Page 42 of Sanctuary of the Shadow
“That man is so bloodthirsty, you’d think he lived off the stuff. I hope you know what you’re doing.”
She sighed. “I have no idea what I’m doing.”
“Raith would have killed both Salizar and Loren if you hadn’t stopped him.”
“I know.”
“Harrow, honey, that’s messed up.”
“I know, okay? I know.”
Malaikah sighed too. “The good news is you were able to stop him. He listens to you. All I’m saying is, you’re going to have your hands full.”
Would Raith try to rip the head off anyone who looked twice at him? Was she going to have to be on full-time murder-prevention duty? Goddess, she hoped not.
He returned at that moment, silent and deadly as, well, a wraith.
“It’s done?”
He nodded. After that strange promise he’d made, the air had been buzzing with some kind of power, and he’d looked strangely resentful of her, like she’d forced him into a trap. It wasn’t her intention at all, but she hadn’t been willing to budge without getting his promise. No one was dying tonight if she could help it.
Still, what had that meant? It was yet another mystery to add to the list.
She’d made her own mental vow to help him figure out who he was, but she hadn’t a clue where to start.
…
The rest of the plan went off without a hitch. If Salizar had an enchantment to alert him if the cage was opened, it either didn’t work in time for him to catch them or it was fooled by Malaikah’s lockpick. Whatever the case, the fairgrounds remained quiet as they snuck into the city.
Harrow held tightly to Raith’s hand. He’d donned the cloak she’d purchased for him, but even with the big hood obscuring his face, she could tell he was overwhelmed by the assaulting sights and smells, even in the relative stillness of the night.
Allegra was not a city that ever fully slept, and as they crept through the cobblestone streets between stone buildings, they passed staggering drunks, beggars, weary travelers, and the occasional hooded stranger of unknown intent.
They didn’t bother anyone, and no one bothered them. It was the way of the city.
Malaikah led them through a labyrinth of narrow streets, taking so many different combinations of turns that Harrow quickly lost all sense of direction.
The central city had a few quirks one needed to be aware of when navigating. Rumored to be caused by an excess of magic leaking from the Ether Queen, entire streets were known to disappear from time to time, only to reappear later. Sometimes, a wrong turn would still deliver you to where you wanted to go, and a correct turn would get you lost completely. Though many maps of the city were sold, it seemed no two were exactly alike, nor was anyone capable of giving concise directions.
As such, Harrow was slightly amazed when finally, at the end of another nondescript dark alley, Malaikah motioned them to a stop and said, “We’re here.”
They were standing outside a tavern, marked only by a small swinging sign in the shape of a circle. Upon closer inspection, Harrow realized it was carved into an ouroboros—a snake winding around to consume its own tail. She had seen the ancient symbol before, but something about its use here gave her pause.
The orange glow of firelight shone through the tavern’s narrow windows onto the cobblestones, and even at this hour, the hum of hearty conversation could be heard from within. The second-floor windows were equally aglow, but no noise spilled from the open shutters, and Harrow guessed that was where the inn’s rooms were located.
She stopped in her tracks, suddenly nervous. “How did you find this place?”
“Told you,” Mal replied. “I asked around for a seedy inn deep in the Underground, and ta-da. It doesn’t get any more underground than this.”
“Are you sure it’s not run by that gang?” Everyone knew about the Hybrid gang that owned and operated most of the enterprises here.
“Oh, I know for a fact it’s run by them. Hence the sign. They’re called the Ouroboros.”
“Then why are we going here?”
“Because, consequently, it’s also the most discreet place to hide. If Sal comes looking for you, no one here will breathe a word about anything to anyone, especially to outsiders, and especially to Salizar. You know how Elementals here feel about Sal’s circus.”
Harrow looked apprehensively up at the sign. “But will they let us stay?”
