A couple of hours later, after Aerdeca had given us as much information as she could about Grimrealm and Nix had created the disgusting, dark magic-soaked cloaks for us, we headed over to Darklane.

Aerdeca gave us a ride in her white Cadillac, dropping us off near the entrance of Fairlight Alley. There was a festival today, and the crowded streets were bustling with people. We were right at the edge of Darklane here, so the stalls selling goods were a mix of normal citizens and Darklaners.

Aerdeca leaned out the driver’s side window. “Good luck.”

“Thanks again. I hope Mordaca likes her present.”

Aerdeca tried to smile, but worry still flickered in her eyes. Worry for us. What had happened to her down in Grimrealm?

I doubted she’d ever tell me.

She pulled away from the curb, and I turned to my friends. We each had a cloak clutched in our hands—no way we were putting them on until absolutely necessary. All around us, the streets were heaving with people.

“Ready?” I asked.

“Born ready.” Bree grinned cheerily.

I chuckled.

We pushed our way through the crowd, heading toward the entrance to Fairlight Alley. As we neared, the crowd thinned. My stomach turned slightly, and I felt a strong compulsion to back away from the alley.

“Repelling charm,” Lachlan said.

I gritted my teeth and headed forward. There were no people standing in front of the alley, as if they’d all agreed that this section of the sidewalk sucked, and they’d stay ten feet away.

Bree grabbed my hand. “I’m going to keep guard here, where the people are standing. It’ll look too weird if I stand right outside the alley. No one in their right mind would stand in the middle of that charm.”

I nodded. “Good plan.”

Since we didn’t know what we were walking into, we’d decided that Bree would stand out here and keep watch for a few minutes.

She stayed behind, squished between a man wearing a balloon animal hat and a woman in old witch’s robes. The rest of us put on our cloaks. The stench immediately made my eyes water, but the feel of it was worse. The cloak, which was a dark green wool, felt like it was made of spiders crawling over my skin.

“Ugh, this is the worst,” Rowan said.

“Worse than jumping in a pit full of worms.” Caro flipped the cloak up over her platinum hair.

I did the same, immediately wanting to tear the thing off and jump in the ocean. Lachlan was stoically silent, of course, but I caught the shudder that ran through him.

“Let’s get this over with,” I muttered.

We headed toward the alley, striding over like we knew what we were doing. Unlike the alleys in the Historic District, this one didn’t smell like pee. It didn’t smell like much of anything, actually, which was pretty weird.

And it wasn’t very deep. We got about forty feet back, and it dead-ended into a brick wall.

“Well, that sucks,” Caro said.

I stared hard at the wall, remembering Paris. I reached out, pressing my hand against the brick. It was rough against my hand, so it was definitely real.

Maybe.

I pressed hard.

My hand sank into the brick.

“Nice,” Rowan said.

I stepped through the wall, having to really work for it. My heart thundered in my ears as I appeared on the other side, ready to draw my weapons from the ether.

There was nothing here.

Just an alley, like the one we’d left behind.

My friends appeared next to me, having fought their way through the illusion of the brick wall.

“Not what I expected,” Rowan said.

I approached the end of the alley, which was another forty or so feet in the distance. This time, it was obviously the true dead end. No matter how hard I pressed on the wall, I couldn’t get through.

“There’s got to be a clue somewhere,” Caro said.

We began to search the walls, and the ground, but it was all just brick and stone. Not even an old cigarette butt.

“Hey, look at that.” Rowan shined her cell phone at the ground, holding it at an angle. She pointed to the indention of a square.

“That’s got to be a door of some kind,” Caro said.

“Which means there might be some kind of mechanism to open it.” I inspected the walls, searching for anything out of the ordinary.

“Or a password,” Lachlan said. “Though perhaps that’s not the wisest way to permit access to an underground market. What if they need to change it?”

“Fingers crossed that it’s not a password,” Caro said.

I stood right over the trapdoor, spinning in a circle as I inspected the walls around me. I unfocused my gaze slightly, hoping to catch a pattern if I wasn’t looking too hard in one direction.

At first, it just made me vaguely queasy. Then I caught sight of a few bricks in the opposing walls that looked smoother than the others. I approached one, resting my fingertips against it. Yep. Smoother.

“Guys, I think I found something,” I said.

Caro appeared at my side a second later. “Twenty bucks you have to press these bricks in a certain order to open the trapdoor.”

“But there are three on this wall and three on the other wall,” Rowan said. “There are 720 permutations.”

“What?” Caro asked.

“There are 720 different orders in which we could press the bricks,” Rowan said. She’d always liked math, saying that it was a certain thing in an uncertain world.

