by Kit Hallows
“You’re telling me to stand down when it comes to Wyght?” I asked. I could almost feel Erland bristle beside me.
“Precisely,” Lampton said, “but know it’s nothing personal. We have the utmost respect for you, and all that you’ve achieved over the years. Your arrest and retirement records are most impressive. But you must realize, Mr. Rook, we’re all just spindles and cogs in a vast mechanism. All of us, including you. And we must pull together and do the jobs assigned to us or else everything falls to pieces. Now, Mr. Underwood will relay your duties to you, you’ll stick to them and I trust this will be the last time we’ll meet.” He gave me a long cool gaze.
I nodded. “Sure.” Like hell.
“That is all then.” Lampton reached across the table and shook my hand. “Thank you for your service,” he said, his palm as clammy as mildewed sheets. He rose from his seat and the others followed behind him as he strode toward a door in the corner. One by one I watched them vanish, my eyes burning with anger and cold resentment. Who the fuck did these people think they were?
“Come,” Erland said. We walked in silence, from the Stygian depths of Eveningside Station, back to the wintry streets above.
5
Erland strode toward the chauffeured car. As the elven driver glanced our way he held his hand up, signaling for her to wait. We walked along the sidewalk in silence, passing blinkereds unaware of both the powerful fae in their presence, and the hidden command center beneath their feet. Finally we reached a block obscured by high scaffolding and a plywood tunnel that ran along the storefronts. Erland stood near the flapping polythene and took a small silver case from his winter coat. He flipped it open, pulled a cigarette from inside, then held the case out to me.
“No, thanks. I quit.”
“Good for you.” Erland lit his cigarette, took a puff and blew out a long plume of smoke. “So did I.” He glanced around to make sure we were alone, before adding, “I knew we’d have fun with the Council but that wasn’t quite what I was expecting.”
“What were you expecting?”
“That one or both of us would be detained in Eveningside Station.” He gave me a short-lived smile. “That was very well played, Morgan. I think they bought it.”
“I don’t know. That Lampton prick didn’t seem to be buying much.”
“Lampton’s a concern.”
“You think he’s compromised?”
Erland nodded and blew out another puff of smoke, before swiping it from the air. “I think it’s fairly safe to assume that’s the case. His mother used to run the Council, and she was damned good at it. But then she passed away, and we got her son. I’m almost certain Lampton’s up to his neck in filth, and he’s not the only one.”
“Where does that leave us? I’m not giving up on Wyght.”
“Of course you’re not. But you’ll have to pursue her from the shadows. I know you have contacts, Morgan, and that many are less than savory. Or even legal for that matter. Use them. Stay off officialdom’s radar. In the meantime I’ll cover whatever low-level assignments the Council sends out and will strongly imply you’re working them. All you’ll need to do is sign the reports.”
“Thanks.”
“I’m doing it for all of our sakes. I have no idea why the Council wants us to stand down from Elsbeth Wyght and Stroud, but my gut’s telling me it’s nothing good. We need to figure out where Wyght sits in this whole tangled web, and then find Stroud. I’ve got several hounds I could set on Wyght’s trail, but no one wants to bring her down as badly as you do. Just make sure you get her.”
“I will. That bitch would never have gotten away if I hadn't been imprisoned in that lab. She won't be that lucky again.”
“Good.” Erland took a final draw on his cigarette and flicked it at the sidewalk, producing an explosion of small orange embers. “Keep contact with me to a bare minimum. I don’t want or need to know what you’re doing. Plausible deniability. Just find her. Use whatever means you have to and do it fast.” Erland glanced up as a light rain began to fall. “Bad things are coming, Morgan, and I’m going to need my very best assets at my side to stop them. Right now, that’s you.” His lilac eyes flashed as he nodded to me and then he turned and headed toward the waiting car.
I walked along the tunnel, losing myself in the shadows as I reexamined my options. It seemed fitting.
