She kept her eyes on that arrow. It was starting to tremble. “You’d let me walk out of here? After getting so close and killing so many of your men?”

“They knew the risks,” said Earl. “Yes, I’d let you go. I wouldn’t advise ever setting foot in Chicago again, though.”

The arrow was really trembling now. She didn’t much like the idea of seeing it fly.

“I think I’ll take you up on your offer,” she said, stepping away from the wall and opening the door. “One piece of advice, though. There’ll be another group of sorcerers stopping by, going after the same thing. You’d be doing me a big favour if you hid the bow and didn’t let them get their hands on it.”

“Thanks for the warning.”

“No problem. One professional to another, and all that.”

She went to leave.

“Miss Low?”

She looked back.

“You wouldn’t want a job, would you? I have more Necromancers arriving tomorrow, but someone of your skills could go far in this racket.”

She smiled. “You’re sweet, and I appreciate the offer, but I have a racket of my own to get back to. You take care now, Mr Earl. And keep that bow safe.”

She left, hurrying down the corridor. Around the next corner, his back to her, was a man with a gun with one hand pressed to his earpiece.

“Say again,” said the man. “How many? Hello? Hello, can you hear me?”

Tanith kicked him in the side of the head. He crumpled and she took his earpiece, listened to the static and the chatter and then Earl’s voice.

“There’s a woman,” she heard him say. “Brown leather, blonde hair. Sword on her back. Kill her. Shoot her on sight. Do not let her escape.”

Tanith left the unconscious man and walked on. Mobsters. Just can’t trust them.

She dispatched two more on her way down. At the bottom of the stairs was the main warehouse area. There were goons with guns in here, too, but it was no trouble to avoid them by walking along the ceiling. She flipped to the ground and approached the door, and slowed. The exit was right there, waiting for her, but it was open. Exposed. The kind of place that begged for an ambush.

She risked a peek. The body of a gunman lay crumpled. She peeked to the other side, saw another dead gunman. Smiling a little, she passed through, wary of traps, but feeling confident. Her phone buzzed.

“Cleaning up here,” said Sanguine. “You about done?”

“I’m outside,” she said. “Thanks for taking care of that ambush for me.”

There was a pause, sounds of a scuffle, and then a yelp of pain and then Sanguine was back. “What ambush was that?”

“The two guys waiting for me to poke my head out,” she said.