I smiled. I'd developed something of a soft spot for ferals since I'd met Vyx and Tala. They had a fire and determination that I admired. Keirn's fox stretched itself forward and laid its chin on Fein's hand, causing the elf to smile and rub its cheeks.

  "Keirn must be doing well enough, if his fox is this relaxed," Fein said.

  "I don't know what the bond there is," I admitted.

  "Keirn didn't tell you?"

  "He did, I just didn't remember," I said guiltily.

  Fein laughed.

  "His fox is tied to his essence, it aids him in his work as a spirit walker. If Keirn were in pain or distress, then his fox would show as much. If the fox is relaxed, then Keirn is bored at worst."

  I breathed a sigh of relief; I'd thought as much, but it was good to have it all confirmed. If Keirn was ok, then we had time to pull this ridiculous thing off.

  "Any idea what we're going to have to do to get them out?" I asked.

  Fein stood, and Rex stretched next to me.

  "We're breaking into the Ceremonial stronghold and breaking them out by whatever means necessary. We have some fun alchemical explosives, and I brought you some more ink and some pretty blades. Oh, and we have Shadow and Luka. I'm pretty sure they're considered weapons in their own right," Rex said, giving them a grin.

  Shadow preened at the words, and I didn't doubt that there was a lot of truth in the Cu Sidhe's words. I was in good company.

  "So, what happens with Petra and Ronan now?" I asked.

  As if on cue, the shadow walker walked into the room with a smile on his face.

  "Nice to see you missed me, tattoo magician," he said.

  The other shadow walker came up behind him and glowered.

  "I heard you'd been pulled into this," the other shadow walker said.

  "Adam, I was disappointed to hear you'd stooped this low, to kidnap the tattoo magician and ally with that cheating, thieving hedgewitch," Ronan said.

  "Rich coming from you, given you got into bed with Magda," Adam said.

  "I have some dignity; I wouldn't allow him in my home, let alone my bed," Magda said.

  The room was quickly filling with tension as the various factions filtered into the increasingly small space and began to square off against each other.

  "Magda, I had so hoped you'd been devoured by a Kelpie," Petra said.

  Magda smiled sweetly and threw something at Petra. The hedgewitch's hair began to smolder and she started to grow wrinkles and brown spots on her face. Magda cackled with delight, and Ronan smiled. Even the cougars seemed amused by the display.

  Petra screeched and threw something back at Magda. And so it began. The room descended into screaming, clawing, and shouting obscenities. Fein put his hands in his pockets and allowed it to continue for a few minutes. No one had died just yet. It was more clawing and cursing than true violence. I suspected that they were aware of where the limits were and didn't dare press them.

  The familiars remained at the edge of the room where the ferals had crept in.

  Finally, Fein said, "Enough."

  It was barely more than normal talking volume, but it was enough to make everyone stop what they were doing and put their hands at their sides. Petra looked young again, but half of her hair was a smoking mess, and she had a rather large bald patch. Magda looked absolutely pristine, and Adam had vanished somewhere. It could have been much worse.

  "You can discuss your petty differences another time. We are here to make plans to break into the Ceremonial stronghold," Fein said, his hands still in the pockets of his coat.

  Rex and the cougars had moved to stand near his sides. Together, they formed an intimidating wall that dared anyone to challenge them.

  "And what if we changed our minds?" Petra asked.

  Fein smiled.

  "Then you're no longer of any use. You see, the problem with pushing the boundaries like that, Petra, is you need to have some value. You have nothing to offer this city. You have been a thorn in the side of the underground for the past two years. Things have been unbalanced due to your insistence on flaunting my laws and selling unregistered familiars into unvetted homes. Of course, I know about your slave trade, and the quaint drug ring you've been trying to start. Do you know what I do to things that unbalance my city, Petra?"

  Petra stepped back, her hands trembling.

  "I'm sorry," she whispered.

  "Too late," Fein said with a shrug.

