Chapter 5

Eve

I raced from the bar, hurrying up the stairs and out into the cool morning air. The sun was just starting to peek over the horizon, and I used its faint light to beeline it out of the shifters' territory and into the main part of Guild City.

As I strode away from the tower, I turned back to look across the grassy courtyard. Lachlan was nowhere to be seen, but the hulking tower speared toward the sky.

I can't believe I was just inside the shifters' tower.

I shuddered and turned away, heading toward town.

As I stepped into neutral turf, I reached up to tug on the collar. The damned thing wouldn't budge. Worse, I could feel the magic buzzing around it.

Lachlan could find me anytime.

I shivered.

Had he really not recognized me?

I'd felt his gaze on me frequently, especially on my pointed ears. It had felt both curious and almost…angry. But he hadn't seemed to recognize me. Thank fates I looked entirely different, but it had to be the species change that convinced him. As far as most supernaturals knew, it was impossible to change species. Sure, a glamour could make me look fae, but I shouldn't be able to fake the magic. I could, though. Not only did I have a magical signature that was vaguely fae, I could throw lightning, grow plants, and even fly. I'd need to find a reason to use my wings around him, just to throw him off the scent.

"Hey! Watch where you're going!" A man dodged out of my way, glowering at me.

"Sorry!" I'd totally lost track of my surroundings, and the city streets were busier than I'd realized.

Not good.

I was still reeling from seeing Lachlan. He was so different—so powerful, yet so contained. Like a massive stone island in the middle of a sea storm.

And the connection between us…what the hell was that?

I dragged my thoughts from Lachlan so that I could avoid knocking into anyone. Guild City didn't have room for cars on the ancient, narrow streets, but there were hundreds of motorbikes. They buzzed by as I hurried along the pavement, passing in front of the ancient fa?ades of the Tudor buildings. The exteriors of the buildings hadn't changed much since the city was built five hundred years ago. They were still the same dark wood and white plaster, with many of the original diamond-pane windows—all except for the shops, which had large glass fronts to display their wares.

I passed in front of them, the windows glittering invitingly. Clothing, electronics, weapons, spells, housewares, stationery—everything was for sale on this street, and most of it danced inside the windows, propelled by magic to invite the customer to take a closer look.

Before, I'd been perpetually skint due to Danny. Maybe now, if I could solve this and get my money back, I'd have some breathing room.

I'm free.

Almost.

Guilt stabbed me. Danny had been an utter bastard, but he hadn't deserved to die like that.

My thoughts trailed back to Lachlan. He hadn't recognized me yet, and maybe he never would. If he didn't, then my secret died with Danny.

It didn't take long to cut across town and make my way to the Shadow Guild tower, where I lived and worked. As I walked, I rolled through what I knew of Danny:

1. He had been scared to leave shifter turf.

2. Before he'd died, he said something about a bastard finally…doing something.

3. He was a blackmailer.

Had one of his other victims killed him? Surely not the person whose business card he'd been holding…

I couldn't rule it out, but that would be too easy. Nothing in my life was that easy.

The sun was fully overhead when I arrived, shining on the tall, slender stone tower that acted as the Shadow Guild's headquarters. It wasn't nearly as big as the shifters' tower, but then there weren't nearly as many of us, only half a dozen of Guild City's misfits.

Though it wasn't big, our tower was far more beautiful. The stone gleamed a pale gray that almost sparkled under the sunlight. The glass windows definitely sparkled, so brightly that the diamond-shaped panes looked like precious gems themselves. Roses climbed up the side walls, courtesy of my fake fae earth magic.

Guilt pierced me again. My friends knew that I was an accomplished potion maker. They didn't know that I was so good I could fake my species.

I shook away the guilt and hurried toward the tower. I loved living in such an ancient-looking place with all the conveniences of modern living. Guild City was perfect for that, and our fairytale tower was the crown jewel.

I let myself in the front door and calling out, "Hello? Anyone in?"

Fortunately, no one answered me. I wasn't ready to face questions yet.

I'd only just moved into the Shadow Guild tower, while the others still lived in their flats. They hung out here often, though, as we used it for meetings and parties.

Until recently, I'd had two workshops out in Guild City: my main business, which I'd moved here in order to save money so I could pay off Danny, and a secret workshop hidden across town. The hidden one was just a hidey hole where I made the potion that changed my species. I had to regularly create the potion that I dipped my necklace in, and I didn't want to store the extremely rare ingredients in a place that could be robbed.

I took the stairs two at a time to my workshop and private flat. As I let myself into my new home, I gave a sigh of relief and leaned against the door. The little living room was filled with plush, colorful furniture and old art that I'd scavenged years ago from car boot sales out in London. Everything looked just as I'd left it.

"Thank fates." Though I'd only moved into the flat recently, it felt like home.