“I’d bet good money that you only get one shot,” Lachlan said.

“Then how do we figure out the order?” Caro asked.

I inspected each of the bricks. They were all worn down evenly, so that gave no clues.

“If we had a spell that could reveal the past, we could turn back time and watch someone else enter,” Rowan said. “But those spells are hard to come by.”

“Can you make one?” I asked Lachlan.

“If I had two days. The magic takes a long time to brew.”

“We don’t have two days.” Arach, Florian, and the Pugs of Destruction didn’t have a week.

“Incoming.” Bree’s voice crackled out of my comms charm. “Two demons.”

“Shit, Bree. Can you make us invisible?” I asked, unsure whether her power could extend all the way back here.

“I can try.”

“Get by the walls, everyone.” I pressed myself against the back wall, far enough away from the trapdoor and the special bricks. My friends joined me, and we stood frozen, shoulder to shoulder.

When our breathing went dead silent, I realized that Lachlan had used his ability to repress sound. A second later, my friends disappeared. So did I. I couldn’t even see my legs.

Jackpot.

We stood stiff as boards, tension thick in the air.

A moment later, two demons sauntered into the alley. They looked comfortable as could be, as if they came here regularly. The biggest one, some kind of blue demon that probably had control over ice, if his chill, foggy breath were any indication, went straight for one of the special bricks.

My heart raced as he pressed each brick in order, walking from one side of the wall and back again. The trapdoor in the middle of the floor opened up, and he and his friend jumped right in.

I debated following, but the thing closed almost immediately.

“Jackpot!” Rowan grinned.

I touched the charm at my neck. “Bree? You can come back here now. We know how to get in.”

“On my way.”

“Okay, everyone. Line up around the trapdoor,” I said. “We’ll all jump in at the same time. That thing closes real quick.”

My friends lined up around the door, Bree joining them when she arrived. I went to the wall and hovered my hand over the first brick.

“Ready?” I asked.

They adjusted their cloaks, and there was a chorus of yeses. I pressed my fingertips to the first brick, then moved quickly to the next. Within ten seconds, I’d pressed them all. Magic sparked around the trapdoor, and it opened.

I hurried over, and we all jumped in.

My heart thundered as I fell, but I landed easily a few seconds later, some kind of magic slowing my descent.

I shuddered at the feeling of dark magic filling the space. It was like my cloak, but it was everywhere.

The tunnel that we’d entered was hewn straight out of the dark earth. Torches flickered from the sconces on the wall, green magic providing enough light to see by. The demons were long gone, fortunately, and the tunnel extended into the darkness.

I breathed shallowly against the stench of dark magic, shivering again at the feeling of it crawling over my skin.

“They must have a powerful spell to keep this feeling from spilling out into Magic’s Bend,” Bree said.

“No kidding,” Rowan said. “This would have the Order of the Magica investigating in a hurry.”

Lachlan looked at me. “Ready?”

“Yeah, let’s get a move on.”

As a group, we headed down the tunnel, our footsteps silent. Tension prickled across my skin. Any minute, we could run into other patrons of the Grimrealm. Would our disguises work? Down here, it’d be damned hard to escape if they all turned on us.

We’d walked for only a couple minutes when more magic prickled against my skin.

Like a warning.

Rowan gasped. “Something’s coming.”

A blast of flame shot from the wall, right in front of us.

I threw out my shield, the white magic bursting forth. For once, my magic obeyed me. The fire slammed into the shield, making my arms shake. It was fierce and orange, filling the whole cavern in front of us.

“Holy fates, good work, Ana.” Caro’s face was stark.

“You saved us from becoming barbecue,” Rowan said.

I chuckled weakly, studying the flame. It wouldn’t let up, just kept blazing against my shield.

Next to me, Lachlan crouched down. He was running his hand over a small mound of earth right next to the wall. “I think we were supposed to step on this to keep the flame from blasting us.” He pressed on the mound of earth, but the flame didn’t stop. “I think this stopped the flame from coming. But now that it’s started…”

“It won’t stop,” I said.

“I’ve got it.” Caro held out her hands, her magic swelling on the air. “Everyone back up.”

We did as she commanded, though I was careful to keep the shield up.

“Okay, drop it!” Caro said.

I let my magic fade, and the shield disappeared. The flame roared forth, almost encapsulating Caro. Huge jets of water burst from her palms. It doused the flame, filling the tunnel with steam.

I choked, the steam seeming to make the stench of my cloak even worse. When it finally faded, the tunnel looked totally normal. Caro had hit it with the perfect amount of water. There wasn’t even a puddle on the floor.

