potion ingredients. Eve was in the process of moving her shop to the tower. Rent was free, and the space looked like an alchemist’s dream.
The large windows illuminated the space with bright light, and I crouched by Mac’s side, inspecting her pale face. Beatrix crowded next to me, testing Mac’s pulse at her wrist.
“What do you know about the curse?” Eve bustled toward the middle of the room, where a large table sat, covered with dozens of tiny instruments and potion bottles.
“Not much.” Guilt twisted at me. Did I admit it had come from a shadow that was following me? Did that matter? “A dark shadow has been lurking around the library.” That much was true. “Last week, a rat entered the shadow’s domain, breathing in the black mist that it emitted. I found it dead on the floor.”
Beatrix’s gaze flashed up to mine, her eyes stark. “Dead?”
I nodded. “I don’t think it was natural causes, either. The shadow manifests as a dark mist sometimes. And the magic is distinctly dark.”
Dark magic was devoid of goodness. It served only itself, an instrument of pain, destruction, and oppression. It was used for evil, selfish purposes. Whereas light magic was all that was good or even neutral in the world.
Eve nodded, mixing up potions in a small silver cauldron. “Well, Mac is bigger. That should help.”
“I don’t think she was there long. I found her pretty quickly and dragged her out.” I clutched her limp hand, fear twisting my insides.
“I think I can feel the dark magic on her,” Beatrix said. “Is that possible?”
“Yeah.” I nodded. “I feel it, too.”
Beatrix was a recent arrival in Guild City. Until a month ago, she’d been a raven. Or rather, she’d been a nearly dead human soul trapped in a raven’s body. Now, she was the new girl in town who was still learning the magical ropes.
Eve hurried over and knelt by us, a frown on her face. In one hand, she clutched two small vials containing colorful potions. With her free hand, she pressed her fingertips to Mac’s neck and waited a moment. “Pulse is steady. That’s a blessing.”
She raised one vial and uncorked it. “This should revive her enough that she can drink the potion that will diagnose her.”
Carefully, she held the vial toward Mac’s lips, tilting it so that a few droplets entered her mouth.
A moment later, Mac sputtered and sat upright.
I heaved a sigh of relief, even though I knew it wasn’t a cure. Just seeing her conscious relaxed the fist that gripped my heart.
Mac turned toward us, her complexion still pale and her eyes heavily shadowed. “What’s going on?”
“You’ve been cursed.” Eve raised the other vial, which glittered with green liquid. “This will help us figure out what it is.”
Mac nodded and took the vial, her hand trembling. She knew the drill, and knocked it back, drinking the entire thing in one gulp. For a moment, nothing happened. Then she shuddered and gasped.
Her eyes turned a brilliant purple and faint veins showed more brightly under her skin. They streaked across her flesh like violet lightning, and Eve winced.
“What is it?” Mac demanded.
My heart thundered with guilt and fear as I looked between Mac and Eve, my breath held.
“I don’t know, exactly.” Eve raised a hand slowly, hovering it in front of Mac’s cheek. Mac nodded, and Eve touched one of the streaks of purple lightning that was beginning to fade. “The potion has revealed dark magic of some kind. Something hellish, I think. Demon magic, maybe an underworld. It’s spreading quickly.”
“Quickly?” I asked. “How quickly? Is it deadly?”
Eve’s lips pursed and her brow furrowed, as if she didn’t want to speak the words.
“Spit it out, Eve,” Mac said. “It wouldn’t be the first time I’ve looked death in the face.”
“But this is different,” Eve said. “More powerful than anything I’ve ever seen.”
“And deadly.” Mac’s voice was flat.
Eve nodded. Her lips twisted. “Not for a few weeks, I don’t think.”
A few weeks?
Horror opened a chasm inside my chest. “Surely you can fix her.”
“I can. Of course I can. I just need to know more about the spell that cursed her.” She stood, determination setting her shoulders. “I’m going to get started researching.” She looked at me. “Do you think you can maybe get a sample of the mist without putting yourself in danger? Capture it in a tiny vial if it’s still there?”
A shiver raced over me. She wanted me to approach that close?