Chapter Thirty-Eight

Graves insisted on arming her to the teeth.

To which she did not object one bit.

She opted for all black from head to toe. She'd even removed her wren necklace, much to her dismay and possibly Graves's as well. She strapped on the two beautiful guns that Graves had given her when she'd first taken the job. Plus, he offered her two for her boots and extra magazines for the inside of her jacket. She slipped knives up her sleeves, down her boots, and in her jacket. She'd added pins to her hair just in case—never know when a bobby pin would save her life. She felt like she was going into battle.

"Stop looking like that," Graves said.

"Like what?"

"So happy."

"I will temper my energy when I'm in the underworld. But come on. We're finally going out into the field. I've been waiting for this."

"If I'd known you would get this excited, I would have considered bringing you to my business meetings."

Kierse went very still, surprised that he would even suggest it. "No, you wouldn't."

Graves smirked. "Are you sure?"

And the look on his face told her that she wasn't. He actually had considered bringing her. She couldn't imagine Graves letting anyone in on his secrets.

"Don't forget the mission for today. We're finding a way to get you inside and make sure you can pass through Walter's wards."

She blew out a breath and refocused. Reconnaissance, after all, was more fun than failing at magic training, which she had been working on since Graves showed her the box to ward. Walter might have been one of Graves's warlock trainees before he let him go, but his wards were reinforced with force-field magic. They were pretty sure she could get past his warding with her absorption, but today would be the test of that.

"He's not as strong as Imani," Graves continued. "We just want to get you inside Third Floor."

"I'm armed to the teeth. What do you think I'll find there?"

"It's a dark market stories beneath the subway. Monsters congregate there to feast on their darkest desires, organize illegal weapons deals, and so on. It's not a place where the Monster Treaty holds any sway."

That much she did know.

"Remember, I can't get inside. I've had no access to Third Floor since Walter joined forces with King Louis. I won't be able to protect you."

"I won't need protection," Kierse said. "I can handle myself."

Graves leveled her with a look. "It's a monster market, and the currency is humans. You may not be human, but they don't know that. Weapons are only going to get you so far."

"All right. I hear you."

"So, if we can get you safely inside, the next important step will be to get the lay of the land without being noticed. Then you can start looking for another exit from Third Floor."

"This is the part that I'm good at," she assured him. "I know how to play this."

He looked dubious but acquiesced. They set out on foot, taking the back entrance out of the property through the garage tunnel that deposited them a few blocks southwest on Amsterdam. They trekked down to the 72nd Street subway entrance and took the stairs two at a time. A subway troll snoozed in a chair at the bottom. Kierse was thankful that she didn't have to deal with him today.

"Monsters," Graves muttered with disdain as if he weren't one himself.

They bypassed the troll and headed toward the turnstiles. Graves touched the reader with his bare hand and then gestured for her to go ahead.

She listened for the satisfying click as she passed through. "How'd you do that?"

"Magic," he said casually.

"I didn't think you took the subway."

"I don't." He started off across the dingy platform. "This way."

"Where are we going, exactly?"

"Times Square."

She blinked at him. "Really?"

"Unfortunately, yes."

Times Square was one of the last places that she wanted to be in the city. The once glamorous locale had been demolished in the first wave of the Monster War. A major battle between two factions had rendered it useless. There was a push to restore it to its former glory, but monsters had claimed the area and it was a slow progress. She hadn't been there in at least a year. Avoiding it was high on her priority list.

Still, she was safer with Graves than she had ever been alone. So, she followed him onto the 3 train that rattled noisily into view. For the time of day, it shouldn't have been busy, but it was New York, so... it was swamped. Graves wrapped one hand around a pole at the center of the car. She placed hers under his and braced herself as the train rolled south toward Times Square.

"What's in Times Square? Besides chaos."

Graves's mercurial eyes flicked around the crowded subway. A group of nymphs lounged on top of one another in the seat across from them. A haggard array of humans took up many of the other seats. She noticed a goblin against the far wall. No one here with advanced hearing, but it hardly mattered anyway.

She could sense the noise distortion as Graves flicked his hand, using his powers in public, and no one was the wiser for it. No one even looked up. The subway-goers were too concerned with themselves to think that magic was happening just around them.

"An entrance into Third Floor."

"There's one in Times Square?"

"Under," he corrected. "This is the most direct route underground. It takes us to a checkpoint that bottlenecks into the underworld."

Kierse shivered with excitement, that wrong smile returning to her face. Graves could only shake his head.

"Little thief," he murmured.

