Legacy of Flames- The Complete Trilogy, page 8
part #1 of Legacy of Flames Series
My thoughts chased each other around as we made our way through the winding tunnel, but the light of his torch never wavered. Self-preservation? Or was he really thinking of infiltrating our shelter? Our networks were pretty secure. There weren’t many other ways in. But we’d lost one shelter already, and a hunter had never got so close to us. The tightness of the tunnel meant I heard his every breath, and felt the heat of his skin close by in the dark. It ought to have made me shudder, but this place was actually creepier than I pretended and any human presence was welcome, even his. I hadn’t been kidding about the troll, but shadow faeries were more dangerous. I’d rather cut off my arm than move any closer to him, so I gritted my teeth and walked on in silence.
I stopped at the sight of a faint glow ahead. Lights. “Hang on,” I said. “Switch the torch off. Or wear a blindfold.”
“Why?”
“Because we’re about to give away our address, and I don’t trust you.”
“I’m not walking blindfolded. The deal’s off.”
“What? You’re too much of a coward to cover your eyes for two minutes?”
“In my first year of training, I walked blindfolded through a room of other hunters aiming magic bullets at me. One of them caught me.” He held the torch to indicate a faint scar by his ear. “That close. I’m not in the least bit scared of the dark. It’s suicidal to walk alongside supernaturals who would be as happy to kill me as those monsters outside. The reward isn’t worth it for me. Would you do the same in my position?”
Would I walk blindfolded into the hunters’ place? For Cori—yeah, I would. No question. But he didn’t have anything to lose at this point.
The faintest trace of a smirk showed on his face in the torchlight. “Really think about it. You can bargain all you want. Nothing you offer to me would be worth the risk.”
Damn. He had me cornered. My word wouldn’t be good enough. I had no leverage over him whatsoever. I didn’t know a thing about him. Not whether he had friends or family left in the city, not whether he had a goal he’d kill to accomplish. Not even why he was following the assassins in the first place.
I took in a breath. We didn’t need him. He was a loose cannon, a thorn in my side—and too dangerous to keep around.
“Fine,” I said. “You stay here. The trolls can eat you for all I care.” I marched ahead, with Becks at my side.
Footsteps behind us. Becks growled, then she transformed into cat form. The footsteps grew louder. More than one person. Not mechanical, but human.
“They got into our tunnels,” I whispered.
“What?” Astor kept pace with me easily as I half-ran around the corner.
“Nobody else knows these tunnels. Someone snitched on us.”
I’d watched my back when we’d come inside. No one had seen us. Sure, the League’s lot were good at lurking and climbing and spying, but I hadn’t seen a trace of them. Definitely not the automatons, either. They were busy on their rampage of destruction, and were incapable of keeping quiet. It was definitely humans we had on our tail.
“Nobody snitched on you,” said Astor. “They were underground before. They must have figured you’re using similar methods.”
“How would they know?” I twisted to glare at him. “Don’t tell me you called your buddies.”
“How would I do that? You people took my phone. I’m not psychic.”
“Oh, heaven forbid I imply you’re a supernatural.”
“Nobody can read minds,” he said. “Not even mages, though there are rumours about some of the council.”
“Is that why you’re scared of them?”
“Scared? Not hardly.”
“The League is,” I said between breaths. “That’s why they don’t operate out in the open. The mages would make mincemeat of them.”
“Why aren’t you with the mages?”
I nearly stopped running. “I thought you knew all about supernaturals. The Mage Lords think shifters are subhuman. They aren’t going to go to the trouble of tearing the city apart to catch every League member for our sakes. Most shifters were run out of the city.”
“London does seem a strange choice of home for a dragon.”
“There’s no place for any dragon in this world, thanks to the League.”
Becks turned right and ran downhill, and my heart thudded against my ribcage as the footsteps of our pursuers continued. All of us were faster than the average human, and we still hadn’t managed to leave them behind.
