by Sandra Elsa
He sat in the nearest chair, placed his hands together in front of his face, resting his forehead on his index fingers as though praying. When he looked up he said. "You see magic?"
"I have to look for it. I'm not a natural, or I'd have noticed you long ago. I'm very sensitive to it when it's used in my proximity."
"I would have thought having found three beetles you'd have left well enough alone. Why'd you search for the electronic one?"
"Sorry to sound like I'm doubting you, but before I answer any of your questions, I need to know you won't tell anybody else."
"On my honor, Frankie."
Wally was nothing if not honorable. "Charlie told me there were four. Or did you think they saluted that way?"
"Didn't even notice."
"Well to answer your earlier question, I'm petty cash to District Eight."
"Petty cash vouchers wouldn't begin to cover what you charge."
He glanced around the room, his gaze stopping on my replica black powder gun, and a crossed pair of antique dueling pistols. I never let my money show in any area except the quality of my weapons. The replica and the pistols were both over two-thousand years old and still functional.
"I live here. It behooves me to help them keep crime low. This break-in is probably one of the most exciting things that has happened around here in a long time."
"OK. Question number two--"
"I'm a null. Magic doesn't affect me and some things--like these," I waved at the Beetles, "I can turn off. I can't alter a person like the siphon, but artifacts…and most spells...they're no more than a conscious thought to make them worthless."
Wally nodded. "And magic directed against you, like lust…"
"In one ear and out the other. It's why I get the prices I demand. I'll accept cases nobody else will touch."
He whistled. "Damn, Frankie. I thought I played my secret close to the chest."
I glanced down at my larger than I wished, D cups. "I have more room to hide secrets. You know how easy it is to distract somebody with a pair of these?"
He ruefully shook his head, and issued a gruff laugh. "One bounce and nobody's looking at anything else. Gotta admit, I've fallen for that once or twice myself. I see why you're so reluctant to come hang out at HQ."
"Now you see the picture. Wish you could have got it before you decided to drag me on a tour while mage interest is so high."
"Well, I won't apologize for that. First of all, I never knew any of this. Second, I'd probably be dead now if I hadn't dragged you along. Depending how well the siphon converted energy, maybe Rollick too. I don't have much, and the Were are pretty impervious, but you never know…much as she disliked Were, she probably had some silver bullets in that apartment somewhere. All she'd have to do was hold him off long enough to get to them. I kinda wish you'd reconsider working with us. Wouldn't mind having you at my back."
A scornful explosion of laughter filled the room. "To have some clown watching over my shoulder every time I turn around? Sooner or later somebody'd figure out what I am and force me to register."
"How the hell can they register a null? It's not like you have an active energy signature they can read."
He was right. I'd been tested for magic twice in my life and come up talentless, but Mom's fears had become mine before I was ten. "It's been done. They attach some sort of noose. Something of their own--"
"You couldn't just nullify it like the Beetles?"
"I don't know. Rather not find out. Mom was a null. Nobody could use magic against her, but she couldn't turn off other magic like I can. We always sorta figured that came from the Sperm-Donor. Especially since she was using magical birth control when I was conceived. He might not have stuck around to see the end result of his experiment but he knew what he was doing. Whether he got off on knocking up hookers or had a certain goal in mind with Mom because he could see what she was…We never figured out that part of the equation." Mom knew exactly who impregnated her and why she ended up pregnant, but the watch wouldn't listen to the tale and give it an ounce of credibility. Especially since most of the other victims had enough talent they most likely ended up being registered as mages.
"Wow…Damn…" Wally held his hands to his ears. "You probably shouldn't tell me anything else. And you should probably stay away from me until I have time to digest this and make it something I always knew, or I might not be able to stop from acting different around you."
I winked at him. "Of course you're going to act different around me now, lover boy. You're spending the night at my place. They'll expect you to worship me." I laughed at his dumbstruck expression. "Too soon to go back to joking around?"
He grinned, "No. But keeping up with you is wearing me out. Don't suppose you have a blanket and a pillow for the couch?"
"Hall closet. I'm going to get a shower and go to sleep, so good-night, Wally. And I'm glad you dragged me around. Glad I could save your life."
