Dead Man's Deal The Asylum Tales - By Jocelynn Drake Page 0,39

hour as we waited for the last of the lights in the house to go out. Our legs were starting to cramp and grow stiff, but I wasn’t willing to move yet. “You know they sell this stuff at most potion-supply stores.”

Looking up at her, I smiled. “You know how expensive that stuff is? Crazy. This is easier.”

“And dangerous.”

I shrugged. “Maybe, but it’s certainly more fun.”

About three years ago, I had entered a pool with five other parlor owners in the area. We had found the only grower of the Asian Moon Lily in the region and decided that we would liberate one flower when it opened. The catch was that the Asian Moon Lily only opened at night once every twenty-eight days. As a result, it was my turn to pluck a flower once every six months, which was an agreeable schedule.

“I don’t think we even need the flower,” Trixie continued with a frown. “None of us have used it in the shop lately and the flower remains good for one year when stored properly.”

“We don’t, but that’s not the point.” It was rare that any group member needed the flower. We all had enough stock after the first three months of the agreement, but no one had wanted to stop. It was too much fun.

A few days before the run, e-mails were sent around so the runner knew who needed a piece of the flower. Any pieces left over were usually sold. For my run, I had only two shops needing a supply. Since we had learned to divide it evenly six ways, that meant I had four portions to sell for myself.

The other catch was that the previous runner never told the next person if the garden owner had made any changes to his security. Since we came regularly every twenty-eight days, the owner knew when we would show up and regularly implemented new security measures to stop us. Nothing lethal, but enough to get you caught if you weren’t paying attention. And who wanted to go to jail for stealing a fucking flower?

I glanced over my shoulder at the elf as she stared over the eight-foot wall toward the garden. “Look, if you’re going to suck all the fun out of this, you can stay here.”

“I’m trying to be sensible. I’m not sucking the fun out.”

“Oh, I definitely feel some suckage going on.” Trixie glared at me, but I could see the hint of a smile she was fighting to hold back. “I thought you’d want to spend some quality time together.”

“Not exactly my idea of quality time.”

I looked back toward the garden, shifting on the large branch as I tried to get some circulation back into my legs. “You know, there’s more to life than sex.”

Trixie smacked me on the back of the head. “No, there’s not.”

I opened my mouth to tease her some more, but the light we had been waiting for went out on the second floor of the house. The owner was settling into bed and it was only eleven. Early for him considering what night it was. He had something new he was planning. In all my visits, the man had tried motion-sensor lights, glass shards in the top of the wall, moving the flower inside the house, dogs, and even a couple hired thugs. From what I heard, the dogs had lasted one month, if not less, as I believe the type of dog he acquired also liked to dig. New security items came and went without warning so you were never quite sure what you were faced with.

“I don’t understand why you don’t . . . you know . . .” Trixie broke off and waved her hands in the direction of the garden.

I fought back a smile, playing dumb. “What? Flap my arms like a chicken?”

“You know what I mean!” she said in a harsh whisper.

“You mean the stuff I’m forbidden to do?” I pointedly asked, arching one brow at her.

“Like that’s stopped you.”

With a shrug, I looked at the garden wall again. “I like to think the forbidding part has at least slowed me down. I can’t rely on something that I’m not supposed to be using in the first place.”

“True,” Trixie murmured, and then fell silent for several moments. “How do you want to do this?”

“You don’t have to—”

“Oh, I want to. I was just making sure that you wanted to do this.”

I chuckled. This woman was insane and I loved her for it. Pushing the