Change was definitely coming, and I couldn’t let him know.
I caught his gaze, and it looked like he wanted to ask about my magic dying.
Fortunately, a massive splash sounded from behind him. My gaze darted to the water, where a huge serpent’s head was bursting forth.
I drew my sword from the ether and lunged for the scaly black creature, slicing cleanly through its neck. Blood sprayed, but I was fast, dodging low to avoid it. It splattered the wall behind me.
I stood, looking at Lachlan. “You’re welcome.”
He nodded his thanks, then his eyes widened on something behind me.
Oh, shit.
Before I could turn, he pulled the same trick I had, yanking his two short swords from the ether and lunging. I spun in time to see him slice another sea creature across the throat.
It crashed back into the water, sparkly black scales shining in the light of my ring. Red eyes blazed with a demonic light, and the scent of dark magic surrounded it. Its blood flowed into the water, making it boil.
“They’re magic,” he said. “Not real.”
“Guarding something.” I stepped up to the edge of the platform and peered down, my heart hammering. “We’d better get a move on.”
We hurried from the spot, keeping our gazes on the water beneath us. I glanced at Lachlan as we walked, taking in the controlled nature of his being.
He was like a tiger, always waiting to pounce. Ready for anything.
It was a warrior’s stance. His stock and trade might be creating great magic to sell, but that wasn’t all he was good at. If I couldn’t have Bree or Rowan at my back in a fight, he was a good alternative.
As we walked, the air began to smell fouler. At first, I thought it might be the sewage. Were we coming to a particularly rank section?
But then my skin began to prickle.
“Dark magic,” I whispered.
Lachlan nodded. “Close.”
His magic swelled briefly on the air, the scent of pine cutting through the stink. I looked at him curiously.
“Blocking our sound, in case we’re close.”
“Ah.” I remembered how Bree had said she couldn’t hear us when she was eavesdropping. “You’d make a good thief.”
“In another life, maybe.”
Of course. This Lachlan was far too honorable for thievery. I was, too, now, though I hadn’t always been. There were parts of my childhood—the parts after my mother’s murder—where thievery had been the only way my sisters and I could eat.
I shook away the dark memories and focused on the sewer. We were entering an older part, where the brick looked more broken and the stone walkway more battered.
The dark magic was stronger here, and my heart began to pound.
We were close to something.
Up ahead, the passage branched off to the right.
Lachlan slowed as we neared, and I followed suit. The sound of voices filtered out from the passage on the right. There had to be a room there.
Up ahead, the sound of footsteps approached from another passage.
The Cats of Catastrophe, who’d been following along, hurtled off down the passage, hunting the owners of the footsteps. Lachlan and I pressed ourselves up against the wall, listening to the people in the room.
I crouched low, and he went high. We were crushed against the stone and against each other, but the sound of voices distracted me from the warmth of his body.
“When do we take it to her?”
“Soon. We have to wait for the signal. It’s not safe to bring it until the sorcerer is ready.”
“Not safe how? Sitting here with this thing is dangerous! People are after it!”
It? Were they talking about the spell that Lachlan had created? Were these our thieves?
Something in me screamed yes!
It might have been the new power that was trying to grow within me, or maybe it was common sense.
I looked up at Lachlan, whose big body loomed over me as he attempted to peer around the edge of the passage.
Well, if he was looking, I wanted to see, too.
I peeked around the edge of the stone passage, spotting a room within. About twenty feet away, a group of demons and mages sat around a rickety table. A paper-wrapped package sat on the table between them.
Bingo.
I caught sight of silver circles tattooed on the backs of the necks that I could see. What was that all about?
“When will she want it?” one of the mages asked. He was a skinny guy with dark hair and mean eyes. “It’s not safe here. For the spell, or for us.”
“We’re supposed to wait until she finds the sorcerer!”
I glanced up at Lachlan. How did he want to play this?
His gaze was glued on the group and the package, calculation in his eyes.
There were a lot of mages and demons in there—an even dozen—but we could take them if we had to.
“Oy! Who’s there?” one of the voices shouted.
Panic flared as I looked back down at the group, just in time to see a massive fireball hurtle toward us. It glowed orange and fierce, and was easily the size of a small car.
I lunged away from the wall as it plowed into the corner. It hit the stone with such force that chips of rock flew off. One sliced across my cheek, and pain flared briefly.
It was forgotten as I scrambled to my feet. Lachlan hopped up beside me.
“Go!” He led the way, racing into the chamber and blocking the way so he’d take the brunt of any oncoming hit.
My heart thundered as I followed. This was our only chance. We’d alerted them, and they’d run. We had to get that package before they escaped.
As he raced for the group, magic swirled around him. It flashed bright, then a lion stood in his place. His fur and mane were pitch-black, a strange combination that was both beautiful and terrifying.
The beast that was Lachlan charged the demons. A demon threw a fireball, and I dived low, skidding on the ground as the hot flame passed overhead.
As I lunged to my feet, I drew my daggers from the ether.
The demons and mages were scrambling within, trying to mount their defense as Lachlan charged. He hit two of them at once, taking them to the ground.
I threw my daggers at two more, taking out a gray smoke demon and the fire demon who’d tried to turn me into a roast turkey. My steel blades sank into their throats, blood spraying.
As I called two more daggers from the ether, Lachlan rampaged through the room, taking out demons as fast as they could hurl their magic at him. He plowed through smoke bombs and dodged massive icicles, tearing limb from limb.
A shining blue icicle hurtled toward me, forcing me to dodge left to avoid the blow. It sailed so close to my cheek that I could feel the cold.
I ignored it, frantically searching the room for the package.
It was tucked under the arm of a skinny guy with blond hair and a rat’s face. He was fumbling in his pocket, clearly searching for something.
A transportation charm!
It had to be. If he found it, he could disappear from here in seconds.
I threw my dagger at him. He seemed to sense it coming at the last minute and shifted. The blade sank into his shoulder.
He howled, panic flashing across his face.
I raised my other dagger, but pain tore through my shoulder, sending agony racing through my arm.
I looked down. A tiny dagger stuck out of my flesh.
I looked up, catching sight of a skinny little demon with pale skin and red horns.
“A taste of your own medicine,” the demon hissed as he drew another blade from the satchel at his side.
I flung out my hand, creating a barrier between us and him.
The mage with the package was still fumbling in his many pockets, and Lachlan was working on the last six demons. He’d already mauled four of them.
The little white demon’s blade bounced off my shield.
Pain sliced me through the middle, and my shield flickered.
I looked down, gasping.
There was no dagger protruding from my middle, though it sure felt like it.
My shield faded. Lachlan roared, a sound of obvious pain. Magic flared around him, and he shifted back to human.
Right in the middle of five demons.