  It happened in the blink of an eye. One moment Rex was standing next to me, the next, his hand was buried in Petra's chest cavity before he pulled her heart out. She disintegrated into a small pile of dust. The rest of the room looked down and remained very still.

  "Does anyone else want to upset the balance?" Fein asked.

  28

  After Fein's display of power, everyone settled down and started being a little more helpful. We were offered a few rooms to stay in. Unlike the one I had woken up in, they were bright and comfortable with large beds and plush furnishings. I shared with the cougars and Rex, Fein was given his own room, and the ferals that Fein had brought on board were in the room next to us. Magda had taken control of the witches, an act she clearly delighted in as she strutted up and down, telling them how things were going to be now.

  "She has just gained a large chunk of territory," Shadow explained.

  I frowned and looked at him.

  "The underground city is split into territories. Even the markets are owned by particular people and groups. Fein’s removing Petra from the equation has given Magda a lot more room and power. She owes Fein, and he'll make sure she remembers it," Shadow explained.

  It was bizarre having an entire underground city below the main city above. It made sense, really, but it was one more thing that I needed to learn and get my head around. When we had a quiet moment, I sat on the bed I'd claimed as mine and stroked the fox while I weighed how best to say what I needed to say.

  "I... I killed four familiars earlier. They begged me to do it."

  Shadow hugged me and pressed his cheek to mine. The soft stubble along his jaw felt odd against the bristles of my own cheek. I had no idea what to do. I knew he was being kind, but the affection wasn't done in a way that my mind processed.

  "You did the right thing, Dacian. I've seen the suffering those familiars endure. It may feel shitty right now, but I promise that was the best possible thing you could have done. We do as much as we can to help them, but we have limits, and the familiars are such a difficult situation. They're bound to the witches, and we can't encroach on the witches' freedom too heavily, since that goes against Fein's stance in the city."

  "I don't envy him," I said.

  Shadow smiled.

  "You're finally understanding," he said.

  I wrinkled my nose and looked away. I wasn't sure I wanted to understand the crime lord, but Shadow was right. I was getting a much better idea of why people looked up to Fein.

  "What was that about the balance?" I asked.

  "Hasn't he told you?" Rex asked.

  I raised an eyebrow and looked at him. Clearly, I was out of the loop again.

  Rex laughed. "Fein is an agent for the god of balance. That is his role here in the city. He keeps everything balanced - with our help, of course."

  I frowned. It made some sense. The way he approached problems became a little clearer.

  "So, he's like a priest?" I asked.

  "Don't ask him that, he won't take it well," Luka warned.

  "No, he has a direct line with his god. They work more like a partnership. There's no bowing and scraping, no praying and hoping," Rex said.

  That sounded implausible. No one worked directly with the gods.

  "How the fuck did he swing that?" I asked.

  Rex shrugged.

  "No one knows," Rex said.

  "And it will remain that way," Fein said as he stepped into the doorway and leaned against the doorframe with a smirk. "Magda and Ronan are ready to begin the planning for the break out," he said as he pushed himself off the doorframe and stepped back into the hallway.

  "What will it mean for the underground for Ronan to be given point with the shadow walkers here?" I asked as I stepped out into the hallway.

  "It will mean more stability within the shadow walkers, which will help stop the fighting they keep having with the witches, alchemists, and life magicians," Luka said.

  "Why the fuck are they fighting with the life magicians? I thought everyone loved them," I asked as we passed a group of ferals.

  All eyes turned to us, and they dipped their chins in respect as we passed.

  "Life magicians aren't all sweetness and light. There's a faction of them that deal in stolen moments and life essence," Shadow said.

  "Seriously? Fuck me," I said.

  I really thought they were the one good thing in the city, the faction that was untouchable and good. Luka laughed.