“Keep the torch on,” I threw at him. “This way goes deeper underground. We aren’t leading them to another shelter.”
“You’re joking,” he said. “They’ll find it anyway.”
“No, the entrance is hidden too well.”
“So you’d rather they find us instead?”
“Again.” I whipped around another corner. “Our hiding place is better.”
Becks had already opened the secret chamber before we’d reached it.
“We’re seriously going to hide behind a wall all day?” Astor stared in disbelief as I climbed into the alcove to join her.
I listened harder, straining my ears. Three sets of footsteps. Too many, but I never underestimated the element of surprise. I’d show them the real monsters lurking in the dark.
“No,” I said, inspiration striking. “We’re going to ambush them.”
“You’re kidding.”
“Nope. That was our plan anyway. Right, Becks?”
“You’ll die,” said Astor. “They know they’re looking for a cat, a dragon pretending to be human, and whatever the hell your friend is—”
“Quiet,” I said. The steps were louder. They’d rounded the corner. He cursed under his breath and climbed into the alcove. It was a tight fit for three of us, even though Becks was small in cat form. We couldn’t stand side by side so I was slightly in front of him, our bodies pressed against one another in a way that was less uncomfortable than it should have been. Shifters craved connection for safety. This guy was the opposite of safe, but try telling my dragon that. Right now, as far as my instincts were concerned, the enemy was outside. Coming this way. Astor went completely still. He might as well have not even been breathing.
Voices drifted towards us, both male.
“She was caught at the scene, with other shifters,” said the first voice.
“The reports are confusing. Someone else was with them,” replied the second.
They’re talking about us. I froze, willing them not to look in our direction. Go on. Tell us your plan, you bastards.
“The other three were shifters for sure. She might not have been. Humans are helping them hide.”
“Maybe they are, but it wasn’t worth the risk. Is losing five people per mission expected now?”
“They weren’t expecting a struggle like it.”
“Still not worth it. I’m glad I wasn’t there. Did you see the claw marks on their bodies? Demons, all of them. She hasn’t even woken up yet, so there’s no telling if she’s one of them or worse.”
Several thoughts hit me in quick succession—they don’t know our secret. They don’t know Cori’s a dragon shifter. Followed by, they will, as soon as they dig into her history. Cori was tough, but they were trained torturers…
My claws itched, pressing against my skin. My heart pounded as blood rushed through my veins. They’re closer. They’re passing by. They’re inches away—
Becks and I moved at the same time, leaping out of the hole in the wall. My claws bit into flesh, and a strangled yell escaped my quarry as the momentum of my jump sent us crashing into the opposite wall. Becks had disappeared in a flurry of cat claws and fury. My limp opponent twisted without warning, legs kicking at my knees to unbalance me. I’d been dead right when I’d figured these guys weren’t used to fighting in the dark, because it was easy to wrestle him into submission.
“Demons!” yelled one of them from further down the tunnel. Becks’s yellow eyes were pretty unnerving when it was so dark down here. As for me, I’d moved too quickly for them to see much more than scaled hands, now dripping blood. Maybe more like a demon than a dragon.
The body in my hands was limp. I felt for a pulse, and swore under my breath. I hadn’t meant to kill him so quickly. Even if he deserved it.
A furious yowling made my head snap up. Shit. The others had made a break for it. I dropped the dead hunter and ran after Becks, but it was too late. They’d disappeared upstairs, and from the noise up there, there must be backup. Automatons or worse.
Becks turned human again, shaking herself like a cat after an unexpected downpour. “Shit. I always forget about the other way out. I can’t even see it when I’ve shifted.” She shook her head, her mouth an angry line.
“Damn. Have they been using these tunnels before?” Sure, we hadn’t been down here in a few months, but you’d think I’d have noticed the freaking hunters move in.
“Bloody hope not.”
