Shadows of the Woods

Chapter 2

"I can't believe this." Apollo muttered to me as he walked us out the front door. "I cannot believe this!"

"They were being so rude." I offered up lamely.

"Not just that." He pulled me through the crowded streets; the lights shimmered and glowed in a rainbow of colours and someone was playing a lilting tune on a lyre, but Apollo's mind was still in the grand council chamber. "They were being so obtuse! Do they actually think those cases are isolated? Nothing is isolated in the magical world."

"So what do we do now?" I asked him worriedly, narrowly avoiding trampling on the tail of a mongool in front of me. Apollo was moving so fast.

He suddenly drew to an abrupt stop, and I almost bumped into him. Apollo turned to face me, his other hand taking my free one. His face looked frustrated and irritated, and to my sorrow, weary. He sighed and leaned his forehead against mine as he looked into my eyes; around us the crowd moved like a river would around a rock.

"Now." He sounded so tired. "Now, Lilah, we need to figure this out for ourselves."

---

Apollo kept a firm grip  on my hand as we entered The Painted Lady, and I couldn't say I blamed him.

The pub had to be the sketchiest place I'd ever been to in my life. It's cavernous interior was jam packed with people of all magical entities, and the dim interior lit only by green and yellow torches gave the atmosphere a sickly kind of tinge. A black counter stretched the length of the wall opposite the door, and a couple of witches dressed scantily hurried back and forth to accommodate cat-calling patrons that crowded the bar. There was a dance floor to the left of the entrance where people swayed and jumped to something slow and sultry that a shifter band was performing, and the rest of the space was crammed with rickety tables and stools. With a single glance, I could tell that the table space was usually used for shady deals and under-the-table purchases. The place looked like it came straight out of a movie.

Apollo pulled me through the crowd determinedly until we reached the bar. I glanced at him in surprise; Apollo didn't usually drink. Was he so shaken by what we'd seen in the woods that he'd actually broken down?

He caught my worried look. "We need to blend in!" He shouted above the noise in my ear. "This is a pub. We'll attract more attention if we don't have something to drink in our hands."

I nodded dubiously as he turned away and somehow managed to politely elbow his way through the crowd at the bar, but I had a feeling we were already attracting attention. I could feel stares on the back of my head, and even more were trained on Apollo.

"This isn't the place for a young lady to be in alone." A grizzled voice said in my ear.

I jumped and turned to find a huge, hulking werewolf with dark, silvery eyes looking down at me skeptically. His face was pockmarked with dozens of scars, and I could see with a quick glance that he was missing a few fingers.

I gulped. "I'm not alone."

"Oh?" He rose an eyebrow and scrutinized me. I squirmed in terrible discomfort.

"She's not, Fang." Apollo materialized beside me, two tall glasses of something icy blue and shimmery in his hands, and I immediately relaxed before looking between them in confusion. He knew this guy??

"Apollo Ambrosia." To my amazement, a surprisingly warm and attractive smile stretched across the werewolf's face. "I should have known someone as pretty as this one was with you. What are you doing somewhere as seedy as the Lady? Don't you have some royal ball to attend?"

"Not currently." Apollo smiled dryly at the werewolf. "I was actually looking for you."

"That can't be good." Fang guffawed before his face suddenly became serious. "Can it?"