by Jaye Wells
Volos and I exchanged a look. I wished I’d been able to question the sorceress. Ask her if she meant that Aphrodite would kill us or that the potion would never work.
We didn’t have the luxury of wondering. Our only choice was to move forward. Carefully.
Volos placed the shavings into the container of Aqua Regia. The mixture immediately bubbled and hissed. It had been gold in color, but now it transformed to black, white, yellow, and, finally, red.
Volos blew out a breath. “I think that’s it.”
“Finally!” Aphrodite shouted. “Let’s get this show on the road.”
“Hold on,” I said, “I need to be sure.”
“Kate,” Morales said, his voice strained from pain and fatigue, “hurry.”
He looked like he’d aged ten years. I gave him a weak thumbs-up and turned back to the task.
Volos, knowing what was coming, stepped back. I turned my back to everyone and closed my eyes. I heard him say something to the others in a low tone, but I actively blocked everything out after that.
Inhaling a deep breath, I scanned down my body, focusing on relaxing each limb. I willed my cells to tune into the vibrations of magic running through my body. When everything was humming, I finally opened my eyes.
The potion looked different now. Instead of the simple red liquid from earlier, it now glowed iridescent and thrummed with power. Above the glow, I saw the red dragon of Yü Nü’s magic. Next to that were two crowned serpents swallowing each other’s tails in an infinity symbol. I realized with a start that this image was supposed to be my magic mixed with Volos’s power.
Swallowing hard, I focused on the images again, looking beyond the surface markers that identified the wizards who’d created the magic and beyond to the heart of the potion. There, circling in the air over the potion, was a soaring red phoenix.
I released all of my energy at once, nearly collapsing from the rush of power. Volos caught me and steadied me. “It’s good,” I gasped. “We did it.”
Suddenly, there was a rush of movement around us. Gregor and the other guards ushered all of us onto the platform.
“Wait,” I yelled, “we did what you asked. Let us go.” I pointed at the blood coating Morales’s torso. “He needs medical attention.”
Aphrodite had that mask back on, a leering sun burning in the dark. “The proof will be in the pudding. No one is free until the rites are complete.”
A guard dropped Morales at my feet. I knelt down to support him. “Hang in there, okay?”
He was paler now and his skin was coated in a fine sheen of cold sweat. I grabbed his hand to help him rise and Volos looped his arm under to support Morales’s weight on the other side.
On the other side of the platform, Duffy and Yü Nü huddled together. Aphrodite climbed onto their crucifix. They seemed to have dismissed the unconscious Harry Bane in the corner. I’d seen him twitch a time or two, so I didn’t think he was dead. In fact, he was probably the safest of all of us at that point because he wasn’t going up to the stage for whatever horror show Aphrodite had planned.
“All right, kiddies, smile. It’s show time.” Aphrodite threw their head back to look up at the trap door overhead. “Send up the guards.”
Half of the armed men left the basement. Presumably, they were going up to the stage to ensure Aphrodite’s safety if any of the law enforcement agents in the audience decided to try to play hero.
From somewhere in the theater, trumpets blared. A cheer rose from the crowd.
Gregor placed a headset on the Hierophant’s head. A moment later, when they spoke, the sound echoed from above, as if they were being broadcast into the theater.
“Ladies, gentlemen, and everyone in between, thank you so much for attending this sacred occasion tonight. In a moment, we will begin the rites. You will notice that some of my personal security staff are posted on the stage. Don’t be alarmed. They are there to ensure the safety of everyone involved. We have also taken the liberty of locking the doors to the theater.”
Gasps filtered down. Aphrodite smiled. A murmur of alarm rose in the theater.
“Again, this is for your own protection. Assuming everything goes to plan, no one will be harmed. Now, let the show begin!”
The pulley system squeaked and groaned. The platform lurched and then we were rising steadily toward the hole in the ceiling.
I looked at Volos, whose expression was uncharacteristically anxious. Morales squeezed my hand. I looked at him.
