Wicked Deal (Shadow Guild: The Rebel 2)

“I…did.” He’d taken a hit for me, and that had changed how I thought of him.

“What happened?” he asked.

“The sorcerer struck you with green magic. I don’t know what kind of spell it was, but it looked bad.”

“Killing blow.” He groaned. Pushing himself upright, he staggered to his feet.

I joined him. Wrapping my arm around his waist, I helped him up the stairs. He gained strength with every step, but I could tell that the attack had taken a lot out of him.

“We’re nearly there,” I said, panting from the climb.

“You can sense it?”

“Wishful thinking.” I pushed harder, climbing onward.

Finally, we reached the roof. The cold evening wind whipped across my cheeks as I searched for the stairs we’d taken before. The secret stairwell was located on the exterior of the building, hidden within the wall.

“There.”

Grey stumbled forward, and I hurried to his side, offering my support to him. We found the secret stairwell and started down. At one point, we lost our footing and nearly rolled to the bottom. It almost would have been a relief. I’d never felt so weak and exhausted.

Finally, we reached the top of the wall that surrounded the city and tottered out.

Grey dug into his pocket and pulled out a transport charm, but he didn’t throw it.

“Come on!” I said. “Let’s get out of here.”

“Need to get farther from their tower. A spell prevents us from transporting.”

Together, we weaved along the wall and away from the tower. Suddenly, shouts sounded above us, and I looked up. Silhouetted against the moonlight, three sorcerers stood on the roof.

“Will they attack?” I asked.

“Probably not outside of their tower.”

A blast of yellow magic hurtled down at us.

With the last of his strength, Grey shoved me aside and lunged in the opposite direction. The force of his blow sent me skidding out of harm’s way as the blast plowed into the stone. The shock waves hit Grey, slamming him the wall.

“Those bastards.” He heaved himself upright and lurched toward me. “They shouldn’t be attacking outside their tower.”

He held out his hand, and I took it. Quick as a snake, he hurled the transport charm to the ground. Silver smoke poofed upward, and we leapt inside.

The ether sucked us in and spun us around, spitting us out in front of his tower. He swayed, his strength flagging. The bouncers at the door hurried over, worry on their faces.

“What’d you do to him?” growled the one on the left. A lion shifter, from the look of his wild golden hair.

“Not…her fault.” Grey went to his knees.

“The sorcerers hit him with something.” I knelt beside Grey, worry twisting in my chest.

“Come on, boss.” The lion shifter gripped Grey and hoisted him upright, nearly dragging him toward the door. “We’ll get you the healer.”

The other shifter opened the door for them, and I raced after them. Miranda darted from behind the desk and hurried up to Grey.

“What happened?” she asked, patting Grey’s cheeks to rouse him.

“The sorcerers hit him with a huge blast of green and gold light,” I said.