Before I was done speaking, the area around us changed. The empty lot all the way to the underpass beneath the bridge was now filled with booths, people, lights, and noise. So much noise.

“Best deal for a love spell here!”

“Grow your cock three inches in one dose!”

“Look twenty years younger overnight!”

“Lose all the weight you want with our new potion!”

“It sounds like a bunch of late-night infomercials come to life,” I said, wincing. I remembered bazaars from ancient times, when they were commonly situated at the intersections of trading routes. Back then, they were one of the few ways you could experience different cultures. If I closed my eyes, I could still hear the sounds of people speaking long-dead languages, smell the delicious scent of meat from countless cooking pots, and see the blaze of fires that were the only illumination against the night.

Ian snorted. “They have the tourist-trap vendors in front. The real quality magic dealers are in the back.”

The booths weren’t merely lined up on either side of the orb-lit path. They were also above it. Some vendors sprinkled samples of their concoctions onto people below the way perfume hawkers at malls used to spritz unwary passersby. The layout reminded me of an advertising gauntlet. I doubted anyone had escaped with the full contents of their wallets intact.

We made our way through the vendors, ignoring the shouts directed at us from all sides and the dusting of spells from above. One briefly changed my hair color to brown, then red before it went back to my natural silvery-and-streaked state. Another dusting of magic powder gave me gigantic breasts that popped the buttons off of my jacket before it wore off. I ignored Ian’s grin at that spell, saying “no” very firmly to the vendor.

The crowds abruptly thinned as we approached the latter part of the vendors. The air changed, too. Faint hums of magic now felt like drumbeats along my skin. Ian was right. This section contained the real power.

“May, my lovely one,” Ian said, walking over to a booth covered in fine silks instead of the plastic coating that was common for the other vendors. “It’s been far too long.”

A regal-looking woman with red highlights in her ebony hair rose. “My beautiful one.” She greeted Ian, leaning over the table that displayed her wares to accept Ian’s kiss on each cheek. “It has indeed been too long. And who is this?”

“Ariel,” I answered before he had to figure out which name to call me. Then I extended my hand. “Pleased to meet you, May.”

She shook it. Her dark brown skin was warm, marking her as human, but the power tinging her aura denoted her a trueborn witch. There was also something in her gaze that made me believe she was much older than her mid-thirties appearance. Either she’d helped herself to some of the bazaar’s anti-aging spells, or she regularly drank vampire blood to stave off the effects of time.

“Charmed,” she said, then politely returned her attention to Ian. “What are you seeking tonight?”

“Six of the most potent spellbinders you have,” he replied.

“Six?” Her brows rose. “You must be intending to do something very dangerous or very lethal.”

Ian’s smile was instant. “Both.”

She paused, then shrugged. “Very well, but as always, if you are caught with these items, you did not get them from me.”

“Don’t fret, May.” Ian’s voice rang out with impish humor. “Law Guardians don’t scare me.”

I rolled my eyes. He couldn’t resist, could he?

After a large amount of gold changed hands, Ian had six carefully packaged binding objects in six different bags. “Remember, don’t allow the naked elements to touch each other until you’re ready to use them,” May said in parting.

“Pleasure doing business with you, as always,” Ian replied.

We were making our way back through the congested section of the bazaar when I felt a familiar, distinctive brush of power. “They found us,” I muttered to Ian.

“I know. Determined, aren’t they?” he noted without a hint of surprise.

Then a familiar voice shouted, “There you are!” so loudly, we heard it above the many vendors hawking their wares.

Ian turned at the same time I did. Cat gave us a merry wave as she pushed through the throng of shoppers between us. Bones was behind her, his expression as intense as Cat’s was falsely cheerful.

Inwardly, I sighed. You could run from family, but it seemed that you couldn’t hide.

Chapter 31

“It feels like it took forever to get here,” Cat said in a chipper tone when she reached us. “But wow, is this place ever worth it! I didn’t know magic users had their own version of a flea market. I am so getting that boob-booster spell. It’ll be fun having double D’s for a night, or maybe I should try—”

“How did you find us?” Ian interrupted her. “I know we lost you in the tubes.”

Cat gave him an arch look. “Oh, you did, but I have two words for you: tracking devices. I slipped one in both your pockets when I hugged you. You guys really went all out with the train hopping, didn’t you? It looked exhausting. That’s why Bones and I sat back and had some drinks while we watched the blips on our cell phones.”

I shifted Silver until I was holding him with one arm. Then I began searching my pockets. Sure enough, I found a tiny, flat device no bigger than a ladybug in my front pocket. I hurled it toward the nearby river, cursing the entire time. Karma was quick to get me with this one. Just the other day, I’d tricked Shayla into hugging me so I could track her. Now I’d been had the same way.

Ian handed me his remaining pouches of gold. Then he ripped his pockets completely off, hurling their contents and the material to the ground. He wasn’t taking a chance that Cat had slipped more than one tracker on him, it appeared.

“Clever,” he told Cat with his own fake grin. “I would’ve felt a spell, but I didn’t think to check for bits of tech.”

“Older vamps like you seldom do,” Cat assured him.

Bones drew abreast with Cat. He gave a measured look around the market before his gaze landed on Ian. “Unusual spot for a pair of honeymooners, isn’t it?”

“Says you,” Ian replied at once. “I have half a dozen magical sex toys in these bags.”

I also didn’t miss a beat. “I like it twisted. Real twisted.”

“Stop the pretense,” Bones snapped. “You’re not here for mystical bedroom props. Mencheres and Charles are combing through their allies trying to see if any of them knows what you’re really up to, but I wanted to give you another chance to simply tell us.”

“C’mon, Ian,” Cat said, dropping her false cheerfulness. “Something’s going on. Whatever it is, we want to help.”

I glanced at Ian. We really could use their help. Bones could use his telekinesis on Dagon if the mirror spell failed. Bones might not be strong enough to completely immobilize him, but he could slow Dagon down, and that might make all the difference. Moreover, Cat siphoned abilities from every vampire she drank from. She could be telekinetic herself from drinking Bones’s blood. She could also drink from Vlad and manifest fire, too. Or drink from the voodoo queen Marie Laveau to add grave power to that, and the list went on.

If I had friends this powerful, I’d have already enlisted their assistance. But Xun Guan was my dearest friend, and she’d be appalled at how many laws I was breaking. Mencheres was the only other person I might have considered reaching out to, but Ian had made me swear never to tell him about Dagon. Everyone else powerful enough to help that I’d trusted was dead. There was a price for living as many years as I had. That price was burying most of my dearest friends.