Grimacing, I made my way back to the dead hunter quickly. Maybe he’d be good for something after all. I tugged off his tailored League coat. It was padded, like I’d suspected, but the extra built in armour hadn’t protected him in the end. He wasn’t carrying a gun, though. Just two knives—again, specially made for the hunters. I swallowed hard and took his coat with me. He wouldn’t need it anymore, and I’d meant what I’d said yesterday—the best way to sneak into the hunters’ prison was to disguise ourselves as them.
“What are you doing?” Astor said from behind the wall.
“Working on Plan B.”
Becks ran back to us. “C’mon. We have to go.”
We moved on, hurrying towards the exit. I made sure not to leave a trail of blood, but the idea of them being down here in our territory knocked me off balance.
“They thought we were demons.” I forced a laugh, not willing to go into the details of what they’d said with Astor listening in.
“They didn’t bring a torch,” said Becks. “Can you hunters find your way around by stealth, or do you have night vision? Because it was kind of stupid of them.”
“Yeah, it was,” I said. “Thanks for the help, by the way.”
“I don’t have to help you,” said Astor. “You’re lucky it wasn’t the Elites. You’d be dead if it was.”
None of us spoke of our narrow escape as we made our way through the twisting tunnels, following a more circuitous route than usual to ensure no other unfriendly ambushes were waiting. The hunters weren’t supposed to come down here. Someone must have told them. The same person who’d lured us into the trap yesterday? Maybe.
“Where the hell are we going?” Astor hissed in my ear. “Are you trying to get us lost in the dark?”
“Becks and I know these tunnels, don’t worry,” I said. “We won’t fall in a plague pit.”
“A what?”
“Don’t you know your local history? They say that when the Underground system was put in, they dug up old pits where plague victims were buried.”
“Very funny.”
“No, really,” said Becks. “Don’t you know that’s why the trains are out of order? There aren’t enough necromancers in the city to get rid of the screaming dead. If you hadn’t been too busy whining to pay attention, you might have heard the faint voices of the dead crying out for help.”
“Piss off,” said Astor.
“That’s not very nice. I could leave you in the dark.”
“Yeah, we could,” I said. “Also, it’s true. We’ve run into undead in here a few times. The necromancers didn’t manage to get rid of all of them.”
Becks stopped walking. “Close your eyes.”
“Not this again,” said Astor. “Haven’t I already proved I’m not working with the League?”
“You’ve proved you don’t mind hiding behind a wall and letting us take the fall,” said Becks.
“Why are we arguing in the dark?” asked a new voice from up ahead.
Astor stopped. “Who is it?”
“Your mother.”
“Will,” I hissed.
“The gargoyle?” Astor guessed.
“Come along. You’re almost there.”
Two minutes later, we emerged from the dark into a new tunnel, this one lit with artificial lights. Will turned to stare at Astor. “You brought the assassin with you?”
“He claims he can help us,” I said. “Also, he doesn’t work for the League any longer. Apparently.”
Will raised an eyebrow at him. “Come inside.”
The tunnel led into a basement not unlike the one Astor had been imprisoned in. He shoved his way ahead and climbed the ladder ahead of us, probably to avoid exactly that. I hadn’t been to this shelter for a while, but Will had done the place up, even painting the cellar and putting fluffy cushions everywhere. Upstairs was a hallway much less threadbare than the one in our other place.
“You’re in luck,” I told Astor. “This is our VIP shelter. And I really need a shower.”
9
This shelter, on a road known amongst supernaturals as “Magic Avenue,” was hidden above a shop which sold spells and charms. I’d rather have avoided bringing Astor here, but it was worth it to see his face when we passed by the ingredients and displays. I expected him to start making the sign of the cross and douse everything in holy water. Instead he walked stiffly, as though he expected a cackling witch to rise from behind a shelf and put a hex on him.
The hunters rarely caught witches. This whole place was glamoured, and if any of the Orion League came snooping, the defensive spells would flip on and the shutters would come down, as would be the case with all the other witch-owned shops on this street. Most of Will’s clientele were witches, but sometimes he got bored and turned it into a bakery or flower shop just to mess with people. Will was the only one of us who even attempted to keep a normal job. Now supernaturals lived out in the open, employers often had signs saying “no shifters or faeries” hanging up in the windows. It wasn’t technically allowed, but nobody kept track, so we were stuck with what we could get.
