Wicked Deal (Shadow Guild: The Rebel 2)

I didn’t know what the issue was between them, and I didn’t want to know.

“Are Mac and Eve here yet?” I took a seat at the bar.

“Not yet.” He turned to me, his scowl transforming into a smile. “What can I get you?”

“Tea, please. And anything you’ve got for breakfast.”

He nodded and didn’t ask the Devil what he wanted, but he did bring him the same tea he served me. I’d taken my first sip when I heard Mac’s voice from the other side of the room: “Carrow!”

I turned to look.

She and Eve approached. The strange black raven flew behind Eve. I watched the bird approach. The creature’s eyes glinted. It looked strangely familiar. I shook the thought away and turned to Eve and Mac.

Eve’s hair was bright white. When I’d first met her, it had been purple. She used magic to change it from day to day. Eve was a strange Fae, I’d learned. She made potions to sell, generally the province of the witches, not the Fae, and kept mostly to herself. Except for the raven, which she claimed not to see.

Mac gave the Devil a long look as she went around to the other side of the bar to stand near Quinn. Eve took a seat next to me, setting a pile of books down on the bar. The raven sat next to her, but she didn’t so much as spare it a glance.

Quickly, I filled them in on everything we’d learned, starting at La Papillon and ending with my vision of the symbol at the hotel.

“When Carrow sent me the picture of the symbol, I knew I’d seen it somewhere.” Eve flipped open one of the books and pointed to a symbol drawn there. “This is a compendium of sorcerer history, and this symbol is the mark of Mariketta the Vengeful.”

“What did she want vengeance for?” I asked.

“Sorcerers are extremely loyal to their kind. And very intelligent. Someone sought to harness Mariketta’s genius by compelling her to work for them.” Eve looked toward the Devil. “Not the same way you do, though. They kidnapped her daughter, hoping to force Mariketta to do their bidding.”

“I assume she refused?” I asked.

Eve nodded. “Exactly. She found where they were keeping the child, a heavily protected fortress hidden within Paris.”

“Like Guild City?”

“Yes. Right among humans. But it was a single building, not a town like ours. Anyway, Mariketta used her magic to get her child back. They were no match for her, which they hadn’t fully anticipated. After she left the fortress with her daughter, she enacted her vengeance.” Eve’s eyes glinted with a bit of bloodlust. “She left behind a device that blew up half of the fortress. But that wasn’t the serious bit.”

“There’s something more serious than blowing up half their place and killing a bunch of them?” Mac asked.

“Oh, yes. The explosion destroyed the magic that hid their fortress from Paris. Those that survived were left with the bodies of their compatriots in full view of the human citizens. Their home was destroyed, their cover blown, and many of them were caught.”

“What happened to them?” I couldn’t imagine humans suddenly seeing magical beings like the ones I saw every day in Guild City. When I’d first walked into this pub, I’d thought a cosplay convention was happening. There had been no cosplay hundreds of years ago, but there had been a hell of a lot of suspicion of magic.

“The more powerful ones escaped,” Eve said. “The less powerful were burned at the stake as witches. It started one of the greatest witch hunts in Europe.”

“Then that’s what they plan to do here,” the Devil said. “They’ll blow up Black Church, the ceremonial center of our power. They want to recreate Mariketta’s spell and reveal Guild City to the world.”

“To humans.” I cringed. “They’re seeking Mariketta’s crypt. Or they were. Which means they didn’t have the spell when they first broke into your office,” I told him.

“Do you know where the crypt is?” he asked Eve.

She nodded. “She’s said to be buried at the Church on the Hill.”

“The haunted one?” Mac asked.

“Haunted like this pub?” I looked toward the ghostly dog who slept in front of the fire.

“No.” Mac shook her head. “Haunted in the bad way.”

“It might even be Mariketta’s magic that haunts it,” Eve said. “People don’t go there anymore. It’s too dangerous.”

“I’m not sure we have a choice.” I frowned up at the Devil. “What about the key that the bartender saw Ivan give to the man who broke into your office?”