Gypsy Magic - J.R. Rain Page 0,81
longer this stupid mission took, the less time I had to sleep.
“And that’s bad, right?” I asked, even though I wasn’t fully paying attention.
“Is what bad?”
“Whatever you said about black market something-or-other.”
He sighed. Really long and hard this time.
That’s what she said.
I really tried not to laugh. I really did. I even cleared my throat and made a choking sort of sound.
“As far as I can tell, you aren’t within the company of an extremely interesting blank wall, and yet you still aren’t able to pay attention,” he complained.
“Don’t know what to tell you, Lock.”
“Black market phoenix egg trading,” he repeated.
“Right.” I nodded. “Now that I am paying attention, I can answer my own question. Phoenixes equal bad news. California doesn’t need supernaturally induced wildfires on top of the ones we’ve already got.” Hey, might as well throw in a jumbo earthquake and ice that cake!
He made a thoughtful humming sound.
“Indeed. Geothermal readings indicate Lawson is probably hiding in the sewer system three blocks east of your location.”
“The sewer?” I said, turning up my nose. “Bollocks!”
“Pyromancers run hotter than the ground around them.”
I almost responded, but then I remembered the part about Lawson hiding in the sewer and guess who was going to have to go down there, after him? Right—my dumbass. Double bollocks!
But back to straight-faced Sherlock… he had a computer system that would be the envy of any government agency. It was sort of scary just how much he knew… not only about Sacramento, but the rest of the state, as well. Half the reason he’d ever agreed to team up with me in the monster-hunting business was to test his skill and knowledge, using me as a semi-human guinea pig to further his understanding of the things he didn’t already know. And he wasn’t doing it for the money. Sherlock Holmes wasn’t hurting for cash. He didn’t need the five grand this hunt was worth.
I, on the other hand, did.
“Gee, Lock. It’s so sexy when you go all Dark Knight on us.”
“Dark Knight?” Lock asked, clearly missing the comparison. I heard the distinct slurp of tea on the other end of the line. “Find the manhole cover and drop down into the first level. Lawson won’t risk a possible conflagration in the small space. He’d kill himself, as well as you.”
“So I’m risking my own life on the bet that Lawson won’t risk his?”
“Yes.”
“Great. Just checking.”
Just because Sherlock was unswervingly logical, didn’t mean Lawson was. I’d have to make a detour into one of the surrounding buildings, just in case.
“Sherlock?”
“Yes?”
“Was there a fire extinguisher in that pack?”
“Of course.” He seemed offended I’d even asked. I could just see him primly puffing smoke rings into the air that read, “I told you so.”
“Ah crap-and-a-half,” I sighed. “You win. I’ll take the pack next time. But, listen to my words… Essentials only. I want it fifty pounds or less.”
“I shall see what I can do.”
It was then that I spotted a fire extinguisher bolted to the wall within one of the stores bordering the alley. Hmm… that would come in handy right about now…
Lock hung up without saying goodbye, leaving me on my own while I tracked a lunatic who could literally spit fire. Into the sewer. With rats. And piss and crap. And I’d chosen to wear my good shoes.
Sometimes this job really sucked the big one.
In, like, a really bad way.
Chapter Two
Have you ever been locked inside a crypt?
I have.
And it’s not all it’s cracked up to be.
Ahem. That was a joke.
Granted, I’d been half out of my mind with bloodthirst in those early days, so most of the details had been lost on me. I just had the impressions and the bone-deep knowledge that I never wanted to be held captive again.
The sewage tunnels beneath Sacramento’s streets reminded me of that crypt. Stone walls pressed in on every side, so narrow in some places, it felt like I was getting an involuntary stone hug. The smell was the same too. Well, minus the crap and piss, of course. But, it was still damp, moldering, and filled with vermin. Rats scuttled out of my way as I made the trek toward Lawson’s location. They thinned dramatically the closer I got to my quarry.
Lock hadn’t been kidding when he said pyromancers ran hotter than human normal. Humans are pretty damn hot, considering. My infuriatingly analytical partner/mentor had a real talent for understatement. He hadn’t mentioned that getting near Lawson would feel like stepping into the baking interior of