by E. A. Copen
So, there we were, shacked up in some overpriced motel in Queens, waiting for Remiel to reappear, for Khaleda to get back, for Stefan to heal, for the other shoe to drop. Just waiting.
The sliding door opened and Stefan joined me on the balcony. He crossed his arms over his chest and stifled a shiver. “What’re you doing out here? It’s the middle of the night and freezing out here. You’ll catch your death in the cold.”
“Wouldn’t be so cold if you’d put a shirt on, mate.”
He flashed me one of his most mischievous grins and plodded out further to lean over the metal banister and look down at the city. “Couldn’t sleep?”
“Couldn’t sleep,” I agreed and followed his gaze.
Cars moved in the distance like ants, their passage marked in the darkness by tiny dual specks of light. The whole city was awash in sparkling golden lights against a sea of black.
“It happened again,” Stefan said after a long moment.
I took a long drag on my ciggy before crushing it against the banister. “Same one?”
He nodded. “I don’t think it’s just a nightmare.”
Stefan was right, of course. When an Oracle has the same awful dream three nights in a row, a smart man takes note. I only wished the disjointed images he’d relayed made any sense. His dreams were a jumbled mess of bloody destruction, unrelated buildings, and desperate people. I couldn’t make anything of it.
He closed his eyes and tilted his head to the side. The light breeze picked up a loose hair and tugged on it. “I don’t know how many more times I can watch you die.”
There was that too, wasn’t there? Damn nightmare always ended the same according to him, with me putting a gun to my head and pulling the trigger. Every time he tried to look into my future, he couldn’t look past that moment. I think he wanted to believe that I’d somehow walk away. Poor bastard thought he could save me. That someone would care enough to try always made me smile.
I put my elbows on the railing next to him and leaned down to match his posture. “Did I ever tell you about this spell I know? Well, it’s not really a spell so much as it is a specialized circle. It’ll keep you grounded when you sleep. I don’t know if it’ll fix things for you, but it’s worth a try, isn’t it?”
He tilted his head slightly so it was leaning against my arm. “Anything’s worth trying once.”
“Well,” I said with a smile, “not everything. Whatever you do, don’t let Khaleda cook for you.”
“She’s worse at it than you?”
“I can cook.”
He pushed away from the metal banister, grinning like an idiot. “As long as there are microwave directions, right?”
I put an arm around his shoulders and led him back toward the sliding door. “Tell ya what, mate. I’ll learn to cook the day you learn to construct your own dream circle.”
“Guess that means I’m calling room service for breakfast again?” He pulled away from me and slid the door open.
“Go on.” I waved him toward the door. “One more smoke and I’ll be in. And don’t forget to get a paper this time.”
He hung on the door, face sobering slightly. “Josiah?”
I answered him with a grunt. When he didn’t say anything, I looked up from lighting my cigarette. “What is it, Stefan?”
He smiled. “Nothing. Just wanted to hear you say it again.”
The sudden warmth in my face was from irritation. I hated it when he tricked me into saying his name for no reason. Dirty bastard.
He went back through the doors and left me alone on the balcony. I tried to imagine why I’d shoot myself in the head. My life had never been perfect. If anything, I’d say it was going better than usual, actually, despite failing to stop Remiel. I’d moved my mother to a safer place here in the States, somewhere I could look in on her more regularly. The journey had been hard on her, but the only alternative now that Remiel was back was to leave her to die. I wasn’t willing to do that. As for me, I had a bed to sleep in, food in my belly, all the cigarettes I could smoke, and the perfect man inside waiting for me to join him.
But the more things I had, the more I stood to lose. Every small victory was a weakness Remiel could exploit to get to me. Before all this was over, I had no doubt he’d try. This fleeting happiness couldn’t be more than a flash in the pan. Eventually, I’d have to sneak away from Stefan for his own good. My chest ached at the thought of it, but there was no other way to ensure he’d be safe. Once Remiel found him, he’d torture Stefan just to hurt me.
Everyone’s happiness had a price, and the one I would have to pay was steeper than most.
Somewhere far off, the wail of a police car broke the silence. I smiled to myself and crushed out my cigarette. But not tonight, I thought, and went inside to join Stefan.
Author Notes
Dear Reader,
Thank you for reading Smoke & Mirrors!
The Hellbent Halo books are a personal passion project very near and dear to my heart. I know they’re a little different from most urban fantasy out there, which is on purpose. I wasn’t satisfied reading a lot of best-selling urban fantasy. The good guys were just a little too good, unbelievable, unrelatable. I missed the seedy underbelly of the city portrayed in neo-Noir films like Chinatown and Pulp Fiction, stories with a dark sense of humor and anti-heroes. I wanted to write a series more like Hellblazer.
But even I was unprepared for where Hellbent Halo would take me in this one. Smoke & Mirrors is definitely dark, but I hope it also has a spark of hope. If someone as messed up as Josiah can find happiness, even for a moment, so can we all.
This series is not about wish-fulfillment or providing distractions from the daily grind. My goal was to draw out the darkness in the world, bring it to life. To do that I needed to have a protagonist who not only understood that darkness, but was a part of it himself. After all, we all have our inner demons. Josiah’s just happen to be more literal than most.
I hope you enjoyed this installment of Hellbent Halo. The third book, Devil’s Due, will be out shortly. I look forward to sharing it with you!
Sincerely,
E.A. Copen
Coming Soon from E.A. Copen
Devil’s Due
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Books by E.A. Copen
The Lazarus Codex:
Death Wish (free prequel/mailing list magnet)
Death Rites
Organ Grind
Shallow Grave
Knight Shift
Death Match
Death’s Door
Night Terror
Dark Revel
Dark Horse
Casting Shadows
Hellbent Halo:
Fractured Souls
Smoke & Mirrors
Devil’s Due
Standalone novel in the Lazarus Codex universe:
Master of Shadows
The Judah Black Novels:
Guilty by Association
Blood Debt
Chasing Ghosts
Playing with Fire
Other books:
Beasts of Babylon
Broken Empire: Aftermath
Kiss of Vengeance
Cold Spell
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