“That potion going to work?”
I nodded. “Looks like.”
“How do you know?”
I sighed. “Because it’s what I do.”
“Meaning?” He frowned.
Time to come clean. “I can read magic. Tell who made it and what it does.”
His face tightened. I braced myself for the recriminations. Defensive retorts already began to form in my head. But then his expression cleared and he leaned into me. “Jesus, Kate. I’m sorry,” he said. “I’m so damned sorry.”
“Don’t.” I closed my eyes and enjoyed the solid weight of him against me. Close by, I could feel Volos watching us, but I didn’t care. “It doesn’t matter right now. Just save your energy. We’re going to need to be strong and fast to get out of this.”
“Actually,” Volos said, “if bullets start flying, it’s going to take a fucking miracle.” He glanced at Morales and me. A tight smile appeared on his lips. “But strong and fast won’t hurt, either.”
When Morales didn’t try to get the final word in, I realized he must be in worse shape than I realized.
Shouting from up above echoed down to us. Guess the crowd hadn’t been as reassured by Aphrodite’s words as they’d hoped.
“When we get up there, Kate will stay with me,” Aphrodite commanded. “Everyone else don’t move, or my guards will not hesitate to take you out. No one must interfere with the ascension rites. Am I clear?”
We all muttered our understanding of the terms. I didn’t bother asking why I was the only one required to stay with them. I was their insurance. Morales and Volos wouldn’t go after them with me at their side, and the MEA and BPD in the building wouldn’t risk shooting a cop.
Next thing I knew, we were emerging from the darkness and into the intense stage lights. They blinded all of us temporarily. After blinking several times, my vision cleared enough to look out over the packed theater. I couldn’t make out distinct faces, but I had the impression of hundreds of worried faces watching the drama unfold onstage.
It didn’t take long for people to start noticing the wounded among us, or that the mayor was one of the hostages. Shouts and screams came from the crowd. The sounds of confrontation reached us as some people tried to get through the exits.
A gunshot ripped through the theater.
“Enough!” Aphrodite screamed into her headset. “You came here for a show, didn’t you? How often in your life do you get the privilege of witnessing a Hierophant ascend to the higher plane of existence? Do you think this process is pretty? Do you think magic is neat and tidy?” They laughed. “Children, I assure you, it is not.”
They spoke from their perch on the crucifix. Fontina appeared and pulled the robe from their body. Now, Aphrodite wore a simple loincloth. The breast on the left side of their chest was exposed along with the pectoral of the right side.
“Take a good look. This earthly body is about to transmute into a sacred vessel of immortality!” They threw off their masks and removed their loincloth. Fontina clapped and cheered.
Gasps rippled through the shocked crowd. A flaccid penis sat just above a hairless vulva. I didn’t find the display grotesque or shocking. It was all…just flesh.
Aphrodite was revered as some sort of mysterious figure, but really, they were just a person. I realized with a start that maybe in some ways, they were more human than the rest of us, being one of the few humans who knew what it was like to live inside the skin of both a man and a woman. Unfortunately, that knowing hadn’t translated int
o wisdom.
From the corner of my eye, I saw Morales leaning into Volos as two guards pointed the muzzles of machine guns at their midsections. Across the stage, Yü Nü and Duffy were receiving the same treatment.
I looked out into the glow of the lights that created a barrier between us and the audience. Somewhere out there, Gardner and Mez, and, by now, probably Shadi, McGinty, and Dixon, were watching this profane tableau play out. Their guns were probably in their hands too.
I clasped my hand around the potion vial. Such a thin layer of glass separating me from an elixir that could give whoever took it everlasting life.
I looked up at Aphrodite again as they lectured the theater on how lucky they were to be there, and I felt sick to my stomach. No matter what any of us claimed or how much territory someone controlled in this town, none of us were magic’s master.
Movement from the corner of my eye grabbed my attention. Morales and Volos were inching toward their guards. The pair of security goons were too busy listening to Aphrodite to pay adequate attention to the two most dangerous men in the room.
