Once Bitten (Shadow Guild: The Rebel #1)(16)

“Well, if you insist on going, we can get you some potions to protect yourself. He wouldn’t see that coming, and you’d be pretty safe.” She looked me up and down. “And we’ve got to get you ready.”

“Ready?”

“When I say the guilds provide protection, I mean that they also protect us from ourselves,” Mac said, her voice slightly bitter. “Not that we need it. Sometimes, I think they’re too heavy-handed.”

“How so?”

“Remember those magical signatures I talked about? How we can smell or hear each other’s magic?”

“Yeah…”

“Keep yours on the down-low if you can. Try to control them so others can’t sense what you are.”

“I’m not doing that already?”

“No, you let them all hang out.”

I laughed. “So, how do I do control it?”

“You practice, which you don’t have time for now. A potion will help conceal your power from the Devil.”

“Is he really a vampire? Like, drinks blood and can’t walk in the sun?”

“Yeah. A powerful one. He does drink blood, but he can also walk in the sun. The sun thing is a myth made up by humans to comfort themselves.” She stood. “And, ah…he can compel people to do his bidding.”

“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.