A Job From Hell (Ancient Legends #1)

were at least
ten or fifteen of those. After only two, my body was already shaking from too
much effort.
    Setting my jaw, I took a deep breath and
forced my tired thighs into motion, pushing against the wall to take the strain
off my shoulders. I wasn’t going to quit—not least because I had no clue
how to get down again, and dangling in mid-air wasn’t an option. By the time I
fitted the last hook and lifted myself through the opening in the ceiling, my
back was slick with sweat and my heart hammered in my chest, probably publicizing
an imminent heart attack. I crawled a few feet so I wouldn’t fall back in and
stretched out on the grass to wait for my trembling limbs to stop shaking.
    The moon stood high on the horizon. It was
just a round circle, but it gave enough dim light to see as far as the woods in
the distance. Pushing up on my elbows, I scanned the semi-darkness around me.
So I had found and retrieved the book, but where were the black, winged guys to
take me back? They either figured I’d take longer and were still on coffee
break, or I was supposed to find my way home.
    “Hey, can anyone hear me?” I cringed at
myself for talking into thin air.
    “Did you get out?” Aidan sounded nervous,
doubtful.
    “Yep, but there’s a problem,” I said. “My
taxi’s not here.”
    “Huh?”
    Did I have to spell out everything? “I’ve
no idea how to get home. I know I should’ve left a trail of bread crumbs or
something, but you didn’t pack me breakfast.”
    “Cass’s demon guardians aren’t there?” Devon
asked. “That’s bad.”
    He didn’t say. I rolled to the side and
went about stretching my arm muscles. “So, since you’re the fabulous event organizer,
how am I supposed to get home now? Do I get a replacement car, or do you expect
this tourist to walk all the way back home?”
    “Don’t worry, we’ll get you out,” Devon
said.
    “You’d better hurry if you want the book,
otherwise I can’t guarantee I won’t forget to bring it with me.” I knew it was
petty to sulk, but you’d think after I did all the hard work for them, the
Shadows could at least ensure my departure went according to plan.
    Maybe the creatures lingered close by,
passing the time until they were called. Lifting my aching body off the ground,
I started in the direction of the nearby bushes, figuring I wouldn’t venture
too far in case they turned up. The scent of pines hung heavy in the air. Were
there pine trees in Scotland? I had no idea, but we had flown over water, hills
and woods, and the air was too dry here, and the sun had only been setting when
I arrived. I figured, this place had to be somewhere in the United States, a
place with a few hours time difference and where conifers grow.
    The moonlight reflected in something shiny
behind the bushes. I bent to have a closer look when my sleeve caught in the
thicket, a sharp twig grazing the skin on the back of my hand. I yelped at the
sudden pain and pulled away, tearing a hole in my favorite coat. Then I realized
this was my spiritual coat. My real coat was on my real body guarded by Aidan,
Cass and Kieran. I let out a sigh of relief, stifling the uneasy feeling inside
the pit of my stomach.
    “Are you all right?” Aidan asked.
    “I’m fine,” I said through gritted teeth.
Nature really wasn’t my friend.
    The scratch stung as though hundreds of
needles pierced my skin. Something hot and sticky trickled down my fingers. I
gazed in awe at the thin, almost black rivulet dripping to the ground. Blood.
Great. Now I’d have to get stiches when I got home. While others brought photos
and key rings from their trips, my souvenir would be a freaking scar.
    I wiped my right sleeve over the wound and
kneeled down, pushing the other hand through the thicket to reach for the shiny
object, ignoring the voice inside my head that kept asking whether I really
wanted to squeeze my hand, leg or any other part of my body in there. Hell,
yeah. I had to know what the shiny thing was. The scar wouldn’t be for nothing.
My fingers connected with something smooth and cold, the size of my palm.
Digging my nails into the ground, I scraped at the sharp borders until the
object came loose, then I pulled.
    The ground shook beneath my feet. I jumped
back, my left sleeve catching in the same branch as before. The earth trembled
again, this time harder. An earthquake below the bushes in the same moment I
retrieved some sort of palm-sized mirror. What were the odds? Carefully,