will now answer questions.” Then he resumes pacing, his attention fixed on the ground as he walks. “In the Demon Hunting Trials, yes, you can die. Yes, it will be extremely painful. No, you cannot be brought back. Is this fair? Perhaps not. But dying is the risk one takes if one wishes to be amongst the winners.”
The thought of dying no longer fills me with fear like it used to. Maybe it’s because I have no intention of dying until I’ve avenged my family.
Until Rizer has paid for what he’s done.
“Once you have chosen your mission, you may begin,” Aamon says, stepping aside.
Everyone immediately jolts into action. Caspian is one of the first to approach the board with his tracker outstretched. He presses his screen, and case three hundred and eighty-six magically transfers from the board onto his device. The board also updates with his name and my own.
I scan my own tracker, check the details, and grin when I read the location. I’ve always wanted to visit there.
“Ready?” Caspian asks, his finger poised over the screen of his tracker.
I tuck mine into my back pocket and nod. “Ready as I’ll ever be, partner.”
Caspian rolls his eyes and presses a button, then a portal wraps around us.
Mission number one… I’m coming for you.
“I mean, yeah, walking through creepy alleyways is definitely my idea of fun,” I grumble as I stomp after Caspian. Creepy is a bit of an understatement. The cobbled roads and narrow little shops smooshed together would be quaint in the daylight, but after dusk, the buildings create eerie shadows that stretch around me. So far, Edinburgh City, while beautifully historic, is totally giving me Ghost Hunters vibes. “Are you sure we’re going the right way?”
Caspian pauses inside the narrow alleyway. Slivers of moonlight catch his hair, making it almost silver. “Yeah, I’m sure, songbird. And these aren’t ‘alleyways’. They’re closes,” he corrects smugly, pointing to the sign etched above us. The inscription reads Mary King’s Close, whoever the hell that is, and in the distance, strange clothing hangs from a wire stretching between the narrow building. “Six hundred people were sealed up here and left to die. That’s some of their clothes. It’s pretty neat, huh?”
A shiver runs down my spine. “Neat isn’t the word I’d use.” But my curiosity gets the better of me. “What happened to them? Why were they sealed up?”
“I’ll give you a hint.” Caspian waves a hand over his face. A long, beaked mask wraps around his head.
It’s vaguely familiar, but I can’t quite put my finger on it.
“The Black Death. Bubonic plague,” he says, as if I should’ve known. “Did Leo get all the brains in your family?”
I slide him a pointed grimace. “Ha ha. No.” I peer into the close despite myself. A cold wind sweeps over me from behind, and I jump back. “This place totally feels haunted.”
“Oh, the whole city is,” Caspian informs me happily, the mask disappearing.
It reminded me of a crow.
“In fact, there’s even an underground city where more people were left to rot and die a slow, painful death. Wanna check it out?”
“Uhhh…” My mouth hangs open, and I stare at him like he’s grown a second head. “I think I’ll pass. Shouldn’t we get on with the mission?”
But Caspian, clearly enjoying my discomfort too much, winds his hands around my waist and drags me farther into the close. A strangled protest escapes me as my claustrophobia kicks in.
“Let me go, you sonuva bitch!”
He just laughs and continues walking. The narrow walls close in around me, and I grasp at Caspian’s hands on my body, trying to pry them off. To my relief, he puts me down, but he closes the small distance between us. He stands so close that my back hits the wall and his minty breath fans my cheeks.
“You really brushed up on your history about this place, huh?” I ask, my heart thrashing.
He glances up from my mouth and smirks, placing a hand beside my head. “I take my job very seriously, songbird.” His focus strays back to my lips, and for a moment he just stares at me, and I at him. The marks etched on his face glow the softest colour, and flecks of it shine in his narrowed eyes.
“What are you doing?” The question barely escapes like a whisper.
The words “kiss me” echo through my mind. Caspian isn’t looking at me like I’m that annoying little lovestruck kid chasing after him. There’s desire pooling in his eyes,