I stared ahead of me, trying to think about what to do, when I noticed a shield displayed on the wall there.
Greek monsters.
Not a bad idea, vampire.
I carefully lifted the shield off the wall then slid as close to the door as I could. Angling the inside of the polished shield as best I could, I pulled off Perseus’s move on Medusa. Looking at the reflection, I spotted a single figure at the back of the room sifting through boxes. It wasn’t Melwas. I winced when some ancient-looking artifact hit the floor and shattered into a million pieces. Tilting the shield, I searched the room for signs of any monsters. Nothing.
Moving carefully, I set the shield down. Bending low, I crept into the room and down the aisle opposite the man.
“Bloody hell,” the stranger said, tumbling another box onto the floor. “Where the hell is it?”
Taking my chance, I rounded the corner and grabbed the creature, putting the faerie blade to the man’s neck.
“So, what are you looking for?”
“What the—”
“No chatter. I asked you a question.”
“None of your business, Red Cape,” he hissed. I felt a strange buzz in the air. A moment later, the brute of a man I was holding shifted. Slipping out of my arms, he changed shape into that of a slim young man. He slid out of my grasp. Turning, he pulled a pistol on me.
“No,” I screamed but ducked all the same, diving behind some boxes just as the boggart took a shot.
He missed.
“You don’t have to die, boggart. Just tell me what you’re looking for,” I called, tracking the man’s feet under the table.
As I went, I noticed a crumpled figure lying under a heap of boxes.
Agent Greystock.
Gasping, I reached out and touched her wrist. I didn’t see any sign of blood, but she wasn’t moving. There were terrible black-and-blue marks on her temple. She was still alive. Unconscious, but alive.
Feeling my fury boil up in me, I tracked the boggart down the length of the room.
“I have no intentions of dying, Red Cape. And I’m not telling you anything,” he said, then he lowered himself and took a shot at me.
Expecting the move, I heaved myself quickly onto the table, up and over the boxes, then jumped onto the shapeshifter. I could feel the energy around us gather, but this time, I was ready. Grabbing my silver cuffs, I slapped the first on his wrist.
The boggart howled then twisted in an effort to get away. But wrestling with a half-shifted boy was nothing compared to wrestling a werewolf. In no time, I had the other cuff on him. Bound in silver, there was no way he could escape.
Unless, of course, he tried to run.
Which he did.
Hell’s bells.
Dashing out of the Artifacts room, he raced down the hallway. I hurried after him. Aiming my pistol, I took a shot. I missed when he slipped in the puddle of blood at the end of the hall and went tumbling sideways.
I raced after him in time to see him slip toward the open lift entrance.
“Shite,” I cursed through clenched teeth then dove after him, catching him by the collar of his shirt just as he slid through the open edifice.
Bracing my foot against the wall, I pulled him back. But then I thought better of it. Tightening my grip, I paused, holding the boggart precariously on the ledge.
“Pull me up. Now, dammit!”
I clicked my tongue at him. “What were you looking for?”
“None of your business.”
“You know I could drop you, right?” In fact, despite the fact that the boggart had shifted form into a youth, he was still exceedingly heavy. Very soon, I would have to either pull him up—with or without answers—or drop him.
He was silent for a moment.
“Come on. I know Melwas sent you. What are you looking for?”
“He’ll kill me.”
“I’ll kill you. That’s an agent lying dead on the floor back there. And another one in the room unconscious.”
“That wasn’t me! That was Melwas. He tore up the place then left me down here.”
“Where is he?”
“I don’t know. He went upstairs.”
“What are you looking for?”
“I…an artifact.”
“Obviously.” Dammit, he was getting heavy. “You’re being less than specific, and this shirt is clearly not bespoke. Stitches are ripping. Better talk faster.”
“You’ll pull me up if I talk?”
“That’s my plan.”
“You… I know who you are. You’re Little Red, aren’t you? The werewolf hunter.”
“Why?”
“You give me your word that you’ll pull me up. If I have your word, I’ll talk.”
“You have my word,” I said then with a heave, tugged him back over the edge.
He slid toward the wall.
“Well?”
“In my pocket,” he said, looking down toward his shirt pocket.
Reaching forward, I pulled out a piece of paper. There, I saw a sketch of an odd-looking device with a clockwork base, a narrow shaft, and a gemstone cap. “He’s after the shaft and the stone. He has the tuning device.”
“And he thinks they’re here?”
“He knows they’re here.”
“Why are you working for him? Do you know what he’s planning?”
“I do, but he’s paying in faerie metal, Agent. Do you know how rare that is? It’s a big world. I don’t need to stay in England.”
“Wonderful, so you’ll let him destroy us all while you run away. All of this is assuming he doesn’t kill you rather than paying you.”
The boggart frowned but said nothing.
Sighing, I grabbed the boggart by his cuffs and pulled him toward the wall. Snatching the flail mace that had been displayed on the wall, I wrapped the chain around his cuffs then wedged the handle behind some pipes, rendering the boggart immobile.
“What in the hell are you doing?” he demanded.
“I kept my promise and didn’t drop you. You kept your promise and told me the truth. Now I need to go deal with Melwas.”
“You need to let me go.”
“That wasn’t part of the deal.”
“If Melwas finds me, he’ll kill me.”
“Not if I kill him first.”
“You can try, Agent. But you will fail.”
“That’s what they told me about Fenton, and now he makes a nice accessory.”
“Melwas isn’t like us,” he said, staring me in the eyes. “He’s powerful, strong.”
“Well then, I guess I’ll just have to outsmart him. As for you, I can’t have you going anywhere. Sorry about this,” I said. Lifting my pistol, I struck the boggart hard, rendering him unconscious.
Turning, I rushed back to the artifact room where Agent Greystock lay unconscious.
“Agent Greystock,” I called, rushing to her. I knelt before her and shook her shoulder. “Eliza,” I said, shaking her once more.
A whimper escaped her lips.
“Agent Greystock,” I said again.
“Clemeny?”
“I’m here. You got knocked out.”
She groaned.
“Eliza?”
“I think my arm is broken,” she whispered. She was half-unconscious.
“The entire place is under attack. They’re looking for the artifact. Is it here?”
“Upstairs. Hunter.”
I rose. “Stay here. Stay quiet. I’ll stop Melwas then come back for you. There are monsters in the building. Stay quiet. Do you hear me, Eliza?”
“Quiet,” she whispered then drifted off again.
Hell’s bells!
I rushed out of the room, closing the door behind me in the simple hope it would be enough to keep her safe from any manticores lurking.
As for me, I was headed upstairs after a different monster.