Once Bitten (Shadow Guild: The Rebel #1)(47)

“Holy crap, we’re close?”

“Perhaps. Would you like to come with me?”

“To the Sorcerers’ Guild?”

“Yes.” He nodded. “For a price, they’ll track our killer.”

“You’re paying?”

“Of course.”

“Okay, let’s do it.”

He nodded, another satisfied smile stretching across his handsome face. Somehow, I felt trapped, the first course of this vampire’s dinner.





15





The Devil



Satisfaction roared through me when Carrow agreed to visit the Sorcerers’ Guild at my side. I’d told her the truth about the necromancer and his likely goals—but I didn’t like hearing that the entire police force was after her. It roused a protective instinct in me I’d thought long dead. Guild City was a fine place to live, but being unable to return to London would make it a cage.

“Come.” I strode around her, inhaling her scent as I passed.

Lavender.

And something intrinsically her that I liked very much but couldn’t identify. Both scents were so faint that I drew in the aroma more deeply just to get the barest taste of it. Oh, how I wished I could smell her better. It made me feel more alive, somehow. Reminding me that I’d only been existing these many years—not truly living.

Ice man.

The strongest urge surged through me to turn around and pull her into my arms. I resisted, moving toward the door without looking back at her. She found my intense attention uncomfortable, and I needed to remember that. For now.

Not to mention, every second I spent with her, I wanted to bite her. I hadn’t wanted to bite someone in centuries.

But her…

Yes.

I shook away the thought as best I could and strode down the hall.

Her footsteps caught up to mine, and she joined me, shoulder to shoulder.

“You have a contact at the Sorcerers’ Guild?” she asked.

“I have contacts everywhere.”

“What now? Do we walk up and knock on their door?”

“Not quite. But we will walk there.”

“Yeah. No cars in town, right?”

“Just motorcycles.”

“You don’t ride?”

“Who needs a ride when I can turn into a bat and fly?”

She choked. “You…what?”

“Joking.”

“I didn’t think vampires had a sense of humor.”

I shrugged. “We are enigmas.”

She huffed a dry laugh.

The club was busy as we passed through, but the crowd parted before us. It was a perk of owning the place. Of owning the whole town, actually. People got out of my way.

We passed the hostess stand, and I leaned closer to Miranda.

“Yes, sir?”

“If I’m not back by closing, see that the shifters come to the Sorcerers’ Guild. They’re to find Carrow and get her out.”

She nodded. “Consider it done.”

“Thank you.”

The night air welcomed Carrow and me, the moon shining bright over the city in front of us.

“What was that about shifters?” Carrow asked.

“The shifters are my bodyguards, though I don’t bring them with me often. And the Sorcerers’ Guild doesn’t . . . like me. If it doesn’t go well there today, the shifters will rescue you.”

“What about you?”

“I’ll be dead.”

She stumbled, and I stopped to meet her gaze. I raised an eyebrow. “Yes?”

“You’ll be…dead?”

“It’s highly unlikely. But if we do run into trouble, I’ll get you out of there or die trying.”

Her jaw slackened a bit. And frankly, the words shocked me as well. This urge to protect…I’d never felt it before, but it was real. It hung from me like an ill-fitting coat, but one that felt somehow natural.

“If you think you’re going to die, why not bring the shifters with us?”

“As I said, highly unlikely. Paranoia is suffocating. But being prepared is the only way to make it in this world.”

“True enough.” She started walking again, and I joined her. “Where is this place?”

“Two towers over. Not far.”

We walked in silence, but I found myself itching to ask about her. What was her life like on the outside? Who was she?

This strange curiosity was unsettling.

Fortunately, there was more than enough to distract me on the streets of Guild City. The streets between my tower and that of the Sorcerers’ Guild were a party zone, and the bars were busy. We passed drunken supernaturals of all kinds, and I could feel her interest.

“Have you not met many supernaturals before?” I asked, unable to help myself.

“No. Not until the murder.”

“What do you mean?”

“I didn’t know this world existed.”

“But you’re part of it.”

“On the outskirts, at best.” She sounded wistful, and I wanted to fix whatever made her feel left out.

What the hell was happening to me?

“How is that possible?” I asked.