her. “What about the job itself? Any specifics?”
“Yes. The woman wrote down the job’s details on parchment: Bones must be delivered within six hours of death.” He glanced at the silver watch cradling his left wrist. “I was supposed to meet her within the hour at Devil’s Hollow.”
I didn’t blink. It wouldn’t be the first or last time we were asked to do something strange with the remains. But Devil’s Hollow was dangerous. Tainted by dark magic and even darker omens. “Devil’s Hollow?”
Kost grimaced. “Unfortunately, yes. I requested we meet elsewhere, but the client insisted.”
“All right. We’ll keep the meeting brief.”
Black tendrils of shadow slunk toward me. Kost nabbed the spare tunic, slipping into it with ease, and followed suit, his own power lashing out against mine. Turning our backs on the medical wing, we rushed on the cold wind through the double doors and set out to meet our employer.
Three
Noc
Devil’s Hollow wasn’t far from Cruor, but we didn’t visit the clearing often. We knew better than to tempt the magic of the damned. If the Kitska Forest was a festering wound, then Devil’s Hollow was the poison that made it that way. Milky fog drifted across mulch and brown grass, stretching out to meet the gaping mouth of a cave with stalactite teeth. The cursed wood came to a screeching halt in a perfect circle around the opening, as if the whispered wails echoing from the cavern’s maw were spells even monsters dared not trigger.
A single barren tree with ashy bark and decaying limbs entrenched its gnarled roots around the opening. Upright spikes of blood-red flowers shooting out from the tips of branches were the only splatters of color—save the client cloaked in a mercury robe standing with his hands clasped before the cave’s opening.
I shot Kost a quick glance. Shoulders tense, he only offered a tight grimace. Surprise visitor, then.
I kept my voice low so as not to disturb the dark magic of the cavern. “I expected a woman.”
“She has other matters to attend to.” The man glanced back and forth between us. With his cloak pulled tight, his features remained hidden. “Where’s the Charmer?” Leather fingerless gloves hid his hands and wrists, and he folded his arms across his chest.
“There was an unexpected mishap. I take full responsibility for the delay, and I’m now handling this job personally.” Beside me, Kost flinched.
The man tilted his head, and the cloak moved enough to reveal a close-cut beard. “I see. And you are?”
I slipped my hands into the pockets of my trousers. “Noc. I’m the guild master.” A haze of shimmering magic brewed at the opening of the cave in response to my claim, and my pulse thundered in my ears. I did my best to ignore the silky murmur of power. The wretchedness here was far more putrid than the shadows we commanded, beckoning lost travelers to its bowels and stoking the fire of forbidden magic. Those who answered its call never survived.
Seemingly unaffected, a nasty smile crept over the man’s lips. “Interesting. May I ask what happened? Your colleague seemed capable enough.”
Kost fisted his hands. Taking a small step forward, I drew the client’s attention to me. “Nothing of note. Any additional details you’d like to share about the job?”
“Other than the fact that Leena Edenfrell is extremely dangerous? It sounds like you’ve already discovered that.”
I narrowed my eyes. “Indeed.”
“You’re aware of the conditions?”
“Yes. You’ll have your bones within six hours of death. It won’t be an issue. And the bits?”
A sneer dominated the lower half of his shadowed face. “Ten thousand bits. Enough to fuel your quaint little manor for a few solid years.”
I gave him a tight nod. “Then we’re good.”
He flexed his hand, and an invisible door groaned open. A beast unlike any I’d ever glimpsed appeared at the man’s feet. With a head the size of a boulder, its lizard-like mouth stretched open, and a formidable air current sucked at the space around it. A swirling white portal flickering with electricity sparked in its unhinged jaw.
With a harsh laugh, the man reached down and stroked the beast’s scales. “We’ll be ‘good’ when you deliver on your promise. Just remember that while Leena Edenfrell is formidable, your client is far, far more powerful. The last thing you’d want is for something to happen.” He angled his chin toward Kost. “Again.”
With that, he passed through the sparking portal and winked out of existence, along with his beast.
Anger swelled in a rush of heat, and the