Knox would be long gone by now, and he’d most likely told the other dealers to do the same. There was a strange, fierce, loyalty between them, an unusual trait among the other types of dealers I’d encountered. Maybe it was because they’d pegged out their territories long ago and stuck to their grounds, which eliminated a lot of conflict. It was also a good way to avoid losing soldiers and stay off the Organization’s radar, at least for the most part.
So, in one fell swoop the Council’s little intervention had taken everyone I’d planned to lean on, in my efforts to find Wyght, out of play. As I walked, I glanced through a shop window and caught sight of my reflection. I looked haggard. Beaten. Down. But I wasn't out.
Not yet.
The weeks since I’d left Copperwood Falls had been filled with frustration and even though Wyght’s escape had been out of my hands, I felt responsible. And worse still, she’d taken off with some of the most critical components in the Embersens’ lab, components that put the means of crystal production right in the palm of her hand. And as downright evil as the Embersens had been when it came to the victims they’d farmed, Wyght would be far worse.
Which meant I had to take her out, and fast.
I ran through my options. There was only one dealer I could think of who was unhinged and greedy enough not to have gone to ground. Sally Switch. Of course she wouldn’t be out on the streets selling personally, but her network, which mostly consisted of the homeless, would be. All I needed to do was find one, persuade them until they gave up Switch’s whereabouts and hope that she’d heard from Wyght.
A shot in the dark, but it was the only one I had.
It didn’t take long to find one of Switch’s dealers. Lol Hill was at his usual pitch; the entrance to an underpass on part of a footpath near the outskirts of the city. He sat with his back to the wall, his thin frame wrapped in blankets and his angular face lost to the shadows below his hoody. A man in a business suit stood over him and they appeared to be in deep conversation until Hill spotted me striding down the ramp toward his lair.
I glanced at the collapsing chain-link fence at my side, then the stunted trees, and burned-out cars that freckled the small scrap of wasteland beyond. All the while, cars sped by on the highway above and a concentration of exhaust fumes filtered down over this almost forgotten place.
Hill muttered something to the man, who turned and walked into the underpass, his pace just short of running. “What the fuck do you want, Rook?” Hill asked, wiping his nose with the back of his sleeve.
“You holding?”
“No.” He held his grubby hands out. “You can search me if you want. I know you like to get up close and personal.”
“Stand up.”
Hill threw off his blanket and stood, his arms raised over his head, a sneer on his ratty face. “Go on, Mr. Policeman, search me. You won’t find nothing.”
I ran my hands down his arms and legs, doing my best to ignore the ripe odor that hung around him like an invisible cloak of filth. Next I kicked his blanket over.
Nothing.
“You could have taken my word for it. Instead of harassing a poor innocent homeless guy. Fascist.”
“You’re not innocent, and you’re not homeless. What about the suit you were just talking to. What will I find if I search him?”
“How should I know? I ain’t responsible for what other people do, am I?”
I did my best to ignore his smug grin. I knew he had the crystals. I just needed to find them. I glanced around but nothing jumped out at me, then Hill’s eyes flitted to the scrubby land and back to me. I turned just in time to see two faint red eyes in the
darkness.
“What the hell’s that?” I pulled my gun and aimed it into the shadows. “Show yourself.”
The eyes blinked slowly and drew further into the gloom.
“What is it?” I turned the gun on Hill.
“Nothing you’d want to deal with.”
I tapped the barrel of the gun to his forehead but pulled away when I heard a snarl issuing from the trees. “Call it over,” I said.
Hill shrugged. “Your wish is my command.”
He gave a long, low whistle and a figure leapt from the murk. It was small and hunched, a demon. Its face and hands seemed to be made of pure bone, without a scrap of flesh covering them and its bright red eyes and lipless mouth were the only distinct features I could find above its long ragged coat. A dark buzz shifted the air around its pockets as I sized it up.
It was carrying crystals.
Lots of crystals.
