Chapter 42

My face burned from Remy's disparaging remarks as I stalked down the alley and turned the corner. I knew he was trying to protect me and get the Eye away from Halder, but that did little to ease the tightness in my chest. Having guild members say those things behind my back was bad enough, but Remy repeating them to strangers was worse.

After a few more steps, I straightened my spine and clenched my fists. Remy didn't know me very well if he thought I would abandon him and slink back to the guildhall to wait. What if he needed help? I had complete faith that he could take down the thugs easily, but I was less certain about Halder. Remy still respected him on some level, and I was afraid he might waver at a critical moment.

As soon as I was out of sight, I stopped and scanned the street for the tallest building. I spotted a four-story one made of crumbling brick that provided perfect finger and toe holds for me to skim up the wall. When I reached the roof, I picked my way carefully across the cracked and worn clay tiles. The last thing I needed was for a broken tile to slide off the roof and announce my presence to those below.

Jumping lightly from building to building, I made my way back to the side alley where I had left Remy, Halder, and the musclemen. I slid my bow off my shoulder and nocked an arrow before crawling to the edge and peering down. I could hear their voices but not pick out the actual words. When Remy's shoulders drooped and he lowered the hand that had been holding the spirit dagger, I drew back the bowstring and waited.

Halder waved his hand, and the bruisers advanced with deliberate menace. Remy's posture shifted, a subtle but definite sign of his readiness to fight. His hand dipped into his vest and reappeared with the enchanted throwing knife Petra had given him. But his usual confidence was tinged with hesitation, and his gaze flickered momentarily towards Halder.

The bald thug took advantage of Remy's brief distraction and lunged at him with a blade the size of a machete. My heart pounded wildly as Remy danced away, evading the strike. Remy's accuracy with throwing knives was unmatched, but the man was too close. With a start, I noticed one of the other hulks slipping around Remy to come at him from behind. The third hung back, perhaps waiting for the best moment to join in. I jumped up, steadied my breathing, and took aim.

"Oh no you don't," I whispered and let my arrow fly. It sliced through the air and took the one with the tangled mass of hair in the throat. He made a gurgling sound before collapsing to the cobblestones.

For a single heartbeat, everyone froze and stared at the body. Tremors ran through me at the sight, and my lungs didn't seem to work. I'd never deliberately shot anyone before except the gargoyles, and I knew those arrows wouldn't hurt them. Wiping sweaty palms on my leggings, I struggled to calm myself. I could fall apart later if necessary. Right now, I needed to focus.

Baldie and Halder glanced up, searching the rooftops, shock written across their faces. Remy, however, surged forward with a speed and agility astonishing even for him and slashed at Baldie's neck. The big man swung his machete, but Remy parried with the spirit blade and suddenly Baldie flew backwards as if pushed by an invisible hand. Blood spurted from his throat as he slammed into the nearest wall and didn't get back up.

I blinked in surprise. Remy was excellent, but he couldn't blast people with air. The trapped spirit must be helping him. I readied another arrow and tried to find a clear shot at Scar Face.

Almost before I knew what was happening, Halder pulled a knife from his belt and threw it at me. With a squawk, I dropped the arrow and dove behind a chimney, the knife clattering harmlessly to the roof tiles. My pulse thundered so loudly in my ears, I couldn't tell if the fighting noises below had stopped or not. After a few moments, I drew another arrow and peeked around the chimney. I couldn't cower there while Remy was still in danger.

Scar Face was down with Remy's knife protruding from his throat, but, to my horror, Remy was on his knees holding his forearm. From my vantage point, the cut didn't seem bad. What the hells was he doing? Surely, he hadn't just put down his weapons and given up. I'd seen him keep going through a much worse injury than that.

I stepped out and pulled the bowstring back to my ear, sighting squarely on Halder's chest. I was pretty sure an arrow in full flight traveled faster than a thrown knife and I could hit him before he hit me. Come on, Remy. Now's your chance. Halder can't watch both of us. But Remy didn't move.

"Come down, girl," Halder called. For someone with an arrow pointed at him, he seemed remarkably calm.

"I'd rather just shoot you," I yelled.

A slight smile lifted the corners of his mouth, and he cocked his head. "You could. But then you'd never get the antidote in time to save Remy."

My mouth dropped open and it took me several tries to get it working. Remy had said Halder poisoned people, but I had imagined a few drops slipped into someone's tea. Poisoned blades hadn't occurred to me. I guessed that was an indication of just how far out of my depth I was in the Guild of Thieves and Spies.

"What makes you think I care?" I said with as much arrogance as I could manage.

Halder laughed. "I saw your face when Remy insulted you, and yet here you are fighting for him. If you didn't care, you'd be long gone."

My arrogance slipped a notch.

"Besides," Halder continued, "Remy likes the ladies. Too much for his own good, truth be told. And intentional cruelty isn't his style. I knew he wanted you away from danger. If you were just the unwanted apprentice, why would that be?"

I felt the heat rise in my cheeks and blinked at an unwelcome prickling behind my eyes. This was not the time for emotions. I chewed at my lower lip, uncertain of the best plan. Finally, I ducked back behind the chimney and clambered to the other side of the building. I had no intention of climbing down the wall with my back exposed to Halder.

When I crept around the building into the alley, bow raised and arrow trained on Halder, Remy hadn't moved and Halder waited with the stillness of a coiled snake. I squinted at Remy and asked, "Why isn't he moving?"

Halder shrugged. "The more he moves, the faster the poison will spread. He seems to be metabolizing it at a rapid rate, even for a shifter."

A shudder ran through me as I realized that the lingering effects of the Eye must be pumping the poison through his system quicker than normal. I shook my head back and forth slowly. This couldn't be happening.