I set the bundle of towels and glass on the table by the door. Before I could deal with that, I needed a chocolate bar and a damned shower. I was so tense that a million chocolate bars wouldn't fix me, but I could sure as hell try. I went to the tiny kitchen and opened one of the drawers where I kept my stash.

It was empty.

I scowled down at it. It had been full just yesterday…

I looked up toward the window. A furry face stared at me through the glass, its black eyes glinting with fiendish delight. They were surrounded by a black mask and gray fur.

Goddamned raccoon. I should have known.

Raccoons weren't even supposed to live in London, and yet, one had found its way to me and seemed to have dedicated its life to stealing my damned chocolate bars. Our friend and guild leader, Carrow Burton, had a raccoon named Cordelia as a familiar. But this one was different. Cordelia was a sneak, but this one was an outright thief.

Guild City was positively infested.

I'd even taken to leaving out healthy snacks for the little wanker, feeling a bit bad for the creatureand hoping to keep him off my stash. He'd completely ignored the offering and had been waging a campaign of terror against me ever since, sneaking into every hiding spot.

"I will get you," I said to the furry little bandit. "Just you wait."

He grinned and ducked down, disappearing.

On my way to the shower, I grabbed a Lion bar that I'd taped under a lampshade and shoved half of it into my mouth. This was what he'd reduced me to—hiding chocolate everywhere like a lunatic.

I made quick work of my shower, then returned to the bedroom.

My closet was a mess, but it didn't take long to discard the idea of putting on one of the flowy dresses I liked. Things were looking dangerous, and that called for jeans and leather. I changed as quickly as I could, then returned to the living room and gathered up the little bundle of broken glass.

My workshop was just across the hall, and stepping inside felt like walking into a therapist's office. Here was where I made sense of things, where I gained clarity and control.

I looked down at the bundle of glass. "I'm going to find who made you."

First things first—I needed one of Liora's books. She'd given me several when I'd left, along with some of her most valuable supplies, and they were my prized possession. They made me one of the best potion masters in the world, and that had changed my life. It had given me the freedom I needed to keep living in the city I loved.

I set to work gathering ingredients and lighting a tiny magical fire under a little silver cauldron. This was precision work, not quantity work.

My mind went blessedly blank as I began to measure out the ingredients into the little pot. When it was all bubbling and fragrant, I picked up one of the broken pieces of glass and made sure it had an oily sheen on the inside.

"You're mine, you bastard." I dropped it into the potion and grabbed the book, waiting for the liquid to start smoking. Within a minute, a sparkling green mist unfurled from the top of the liquid. It shimmered with an almost oily texture. Quickly, I flipped through the book, which was indexed by smoke color, and finally found a match.

"The Ageratina potion?"

"The Agerawhat?" My friend Mac's voice sounded from the door, and I jerked my head out of the book.

MacBeth O'Connell stood in the doorway, her jeans ragged at the knees and tucked into black leather motorcycle boots. She wore a plaid shirt open to reveal a tank top, while her short blond hair was messy around her head. She was tall and slender, and as usual, looked like a female hipster lumberjack. A hot one.

It was a weird look, but it worked on her.

"Mac. What's up?" My heartbeat thundered in my ears. I wanted to see her—I loved Mac—but I was right in the middle of my own personal secret hellscape.

"Not much. I think I should be asking you that." She pointed to the smoke. "What's going on there?"

My mind spun. What the hell to tell her?

Part of me wanted to confess. Desperately.

I played with my necklace, a horrible nervous tic whenever I thought about my lies.

She would keep my secret. I loved Mac, and she loved me. But I'd never told her, and now it had been years. At first, I hadn't trusted anyone. I'd been on the run for so long that I didn't know how. And now the secret had slipped out of control.

I reached for a partially unwrapped chocolate bar that sat on the counter between a few bottles of potions and chewed, not caring that it had been sitting open for weeks, most likely.

"Stress chocolate?" Mac asked. "What's wrong?" She walked forward, frowning at my neck. "What the heck is that?"

I touched it, chewing frantically and debating another bite. "Um…it's a collar."

"What kind?" Her tone was wary as she stopped in front of me and held her hand in front of my neck. "I can feel the magic inside."

"Yeah. About that…" I hesitated for half a second, then let it all spill out. Not my past or my true species, but the murder and everything. The Alpha. The deadline to prove my innocence.

When I was done, she rocked back on her heels, her face pale. "So the shifters want you for murder."

I nodded. "It's bad."

"Really bad. They're a law unto themselves. The Council of Guilds can't step in and make sure that they follow the rules. No one can touch them."

"I know." I shivered.

"Don't worry. We'll get you out of this."

"It's too risky for you to get involved."

"What the hell else are we supposed to do? We're not going to sit around and let you go down for this."

My heart seemed to swell inside my chest. "You guys are the best."

"Well, I won't disagree there." She looked at the green smoke that still spilled out of the cauldron. "Are you working on solving the mystery now?"

I nodded. "That's the Ageratina potion. It was used to kill Danny."

