Shadow City (21 page)

“Tell me something I don’t know,” Max said, starting back out of the armory.

Ilanion followed, the aisles too narrow to allow him to walk beside her. “Have you a plan?”

“Nope. But I am pissed off and armed.” She stopped and turned around. “Just don’t let Scooter die before I get back.”

He frowned at her. “I’m coming with you.”

“What? Why? This isn’t your fight. If it doesn’t work, the Korvad will come after you. I didn’t think you wanted to risk that much.”

He smiled, and it was cold and violent. Max remembered just how dangerous he really was. “After some thought, I’ve decided that I do. The worst they can do is make it impossible for me to live in Chadaré. There are other places to live.”

“Have you seen Scooter? There’s a lot worse they can do,” she pointed out. “Like cut off your wings or pull out your heart.”

“I won’t let them.”

“I bet that’s what Scooter said, too,” she muttered, then shrugged. “If you can live with it, then who am I to argue?”

He smiled again, this time with an arrogance and impudence that made her mouth go dry. She doubted that many women would be immune to it. If she didn’t have her panties in a wad for Alexander, she’d be chomping on Ilanion like a crocodile on a wildebeest. “You can argue with me anytime,” he said, brushing a strand of hair out of her face. One brow flicked up smugly. “I might even let you win on occasion.”

Conceited bastard
. Max reached up and caught his face between her palms, standing on tiptoe so her lips were a bare inch from his. He watched her, sparks spinning hot in his brown eyes.

“Here’s the thing, Goldilocks. Right at this minute, I could twist your head off like the cap off a beer bottle, and there’s nothing you could do it about it. Don’t be dumber than you have to be, OK?” She patted his cheek and stepped back.

He grabbed her wrists and yanked her against him. His eyes were entirely gold now, and she could feel the magic thrumming along his skin. “There are a lot of worse ways to die. Besides, I usually get what—and
who
—I want.”

She shoved him, breaking his hold easily and sending him staggering backward. “This is going to be one of those unusual times, then.”

He grinned. “Can’t blame me for trying. A woman like you doesn’t come along often.”

She rolled her eyes. “You just want someone to cart you through the abyss whenever you feel like it.”

He didn’t deny it.

“If you’re done trying to flirt with me, could we get on with saving Scooter?” she asked. “I’d like him not to die.”

He sobered. “Do you want to see him before we go? In case we don’t return.”

She shook her head. “I don’t intend to lose today.”

Ilanion motioned for her to go ahead of him. “Does anybody ever intend to lose?”

“No. But the difference is that I have a horrendous personality flaw: I’d rather die than lose. Most people can’t say the same thing. If they do, they’re lying.”

“And you’re not.” It wasn’t exactly a question.

Max answered anyway. “No.”

“Does that mean you’ve never lost?”

She shook her head. “A few times.”

“And yet you’re still alive.”

“My ass has been pulled out of the fire more than once. But the fact is that most often, I win. And I’m going to win today. Dying isn’t an option.”

L
EAVING
I
LANION’S COMPOUND WAS TRICKY
. T
HE
place was under a giant microscope. No one was coming or going without the Korvad stopping them and grilling them over a crackling fire. Probably literally.

Ilanion wasn’t unprepared. He led Max deeper underground through a series of rough-hewn tunnels. They were narrow, and more than once, the eagle man could barely fit his wings through.

“Going to have to have the Enay work on that,” he said ruefully as Max pulled him through a particularly narrow spot. He had scrapes on his arms and legs where the armor didn’t extend. His gold-scaled wings were too tough to be damaged.

They must have gone another mile underground before they entered a narrow cavern. Stalactites hung down like dragon teeth. Below, a river rushed past.

“You can swim, can’t you?” Ilanion asked.

Max eyed the frothing water. “Haven’t drowned yet.”

“Let’s hope you don’t start today.”

