the huntress 04 - eternal magic by Linsey Hall Read Free Book Online Page B

stared down at the phone. “Looks like we’re going to Darklane. I think Aerdeca and Mordaca have something to tell us.”
    “You trust her?”
    I shrugged. “Enough to go. They might have the info we need.”

 
     
     

    CHAPTER THREE
     
    Aidan and I followed Del and Nix to Darklane. By the time we pulled into the creepy neighborhood, I was nearly vibrating with nerves, hoping that Aerdeca and Mordaca would tell me where Aethelred had gone.
    Aerdeca and her sister, Mordaca, ran the Apothecary’s Jungle, a shop in Darklane that specialized in Blood Sorcery, Aerdeca and Mordaca’s particular gifts. I’d gone to them for help once, but it’d been pricey. If they had info now, I wondered how much it would cost.
    Dark figures lurked in shadows, watching our car as it drove slowly by. Buildings loomed on either side of the street, cutting out the last of the setting sun. Though they were only three stories high, they always seemed to block out the light. Even at high noon. Their historic fronts were covered with grime, lending the place its name.
    Darklane was where you lived if you worked with magic’s darker side. The kind that harmed as well as helped. But that didn’t necessarily make it bad. It was all up to interpretation.
    Though these supernaturals were occasionally on the wrong side of the law, most weren’t outright lawbreakers. The Magica didn’t tolerate that. Folks in Darklane walked the line with things like blood magic—illegal if done without the consent of the donor, but otherwise acceptable. 
    Aidan slowed the car to a crawl, and we rolled by the narrow buildings, looking for the sign for Assassin’s Brew. I’d never been to that bar because I liked to stay out of Darklane. Just because most people here weren’t outright criminals didn’t mean there wasn’t a higher percentage of them. Though it wasn’t the criminals I was worried about. It was the cops. More criminals equaled more cops, and I wasn’t about to hang out in a place where the Order of the Magica was more likely to be looking for wrongdoing.
    My existence as a FireSoul meant that I was pretty much always guilty. No way in hell I was increasing my chances of getting tossed in the Prison for Magical Miscreants.
    “There it is.” I pointed to a building that had once been blue. A sign hung over the door that read Assassin’s Brew. The letter A was formed with two daggers. Clever. 
    Aidan found a parking spot along the street, and we climbed out of the car. Ornate, Oliver Twistian street lamps shined yellow light on the grimy sidewalk.
    I dodged a suspicious blue goo that stuck to the ground and met Nix and Del by the door. I couldn’t say my fingers didn’t twitch toward my knives even though I knew Darklane was mostly safe.
    But in the magical world, you couldn’t take mostly to the bank. Without my magic, I felt a bit naked. I reminded myself that I’d spent most of my life relying on my wits and weapons, so I’d be fine now. 
    The windows on either side of the door glowed warmly. Inside, people crowded around the bar and hunched over small tables. I pulled open the heavy wooden door and slipped inside, Del, Nix, and Aidan at my back.
    Voices were muted, and the ceiling was low. It was a real old-school pub with lots of wood and only a few taps. There were no blue liqueurs behind the bar, unless you counted the weird potions for sale. But nothing called Wicked or Sexxxy, like you’d find at a city club.
    Aerdeca and Mordaca sat on bar stools near the wall, looking entirely too fabulous to be in a place like this. As usual, Mordaca looked like Elvira, with her plunging, slinky black dress, bouffant black hair, and mask-like eye makeup. Aerdeca was her golden opposite, wearing an elegant white pantsuit that she magically managed to pull off. I was beginning to wonder if that was her uniform in the same way that Elvira-chic was Mordaca’s. 
    They both waved at us, an identical flutter of their fingertips. Mordaca’s