Once Bitten (Shadow Guild: The Rebel #1) - Linsey Hall Page 0,16

alone should be enough to gain you entrance, though the guards will know when it happens.”

“They keep track?” My head was spinning.

“Yeah. And if the city is ever attacked, they’ll defend. Along with the guilds.”

“Attacked? Guilds?”

“Guild City is based on the medieval walled cities in Romania.” Her green eyes met mine, excitement flashing within. “Some say that the Devil of Darkvale is Vlad the Impaler himself. That he moved here hundreds of years ago when he could no longer stay in Romania, and he designed a city like the one he left behind.”

“So he’s…immortal?”

Mac shrugged. “That’s what they say. Now touch the door.”

Warily, I raised my hand. Part of me screamed to run. But a way bigger part of me wanted to shove that door open and race inside. My life on the outside was…nothing.

This, though? This had potential.

I pressed my hand to the door, gasping when the magic sparkled against my palm.

“It’s working.” Mac clapped her hands.

The door opened, and I grinned back at her.

“Go in.” A huge smile stretched across her face.

I pushed open the door to reveal a long, dark corridor. The top was arched, and on the other side, cool gray light shone on old buildings. Wary but excited, I stepped into the tunnel, Mac close behind.

Again, the briefest bit of wariness prickled my skin. I’d spent too much of my life afraid and at the bottom of the heap—first with my “family,” and then at police training and in the real world—to not be afraid.

But damn it, I wasn’t going to be scared.

Not when there was magic at the other end of this tunnel.

And I trusted Mac. I could feel her goodness. I’d had the vision of us as friends.

I strode down the tunnel, excitement thrumming through me as I stepped out into a small city square. It was surrounded on three sides by Tudor-style buildings, most of them white plaster and dark wood. A few were painted colorful shades that added some cheer through the fog, and brilliant flowers tumbled out of window boxes. Gas streetlamps flickered, giving it an old-fashioned feeling.

“What do you think?” Mac asked.

“It’s lovely.” Most of the buildings had shops on the bottom, and all sorts of goods cluttered the windows. Here and there, I spotted clear signs of modernity, like motorbikes in the narrow roads and electric lights within the buildings.

In the distance, tall towers loomed at the edges of the city. Each one looked different from the next—some were intimidating stone monstrosities, while others were whimsical wooden structures that seemed to spark with magic.

Mac pointed to them. “Those are the guild towers, the backbone of Guild City. They form the government and provide protection, though that’s needed less in modern day.”

“Who’s in the guilds?”

“Different magical species. There’s a Witches’ Guild, a Sorcerers’ Guild, the Shifters’ Guild, and so on. Each of the guilds has a motto and specializes in something. The witches sell potions, seers sell visions. That kind of thing. The most powerful members live in the towers, and the rest of us live in the city.”

My brows rose. “Wow.”

She nodded. “And everyone belongs to a guild. You have to.”

“No misfits?”

“Not in Guild City.”

Shit. I’d always been one. Not that I was going to join a guild. I was just visiting.

Mac’s eyes widened at something over my shoulder, and she twitched.

I frowned, worry spiking through me. “What is it?”

She grabbed my hand and pulled me with her. “I just saw one of the Devil’s men. He’s got spies everywhere.”

I looked over my shoulder, catching sight of a man lurking in the shadows. He was big and broad, but not in a good way. He had snake eyes. I looked away from him, following Mac.

She led me across the square and down a narrow street. The buildings loomed on either side, most only two stories tall, with the occasional three-story structure tossed in for variety. They all looked like something out of a medieval fantasy movie, but the wares inside the shop windows seemed almost pedestrian until I read the signs. One store seemed to specialize in enchanted clothing, advertising everything from trousers that would make you run faster to dresses that made you float. Another sold boring office supplies but stated that they were weapons. My fingers itched to explore.

“We’re here.” Mac stopped abruptly and dug into her pocket.

“Where?”

“My place.” She shoved the key into the lock of a small green door, then slipped inside.

I followed her up the narrow stairs to the door on the next