Morales caught my eye and nodded. I scratched my cheek to indicate that when they made the move, I’d be ready.
“Now,” Aphrodite proclaimed, “I will ingest the potion to finally merge my masculine and feminine energies, thereby perfecting my nature and becoming immortal.” They looked at me. “This potion was created by Kate Prospero, niece of Abraxas Prospero, the betrayer. Once I ingest this elixir, I will ascend as the supreme coven leader of all of Babylon!”
They paused, as if waiting for applause, but none came.
The speech made me pity them. I used to sort of admire Aphrodite’s gumption, but now they’d let my Uncle Abe’s bullshit get to their head. How many other people had been destroyed because he’d betrayed them? How many more would fall before he was done?
“Katherine, the potion, please.”
Aphrodite smiled down at me. The lights caught the stubble growing in on the right side of their face. It made the sweat on their upper lip shine. Aphrodite imagined themself a god, but they were just a person. Another victim of magic’s seductive force. I wondered if they’d even had a choice when a wizard turned them into a hermaphrodite as a child.
“Kate,” they snapped, “now!”
I raised the vial with my left hand. “I’m sorry you suffered,” I whispered. “But this won’t fix things.”
They frowned at me. Those lunatic eyes cleared for a moment, and I swear, in that brief instant, I saw something wholesome in there. But just as soon as it appeared, the lucidity evaporated.
Aphrodite snatched the potion from my hand. They raised the red liquid high, like an offering to a fickle god. Then they popped the cork and tossed it back in one gulp.
For a moment, the red liquid clung to their lips like blood. Their tongue darted out to get every last drop.
Time slowed. I stared transfixed, waiting for the miracle.
From far away, I heard my name. Beyond Aphrodite, bodies spun into chaotic motion.
Aphrodite lay their head back against the crossbars and smiled beatifically. The bones of their face undulated beneath the skin, as if reknitting together into a more cohesive structure.
Out of the chaos, I recognized the faces of the team as they emerged from the crowd to rush the stage. Mez deployed some sort of magical explosive that stunned the guards nearest the stairs they’d come up. Then Gardner was behind him, grabbing Morales and pulling him to safety.
Someone grabbed me from behind and pulled me off the platform. I fell back onto the floor, landing on someone solid. “Katie, we have to go.” It was Volos. “It’s not safe.”
I couldn’t take my eyes of off Aphrodite. The light hit their face like a beacon.
“Kate,” John said more forcefully this time. But then he turned to fight one of the guards who’d come forward.
I moved close to the cross. I had to watch. Had to see the ascension.
At first, it seemed like things were going according to plan. Aphrodite’s face changed, losing both its softness and its hard edges. But then the blisters appeared.
And the screams began.
Smoke billowed from their ears. The body vibrated and shook. Charred patches appeared at intervals, shot through with pink and red tissue. The air filled with the scent of burning human flesh.
All around, people ran and shouted. Someone called my name. I spun and watched Duffy barreling toward me, as if in slow motion.
Just behind him, Fontina raised a gun and pointed it at the detective’s back.
Several thoughts occurred to me in a rush even as time slowed. Duffy threatening to report me to Internal Affairs. Me threatening him for snitching. Morales killing that dirty cop to save himself.
It would be so easy, I thought.
Even as my ego campaigned for an easy fix to my problems, my instincts had already made my decision.
I ran at Duffy and pushed him off to the side. He shouted and went down, falling off the stage.
Behind me, Volos screamed my name.
Deprived of her original target, Fontina aimed the gun at me.
She smiled and pulled the trigger.
A flash of color appeared. I thought it was my life passing before my eyes. However, at the exact moment I should have felt the pain of the bullet ripping through my flesh, a body tackled me.
My first thought was that somehow, Volos had managed a superhuman feat and made it in time to save me. But when I rolled over, I realized that the body on top of me was too round and small to be his.
Yü Nü fell back into my arms. Her blood coated my hands.