  "Everything is in balance, Dacian, some good, some bad. The life magicians aren't too much trouble, though. They occasionally get carried away when an addict pushes and demands more essence, but they're only responsible for a few deaths. The alchemists, however, are trouble, as they're in the pocket of the Ceremonials. They have political sway, which makes them more difficult to pull into line," Luka said.

  "I thought you had a pet alchemist?" I asked.

  I remembered the red-headed woman that had helped break the collars when the shadow walkers had taken the ferals and Tyn.

  "One alchemist isn't going to change the world, Mr. Corbeaux," Fein said.

  "She's giving it a good try, though," Shadow said with a smile.

  "She is a fire cracker, that one. She's been keeping the hedgewitches topside on their toes," Rex said with a laugh.

  "So, are we just going to storm the Ceremonial's stronghold?" I asked.

  "We have a little more finesse than that," Fein said as he glanced at me with a smirk.

  Ronan and Magda were waiting for us in the main room. The lights flickered for a moment before they settled again.

  "Seren go and check the supply for those lights, make sure Lucie isn't trying to steal it again," Magda said to a tabby cat familiar.

  The man nodded his head and scurried off down the hallway.

  "We have two approaches to consider here," Ronan said as he pushed a set of blueprints across the table towards Fein.

  "Personally, I think we should take the two-pronged approach. We send a large force to the front to distract them and draw away their forces, then we have a smaller group go in the back and extract the people," Ronan said.

  Fein nodded and looked over the blueprints. They didn't mean much to me. I'd never studied military tactics. The anxiety crept up on me. We were so close to getting them back, now. It wouldn't be long before Keirn was back in my arms where he belonged.

  29

  The two-pronged approach was deemed to be the most reasonable way to go about things. I watched as Fein, Rex, and Ronan split the large group of beings around us into two halves. The cougars and Fein were paired off with a pair of hedgewitches and a dark-haired wolf feral that reminded me of Tala. The shadow walkers were put into the larger main group with me, Rex, and everyone else.

  "Given that Keirn and Vyx are my loved ones, I should be in the extraction group," I said to Fein.

  Fein gave me a sympathetic smile before he pulled me away from Magda and her witches to speak more privately.

  "Dacian, I understand that you want to be there, but your combat isn't up to the same standards as the rest of the extraction team's," he said gently.

  "Oh, come on! Don't give me that bullshit, I can hold my own in a fight," I growled.

  "You were kidnapped by a small group of shadow walkers and some weak familiars..."

  I rolled my jaw and looked away. I should be there to pull Keirn into my arms, to make sure Vyx was ok.

  "Your emotional investment will also hinder the group," Fein added.

  "What's that supposed to mean?" I snapped.

  "It means that you're more prone to acting rashly and putting the entire plan into jeopardy."

  Fein's expression was hardening. I was reaching the limit of how far I could push this before he forcibly stopped me from joining the extraction team.

  "Fine."

  Fein smiled and squeezed my shoulder.

  "We'll bring them back safe."

  He walked over to Ronan and began gesturing at various shadow walkers and such, leaving me to dwell on the fact that once again my supposed lack of combat ability was stopping me from being where I should have been. I'd have to put more work into sparring with the cougars and find some other people to help me up my game. If the gods were going to insist that I live in that world, I was going to make sure that I didn't have to be some passive watcher. It was time for me to step up and take control of the situation, and if that meant getting more blood on my hands, then so be it.

  "Don't worry, Dacian, we'll have them back here by midnight. Then all we have to do is secure the shadow orb and you can relax in front of the tv again," Rex said with a broad smile.

  "My life is more than watching the tv," I said.

  Rex looked away before he held up his hands.

  "Look, I didn't mean it like that. You just live a very different life to the rest of us."

  "So I keep hearing," I muttered.

  "Maybe if you stopped fighting Fein, then we'd stop making this point, and you could really make something of yourself," Luka growled.

  "I am not fucking fighting Fein." The anger swelled up within me.

  "Whatever. Just don't fuck up tonight," Luka said before he walked off to join Fein.