"Makes two of us, Francesca. Good-night." He followed me down the hall and I popped the door open to the closet with the blankets and pillows.
"Won't be ten minutes in the shower if you'd like to use it. There's towels in that closet too."
"Sounds good."
I went into my bedroom, collected my nightgown and headed for the shower. Fifteen minutes later, I lay down and closed my eyes hoping for a few hours’ sleep as Wally turned the shower on.
I didn't hear him finish up, but when I awoke again, no light crept under my door. Silence blanketed the room. I sat up and twisted around to look out the window. No light showed through the open slit of the drapes. Even if it was a new moon the light in the parking lot should have been on. How many nights had I gotten out of bed and pinned the drapes to shut out the light. I reached under my pillow and pulled out my nine. My other hand scooped a silver covered dagger out of the nightstand drawer.
I closed my eyes and searched for magic. Ahh...there was the light. A sullen black and violet flare, like thunderclouds gathered in the corner of my room. I trained the pistol on the glow. "Whoever you are--don't move."
Chapter 6
"I must talk to you, Miss Leone." The deep voice pulled at my will. Tugged me toward him, sending a shiver of anticipation through my abdomen before my innate talent kicked in.
Must be tired if even my talent's reaction time was slow. "Give me a fucking break."
I felt his bafflement. The magic surged, then flickered out as I absorbed what he sent against me. Light trickled through the drapes as I reclaimed my space from foreign magic. It bent around a dark form in the corner of the room. Both his hands were held out to his sides. "Forgive me."
"You're in my bedroom in the middle of the night; give me one good reason why I shouldn't shoot you?"
His pause was so brief it was barely noticeable. "Because if you shoot me, you'll embroil yourself in politics so deep you'll never escape." A touch of humor carried on his words and I examined them for magic, coming up empty.
"At least you didn't say bullets would bounce right off of you. So have you been here all night, or did you bypass my wards? And you better not have hurt Wally."
"Your friend's fine, having a very restful sleep."
Realizing he was the missing Sevener and not likely to have any weapon except magic, I relaxed and grumbled, "I'd like to be doing the same. I've been trotted around from one district to the next all frickin' night. Close as I can tell, mostly because you couldn't resist a siphon. I'm tired and cranky. If you want to see me, call, like any other client." I lay back down on the bed, but kept a firm grip on the pistol.
"A siphon?"
"Your conquest, Mrs. Ludovissy."
"That would explain why I couldn't entrance you." Panic rose up in his voice. "The way you trained that pistol on me, I obviously have some talent left?" He made a question of the statement, begging for reassurance.
"You've plenty of talent. More than any I've had the displeasure to be this close to. Now get the hell out of my room before I call your daddy and tell him whe
re you are."
"I've gone to a lot of trouble to speak to you, Miss Leone. I know you've been dragged through the districts. I've been following you, waiting for a moment when you weren't surrounded by men of the watch. When you came back here and invited the good sergeant in, I despaired of ever having a chance to speak to you."
I sat back up, feet thumping the floor. I trusted his spell to keep Wally asleep. "Trashing my office and my home is not a recommended method to get in my good graces. Keeping me awake when I clearly wish to be sleeping...ditto. If you want my help with something, make an appointment. The watch won't be around tomorrow. I have a client to meet at eight o'clock in the morning and I still need to fix my office up. I need some rest. You let yourself in; now do the same thing in the opposite direction. And if you drained my wards, put them back up as you leave."
"Please--"
"Good night."
"Will you tell--"
"No. I won't tell you anything until eight-thirty tomorrow morning."
His form flickered out of shadow as he crossed in front of the window. The street lamp spun his blond hair into golden silk. His eyes were neither red nor blue but a deep bruised violet. Darkened circles underneath them deepened the effect of the dim light. Several long cuts marred the perfection of his face and darker spots on his white shirt appeared to be blood.
"Stop." Was I insane?
He looked my way as I reached over and turned the light on. He didn't look any better in the soft-white light of a forty-five watt bulb. "When's the last time you slept?"
"Two days ago."
"What happened to your face?"
"Two panes of glass in as many days."
"Where will you sleep?"
He crossed his arms in front of his chest and drew in on himself. "I don't think I can. I don't feel safe anywhere. The watch is looking for me. Every registered mage is looking for me; half of them want to deliver me to Father to curry his favor. The other half wants to kill me because they think I'm a threat to their powerbase."
