Vial Things (Resurrectionist #1) - Leah Clifford Page 0,4
work. I have to remind myself she’s just a place to crash, if I play my cards right. Don’t screw this up, I tell myself.
She’s just an angle.
Nothing more.
My shoe squelches water from the puddle as I head toward Allie’s.
Allie
The gas lanterns lining the road flicker, illuminating the cobblestones with the barest suggestion of a glow. Most Haunted Town In America! a metal street sign proclaims. I trudge by without a second glance.
The supernatural is what brings tourists to Fissure’s Whipp, each of them scrambling for a glimpse of ghosts and ghouls they don’t truly want to see, a sleepless night in a hotel they can take home as a souvenir. The town has a feeling, a campfire story brought to life no one dares smother away. The cobblestoned streets and lantern light only add to the mystique.
You’ll love it in Fissure’s Whipp, Sarah had declared three months ago when she’d handed me an ATM card and the keys to my new apartment. And I had. Right now though, I’m one thousand percent done with this whole town. I’d hoped the walk would calm me down. No such luck.
I’m well clear of the Chariot District before I decide it’s time to dial Sarah. I’ve given her time to get the inevitable phone call from the girl and convince her to call the police. We bring bodies back from the dead; we don’t handle disposals.
“Everything go okay?” Sarah says calmly once the line connects.
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” I seethe. “She didn’t call you? That kid was a corpse. He’d been dead at least six hours.”
My footsteps echo over the empty streets. The night air is heavy. A persistent mist of drizzle soaks into my clothes as I walk. It drips onto my shoulders from the Spanish moss laced over lower tree limbs. “Hope you got payment in advance because she definitely lied to you,” I add.
I want to tack on that the girl had been drunk. That she’d screwed up and called Sarah hoping for a bailout. Our talents aren’t something we use lightly. From the way Sarah pauses, I know I’ve gotten my point across, so I manage to keep my mouth shut.
“Obviously she confused some details,” she says. I roll my eyes to the gated storefronts.
“Yeah,” I mumble. “And obviously I had better things to do than wait around for those details to bite her in the ass.”
“We’ve talked about professionalism, Allie.” There’s a calculated pause. “I’ll call her and sort this out. Last time though. You need to learn to see the resurrection through.” As long as she’s paying my rent, I’m at her beck and call. A convenient puppet she’s held the strings to since I showed up on her doorstep at fifteen. And as always, Sarah knows exactly which strings to pull. “Unless you’ve put effort into finding a job? A normal job?”
She’s hoping I haven’t. We’d fought, bad, a month after I’d moved out here. Sarah had thought I could be her new go-to for any resurrectionist gigs for this area. I’d had other plans.
“Unfortunately, the booming economy of Fissure’s Whipp doesn’t seem to have room for one more,” I fire at her before I can stop myself.
“I’ll make another deposit to your account tomorrow. For your trouble,” she says.
I stop at a wrought iron gate, lift the latch. The path splits an overgrown rose garden, where it dead-ends at a house. “Allie, if you’re reconsidering...I want you to know that’s okay. Preferable.”
I don’t want your money, I want to say. I’ve watched Sarah extort people who couldn’t afford it more times than I can count. And sure, I’m guilty of reaping the benefits, just like every other carrier of the gene that gives us this ability. But I want to find another way. A better way. One that doesn’t leave me sick to my stomach.
Because I’ve seen what people can do when they’re trapped in a corner. It’s how I ended up living with Sarah in the first place.
Through a door at the back of the sagging house and up two flights of stairs is my miniscule apartment. A hundred years ago, my digs would have been maid’s quarters for a well to do family living on the floors below. Now, they’re a rental unit in a crumbling antique. But it’s a roof over my head and my bills are paid and I am being a total brat. Sarah and I don’t always know how to interact. She puts up with more