Her smile didn’t waver. “That can be arranged too, darlin’. Though it seems like such a waste of that pretty face.” She leaned closer, the contract hovering between us. At that moment, I made my decision. With a sharp push, I dislocated my thumb, biting my cheek to keep from screaming as pain shot up my arm. My hand slipped free of the restraints.
The Madam’s eyes widened in surprise—the only warning she got before I sprung up from the chair and swung my still-bound hands like a club, connecting with the side of her head with a satisfying crack. She went down hard, the contract fluttering forgotten to the floor. Granite roared in fury, lunging for me, but I was already diving to the side, narrowly avoiding his massive fist as it cracked the concrete where my head had been seconds before.
I scrambled to my feet, still dizzy from blood loss and pain, and ran for the nearest window. Smokey’s darkness surged toward me, tendrils of shadow trying to wrap around my ankles. I jumped, crashing through already broken glass, fresh cuts opening across my face and arms.
Landing hard on gravel, I barely had time to register the pain before a hand closed around my ankle. I kicked out blindly, connecting with something solid. There was a grunt of pain, and the grip loosened just enough for me to wrench free.
The forest loomed ahead, dark and forbidding, but it offered cover. I ran, adrenaline numbing the worst of the pain as branches whipped against my already-bloody face. Behind me, I could hear the heavy footfalls of Granite and the whisper-silent movement of Smokey’s shadows.
“The wolves,” I heard the Madam command from somewhere behind me, her voice tight with fury. “Get the wolves!”
Fear gave my legs new strength as I crashed deeper into the trees. Wolves. Shadow wolves—the most vicious of the shadow realm predators, capable of tearing a man apart in seconds. A howl split the night, too close for comfort. Not an ordinary wolf—the sound was wrong, like glass breaking underwater.
Moonlight broke through the canopy, illuminating a small clearing ahead. I stumbled toward it, hoping for better visibility, for some advantage. Blood dripped from my various cuts, leaving a trail even a novice could follow. For shadow wolves, it might as well have been a neon sign.
The first wolf emerged from the darkness to my left—massive, its body seeming to absorb the moonlight rather than reflect it. Eyes like toxic waste glowed in its skull, and smoke curled from its fur with each movement. Two more materialized on my right, cutting off my escape.
I backed up until my shoulders hit rough bark. Trapped. I’d led myself straight into their perfect hunting ground.
The pack circled slowly, coordinating their approach with the patient certainty of apex predators. My glamour would be ineffective against these creatures. They hunted by instinct, not sight—they could sense the power beneath my skin.
I pressed my back against the rough bark, mind racing through limited options. My usual tricks wouldn’t work here. The blue fire that marked me as a will-o’-wisp was something I used sparingly—quick flashes to distract, to redirect attention, to create openings for escape. Never as a weapon.
Unfortunately, I was out of options.
The lead wolf tensed, haunches coiling for the final lunge. I closed my eyes for a moment, reaching for that familiar well of power I usually kept tightly capped. When I opened them again, my fingertips were already tingling with suppressed energy.
“Let’s see how you like the light,” I muttered, feeling the cool burn of blue fire rising to the surface.
The wolf sprang forward, jaws opening impossibly wide to reveal teeth like polished obsidian. I threw up my hands, releasing the control I normally maintained with such careful precision. Blue flames erupted from my palms—not the gentle, hypnotic wisps I used for distraction, but concentrated streams of cerulean fire that illuminated the clearing in ghostly light.
The wolf yelped as the flames caught it mid-leap, sending it sprawling. The magic burned through its smoky fur, leaving patches that glowed like dying embers. The creature’s howl of pain sent shivers down my spine, but I couldn’t afford mercy. Not now.
I’d never channeled this much power at once. The sensation was exhilarating and terrifying—like standing in the eye of a storm I wasn’t sure I could control.
The remaining wolves hesitated, their toxic-green eyes reflecting my blue fire. They’d expected easy prey, not this. I took advantage of their uncertainty, swinging my arm in a wide arc, trailing blue flames like a whip. It caught one across the muzzle, drawing another glass-shattering howl.
The third wolf’s teeth snapped inches from my throat—I barely got my forearm up in time. Its bite sank into flesh, but my magic flared on contact. The creature recoiled, its jaw smoking where it had touched me, shadows burning away to reveal the emptiness beneath.
Blood ran hot down my arm, but adrenaline kept the pain at bay. I called for more power, surprised at how readily it answered—as if it had been waiting for permission to be unleashed. The blue flames danced higher, crawling up my arms in patterns that matched the racing of my pulse.
The wolves circled more cautiously now, wary of the light emanating from my skin. I could feel the strain of maintaining this level of power. My vision tunneled, dark spots dancing at the edges. My knees threatened to buckle. This wasn’t sustainable—will-o’-wisps weren’t meant to burn this bright for this long.
The largest wolf gathered itself for another attack. I met it with a desperate surge of power that made my vision white out momentarily. The blast caught it square in the chest, and for a moment, it hung suspended in the air. Then, with a sound like thunder imploding, it disintegrated—smoke and shadow collapsing in on itself until nothing remained.
The other wolves attacked as one, sensing my weakening state. I stumbled backward, blue fire flaring from my hands in uncontrolled bursts. One caught a wolf in the throat, leaving a burning hole clean through to the other side. It dissolved like the first, but not before its claws raked down my side.
Pain lanced through me, but I kept the flames flowing, drawing on reserves I rarely accessed. The third wolf leapt, and I threw myself to the side, rolling through undergrowth and coming up bleeding from a dozen fresh cuts. The wolf had overshot, and my next blast caught it from behind. It shattered like black glass, fragments dissolving into nothing before they hit the ground.
I collapsed to my knees, chest heaving, the light flickering and dying around my trembling hands.
Victory was short-lived.
From the shadows between the trees, darkness coalesced into Smokey’s human form—or what passed for it. His face contorted with rage as he surveyed the empty clearing where his wolves had been.
“You’ll pay for that,” he hissed, darkness pouring from his fingers like liquid night. “Those were my favorites.”
I tried to summon more light, but I was drained. My arms drooped like lead weights, and when I tried to stand, my legs betrayed me. I’d given everything to defeat the wolves.