Strong legs pressed into my back, supporting me as I held the sorceress. I looked up to see Volos standing over us with a gun. Without a second’s hesitation, he pulled the trigger.
Fontina fell into a puddle of blood-stained chiffon and Southern-spiced curses. She wasn’t dead, but she was done being a problem for the time being.
Up on the cross, the Hierophant threw back their head and screamed a column of flame.
Volos knelt next to me and the sorceress. “You two all right?”
I shook my head because I wasn’t sure of anything. Yü Nü hadn’t moved since we fell.
Volos took her chin and gingerly touched the horn. “Ow, shit!” he hissed, pulling his hand away.
Yü Nü’s horn began to glow. Heat radiated through her body, seeping into my skin. “Don’t touch the horn,” she said with her eyes still closed.
My relief was short-lived. A keening wail came from center stage.
Gregor stood beneath the cross. Tears poured down his face. He removed his gun from his holster.
“We’ve got to move,” Volos said. He lifted Yü Nü to carry her away. “Come on!”
I rose slowly, letting them go on without me because I was unable to tear my gaze from the drama unfolding at the cross. Gregor’s lips moved in silent prayer. Then he pointed the gun at the column of flame, right above the heart. “I’m sorry, my love. I’m so sorry.”
He pulled the trigger.
Someone grabbed me from behind and forced me to move. I turned to look over my shoulder. It was Volos. He’d come back to get me.
Just like he always will, I thought.
As he pulled me away, I watched five armed cops, including Shadi and McGinty, open fire on Aphrodite’s bodyguard.
He fell dead at the foot of the person he’d loved. Above his too-still body, Aphrodite’s corpse smoldered.
As I was carried away, people shouted and fussed. They seemed far away—or maybe that was me. I turned to look one more time at the tableau onstage.
Several men had found fire extinguishers and were dousing the last of the flames. I thought about that charred house where they’d found Basil’s body—also shot and burned.
Some might call that justice.
But to me, it all seemed like such a fucking waste.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Three days later, reporters packed
the hospital’s conference room. Next to me, Morales sat in a wheelchair, looking handsome and wounded. His arm was in a sling and a bandage covered the large gash across his forehead. He’d been instructed not to speak during the press conference due to the cocktail of pain potions flowing through his system. I stood between him and Gardner, trying not to look as ambivalent as I felt.
On the table in front of us stood fat stacks of cash and piles of colorful potion ampoules, baggies filed with patches, and some additional alchemical props thrown in for effect. Most of the props had been gathered in a raid we’d done two days earlier at Aphrodite’s temple. In the end, Gardner had gotten her potions and money on the table like she wanted.
She was wrapping up her spiel. “I have been in touch with AUSA Grey and his is already building a case against the remaining members of Aphrodite Johnson’s coven, including the former madam of a sex magic temple in Atlanta, Fontina Douglas, for crimes including two counts of murder in the first degree, conspiracy to commit murder, racketeering, and a host of other crimes that should put several of them away in Crowley Penitentiary for a very long time.” She waited for the applause to die down before continuing. “I speak on behalf of myself, the entire MEA, as well as Detective Prospero and Special Agent Morales, in thanking the Babylon Police Department, including Commissioner Adams, newly appointed Chief Eldritch, Fire Inspector Perry, and Detective Duffy for the help in this case. We could not do our work without their cooperation.”
The men she’d name-checked stood and did their best to look humble.
Not one of us in that room had suspected Aphrodite Johnson as being behind those murders. Yet here we were, taking credit for their death.
A butterfly touch brushed my left hand. I glanced down and saw Morales shoot me a look. He was supposed to be hexed out of his gourd, but his eyes looked plenty clear to me. We’d worked together long enough that he could probably recite my thoughts to me verbatim. It helped that he usually shared my impatience for the spectacle. The difference between us was that he saw it as a necessary evil, whereas I just saw bullshit.
“We’ll take a few questions,” Gardner said.