  "You'll do fine. Just keep pushing forward and don't let the emotion of the moment overwhelm you," Rex said.

  "I have been in fights before..."

  Rex just gave me that polite smile.

  "Can I have my stiletto?" I asked.

  Maybe if I changed the topic, things would be less unpleasant. Rex grinned and jogged off to retrieve a large black backpack full to bursting with something.

  "I have many beautiful blades and explosives in here. The Ceremonials won't know what hit them. It's very rare that I get to play with the big fights like this, I'm usually an assassin," he said with far too much glee.

  Rex very proudly opened up the bag and began pulling blades of all shapes and sizes out.

  "You're pretty attached to that little stiletto, so I thought you'd enjoy this," he said as he handed me a long, slender double-edged knife with a deep red blade.

  I held it in my hand and found it to be perfectly weighted. The red sent a shiver down my spine.

  "Don't worry, it's not blood. It's handy that it's already red, though," Rex said as he pulled out a number of flasks of brightly coloured liquids.

  "They're explosives. We might as well hit the Ceremonials where it hurts - their appearances. If we can make a few holes in their overpriced walls, then it'll really piss them off," Rex said with a grin.

  I put my stiletto back in its usual place and put the new blade on my left hip. Rex proceeded to hand out the other blades, ranging from small butterfly knives up to what appeared to be short swords. The ferals looked particularly pleased with their new weapons. The shadow walkers were less convinced.

  "We'll make our own shadow weapons," a woman said as she frowned at a broad-bladed knife.

  Rex shrugged. "Whatever works for you."

  He took the knife off her and hid it on his body.

  I'd watched him put away at least six blades, and I didn't know how many he already had on his person. He was absolutely in his element, and I couldn't quite decide how I felt about that.

  We'd been surrounded by a selection of witches, ferals, and shadow walkers. The witches hung back and clustered at the far edges of the group, while the ferals pressed in close around us and looked between Rex and his armory.

  "Dacian is going to stay close to me, Cas and her group will break the door in and start the charge. Matthew and his shadow walkers cover our ass. The rest of you are in the heart of the group with me and Dacian. Remember, we are there to cause heavy destruction and make sure that focus remains on us while the other guys get Keirn and Vyx out. Do not kill the ferals and other servants unless you have to. We want to offer them a chance at a better life. If you can convert them to our side, do it," Rex said.

  I smiled, feeling a bit better about the conversion attempts. I had to admit, I was quite looking forward to destroying the Ceremonial property, too. Some good old-fashioned destruction might be exactly what I needed to vent all of my frustration.

  "Keep your kills clean! Don't give them a chance to come back and stab us in the back," Rex said.

  Everyone nodded in understanding.

  "Fein, are we ready?" Rex called over.

  "We head out in five minutes," Luka replied.

  The elf and his small group were standing close together, heads bowed as they pointed at the blueprints and went back over their plan. I was depending on them to get Keirn back.

  30

  It wasn't easy moving a small army across the city without drawing too much attention. We moved through the underground city and came above ground a block away from the Ceremonials’ building. Fein and the extraction group separated from the main group at that point, and I felt my heart skip a beat. Taking a deep breath, I calmed myself and ran my fingers over my stiletto, grounding myself in the moment. We were going to kick Ceremonial ass and then return Keirn and Vyx.

  The ferals, a tall blonde witch, and her two familiars led the group directly up the broad steps of the building. We weren't looking to be subtle. We wanted all eyes on us, now that we were literally at their front door. The building flickered and rippled with the expensive weaver security system, and the death magician guards were missing from their posts. That didn't seem to faze anyone present. The first group threw explosive beakers and vials at the front door, causing the security system to flare brilliant blue-white before it began sparking. The witch cackled before she started moving her hands in long, slow, motions and chanting something. Her familiars pressed a deep green paste into the gaps on either side of the door while the ferals continued to throw explosives on either side of them.