Wicked Deal (Shadow Guild: The Rebel 2)

Rational thought pulled me from the precipice. I’d left that part of my life behind. I needed to atone. At the very least, I could refrain from tearing other people’s heads off. I was a pastime I’d once enjoyed, but my cold, dead heart recognized it as wrong.

Mostly.

Carrow stopped in front of me. She was close enough now that I could see the shadows in her gaze.

“Are you all right?” I asked.

“Fine.”

Despite her small smile, there was something under the surface. Mistrust?

I couldn’t blame her. I wouldn’t trust me, either.

But this seemed newer. Deeper.

“Let’s do this.” She moved her gaze to something behind me.

I turned as the bartender approached. She had nondescript features and cunning eyes. Intelligence gleamed in their depths.

“What can I get you?” she asked.

Her twin was nowhere to be seen, which made this the perfect time to act.

I leaned close and pitched my voice low, giving it all my magic. “We are looking for any information on this man.”

I pulled the picture from my pocket and showed it to her.

Her gaze blurred at the sound of my voice. She blinked at the image. “I don’t recognize him.”

The words sounded forced from her. “Don’t try to lie.”

“I’m…not.”

“You are.” I pulled the magic from deep inside me and sent it pulsing toward her. It was invisible, but I often imagined it as smoke that they inhaled.

My compulsion hit her, and her eyes became totally unfocused. “He met Ivan here several days ago.”

The name punched me in the stomach, but I wasn’t unsurprised. The old bastard was back. “What did they discuss?”

“I couldn’t hear them.”

This, I believed. Ivan, a notorious warlord from my past, was clever and careful. I’d put him in the ground centuries ago, but he’d risen, it seemed, and kept all his talents.

Carrow’s hand crept out. She rested her fingertips against the woman’s forearm and closed her eyes. I felt her magic swell, the scent of lavender rushing over me. I held my breath, not wanting to inhale the sweetly spicy scent for fear of losing my focus.

“They sat on the other side of the room, across from us,” Carrow said. “Too far for her to hear. But she saw them pass something between them.”

“Was it a napkin?” I asked.

“No.”

The bartender struggled to break free, but I pushed more magic toward her.

“It was a key,” said Carrow.

“A key? To what?”

“I don’t know.” There was truth to her words.