The Tide of Ages (The Mira Brand Adventures Book 2)
Page 21
“And that swimming doesn’t agree with her bladder,” I added.
Her eyes flashed at me. “About time for that burrito, isn’t it, Mira?”
“So, the Tide of Ages then.” I picked it up. The water swirling inside didn’t seem to slosh with the motion, following the orb’s progress. It just turned over and over itself like normal, a wave rising and crashing down forever. “I say we keep it. You know, for now. We can always sell it if and when we need to.”
“And what do we do about coup?” Heidi asked.
I flashed Borrick’s ring again. “This. Or that one.” I nodded at Carson’s. “I can’t say that either will necessarily get us an incredible price, but it’ll, ah, tide us over.”
Heidi and Carson groaned.
“You are the worst, Brand,” said Heidi.
“Seriously,” Carson agreed.
Bub just looked confused.
“Don’t worry,” I told him. “I’ll explain to you later why I’m a comedic genius they don’t appreciate.”
“And in doing so, you’ll realize why she’s wrong, Bub.”
Bub gave a little nod, eyes dancing between us. Still pretty confused. We might as well have been talking French.
Heidi leaned over and extended a hand, pointing to the Tide of Ages. I handed it back rather than threw it—although Bub and Carson’s story being true, I could probably bounce it to her without issue. Down some stairs. Like, a lot of stairs.
She looked it over again.
“I wish things had turned out like I thought they would,” she mused.
“Mm.” Non-committal.
“Anyhow,” I said, rising. “I’m getting hungry. Anyone want anything?”
Carson asked, “You’re really going to Tortilla?”
Heidi glanced at her wristwatch. “Of course she is. He’s probably there right now, watching for her.” She spoke every word with malicious glee.
I rolled my eyes, hoping I wasn’t showing my embarrassment too prominently on my face. “Do you want anything or not?”
“I’d say to get me whatever you’re having,” said Heidi, “but I’m not sure he’s on the menu.”
“She wouldn’t want to share anyway,” Carson said.
“Okay, so I’ll just get whatever then, and be back here soon.”
And off I went, trying and failing to ignore the catcalls coming from behind me.
32
London; the Tortilla restaurant.
Rather than place a big order to take away, I ordered a burrito and Coke for myself, and took it upstairs to the seats overlooking the street. Call it punishing the others for being such opportunists.
Or maybe not, I amended, seeing him.
Clayton appeared just as I was taking my third bite. I reined in the size of it to something more ladylike, made a point of chewing with my mouth closed, and pretended like I hadn’t seen him by glancing out of the window until he lowered himself into the seat opposite.
“All right?” he asked.
I swallowed, eyed him. “Hello.”
“Haven’t seen you in here for a bit.”
“I’ve had a busy week.” Oh, but I would be in every damned day if I knew he’d keep magically showing up.
He was … handsome. So, so handsome. Rich-voiced, his jaw pronounced, a hint of stubble the same blonde as hair swept back, like some calendar model out of Australia. He looked tanned, even more so considering it was May and the summer was still fighting through on-off overcast days. I wondered if it were his natural skin color, or if maybe he used tanning beds. Or that rub-on stuff maybe …?
I took a long swig of my Coke. Needed the ice.
Clayton had come with his own—a Sprite, by the looks, fizzing happily against half an iceberg floating in chunks about the rim. He sipped it politely, following my gaze out of the window … and then, sitting back, lifted a cool smile.
Need. More. Ice.
“So, you got it, did you?”
“The Tide of Ages?”
Clayton nodded. “I figure news will make its way to me sometime either way, but why not hear the answer from the source?”
“Who’s to say I’m sharing news of my conquests anymore?” I teased. “I might just … keep them to myself. Let the world wonder.” Like I was wondering right now if there was a set of abs under that shirt—
Drink again. Or a whole ice bath, maybe, to cool myself off. Damn it, why did my mind wander so …?
Clayton just watched me, mouth quirked to one side. Waiting. Expectant.
