around the crystal and reached for her. “Grab my wrist, not the crystal.”

If I was the only one who could hold it, I didn’t want it to hurt her. The barrier prickled against my hand as I forced it though. On the other side, Mac gripped my wrist. I pulled her through, having to put some serious muscle into it.

She popped out on our side.

“Nice work.” She grinned widely and released my wrist.

I repeated the movement fourteen more times, pulling through Quinn and Eve and each of the shifters. Finally, we all stood on the proper side.

The shifters eyed me warily, and I turned away, uncomfortable. They looked at me like I’d done something impossible.

“You’ll speak of this to no one.” Grey’s voice brooked no argument.

There was a murmurer of assent as I turned and stared down the tunnel. “We need to get to the Hyde Park Corner Station. Follow me.”

Grey joined me as I led the group farther down the tunnels.

“I don’t know where the Dwarves have magically joined the lines, so we’ll try to go the normal route.” I searched my memory of the lines and stations, then groaned. “It’ll take hours, though. We’re pretty far away.”

“We don’t have hours.”

We came to a magical intersection. The lines crossed here, no station needed, and I swore I could see the Dwarves’ magic working at the seams where each tunnel joined the other.

I racked my memory. “If we go north, it should cut off a lot of time. Maybe.”

“How sure are you?” Grey asked.

“The alternative is a two-hour jog that will make us too late. So I’m sure enough.” Confidence surged through me. I turned to head south.

The group followed, and we hurried along. It took two more turns down two different lines, but I felt the dark magic grow stronger. We were on the right track. “We’re nearly there. Hyde Park Corner is up ahead.”

Sure enough, we passed through the ghostly station and kept heading north. Within a hundred meters, we reached a darker section of the tunnels. Black slime coated the walls, and the magic reeked so badly that my stomach pitched.

I stared into the darkness, a shiver racing over my skin. “We’re here.”

16

Grey

She’d done it. Carrow had directed us through the ghostly Tube lines, flawlessly locating the base of Black Church.

I searched the area ahead of us, grimacing at the stench. The black slime covering the walls of the station was unusual.

“Where’s the entrance?” Carrow asked.

Mac hurried ahead, shining a lightstone ring on the walls of the tunnel, and avoiding the largest puddles of slime. “I see nothing here.”

The shifters spread out, searching for a secret door.

“Hang on.” Carrow pointed to a small animal running down the tracks toward us. “Something is coming.”

“That’s the biggest sewer rat I’ve ever seen,” Quinn said.

The animal neared, then stopped and stood upright. It hissed at Quinn. Who are you calling a rat?

“That’s Cordelia, Quinn,” Carrow said. “My familiar. She doesn’t like being called a rat.”

“My apologies, Cordelia.” Quinn frowned. “I didn’t recognize you from a distance.”

Hmm. I’m not impressed.

I glanced at Quinn, who still frowned. “Can’t you hear her?” I asked.

“No.” Quinn looked at me like I was crazy. “She’s Carrow’s familiar, not mine.”

Carrow shot me a surprised look. “Can you hear her?”

Dare I tell her? I hadn’t been able to hear Cordelia earlier, but now I could.

I didn’t answer, and Carrow’s expression suggested she wanted to talk about this later. She turned to Cordelia. “Do you know how to get in?”

Of course. I know all the good ways into all the best places.

Again, I understood her. What the hell was going on? Only a familiar’s person could understand them.

Cordelia shot me a keen glance, her black eyes gleaming. What are you looking at, Fang Boy?

Fang Boy?

I felt my eyebrows rise halfway up my head. Unexpectedly, a laugh almost burst from me.

A raccoon had just called me Fang Boy. It’d been centuries since anyone had so much as considered disrespecting me. Even the sorcerers treaded lightly, though they often hurled spells while they did so.

But this raccoon feared no vampire.

The absurdity of it made the corner of my mouth crack up in a smile.

Carrow stared at me, eyes wide. She mouthed, “Fang Boy?”

Come on. No time to dally. Those egg-sucking rat bastards are hard at work up there.

“Let’s get a move on,” Carrow said.

Cordelia nodded, then turned on her back feet and ran about ten meters down the way. She made a sharp right and dove into what appeared to be a pit. You have to go down to go up, she explained, her voice echoing out.

I went first, climbing down a ladder into a narrow tunnel that extended five meters to the side. At the end, a long tunnel led upward. Another ladder was bolted to the wall, and Cordelia was already halfway up.

Carrow appeared behind me, and I could just barely catch the lavender smell of her magic. She was so much better at controlling her signature. Safer for her, but I missed the scent.

“Be careful,” I said.

“You too.” She grinned. “Fang Boy.”

“Let’s not make it a thing.”

“Sure.” She winked. “Now get climbing.”

I turned and hurried up the ladder, following the fat raccoon to the top. A trap door blocked us, and Cordelia disappeared, climbing right through the wood like a ghost.

I pushed on the wooden door and emerged into a dank, dark room that had to be in the dungeons. I pulled my lightstone out of my pocket and raised it high.

“We’re in a cell.” Carrow’s voice sounded from below. She’d popped her head up though the trapdoor and quickly climbed out.

I strode to the iron door and pushed on it. With a shrieking creak, it swung open.

“Who’s there?” a rough voice sounded.

Shite.

I shoved my lightstone back into my pocket and let my night vision take over. I’d lost my ability to see color when I’d been turned, but I could see in the dark, which compensated for it. Fortunately, I hadn’t lost my night vision when I’d regained the full spectrum of color.

Behind me, the team was almost silent as they crept from the tunnel down below. I strode quickly down the hall, searching for the voice.

Near the front of the dungeon by the stairs where they’d kept Carrow, four members of the Council were locked in a cell.

My brows rose.

“You,” Ubhan hissed. “You’ve done this.”

“Hardly,” I said. “We’re here to help.”

“You’re being an idiot, Ubhan,” Mateo said. “He wasn’t there when they came.”

“We’re here to stop them. How many are there?” I asked.

“Get us out of here,” Ubhan demanded.

“I’m looking for a key,” Mac’s voice sounded from nearby.

“Me, too,” Carrow said.

“It’s at the end of the hall, in the alcove!” Ubhan shouted.

I turned to Carrow. “There should be a pair of powerful Magicuffs there. They’re reinforced with Elvish steel.”

Mateo’s gaze met mine. “You want the Elvish cuffs?”