“So you’re-” I drew away as Hill threw a fist at me. The ring on his index finger grazed my temple bringing a deep, dull pain. I threw a quick jab. My fist struck his nose, and his head snapped back.
Footsteps skittered toward me. I spun round as the demon howled, its cry full of rage and hate. Then its bright lava-like eyes flashed and it hissed like a scalded cat.
As I turned toward Hill he shoved me and ran for the underpass.
Shit.
I pulled my gun and aimed at the demon but it vanished into thin air.
Suddenly it reappeared before me and took a swipe with its brittle hand, knocking my gun to the ground. I threw a punch but the creature vanished again.
Dry rough bony hands grabbed me around the neck. Stars danced before my eyes as the demon squeezed, choking me, its hot breath reeking of cheap wine and spoiled meat. I pulled at its arms but they were as tight as a vise.
“Just stop fighting,” the demon whispered.
And then it squeezed harder.
6
My fingers scrambled over the demon’s cold, hard, shell-like exoskeleton as I reached back and tried to get a hold of it.
“Give in,” it whispered, as it choked me harder.
As I twisted and caught hold of its coat, an icy tingle shot through my hand and my chest seized up as if squeezed in a vise. My fingers brushed smooth, faceted crystals that buzzed with malevolence. Fire blazed in my head and dark stars danced before my darkening eyes. My chest felt like someone had filled it with concrete.
I ripped a crystal from the demon’s pocket and absorbed its black, malignant power.
A jolt of energy burst through me and for a moment I caught a glimpse of the broken young woman whose life and essence had been stolen to charge the crystal. And then I felt a rush of wild exuberance and sheer, invulnerable strength. It penetrated my very core and the darkness deep inside me stirred to meet its call.
I used the surge of preternatural strength to throw my shoulders forward and flip the demon off my back. It landed with a heavy thump and scrambled to its feet. The creature was pathetic; a damned soul exploited by a man. A man with a soul just as sullied and broken as his minion’s.
It stalked toward me but froze as I fired two shots into its chest. Torment and agony flashed through its eyes, the sight both sad and gut wrenching.
It’s either him or you, the voice inside me said. Kill it.
The demon lunged and I fired again. The bullet burst through its brittle skull and inky smoke issued from the wound as it collapsed into a heap of brittle limbs.
The powerful remains of the forbidden crystal swirled through me, its force dark and malevolent. It rallied my other as I fought to force him back down. He pushed against me, but eventually retreated to his hidden place.
I still had the whip hand.
For now, at least.
I channeled the power and cast an illusion over the demon’s body. The underpass was largely deserted, but if any blinkereds did happen by before it was whisked off by our crew, they’d see nothing more than a stray snarling Rottweiler where the corpse lay. I snapped a photo, sent the coordinates to Dauple and ran toward the dimly lit underpass.
Hill had a good three minute lead on me, but no crystals. Of course he could still wield his innate magic, but from what I’d seen his powers were weak.
I ran through the tunnel, using the vitality of the crystal to cast a light on Hill’s route.
Footprints riddled the ground but his were the most recent, therefore the brightest and his trail was straightforward. No doubling back, no lurking in the dark corners of the passage.
I emerged into what might have once been deemed a park. Now it was little more than a maze of gravel paths and splintered, graffitied benches amid a swath of weeds. A children’s playground stood at its center and Hill’s trail led right to it. I slowed and cast a spell to render myself unseen before vaulting over the railing.
Hill’s footprints shone bright orange against the black rubber tiles and vanished under a dented metal slide.
I stalked toward it, my gun at my side.
He sat huddled, staring out into the park, clutching a broken beer bottle in his hand. Its shattered fragments glittered around him like glass confetti.
I loomed over him as he gazed ahead, his breathing fast, his heartbeat faster. A sense of hard, pitiless malice swept through me and it was all I could do to stop myself from grabbing his head and twisting it until it could turn no more.
It wasn’t me, it was the black crystal.