And so: “Yes, we got it,” I said. Or blurted. Hard to tell.
“High five.” He grinned, held up a palm, strangely like Carson in this habit. I slapped it, suddenly wondering what an inappropriate amount of palm-to-palm time was. He felt warm. Not sweaty. Which was good, him not being sweaty. Uhm. “End of your money troubles, right?” he asked, putting an end to my mental ramble.
“Possibly,” I said. “We might keep it for a spell.”
Clayton nodded. But there was something else in his eyes now, a flash of concern.
“My advice,” he said, leaning forward, “don’t leave it lying around the lair. Anyone can just walk in, you know.”
“I’ll do that.”
He leaned back again. Casual. Carefree. Almost. “Just a freebie,” he said.
“Well, I’m just all about freebies,” I said. “When are you going to start charging?”
He smiled, one side of his mouth quirked up higher than the other. “When you’re rich and famous, your star hanging in the firmament of the world of Seekers. In other words—when you can afford it, Mira Brand.” Light twinkled in his eyes.
I opened my mouth to say something—when from up the stairs rose three heads, one well before the other two, and a voice rung out.
“Well, well, well! Mira! Fancy seeing you here!”
I froze. Carson and Heidi had arrived, Bub in tow, drawing another fresh round of wide-eyed stares from the dinner crowd.
Clayton twisted in his seat to see who’d intruded. Or arrived. ‘Intruded’ might not be the right word from where he was standing.
“Mira!” said Carson, voice pure syrupy glee. “I had no idea we’d find you here.”
I gritted my teeth. “Didn’t you.”
“We were just passing by and thought we’d stop in for a bite,” said Heidi—Carson nodded with great enthusiasm—”and lo and behold! You’re here too. What a coincidence.”
“What a coincidence indeed.”
“And—oh!” Heidi looked to Clayton. “Why don’t you introduce us to your friend here?”
I could think of about a hundred reasons, reasons that I would rain down on them like a fiery meteor shower if I weren’t presently in Clayton’s company.
But he rose, stepping up and extending a hand. “Clayton Price.” He shook Heidi’s, then Carson’s. “But you can call me Clay.”
“Very lordly,” Carson said liltingly. “Carson Yates. This is Heidi Luo. And …”
“Bub,” said the orc. He muscled between Carson and Heidi, sticking out an oversized fist that dwarfed Clayton’s.
Clayton took it, shook, grinning. “Nice to meet you.” He gave me a sidelong glance, trying to convey something. I took it to mean, “An orc in London? Really?” But he just kept one eyebrow cocked in amusement and kept grinning.
“So,” said Heidi happily, “what are you two up to?”
“I was just—” Going to bring your takeaway, I was going to say. But if somehow Clayton didn’t see through these three in all their poorly-acted transparency, best not to fan those flames. So I finished, “Eating. Having lunch.”
“Right,” said Heidi. “No chips and salsa?”
Oh, I was going to hurt her so bad when I got out of this.
“Mind if we join you?” Carson asked.
I opened my mouth to say, “Absolutely, I do mind.”
Clayton got there first though. “Not at all. We should all chill, and chat.” He looked to me, and smiled. “Eh, Mi
ra?”
Again, I found myself disarmed. Damn him and this effect he had on me.
So we sat, all of us, and we talked—
And it was wonderful.
33
Heidi Luo crept through the streets of Ostiagard. The jumbled facades of buildings and factories passed, green gaslight painting them like a fractured dreamscape. Jagged streetlamps cast spotlights which she bypassed. There were no stars.
Something bayed. Like a dog, almost, but higher-pitched, and the sound terminated in a wet warble. Heidi froze.
It came again.
Something whispered through the air. A bird, dislodged by the shriek. In the deathly silence, Heidi expertly picked out the whickering of its wings.
It landed in the spotlight cast by a near streetlamp. Perfectly black, it twisted its head around to look at Heidi with three eyes, milky with cataracts. It opened its beak, baring a deep abyss the red of a nightmare, made a sound like an old man struggling to breathe, and flew back into the night.