“Nicely done,” I said.

Caro brushed her hands together. “Kind of an expert with the H2O.”

Lachlan stepped on the mound of dirt, and a spark of magic glittered in the air. “I think that should do it.”

I raised my hands and called on my protective shield, forming a bubble around us. “Just in case.”

The shield held strong, and I grinned. My little bit of practice with Lachlan had definitely helped. I made sure to focus on why I wanted this magic—to keep us from becoming crispy critters—and the shield held strong.

We entered the section of tunnel that had been flaming. There wasn’t a single sound of breathing, so everyone was clearly as nervous as I was, even with the shield.

About a hundred yards later, when I heard the sounds of people, I dropped the shield.

“That was intense,” Bree said.

“Well, hold on to your butts, because I think it’s going to get a lot more intense.” Rowan pointed to the glow of magic that lit up the exit to the tunnel. “I think we’re here.”

I adjusted my cloak, making sure that most of my face was covered. Everyone else followed suit. We approached the edge of the tunnel, walking with a brisk stride. As we neared the exit, I caught sight of masses of people.

If I’d been worried that wearing a full-body cloak would be suspicious, I didn’t have to be. More than half the people in the market were wearing cloaks. Apparently, if you dealt in stuff that was this dark, you didn’t want to be identified.

The market itself was wild—black tents filled the space, with colorful signs floating above them. They advertised everything from potions to charms to weapons and clothing. People clustered around them, filling the walkways to bursting.

All of it stank like the inside of an old dumpster that had been eaten by a giant fish that was now rotting, and I sucked air in shallowly.

Didn’t dark magic users wonder why they stank so bad?

Seriously, could anything be worse than this stench?

“I can’t believe someone is trying to sell Arach’s heart down here.” Horror echoed in Bree’s voice.

“We’ll stop them.” Lachlan’s tone was firm. “Then we’ll report this shithole to the Order of the Magica.”

My gaze darted around the market. The stalls and people blocked a lot of my view, but the market was obviously huge. On the edges of the open space, there were shops set right into the rock, using the earth for walls.

“It reminds me a bit of Hider’s Haven in Death Valley,” Bree said.

“Just a lot bigger,” Rowan added.

They were right. We’d only been in the haven once—it was actually the topic of the story I’d tried to tell the bullfrog—but the haven had been a much smaller, less evil version of this place.

I stepped out into the market. “Let’s find Grimaldi’s. Stick close together. If you get separated, leave.”

Together, we pushed our way through the crowd. The feeling here was just plain dark. Like I was in a nightmare come to life. I brushed past a few people, and terrible images flashed in my mind. Death and torture.

Were they sending those thoughts into my head? I squeezed my eyes shut and shook my head.

A strong hand gripped my own. Immediately, I knew that it was Lachlan. His comforting touch helped force away some of the images. I clung to it. All around, objects sat on tables. Weapons, grimoires, potions—mostly poisons, from the look of them. And a whole lot of things I didn’t recognize, and didn’t want to recognize.

Dozens of scents hit my nose. We passed a food vendor, and the savory scent actually smelled good. Which somehow made the whole situation worse, once it mixed with the nasty scent of dark magic. I didn’t want to find anything appealing about this place. Not even hot dogs.

Vendors shouted at customers as we passed, hawking their potions and spells. I ignored them all, until an old woman caught my free hand, pulling me away from Lachlan.

I looked down, startled. She wore a black cloak over her stooped frame, and her black eyes seemed to see right into my soul. “Dearie, dearie, I’ll tell your fortune!”

“No thanks.”

She gripped me harder, her dark eyes burning. “Dearie, you should listen to your elders. You’ll learn things you want to know.”

A chill ran over my spine.

Somehow, I believed her.

Maybe it was her magic, but I really believed her. I sank onto the little stool that sat in front of her tent.

“What are you doing?” Bree hissed.

“Is this safe?” Lachlan gripped my shoulder. Even his touch couldn’t shake me away from the fortune teller’s grip.

Her eyes continued to burn into mine.

“Just a moment, guys.” I could hear them grumbling, but I only had eyes for the fortune teller as she swept around the little table and sat behind it. She leaned toward me, holding out a wizened hand. For a moment, it looked smooth and young, then it flashed back to old.

“Give me your hand, dearie.”

I did as she asked, letting her grip my palm. But she didn’t study it, reading the lines and creases that I thought fortune tellers would normally go right for.

Instead, she stared hard into my eyes. My brain seemed to vibrate, and it felt like she was looking right into my soul.