The train rolled to a screeching halt at the Times Square—42nd Street station. The nymphs burst from their seats in a riot of color. Kierse followed them out of the train and headed toward the exit. Graves directed her out of the flow and toward the S platform. She had no intention of complaining that they weren't headed through the frothing madness up above.

When they reached the S platform, Graves waited for the train to appear and all the other passengers to enter. Once the platform was entirely empty and all that lay before them was silence, Graves hopped onto the tracks.

He held his hands up as if he meant to catch her. "Come on."

"I'm no damsel, Graves."

She landed easily on her feet, crouched like a cat on the tracks. She rose to her full height, arching an eyebrow at him.

"Right," was all he said with a ghost of a smile. "This way."

Then he set off into the darkened gloom of the subway tunnel.

She jogged to catch up. "What if a train comes?"

"The shuttle shouldn't swing through here for another five minutes. We have time."

"Lovely."

Kierse kept looking down at the time on her cell phone. Five minutes wasn't that much time. Already four minutes had passed since the last shuttle. Things weren't always on schedule—in fact, they hadn't been on schedule before monsters—but she didn't want to bet on it.

She tapped her cell phone as the five minutes dwindled. "Graves."

He stopped abruptly. "Here we are."

Darkness swallowed him whole as he stepped off of the train tracks. She gaped in shock. One moment, he'd been at her side, and the next, he'd just vanished.

"This way," Graves said through the gloom.

Suddenly, the tunnel began to rattle. She jerked her head to the side and saw the lights of the train barreling down the shaft. Fear ripped through her. There was no other option; she took a deep breath and joined him. The darkness seemed to be more of a boundary than anything. Once she was on the other side, she could see that spotty electric wiring lined the roof of the tunnel, illuminating the space.

This was an entrance to Third Floor.

She exhaled slowly. "That must not have been warded."

"No. There are hundreds of entrances that allow access below, but there are far fewer checkpoints." Graves stepped over a rotting rat carcass. "The tunnels branch out beneath the city like a web. Even more expansive than the subway system. The checkpoints control entrances to King Louis's domain. Walter controls the checkpoints with his warding. So he controls access to the market and thus access to King Louis."

"Kind of brilliant. Are you sure you should have kicked him out of warlock training?"

Graves shot her a look. "It was the right idea at the time."

"And just think—if you hadn't done that, we never would have met."

He frowned as if he didn't like that assessment one bit. "I highly doubt that."

So did she. Something tied them together. One way or another, he would have crossed her path.

"Third Floor is its own sprawling city. The checkpoints let them charge for people to get into the market, to live in the market, to work in the market. It will not be easy to find a way in or out other than the checkpoints."

She nodded. "Got it. Where is the actual market located?"

Graves was silent a moment before saying, "Underneath Grand Central."

"Ah," she said in understanding. That made sense. Few ventured to Grand Central anymore. It was as anathema as Times Square, even if it had retained its former glory.

"They still operate the Grand Central Market with a mix of monster and human wares," Graves explained.

"Only tourists are stupid enough to go there."

"Precisely," he said. "This is a mockery of that market. Third Floor is located in the subbasement below the public-facing market. The few humans that venture below either spend enough to maybe ensure their safety or have a death wish."

"Sounds right," she said without emotion.

Humans could be just as monstrous as monsters when they wanted to be. But the majority hadn't asked for any of this to happen. She wanted to see them safe for the safety she had lacked in her youth.

"And King Louis's residence is at the center of Third Floor?"

"No, actually. How much do you know about the rail system?"

"It gets me where I need to go."

Graves shot her an amused look. "Ah, well, it's a fascinating read, if you ever want to try something other than fairy tales."

"I'm at your disposal. You're setting the reading materials," she reminded him.

"I'll give you a brief rundown. When the rail system was designed in Manhattan, a secret platform called Track 61 was built in 1910 to transport presidents in times of crisis. You can access it via a locked gold door on 49th Street, which leads underneath the Waldorf-Astoria building."

"Never been in it."

"It's under new management."

"Which monster?" Because she couldn't imagine there was another explanation in these times.

"Who do you think?"

"Louis," she guessed.

He nodded. "He purchased the building, gained access to the secret platform, and instead of taking up residence in the penthouse, he holed up in the bunker."

"Naturally. I'm guessing the door on 49th is warded?"

"It is. You could get in and out of it, but it's under constant surveillance. We need a more reliable exit."

That, at least, she could agree on. Exits were part of her repertoire.

Jason had taught her that the hard way.