"And now you want to find who made it and get them to tell you who they sold it to."

"Man, you're good at this."

"I am a seer, you know." She grinned. "Also, it was obvious."

"I may need help finding the potion maker." I dug into my pocket and pulled out my mobile. "It's a difficult potion to make, but I think there are at least a few people capable. I'm going to text a friend who might know."

Quickly, I typed out a message to Liora, hit send, then looked up at Mac.

"Why were you at Pandemonium?" she asked. "I've never known you to want to hit up a fight club."

I said the first thing that came to mind. "A date."

Her eyebrows rose. "You're having me on. You haven't gone on a date in years."

I was an idiot to think she'd believe me. "Yeah, well. It was time. But I never met him. Danny was murdered before it happened."

"Uh-huh." She nodded, clearly suspicious.

"Think what you like. By the way, have you seen a raccoon besides Cordelia hanging around?" I wanted to know, but I also wanted to distract her.

"No. They shouldn't even live in England. Now we've got two?"

"Yeah. I think Cordelia might have a boyfriend. He keeps stealing my sweets. I've even left food out for him but he ignores it and goes straight for my stash."

"Little bastard."

"My thoughts exactly." On the table, my mobile buzzed. I grabbed it and looked at the screen. "It's my friend."

Liora had written a list of four names, but she didn't know where any of them lived.

Shit.

That would take a while to track down. And four was a lot. I looked up at Mac. "We need to narrow this down further. Can you try?"

"I can try, but no promises. You know I'm better at reading people."

"I just need to know who made it."

She nodded and held out a hand. I gave her a piece of the broken glass, and she closed her eyes, focusing. Her magic flared on the air, bringing with it the scent of a misty morning by a river. A moment later, she opened her eyes. "I'm getting nothing. We need to try Carrow."

I nodded. Our friend wasn't a seer, exactly, but she did have a skill for picking up images from objects. She'd turned the skill into a career as a magical PI of sorts, and it would be good to have her input on this, anyway. "Where is she?"

"The Haunted Hound. Quinn is working, and she had something to drop off with him."

The Haunted Hound was the pub where Mac and our friend Quinn worked. It was also one of the portals to human London.

"I've just got to do one thing." I went to the side table where I kept my premade stash of potion vials and refilled my cuff with a bit of everything I might need. "Right, done. Let's go." I grabbed my jacket and shrugged into it, then stuck my mobile in my pocket and picked up one of the shards of glass, wrapping it carefully in a piece of kitchen roll. The rest I left behind, knowing they would be safe here.

Together, Mac and I cut through town to reach the gate that led to the Haunted Hound. There were several gates that led in and out of Guild City, each one enchanted to carry us out of our protected magical zone and into regular London.

The gate itself was a massive stone structure with two tunnels passing through it, a larger one for cargo and a smaller one for people. We headed into the smaller one and through a door at the very end, stepping right into the ether, an ephemeral substance that connected everything on earth. The ether whisked us through space and spat us out in the back hallway of a quiet old pub. My head spun as I recovered. The sound of chatting and the clinking of glasses welcomed us.

I turned and followed Mac out into the main part of the pub. It was a cheery space with a low wooden ceiling and a roaring fire on one side. A ghostly dog slept by the hearth and had done so for as long as I could remember. Small, round tables crowded the pub, but only a few were occupied.

Mac and I turned toward the bar, a long, gleaming wooden surface that separated us from Quinn, our leopard shifter friend. My only shifter friend, in fact. He was a broad, handsome man with auburn hair and a ready smile. Thankfully, I'd never known him as a kid.

Sitting at the bar in front of him were Carrow and Seraphia, two of my closest friends.

To whom I also lie.

The ugly little thought popped into my mind, but I shoved it back and approached. Carrow's golden hair waved down her back, while Seraphia's dark tresses were tied up with dark green vines that she must have grown herself. Though we knew her as Seraphia, she was technically Persephone, of the goddess fame.

Quinn grinned widely at us as we approached. "What can I get you ladies? Beer? Tea?"

"Tea. Thanks, Quinn." I smiled at him, so grateful to be seeing my friends after my too-long stint in the shifters' jail.

Carrow and Seraphia spun around on their bar stools, their wide grins fading as they took in the collar around my neck. Any hope that they might think it was jewelry fled on the wind.

"What the hell is that?" Carrow asked.

"So…not great news." I drew in a breath and laid out the whole story just as I'd told Mac.

My friends turned whiter as I spoke, and the whole situation made me want to crawl under the bar and hide. I'd really got myself into a mess this time.

When I finished speaking, Carrow held out her hand. "Give it here, then."

"Thanks." I pulled the glass shard from my pocket and handed it over.

She closed her eyes and wrapped a hand loosely around the glass. A few moments passed, and I waited, strung so tense that I felt like I could break.

This had to work, because if it didn't, I was out of leads.