I didn’t know much about Will’s parents. His gargoyle father had been killed when Will was a baby, and his witch mother had died when he was five. As a result, he was one of few hybrids who made use of both sides of his nature.
Becks carried the purloined assassin coat into the supply room at the back, while I ran for the upstairs flat which technically belonged to Will, though Becks and I often stayed over when we were working in the area. I needed a change of clothes and to make sure none of the grime from the tunnels had got into the wound on my hand. I’d forgotten about it when I’d shifted—dragon claws are far more resilient—but my hand was starting to throb by now. I made for the shower first, after making sure the others were keeping an eye on Astor. Dragons don’t like water as a general rule, but my hair was filthy and matted from being soaked by pond water, and I needed a change of clothes and some food. Then we’d work out how to get into the hunters’ place—once I got the details out of the assassin. It looked like Will had left the shop closed, so at least there was minimal risk of him figuring out where we were.
To make an illusion, Will needed something to work with. One dead hunter’s coat and weapons might not be enough. We’d got the jump on the hunters in the tunnel, but that was because they’d been taken unawares. If we willingly walked onto their turf, where there’d potentially be a dozen or more enemies, it’d be another matter entirely. And that’s if you didn’t take the automatons into account.
Really, a lot of it depended on them not knowing Cori was a dragon shifter yet. Because if they did, it’d be a one-way trip to the Orion Stronghold.
After tugging on fresh clothes, I put one of Will’s healing salves on the cut on my hand and hurried downstairs. As per usual, I didn’t hear the assassin coming until I walked smack into him. And stared a little. His black eye had healed, the blood was gone from his face and hair, and I swore he’d even shaved as well as showering. And he wore Will’s clothes, which fit surprisingly well considering Will was a few inches taller than he was.
“What?” he said. Without the torn clothes, his tattoos weren’t visible at all. Even the ones on his arms were covered by the long sleeves of a flannel shirt.
“Where are you going?” I asked. “If you’re sneaking off, there isn’t a back way.”
“You know, you can’t pull the wool over the League’s eyes forever. You left a guy dead in a tunnel. Soon, someone’s going to find out where it leads.”
“Nah, they won’t. The path we used is too well-hidden. What were they even doing underground? That’s the second time they’ve done it.”
He said nothing. Maybe he had been sneaking out. Or spying.
“Well?”
Still, no response. “What is it?”
“What?” His lips twitched. “I’ll tell you what. I’m in a prison again, only without the bars.”
“You could have run off at any point in the tunnels, if you’d wanted to.”
His eyes narrowed. “No, I couldn’t. You know that. There’s worse than dragons lurking down there. Like you said.”
“What, undead? They’re not too bad if you carry salt on you. Unless you’re scared of the dark.”
“I’m not scared of the dark.”
“Then what? Leave. Be my guest.” I pointed down the hallway.
“No,” said Will, from behind the door in the cupboard under the stairs. “I really wouldn’t.”
I jumped. I’d had no idea he’d been listening to us the whole time. The door opened, releasing the fragrant smell of herbs and incense. Will’s store cupboard. Astor backed down the hallway, and despite my surprise at his words, I found myself amused at his reaction.
“The herbs don’t bite,” I said. “Except the mandrake.”
“Are you taunting our guest?” asked Will, giving Astor a dazzling smile. “By the way, there are hunters snooping around outside. That’s why I left the blinds down.”
“Shit,” I said, my gaze snapping to the door. The bolt was on, as were our wards, but that automaton was pretty damn resilient.
“I know,” said Will, coming out of the cupboard with an armful of spell ingredients. “I’d pretend it’s a coincidence that they’ve decided to prowl down our little avenue again, but we all know it isn’t.”
