New Wave Detectives 01: Punk Rock Theatre
Page 5
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James stared at his phone, and then looked up at Cris and Jo.
Softly he said, “What will happen if we say screw it and just call the police?”
Jo turned and rustled through a stack of papers, picking up a small wooden chest. As she did, she said, “The Heedless can use glamours and charms to make them invisible or trick people. Calling the authorities has never really been an option for us. We use these to protect ourselves. They let us see through glamours.”
From the chest, she pulled out a small silver chain and gave it to James.
“I recognize that chest,” James said. “That was Maggie’s.”
She nodded.
“Give it here,” he said. “Jo, if you have any more of Maggie’s stuff, see if you can find a big leather book of incantations. Cris, here—“ He tossed the boy his phone. “I’m going to give you a number. It’s going to be one of Elise’s band members. Tell her that Elise wants them at Hell’s Gate right now to do a sound check. And if they don’t come right away, tell them they’re going to lose the gig.”
“Sound check?”
“You said before that their music offered protection, right?”
Cris quickly plugged in the number James gave him. James then set down the chest and pulled out a small pouch from it. He could remember almost everything Maggie had told him. At the time he had convinced himself that he was in love with her, and he had listened to every word she said. He pulled out herbs and protective metals and put them into the pouch. It was the recipe she had made up, but he wasn’t sure if it would be any good.
He took a piece of chalk from the chest and placed it in his pocket.
Jo watched him, holding the leather book in her hand. “Why did you leave the original group, anyways?”
“Too many weird things happened. I got freaked out.”
“You weren’t interested in learning more about the otherworld?”
James turned around to look at her. “Well,” he said, “look what it got Maggie.”
As they went out of the apartment and down onto the street, James filled them in on his plan. When he finished, and they understood what they had to do, he asked, “What happens if this doesn’t work?”
Cris shrugged. “Worst case scenario? Alice carves out our faces and makes us into her slaves.”
“Great.”