AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Ivy was still here. Her boots crunched in the grass as she walked the length of the truck, as if looking for something. For a moment, Shay thought she might be spotted; her illusions could only hold for so long.
Before Ivy had a chance to look too closely at Darien’s truck bed—and Shay lying right there, her illusion gradually wearing off—Travis and Lace called for her in hushed tones.
Shay dared a peek over the side of the truck to see Ivy reaching into a zip pocket in the thigh of her bodysuit. She dug something out and placed it on the hood of Darien’s truck, casting one last glance about the grounds before running after the others.
Once Shay was certain she was gone, she sat up in the truck bed, crept to the side and leapt out, landing on light feet in the rain-damp grass. Quietly, she walked to the hood to see what Ivy had left behind.
A navy ring. One of the bodysuits Arthur had designed.
Shay stripped off her jacket, picked up the ring, and slid it onto her finger, turning it counter-clockwise until it clicked.
The bodysuit encased inside the ring shot out, covering her from neck to toes. A coat of magic covered her neck and head, shimmering faintly across her vision. She held up her gloved hand, turning it from side to side.
And gave a quiet, impressed laugh. “Awesome.”
Guns and knives now strapped to the built-in weapons belt, she set off across the old park, crouching close to the ground to keep the Hounds skulking about from noticing her. Many were feasting on prey, the wet sound of muscle and sinew being torn into ribbons carrying through the crisp early morning. The sun would be rising soon, but it was still dark out, the stars only just fading into a predawn sky.
It took her a short while to find the tunnel where the others had vanished, the narrow entrance tucked away behind foliage and an outcropping of rock.
Bracing a hand against the mouth of the tunnel, she peered inside with her Sight, scanning the energies of tree roots and insects. She could no longer see or hear the others, but she found that she didn’t feel fear as she ducked into the tunnels and went after them.
Travis walked at the head of the group, through the network of tunnels at the tar pits.
It was pitch-black in here, the beams of light from their firearms barely cutting through the gloom. The place was packed with the bones of animals and men, scraps of clothing and jewelry among them. It smelled disgusting in here—of rot and blood.
Twice already, the tunnel had spit them out in a different corner of the park, forcing them to turn around and go back inside in search of another route.
It happened again now, bringing Travis and the others to a confused standstill.
Jewels and Ivy murmured in question.
“This doesn’t make any sense,” Lace said with a sigh, blinking away the Sight that had proven useless during their trek.
“No, it fucking doesn’t,” Travis agreed. They had taken every possible turn they’d encountered, and none of them had yielded the correct route.
Kylar said, “Maybe they fully sealed the entrance with rock, not just magic?” Hundreds of years ago, the city had supposedly used an invisible shield of magic to stop anyone from entering these tunnels, working to keep the underground demon populations from bleeding into the city streets.
“Wouldn’t it be obvious if they did?” Aspen wondered aloud. “There should be a bunch of rubble or something to show where they sealed it, right?”
“I might be able to help,” said a female voice.
Everyone turned to see Shay coming down the tunnel, eyes black with the Sight, her bodysuit a deep shade of navy that looked black in this lighting.
Ivy full-on grinned, looking happy for the first time since they’d left Roman’s. Since learning of Darien’s bargain with the Widow. Travis still wasn’t sure what to make of that.
Or of the girl slowing to a stop before them. The girl his brother had very clearly fallen for.
“Didn’t Roman break up with you?” Travis blurted.
Shay winced. “We were never really dating, but sure, yeah—he broke up with me.” She gestured to the tunnel at her back. “You walked right past the entrance.”
“What?” Lace and Aspen snapped, glancing at each other.
“Illusion,” Shay said matter-of-factly.
“I thought your power was rare,” Ivy said.
“It is. There’s only one other known illusionist in the city.” With a grimace, she said, “My mother.”
