I laughed and squeezed her hand as she whispered the spell to activate the key. In a whirling breeze, the world disappeared around us.
Chapter 5
The portal key dropped us just outside of the Shadow Zone since the Zone’s wards didn’t allow one to transfer inside it. Cold, humid air surrounded us, and since the street looked damp, I guessed it had recently rained here.
“So how does this hiring-a-hunter business work?” Prisha asked as the blood-red portal to the Shadow Zone waited ahead.
I shrugged as we strode toward it. “I’m not entirely sure. Jenkins merely gave me the guy’s location. It’s up to me to do the rest.”
“Why didn’t Jenkins call him for you, instead of making us come here?”
“He said the hunter doesn’t have a cell phone.”
She gave me a disbelieving look. “Please. Everyone has a cell phone.”
“Okay, probably true, but I’m guessing he doesn’t give out his number or have a secretary book his clients. Jenkins said he only takes jobs after meeting with potential customers in-person.”
“And if he’s not here tonight?”
My hands tightened into fists. Thinking about the possibility that hiring the Fire Wolf wouldn’t work made fury stir inside me anew at what that asshole had done to my sister. And to make matters worse, if this failed, I would have to go to the SF and expose my secret.
“He has to be here.” My curling fingers dug into my palms, my nails grazing my skin. “I paid top dollar for this location, and Jenkins may be a wily son of a bitch, but he pulls through when you pay.” Or so we’d been told after our last encounter with him.
Prisha threaded her fingers through mine, forcing my hand to open as we approached the wavy red portal. She squeezed. “He’ll be here.”
Our conversation stopped when we stepped through the portal. The popping, jolting, and free-falling sensations stole my breath, and when the portal spat us out, my muscles tensed as I assessed the area for threats.
But all was quiet. Still, I didn’t let my guard down.
Here, the moon was hidden, the stars gone—hence its name the Shadow Zone. An entire dome of shimmering magic surrounded this dingy portion of the city—something created over a hundred years ago when rival sorcerer gangs had tried to outspell one another. This place had been lawless ever since. Nothing came in and nothing went out that wasn’t through the portal behind us, which also meant if that portal failed, we were trapped here. And unsurprisingly, from here on, we had no choice but to remain on foot. Funny how there weren’t any hired rides in the darkest dredges of the supernatural community’s society.
“The clock is ticking,” I breathed. “Let’s move.”
We picked up a swift pace and hopped over the damp puddles on the sidewalk. Despite magic coating this entire portion of St. Louis like an oily substance, rain still permeated the warded dome.
A heavy feeling of bleakness and despair fell around us as we moved quickly and quietly down the street. It was as if Mother Nature was trying to warn us away, telling us to go back, that it was our last chance to save ourselves while we still could.
“Do you feel that?” Prisha asked, her hand slipping to her inner pocket where a blade nestled in a hidden fold. “It’s like the energy’s changing the farther we get from the portal. It’s heavy and . . . cold.”
My fingers strayed toward my potion belt. “Yeah, have you ever felt that before in magically hidden areas?”
She shook her head. “Nope.”
Tall industrial-looking buildings rose along both sides of the street. Distant shouts came from street corners and windows above. As we neared an intersection, the buildings grew shorter and broader, as if a giant had smacked his hand down from the skies and squashed them. They looked like apartment buildings, although I couldn’t imagine anyone willingly living here.
When we reached the next street, we took a left since the Black Underbelly was situated in the north, and I nearly shrieked when the sound of rodent feet scuttled past us from one of the dark alleys.
I clamped a hand over my mouth as one of the creatures turned and hissed. A second later, it disappeared in a cloud of red smoke.
“They have jurats here?” Prisha asked before making a disgusted sound. She pulled a slim blade from her pocket. It glimmered with a blue flame when she infused it with her magic. I knew with the twist of her hand and bend of her knees, her body could turn into a deadly weapon.
“It appears so,” I replied. “Hopefully, they won’t bite.”
“If you get close enough, they will.”
I picked up my pace but watched the sidewalk carefully. Pulsing music came from down the next street. Another jurat shot past us, and its slimy energy slithered toward me.
I shuddered.
The nasty creatures had infiltrated the globe a few decades back, but most places had eliminated them. Obviously, in this section of St. Louis, they’d made themselves a nice little home.
Originally from the fae lands, the jurats’ ancestors—jumicks—had somehow escaped that realm through the portals unbeknownst to supernaturals. Unfortunately, our climate seemed to agree with them, and the lesser magical environment on earth didn’t bother the magical rodents enough to kill them off.
They’d bred with local rats and had created a hybrid species—the jurats—that proved just as hardy as their earthly ancestors and just as magical as their fae lineage. Obviously, the result wasn’t good for anybody. Jurats had been a deadly pest ever since they’d come into creation. One bite from their nasty mouths guaranteed loss of a limb or an infection so toxic you would end up in a healing center for weeks. At least they stuck to the magically hidden areas of cities, seeming to prefer the higher magical environment, so they left humans alone.
The pulsating music grew louder as another jurat scuttled across the sidewalk.
I nodded toward the vile creature. “Kill them if they threaten you, but try not to draw attention to us.”
“My thoughts exactly,” Prisha replied. In the streetlight, an excited glimmer sparkled in her eyes.
I snorted. “You’re enjoying this, aren’t you?”
“Maybe. So sue me. It’s been a while since we’ve done anything like this.”
“Just don’t tell your mom. She already thinks I’m a bad enough influence on you.”
“My lips are sealed, although I might have to tell my dad. He’ll just be proud.”
“True.” Azad did take quiet delight in the power Prisha and I wielded together.
The steady beat of the music grew louder as we approached the Black Underbelly. More supernaturals appeared, walking along the sidewalks or coming out of dark alleys, as if they’d magically popped into existence from some nether region. Nobody paid us any attention, and we all appeared to be heading toward the same place.
The Black Underbelly, true to its name, had pitch-black exterior walls. Even its windows were painted black. No lights shone around it except for a neon ring of magical sparks surrounding the door.
Prisha smirked. “How nice, they’ve lighted up the entrance so we’ll know exactly what door is leading to our doom.”
“Thoughtful, indeed.”
We hopped off the sidewalk just as two guys stepped out of a brothel. A cloud of purple mist wafted from the open door, followed by a shrill laugh.
I caught a peak of a prostitute dressed in lace panties and nothing else at the threshold. Her bare breasts were covered in bruises, and trails of blood ran down her skin from the numerous bite marks on her body.