“You’ll find what you seek in the circle of stones.” Her voice wrapped around me, sending a shiver across my skin.

“What do you mean?”

“Questions you want answered will be revealed to you within the circle.”

She meant the stone circle at the Protectorate. She had to. I wanted to ask more—did she know which pantheon I was from? Did she know if my mother was still around in her ghostly form?

No.

Selfish.

I was here for Arach.

“But I’m looking for Grimaldi’s,” I said.

The fortune teller’s eyes flicked to mine. Confusion, then understanding. “Of course.” She pointed behind me, and I turned.

There, at the edge of the market, was a sign high in the air. A circle of glittery red stones gleamed in the light.

I turned back to her. “That’s it?”

“That’s their symbol. Go there and you’ll find what you seek.”

“So you…you didn’t mean that I’d find answers about my past in the circle of stones?”

“Things always have more than one meaning.” She stood and held out her hand.

I pressed a wad of cash into it, and she seemed pleased. I turned to my friends, all of whom watched me with concern.

“Let’s go,” I said.

Together, we pushed through the crowded market, headed toward the casino. My mind raced over what the fortune teller had said, but as we neared the edge of the market, I shoved the thoughts away.

We’d have to be alert for this. Totally on our game. Casinos in the human realm often had tons of security, and I doubted this would be any different. It wouldn’t be nearly as easy to blend in the casino.

The stalls thinned out a bit toward the edge, and we lingered briefly near one that sold some kind of strange-smelling beverage that bubbled in an iron cauldron. The casino was one of the buildings that had been built right into the earth, and it was unmarked besides the glittering circle of red stones that were stuck into the rock wall above the door.

Two burly guards stood at the entrance, each wearing a dark green suit. They had their hands crossed in front of them and their cold stares directed out at the market.

“Twenty bucks our names aren’t on the list,” Bree muttered.

“No kidding.” I looked at Lachlan. “Think you can freeze them?”

“Definitely. Then move fast.”

“No need for the speed,” Bree said. “You freeze them, I’ll make us invisible.”

“Perfect.” We were a good team. “Lachlan will lead the way in, and we’ll go single file after him.”

Everyone nodded.

I didn’t feel Lachlan’s magic this time—no doubt, he was trying to hide his not-evil signature—but the guards froze in place. They didn’t so much as twitch. If you weren’t paying attention, though, you wouldn’t even notice.

A half second later, my friends disappeared. I started for the door to the casino, bumping into someone slightly. One by one, we filed through the door, entering a dimmed lobby. There was a hostess standing at a gold-lined table, but she was frozen solid, too.

Well done, Lachlan.

“Everyone here?” I whispered.

There was a chorus of three yeses and one aye, and we all hurried past the hostess. As soon as we’d passed her, Bree and Lachlan dropped their magic. As a group, we strode right into the casino.

I tried to act like I belonged here, but the sheer opulence of the place made my jaw drop. Literally. It was embarrassing.

The whole place was done up in gold and gems and velvets. Many of the patrons wore cloaks like ours, but others were dressed in tuxes and ball gowns. Still others wore rougher clothes, but the waitresses seemed to be just as attentive to them.

In the casino, all money was green.

There were a half dozen types of games that I could spot off the bat, though I couldn’t have identified them. All the tables were crowded full of people. We drifted toward one of the many bars set up along the edges of the huge room.

There were two more entrances that I could see, both toward the back.

“We should split up and guard the entrances,” Lachlan said.

“You should take this one, Ana,” Bree said. “You’re the ones who got us here. You and Lachlan look for the target. The rest of us will guard the doors and keep an eye on you.”

“Thanks, guys.” I smiled at them.

They melted into the crowd, their cloaks disappearing between the tables.

“Let’s go,” Lachlan said.

I followed him out into the crowd, drifting between tables, pretending to look for a game to play. In reality, I was looking for a pale demon with blond hair and sawed-off horns. Normally, demons didn’t look very human, but there were the rare exceptions.

The longer we walked, the more I felt the prickle of eyes on the back of my neck.

“You feel that?” I asked.

“Aye. Someone is watching.”

“The guards?” I glanced around, spotting a half dozen at least.

“They’re looking for cheats. Not sure they’re worried about us.” Lachlan rubbed the back of his neck. “But someone is definitely watching.”

My skin crawled as we searched, tension ratcheting up. Whenever I caught sight of my sisters or Caro, they looked alert too. This place was definitely dangerous. For all the glitter and gleam that coated the surface of it, the underbelly was dark.

When a hand roughly grabbed my arm, I bit back a scream. My heart thundered. I couldn’t start a scene, but if management had caught us…

We were screwed.