He grabbed her hand and jumped. The water was frigid. Ilanion startled her by pulling her close against him. His wings folded around them both, and a moment later, the water drained from their cocoon, no doubt pushed by magic.

“Handy trick,” Max said. “Or is this just your way of trying to get into my pants?”

He laughed. “If it were, you’d have to do all the work. I’m a bit busy at the moment. But I’m perfectly willing to let you try.”

“Maybe next lifetime, Goldilocks.”

The water carried them swiftly. They bobbed like a cork, spinning and bouncing off the banks. After a particularly hard hit, Ilanion gasped, his mouth clamping tightly together.

“Are you going to live?” she asked.

“Maybe. Maybe not,” he rasped.

“Can I help? And don’t tell me to spank your monkey, or I swear I’ll kick your ass.”

He laughed and choked. He rested his forehead on her shoulder until the coughing subsided. At last, he lifted his head. “Don’t do that again, or we’re going to drown.”

“
You
might. I’ll swim.”

“Until you get eaten, maybe.”

“Eaten?”

“Not everything we’ve run into has been rocks. We’ve been attacked seven times so far.”

She scowled. “Are you OK?”

“How sweet. You’re concerned for me. Or are you worried about your life raft?”

She just stared at him.

“I am well enough. I can heal myself, and my wings are largely impervious to their teeth.”

“Largely? That sounds like mostly. From the way you’ve turned gray, you’ve been hurt. How bad?”

“Bad enough.” His jaw clenched, and his eyes were yellow except for a pinpoint of black in the middle. “I’ve got a puncture that went through my wing into my back. There’s poison in it.”

“Can you heal it?”

He nodded jerkily. “It’s going to take a few minutes. But we may have to leave the river before I can fly.”

“You’re not talking about climbing up onto the bank, are you?”

He shook his head. “There is a ward gate where we can drop away. No one knows of it, so we should be safe. As long as I can fly. Otherwise—”

He didn’t need to finish the sentence for Max to get the picture. “I can pull us into the abyss. We won’t die.”

“Which will deplete you again and delay retrieving Nayan’s belongings.”

Max snorted. Belongings. As if his heart, silk, and horn were junk he’d left behind in an old apartment. “And if we don’t leave the river through that gate?”

“Trouble.”

“Then if you can’t fix yourself, I’ll take us into the abyss. I’d rather be tired than dead.”

“Keep a tight grip. When we drop, I won’t have the strength to hold on to you.”

“Are you just trying to get me to feel you up?” Max said, putting her arms around his waist.

He chuckled but didn’t reply. His eyes were squeezed shut. Magic flared around them and swelled thick inside the cocoon of his wings. It nearly choked her. Both of Ilanion’s hearts thumped loudly in his chest, and his breathing was harsh against the wash of the river water. His muscles bulged as if he were struggling with a massive weight.

“Now,” he whispered, his neck cording.

Suddenly, they were falling. Max’s stomach lurched into her throat as they went into free fall. Just how the hell could they fall out of an underground river? The answer was obvious: she was trapped in an Escher painting. There was no other answer. She felt a rumble of laughter in her stomach and choked it back. Now wasn’t the time to get hysterical. Or get a case of gallows humor. She held tightly to Ilanion.

“Can you fly?” she demanded.

He didn’t answer.

She slapped his cheek with the flat of her hand. “Dammit! Do I take us into the abyss or not?”

She couldn’t tell if he heard her. The air whistled loudly around them. How far did they have to fall before they splatted on something? Ilanion’s wings still wrapped her tightly. She needed to make a decision.

“Ilanion!”

His eyes popped open. Golden light poured out of them. He stared, but she didn’t think he saw her.

“Ilanion, if you don’t start flying now, I’m pulling us into the abyss. Count of three. One. Two. Th—”

Before she could finish, his wings unfurled. There was a loud popping sound as they filled with air. He let out an agonized cry, his face twisting. The left wing wilted, and his arm hung limp. They started to drop again, spiraling like an autumn leaf on the wind.

