“One of the openings to Shade City is right between these two houses,” Dash said, his voice a little muffled by the skull gaiter covering his mouth. “It’s a lesser-known entrance, so it won’t be guarded. I hope.”
Ihope. A key word that meant to be prepared to possibly be attacked the second we walked through.
I tilted my head to peer between the two houses at the rundown backyards, wondering how in the world it was going to lead to an entire city. Shades were known for their wealth and extravagance. Shade Tower in New York was one of the nicest and most high-tech buildings in the city, but I was not impressed with what I was looking at right now.
Gage chuckled at the look on my face when I turned back toward him and the others. “The wards don’t just keep Lumens and humans from entering Shade territory, they also conceal what it really looks like,” he said. “What you’re seeing right now is just an illusion.”
An illusion? That was serious magic.
“Have you been here before?” I asked.
“Yeah, a time or two with my father when I was younger.”
I glanced between Dash and Gage, wondering if they might have known each other when they were younger. At the very least, they probably knewofeach other, since they both came from such prominent Shade families.
“Everyone follow my lead, and that includes you,” Dash said with a pointed look at my boyfriend.
Gage jerked his chin, indicating he understood.
Dash shifted from foot to foot, looking more high-strung than I’d ever seen him before. “We’re going to walk straight through the wards as if it’s something we do every day. If anyone stops us, let me do the talking.”
Indigo and I nodded in understanding.
Dash stepped up to the backyard gate, and we followed. I peered into the window of the houses we stood between to see that there was no furniture or curtains. It looked abandoned, and the counters were covered in a thick layer of dust.
Dash put his hand on the lock and froze, looking back at Gage. “On second thought, maybe you should partially hellhound out just as we walk through to make sure the wards register you as a demon. And take that off too,” Dash said, nodding at the bracelet on Gage’s wrist that matched the one I now wore.
Gage nodded and pocketed the bracelet, and we all tried to ignore the fact that my boyfriend had casually been referred to as ademontwice today. With a final deep breath, Dash flipped the top latch of the lock open and the gate swung wide.
One by one we filed through the narrow gate, and as I entered the wards, they shimmered blue for a split second, sending a burst of heat across my skin.
I gasped to find we were now standing in an alleyway that opened onto a large city. Two high-rises soared into the sky on either side of us. Dash shut the gate behind us and the opening to the rundown houses disappeared into a dead-end brick wall.
Dash was cool, calm, and collected as he walked through the alleyway, not stopping to talk to us or huddle together. We walked in like we owned the place. Gone was Dash’s previous tension and stiffness. Now he was all swagger and chill.
I wasn’t sure if someone was watching us or if the warded entrances to Shade City were being recorded, so I followed his lead.
Gage had momentarily allowed his hellhound to come to surface, and now it had retreated. Indigo looked the most comfortable, probably because she was still an actual Shade and less likely to get killed for trespassing or zapped by the wards.
Once we stepped out between the alleyway and onto the main street, I stared in amazement at the city before me. It was a mixture of high-rise apartment buildings and businesses. The storefronts looked normal, with signage likeCorner Grocery,Suits by Johnny, andLuxury Cars. But as we passed another few buildings I saw an alley that had some more sinister signs out front.Armory, Netherworld Express, Demon Lodge.
Okay, let’s not go down that way.
I didn’t want to know what kind of residents resided inside the Demon Lodge, nor did I want to know what the Netherworld Express was. I tried to school my features as a level ten demon crossed the street right in front of us, her eyes glowing red. A level eight with three sets of horns protruding from her head casually stepped up to her side, taking notes on something the level ten had said.
Holy crap. Be cool. Be cool. Don’t look Lumen.
Gage stepped back a pace and threw an arm around my shoulder, tucking me into his body. It looked totally natural for a dating couple, but I knew he was drawing me close in case of an altercation.
The demons passed, crossing the street and slipping into a nondescript building as if we weren’t even here.
The streets were busy, everyone doing their own thing, either talking to a friend or on the phone. This place was seemingly normal if you didn’t look too closely or know what wasreallyhappening.
We passed a loud pool hall where music and shouting filtered out onto the street. Dash paused outside the doorway and stilled, looking inside the entrance at a group of young guys arguing. One of them snapped his head up and looked right at Dash, eyes narrowing. Dash moved away quickly, slipping around the corner and down the adjacent street, and we ran to catch up.
“Hey!” a guy yelled behind us, causing Gage and me to freeze. We turned and looked at the guy who’d narrowed his eyes at Dash.
“Where’s your friend?” he asked Gage as he peered at Indigo and then to me.
