Wicked Deal (Shadow Guild: The Rebel 2)

Grey’s eyes moved between the crystal and me, and I shrugged.

“Hey, help a girl out,” Mac’s voice sounded from the other side of the barrier, and I turned.

She grinned at me and stretched out a hand.

I wrapped my fingers around the crystal and reached for her. “Grab my wrist, not the crystal.”

If I was the only one who could hold it, I didn’t want it to hurt her. The barrier prickled against my hand as I forced it though. On the other side, Mac gripped my wrist. I pulled her through, having to put some serious muscle into it.

She popped out on our side.

“Nice work.” She grinned widely and released my wrist.

I repeated the movement fourteen more times, pulling through Quinn and Eve and each of the shifters. Finally, we all stood on the proper side.

The shifters eyed me warily, and I turned away, uncomfortable. They looked at me like I’d done something impossible.

“You’ll speak of this to no one.” Grey’s voice brooked no argument.

There was a murmurer of assent as I turned and stared down the tunnel. “We need to get to the Hyde Park Corner Station. Follow me.”

Grey joined me as I led the group farther down the tunnels.

“I don’t know where the Dwarves have magically joined the lines, so we’ll try to go the normal route.” I searched my memory of the lines and stations, then groaned. “It’ll take hours, though. We’re pretty far away.”

“We don’t have hours.”

We came to a magical intersection. The lines crossed here, no station needed, and I swore I could see the Dwarves’ magic working at the seams where each tunnel joined the other.

I racked my memory. “If we go north, it should cut off a lot of time. Maybe.”

“How sure are you?” Grey asked.

“The alternative is a two-hour jog that will make us too late. So I’m sure enough.” Confidence surged through me. I turned to head south.

The group followed, and we hurried along. It took two more turns down two different lines, but I felt the dark magic grow stronger. We were on the right track. “We’re nearly there. Hyde Park Corner is up ahead.”

Sure enough, we passed through the ghostly station and kept heading north. Within a hundred meters, we reached a darker section of the tunnels. Black slime coated the walls, and the magic reeked so badly that my stomach pitched.

I stared into the darkness, a shiver racing over my skin. “We’re here.”

16

Grey

She’d done it. Carrow had directed us through the ghostly Tube lines, flawlessly locating the base of Black Church.

I searched the area ahead of us, grimacing at the stench. The black slime covering the walls of the station was unusual.

“Where’s the entrance?” Carrow asked.

Mac hurried ahead, shining a lightstone ring on the walls of the tunnel, and avoiding the largest puddles of slime. “I see nothing here.”

The shifters spread out, searching for a secret door.

“Hang on.” Carrow pointed to a small animal running down the tracks toward us. “Something is coming.”

“That’s the biggest sewer rat I’ve ever seen,” Quinn said.