Calder raised an eyebrow, plucking an untouched piece of sausage from Lucy’s abandoned plate.
I rolled my eyes. “Don’t start.”
“I didn’t say anything.”
“You said it with your face.”
“Can’t control what my face knows.”
“That makes no sense, Calder Grimm.”
His eyes narrowed. “You’ll get it later. Pretty sure.”
The townhousein the Tangles was squeezed between a tannery that reeked of chemicals and decay with the rain, and an apothecary that used to be run by witches who’d vanished three months ago. Now operated by nymphs, the only things you could get in there were blood and bad hangovers.
The building itself was narrow, three stories of weathered brick that sagged slightly to the left. Windows featured faded curtains. A door painted sky blue suggested it might have been cheerful here once.
But the door stood slightly ajar.
Calder’s hand went to the blade on his belt immediately. I glanced up at Silas to make sure he was still there. Ready. Watching.
“That’s not good,” Calder whispered.
“Could be nothing. The wind. Maybe it won’t close properly.”
He shook his head. “You don’t believe that.”
“No.”
Before we could move closer, a flash of blue darted overhead. Pip descended in a spiral, her wings drooping from the heavy rain.
“Syn! Calder!” She swooped down near his shoulder, slightly out of breath. “I was just heading to Colly’s shop in the Tangles. She knows everyone and everything, when I spotted you two. What are you doing here?” Her eyes found the open door. “I thought you were going to the Crook?”
“We did,” Calder said smoothly. “Got an address immediately. Someone said they’d seen a fire witch matching the Phoenix’s description.”
The lie was almost too easy. Pip didn’t question it, but her expression turned serious.
“The door’s open,” she observed.
“We noticed.”
She pulled out her tiny sword, barely longer than my finger but sharp enough to cut through leather, at least. “Right then, we'd better go together.”
Shit. There’d be no getting rid of her now.
I reached into my pocket, pulling out the rune I’d woven last night while everyone else slept. The slate was still warm from my inscription of the symbols for concealment and protection, woven together in a pattern that took me years to perfect.
“Here,” I said, holding it out to Pip. “It’ll help hide you. Make you harder to see, harder to target.”
Her eyes went wide. “You made this? For me?”
“Last night. But be warned?—”
She snatched it before I could finish, pressing the rune against her chest.
Immediately, her entire body went rigid. Her wings froze mid-flutter. Calder dove to catch her, and a grimace twisted her small face. I saw her teeth clench against what had to be excruciating pain.
“It’s going to hurt,” I finished weakly. “The magic has to sync with your own. I’m sorry, I tried to warn you?—”
