Once Bitten (Shadow Guild: The Rebel 1)

“Okay,” I said. “I’ll take it. Who knows? It might come in handy in the future.”

“No problem. I’ll let you know when it’s done.”

“Thank you.”

“Ready to visit the Devil’s lair?” Mac asked. “I can take you to the entrance.”

“His lair?”

“It fits, doesn’t it?”

“Yeah.”

We said our goodbyes to Eve and headed for the door. A shiver ran down my spine. I looked back and found the raven watching me.

“What’s with the bird?” I asked Mac.

“I’m not sure. Eve says she doesn’t see it, but I don’t buy it.” She shrugged. “I want to push her for more info, but I don’t.”

“Clever.”

“You sure you don’t want to move in over my place?” she asked.

“Um…”

“I can tell you’re on the run from something, and this is a good place to lie low. And it’s fun here.” She led me down the narrow streets.

“How can you tell I’m on the run?”

“Like knows like.”

I nodded. It would be good to have friends. And damn if this place wasn’t cooler than normal London. “I don’t know if I could afford it.”

“You can.” She squeezed my shoulder. “You’ve got a powerful gift. You could definitely set up shop with it.”

“There seem to be a lot of magical shops, though.”

“Not a lot with skills like yours, if you’re hunting a murderer. You could be a PI.” She made finger guns with her hands, and somehow, it was charming. “Magic PI, here to solve the case. Or a bounty hunter.”

I laughed. “Let me catch this murderer first.”

“Well, you’re about to have your chance.”

We walked down the charming streets, passing supernaturals of all sorts. My head spun from the variety.

“What was Eve?” I asked. “She had wings.”

“She’s Fae. Without a court, of course. Since she lives here.”

“What does that mean?”

“All Fae are members of Courts. Magical—magical realms located all over the earth. There are Sea Fae, Fire Fae, Unseelie and Seelie Fae. Lots of others, too. If they leave their Courts, they can go a bit insane if left on their own.”

“Insane?”

“Yeah. They need the company of other Fae. At least a little. So a lot of them come here and join the Fae Guild.”

“Eve lives in her guild tower?”