I grabbed his arm and smashed his hand against the rail of the slide. He screamed as a bone in his wrist fractured and the broken bottle crashed to the ground.
“This is a playground you piece of shit. For kids.” I hissed into his ear. “As soon as I’m done with you, you’re going to clean up every bit of broken glass. Every fucking sliver. With your teeth if needs be. Understand?”
“Stop!” Hill squealed. “Stop it! My arm-”
“Yeah? I’ll be starting on the other arm next. And then your legs. Your familiar’s dead by the way. I didn’t want to harm it, but it kept coming at me. It almost seemed like it was looking for someone to put it out of its misery.”
Hill scowled. “Who gives a fuck? I treated it the same way the world treats me. Like shit. No one cares.”
“I care. And if you want to get out of here with the rest of your limbs functioning, you’ll answer my questions.”
“Get out of here?” Hill looked genuinely confused. “You’re not arresting me?”
“Do you want to be arrested?”
“No.”
“Then tell me where Elsbeth Wyght is.”
Hill’s face turned pale. “I keep away from the Spiral. They’re evil.”
“And abusing broken demons and dealing in black crystals isn’t?”
“No. We’re all abused, in one way or another. That’s the way of the world. But those Silver Spiral bitches are crazy. I won’t have anything do with them. They killed a friend of mine.” He spat on the ground and a flash of fury shone through his anger.
“They killed someone I cared for too,” I said. “So help me find Wyght.”
“I don’t know nothing, I’d tell you if I did.”
I believed him. “Then where can I find Sally Switch.”
“What do you want with her? She's not in The Spiral.”
“I want to see what she knows.”
“She’s gone. Left a few days ago. Gave me a bunch of crystals to sell and skipped town.”
“Why?”
“She doesn’t tell me squat. But all the rats are getting out of Dodge.” He gazed into the darkness beyond the playground. “Bad shit’s coming, and it’s about to hit hard.”
He wasn’t wrong. “Clean the glass up,” I said, “Then get the hell out of here. And don’t let me find you selling crystals again.”
Hill stumbled to his feet. “You’re seriously letting me go?” He gave me a long, suspicious glance.
I nodded.
Hill stooped down, wincing as he balanced on the balls of his fe
et as he cast a spell over the slivers of glass. They glimmered and leapt up into the air, burned like bright little stars and fell to the ground as grains of black sand. Then he shuffled off into the night, giving the merry-go-round a shove as he went. I watched it turn, squeak and spin.
An icy breeze rustled the last of the leaves on the branches, sending them spiraling to the ground. Pursuing Hill had gotten me nowhere and time was moving fast. I needed to rethink the situation.
I turned my collar up and strode into the wind, my shoes crushing the dead leaves as I headed back toward the light.
7
I was close to home when a burst of loud, manic laughter echoed along the street. A group of teenagers stood across from a billboard, gazing up at it as if it heralded the second coming. It was plastered with an advertisement for a new musical apparently based on Snow White, complete with a fresh-faced princess in a long flowing dress, and a hunched witch with a glowing red apple lurking among twisted cardboard trees.
There was nothing particularly amusing or interesting about the imagery that I could see. But then again, I hadn’t partaken in any of the same substances that the group was clearly on.
As I was about to turn and go, the witch on the billboard winked at me.
The group laughed again and a girl with flushed cheeks and an excitable face, turned my way and nodded. Like I was complicit. I glanced back at the billboard. There were no wires or mechanisms to indicate it was digital.
“No!” A tall young guy shouted, broke from the group, and began to back away as if he’d just seen a ghost.
The others followed, their faces below their hoodies grave as they walked in a huddle, heads down, eyes skittering across the sidewalk. I was about to cross the street and attempt to reassure them when red and blue lights flashed in the gloom and a cop car passed by. It pulled over, just ahead of the group, and two police got out. I hurried on, hoping that whatever the hell the group had smoked had a short high because they were about to embark on an even worse trip.