"What do you want?" I rasped.

"The Eye of Oris."

"No." A thready whisper escaped from Remy.

Halder sighed dramatically. "Don't be a fool. Give me the Eye and I'll give you the antidote. You already owed me a favor, so the antidote is a bonus."

"If I tell you where it is, what guarantee do I have that you won't just kill us?" My voice sounded squeaky in my ears, and I cleared my throat.

"No one has paid me for your death. I don't enjoy killing indiscriminately. I'm not a monster."

The man was most certainly a monster, and I took several deep breaths to stop the scream that threatened to bubble up from my chest. I didn't know what to do, but prayed that Halder would honor his promise to not kill us. I couldn't let Remy die. With trembling fingers, I lowered the bow and unclipped the pouch that contained the Eye from my belt.

Remy let out a low groan and dropped his head to his chest.

"Here it is," I said and lifted the pouch.

"Toss your bow over here," Halder said.

I did as he said. Halder caught it and brought it down over his knee, snapping it in half. I flinched at the loud crack my new bow made as it died. He threw the pieces to the cobbles and held out his hand.

"Give me the artifact."

He had to be kidding. Even I wasn't that na?ve. "Where's the antidote?"

Halder reached inside his vest and withdrew a small vial filled with a thick amber liquid dotted with luminous white flecks. He held it up between his thumb and forefinger and gazed at it appreciatively.

"The sap of the Lumina tree, known for its healing and purifying properties. When mixed with shredded Silverbell petals—which bloom only under moonlight—and a single phoenix tear it creates the only antidote to Wraith's Bane."

Ellia might have had some idea what those plants were, but I didn't. And I didn't care. I just wanted the stuff.

"Fine. Give it to him and I'll give you the Eye."

White teeth flashed as Halder smiled. "You are young. And the young are prone to foolish acts of bravado."

He threw the vial down the alley, where it clinked on the cobblestones and rolled into some refuse. My heart leaped into my throat, and I was about to dash down the alley when a knife appeared in Halder's hand. I debated drawing my own but knew I had no chance against this man in a knife fight. I glanced at Remy where he still knelt with his head down and his beautiful, sable-tipped hair screening his face.

"Better hurry," Halder said. "He's already having trouble breathing and I believe paralysis is setting in. If you don't get the gel into his bloodstream soon, his heart will stop."

I threw the box with the Eye of Oris at him and raced down the alley. My heart thundered like I'd run across the city, not just down the cramped lane. My fingers shook as I scrabbled through the trash. There it was. I closed my fist around the vial and spun around.

Halder had just reached the end of the alley and turned to sketch a mocking bow. Egotistical bastard.

At that moment, to my utter astonishment, Remy straightened up and threw his dagger. End over end, it flipped, the gem in the handle glinting with each rotation. And embedded itself in Halder's chest. Eyes wide and mouth open, Halder clutched the handle, almost as if he would pull it out and laugh at us. But Remy's aim had been perfect and Halder crumpled to the ground.

I raced back to Remy and dropped to my knees beside him. He had curled in a ball and lay on his side, breath rattling in his chest. Yanking the stopper from the vial with my teeth, I grasped his injured arm and scrubbed at the cut with the hem of my tunic until it bled freely. Then I poured the contents into the gash.

It bubbled and hissed as it oozed over his skin. By the gods, what if Halder had lied and this was making it worse? I couldn't carry Remy and we were too far from either the guild's healer or Ellia's shop for me to get help in time. Not knowing what else to do, I brushed Remy's hair away from his face and wrapped my body around his. Don't you dare die, Remy.

As the minutes ticked away, I realized that Remy's muscles were beginning to relax, and his breathing eased. I touched my fingers to his throat and felt his pulse beating strong and steady. Slowly, I sat up and pulled his head into my lap. After stroking his cheek, I paused to brush away the tears I hadn't even noticed running down my cheeks.

"Ziola," he whispered, eyes still closed.

"I'm here." I leaned over, shaky with relief that he was conscious. I wanted nothing more than to kiss him silly.

"Get the Eye."

"What?" He had almost died, I was busy having an emotional meltdown, and that was the first thing he said?

"Get the Eye from Halder."

I contemplated jumping up and letting his thick skull bounce off the cobblestones beneath us. But with a resigned sigh, I carefully slid him off of me and rose to my feet. With our luck, some passer-by would probably rob Halder's corpse and cause even bigger problems.

"Can your enchanted dagger pull itself out of chests and return to you or do I have to do that too?"

Remy smiled faintly and raised one hand. "Return."

The blade quivered for several seconds, but finally popped out and flew into his hand. I squeezed my eyes shut and thanked all the gods for small favors. I really wasn't cut out for this sort of work.

After retrieving the Eye, I helped Remy sit up in a recessed doorway. The color was coming back to his skin, but I didn't know how long it would be before he could walk anywhere, even leaning on me.

"We can't sit here all night with a dead body lying across the alley entrance."

"No one will notice."

I gaped at him. "Even in this neighborhood, I think that is wildly optimistic."

"I'll be ready to go in a little bit."

I seriously doubted that. Then he closed his eyes and let his head fall back against the wall.

"I'll go get help," I said. I didn't want to leave him, but we didn't have other options. I made sure his knives were in easy reach and brushed back his hair. Placing my hands on his cheeks, I leaned over and pressed my lips to his. He moaned softly and reached up with his uninjured arm to cup the back of my head. With a sigh, I stepped back and squeezed his hand before turning to go.

"Get Ralph," Remy murmured.

"Wouldn't Alix make more sense? Ellia probably knows about poisons."

"Probably. But if you bring Alix, I'll never hear the end of it."

I rolled my eyes and took off at a run.