I shot her a sympathetic look and stored the info away for later, glancing back at the Tube station that we’d nearly left. It was nicely familiar.
Unfamiliar, however, was the horrible scent that filled the tunnels.
“Dark magic,” Grey said. “Coming from Black Church, no doubt.”
I covered my nose with my shirt, breathing shallowly. It got worse as we walked, becoming a horrible prickling sensation against my skin.
We passed places where the Tube lines seemed to connect. The District line crossed with the Central line, which should be impossible. Not only would the trains crash, but those two lines never even met at a station.
“How are they crossing?” I asked.
“Magic. Part of our empire,” Ogden said. “They wouldn’t be much use to us if we could access them all easily. No need to transfer at stations. We can stick to the tunnels and make our way all over London.”
Holy crap. My head spun with the idea that there were dapper Dwarves under every bit of London.
Soon, the tunnel ahead of us began to glow with a faint blue light. As we neared, I spotted the same barrier I’d seen arching up over the town.
“Those bastards,” Ogden muttered, stopping in front of it.
“It looks like they can affect The Below as well,” Mac said. “Aren’t you glad you helped us?”
Ogden grumbled. “I don’t like the look of this.”
Carefully, I reached out to touch the barrier. It pricked sharply against my fingers, burning. “It’s not as bad as it was on the surface, but we can’t walk through.”
“I’ll be leaving you here.” Ogden backed away. “I’ve things to see to.”
“I paid you to take us all the way,” Grey said.
“I’ll reimburse you.” Ogden shook his head. “No way I’m tangling with whatever is down there. This is dark, and I have things that need doing.”
“Hiding away all his treasure,” Mac murmured.
He did have shifty eyes, but I had seen the same kind of panic on fellow recruits at police training. He was spooked, and there was no coming back from it.
“Tell us how to reach Black Church, at least,” I begged.
“You’re nearly there, but it’s complicated,” he said. “Try to follow the dark magic.”
That was too difficult. Too uncertain. “What human Tube station is it near? I can find that.”
Ogden frowned. “It’s closest to Hyde Park Corner on our magical grid, though you’d never find it if you were above ground.”
“Which way?”
“Southbound from that station.”
I nodded. “Thanks. We’ll take it from here.”
His gaze moved to the magical barrier behind us. “If you can get through that.”
I faced the barrier, my skin itching from my proximity. It really was repellent.
Ogden left, his footsteps echoing into the distance as the five of us stood in a line, staring at the magical shield. The twelve shifters of Declan’s security team waited silently behind us, all at attention.
“I could try to blast it with my lightning,” Eve offered.
“It’s dusk now, according to the time,” I said. “Mariketta said we could cross at dusk.”