“You can do better than that,” Max called, clinging to him. “Fight. It’s just pain. Get us down to the ground, and you can rest.”

She looked back over her shoulder to see just where the ground was.
Fuck
. It was coming up fast.

They were falling into a gray mass that might have been a lake or a parking lot. Either way, there wasn’t going to be a whole lot left of either of them when they hit.

Ilanion went rigid. Max could feel him pouring his energy into his healing. His body flared with magic. Suddenly, his wings began to beat, and they steadied.

Magic continued to burn around the eagle mage, and Max was grateful that she was wearing the protective armor. Otherwise, she’d have been cooked extra crispy.

They sank lower, their progress growing more controlled as Ilanion healed himself. It was impressive. Self-healing took a huge toll, and to do it while flying pretty much confirmed that he was at least part god. Max blew out a slow breath. What had she got herself into? The Korvad controlled Chadaré and clearly made Ilanion nervous. They’d stripped Scooter of his power. How the hell was
she
going to fight them?

With style
. She could almost hear Niko’s voice. She grinned, despite herself.
Do try not to die, won’t you?
That was Tyler. It would have been followed by a delicate yawn. And Oz:
Keep your head down and don’t be stupid
. Lise:
Bitch, do not even think about leaving me alone with all this testosterone
. Giselle:
You can’t win if you die, so suck it up
. Tutresiel:
Princess, you aren’t even trying if you’re dying.

And Alexander:
Come home
.

Max closed her eyes, pain squeezing her hard. She missed them all so much. Inside her mind, a ribbon floated through, questioning, distressed. Her armor. She laughed, nearly choking herself. Her armor was worried about her. She was going insane.

Swallowing hard, she stuffed her emotions down into her fortress where they belonged. She needed to keep her cool if she was going to survive.

She looked down again. The gray area below was neither a lake nor a parking lot. It was a pool of shadow. It rippled and swirled like smoke off a raging fire. Max couldn’t see a damn thing through it.

“Hold tight,” Ilanion said roughly. “Things are about to get interesting. Trust me. I’ll get us through.”

In other words,
Don’t take us into the abyss
. Max nodded understanding. He gave her a pirate grin, and then his wings clamped tightly down, and they plummeted into the shadows.

Instantly, they were caught up in a maelstrom. Hurricane winds slammed them from every side, battering them with invisible fists. Had Ilanion’s wings been unfurled, Max was pretty sure they’d have been ripped off.

She had no good sense of how long they remained inside the shadow storm. Nor could she tell if they were making any progress in any direction. They spun and whirled until she was dizzy and nauseated. Ilanion’s magic continued to flare brightly, and his face was a mask of concentration.

Suddenly, the storm let them go. Ilanion tipped them sideways, and his wings flared. Max sucked in deep breaths, trying to steady her shaking muscles.

“What was that?”

“A shortcut. No one will track us through it. Only a handful of people can navigate it all. Most who try get stranded inside and die.”

“Nobody knows you can go through it, do they?” Max asked shrewdly.

He shook his head. “Only you.”

“How’s your wing and arm?”

“I’ll live.”

The aura of his magic was subsiding, and his skin was cooling. His eyes remained brilliant yellow, and he looked strong. His arm no longer hung limp, and his wings flapped powerfully as they flew high across the city.

Max stared down at the sprawling place in amazement. From above, Chadaré looked as if it went on forever. She could see the enormous open space where she and Scooter had taken refuge and she’d fought off the hunter. The Torchmarch was a sea of shadow pricked by flashes of firelight.

“How big is this place?” Max wondered.

“It’s difficult to say. Chadaré is always changing. Parts of it sometimes simply disappear. Sometimes they return, sometimes they don’t. At least, not yet. But I would guess there are at least eight or nine million beings inhabiting the city. The Torchmarch contains more than two million alone.”