Heidi exhaled a tense sigh. She was growing to hate this place.
Ducking into the usual spot, she squinted into the dark.
“I’m here.”
Silence, for a moment. Then footsteps. From the end of this alley between buildings, a silhouette barely resolved itself against the pitch: tall and stately, cloaked.
“Ms. Luo,” the figure said.
“Hello to you too,” Heidi said shortly.
The figure shifted. “You’ve a tone.”
Did she? Well, why shouldn’t she?
“I’m only meeting you because I couldn’t get the Tide of Ages to work. Let’s not pretend anything otherwise.”
The figure tutted. “We had an agreement.”
“Bollocks to your agreement,” Heidi shot back.
“You’ve changed your mind?”
“I don’t want to spy on them.”
“I see.” Another shift from the figure. “So I take that to mean that you no longer wish for what we agreed.”
Heidi tensed. Balling fists, she averted her gaze from the eyes she could not see, could not meet in the dark, turning them down.
“I … I want that more.”
“Then stick with me, Ms. Luo, and you’ll get what you want.”
Heidi closed her eyes. “And the price …”
“We agreed. Your wish, in exchange for everything—absolutely everything—you can tell me about your life with Mira Brand. Every detail … and I’ll see to it that you’ll get what you want.”
34
The lights were on in the main room when I woke, and leaked under my door.
I stared blearily at the clock, trying to make out its neon green numbers.
2:31.
Well, I was up now. Might as well go keep someone company. And I was hungry again. Time to discover how good a midnight snack leftover burrito was.
Tugging my pajamas into some semblance of order, then fixing my hair, I headed into the library.
It was Carson. Parked in a seat he’d brought in from the lounge, he pored over a thick book. He was still dressed in the same clothes as the past two days, apparently unconcerned about Heidi’s critique of his fashion sense.
“Haven’t you slept?” I asked.
“Couldn’t,” he said, flipping a page without looking up as I passed. “Heidi snuck out.”
I paused. “When?”
“Quarter past one.”
She’d been gone over an hour.
“Where’d she go?” I asked.
Carson shrugged. “She didn’t see me, I didn’t see her; just heard her go. I figured I’d wait for her to get back. Or you to wake up,” he added, turning a beady eye on me.
I strode down the central aisle, looking at the various handprinted signs taped to exposed sections of wall. Had she gone via London? Someplace else? There were no hints. And she was not on her way back, by the looks of it, because no dark antipodes opened as I squinted.
Turning back and rejoining Carson, I said, “You said you were waiting for me. Why?”
“Because I wanted to ask you.” He leaned back in his seat, squeak of the chair the only sound other than our breathing. The hideout was suddenly deathly quiet, nothing stirring. And slowly, very slowly, a smile began to form on Carson’s lips. “Were you ever going to tell her that you got the Tide of Ages to work?”
Mira Brand Will Return in
The City of Lies
The Mira Brand Adventures, Book 3
Available Now!
Author’s Note
Thanks for reading! If you want to know immediately when future books become available, take sixty seconds and sign up for my NEW RELEASE EMAIL ALERTS by CLICKING HERE. I don’t sell your information and I only send out emails when I have a new book out. The reason you should sign up for this is because I don’t always set release dates, and even if you’re following me on Facebook (robertJcrane (Author)) or Twitter (@robertJcrane), it’s easy to miss my book announcements because … well, because social media is an imprecise thing.
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Cheers,
Robert J. Crane
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Editorial/Literary Janitorial duties performed by Nick Bowman and Sarah Barbour. Final proofing was once more handled by the illustrious Jo Evans. Any errors you see in the text, however, are the result of me rejecting changes.
The cover was once again designed by Momir Borocki.
The formatting was provided by nickbowmanediting.com.
Once more, thanks to my parents, my in-laws, my kids and my wife, for helping me keep things together.
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