Junk Magic by Karen Chance

Author:Karen Chance
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: urban fantasy, fantasy, women sleuths, fantasy action
Publisher: Karen Chance

Chapter Twenty-One

“Little one is feisty,” Ulmer growled, as we approached the entrance. “Should have been a Were. Unlike some.”

“I can be feisty,” I said, wondering what his problem was tonight.

Not that he was ever warm and cuddly, but provoking me wasn’t his usual style. He typically sent me a lip curl whenever we met and then ignored me, as if I was beneath his notice. Which as a rogue, I probably was.

So, the fact that he was being this open in his dislike meant that I was already in trouble.

And then he confirmed it.

“You can be stupid,” he growled. “Not the same thing!”

He’d held his comment until we’d passed through the entrance and left it behind, entering the twists and turns of a maze of high, narrow stone passages that branched through this place like a warren. Some were artificially straight, having been cut into the rock, while others had the dips and ripples of natural formations, carved by the wind and rain over millennia. All were dark, being only occasionally lit up by a smoking torch.

Very occasionally, since Weres see a lot better at night than I do.

That left the passageways dim, and even worse, any sound soon hit walls or dead ends and bounced back, causing a strange echoing void that few voices managed to escape. Cry for help in here and even a Were was unlikely to hear you. That thought didn’t help the itch at the bottom of my spine, which was getting higher and making my legs jittery, probably because they wanted to run back out of here.

Instead, I looked up at some strips of buff-colored cloth that had been stretched over the passage to provide protection from the sun. They were dark orange tonight, reflecting the light off the stones, and hadn’t been changed in a while, which had left them pretty ragged. As a result, the effect was less modern sail shades and more laundry left out on a line. They were flapping in a slight breeze, enhancing the effect of somebody’s long johns, but through the gaps the stars peered down.

I decided to stop being a pussy and came to a halt, wanting to know what I was getting into. Ulmer stopped with me, as if delighted to elaborate. Only maybe delighted wasn’t quite the right word.

“Alright, what is the problem?” I asked.

“You! You are the problem!”

“For what? Not being able to Change?”

“For being part of the ruling clan, but acting like a fool over a damned vargulf, and in public! How do you think that makes Sebastian look? Did you stop to think, for one second, what would have happened if you’d killed Gonzago?”

“Gonzago?”

This simple question seemed to enrage him even more. He snarled, the sound echoing ominously up and down the corridor. “This! This is what I mean, you stupid girl! You didn’t even know that you took down the head of the Brightwater clan. He couldn’t back down once you challenged—he’s a clan leader. He had to fight, and

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