"Ahh… Jesus Christ." I closed my eyes, leaned my head back and counted to ten. The other half were what concerned me about his situation. If option three of why-the-siphons-were-living-so-well scenario was right, that could well have been an attempt on his life and not random chance. "I meant it. I refuse to talk business until I've gotten some rest, but you'll be safe here. Reset my wards. Get some blankets and pillows out of the closet and sleep in the corner over there."
"What about the sergeant?"
"He's my friend, and he's smart enough not to come in my room." I let him draw his own conclusions as to what I thought of his intelligence for being there. "You got in here past him, I'm assuming you can keep him asleep while you collect a blanket and pillow. After we leave in the morning, get yourself a shower. There's antibiotic cream in the sliding door cabinet above the sink. Meet me for lunch at Giorgio's down the street from my office."
He bowed his head. Light shimmered off moisture as it rolled down his ruined face. "Thank you, Miss Leone."
I'd gotten enough rest that I remained awake as he left the room, then returned and spread the blankets out in the corner as ordered. He removed his shirt, revealing multiple thin lacerations on his arms, his torso had been spared. Once he lowered himself to the floor, I turned the light back out. Sleep eluded me as he tossed, trying to get comfortable on the floor, but when his breathing deepened into a regular rhythm I managed to slide back to sleep.
Wally pounded on my door the next morning. "Seven-thirty, Francesca."
My guest thumped the wall and I glanced over at him. Bolt upright, clutching blankets to his chest, he pressed himself against the wall as though he wanted it to swallow him.
I held a finger to my lips, then yelled, "I'm up. Gottta get dressed. Be out in a sec."
"All right. You're the one said you had an eight o'clock."
"I know. I'm coming." I was already out of bed, digging clothes from my closet. A pair of black slacks and an off white button up blouse. I turned my back on my guest's corner, slid underwear up under my nightgown then pulled the trousers on before shucking the nightgown, putting on bra and shirt then heading for the door as I buttoned the top.
I stopped halfway through the door, nose twitching. "Oh my god, Wally, you cook?" The scent of bacon drifted through my apartment. "I might have to marry you."
He grinned. "Just say when, Frankie. It's not much. Bacon and eggs. Hope you like them sunny-side-up."
"Fantastic." I pulled my door closed and followed Wally up the hall.
After we ate, I brushed my teeth and my hair, went back in my room to grab a t-shirt and jeans, pausing to examine my guest in the light of day. He looked better for some sleep. The circles under his eyes had lightened. But the purplish bruised shade of his irises remained. Dried blood clung to his face and arms. Wide cheekbones and a firm jaw. The Movie-Star still hid under the mass of abused humanity. The firm, well-muscled chest, heaved as he struggled to control the panic my entrance caused him. After a moment, he calmed and returned my steady gaze.
Wally's timekeeping ended the examination. "Let's go Frankie, be lucky to make it to District Two by eight if we left five minutes ago."
"Just getting some clothes I can wear to clean up my office."
"You need help cleaning the mess?"
"No. I already have a client coming over. Don't care to have extra bodies while speaking to a customer, and there's no telling how long this initial meet will take." I snatched up the first t-shirt and jeans that came to hand and dashed out the door. "Let's go. I'll have to call the client, let her know I'm running a hair late."
I pocketed my cell phone, tossed the jeans, shirt, pistol, and dagger in an olive green tote and hurried out the door, holding it while Wally walked out behind me. I reset the wards and skipped down the steps two at a time, turning around at the bottom. "Now who's being slow?"
He caught up and walked beside me. "You said you were going to call the client."
"From the car. Although if she seriously wants me to take the case she'll probably wait."
"What is it this time?" Wally knew better than to ask.
"Most of my clients don't like to talk over the phone. I don't like them to tell me their troubles until I've had a chance to meet them. Size them up. First meet rarely lasts more than five minutes and usually consists of me deciding whether or not I'm interested in taking the case. If I am, I collect an ident and run a background on the client." The remote beeped and the car doors popped open.
We slid in the front seat and the seat belts fastened before Wally started the engine. "You never did all that with me."
"Already knew you. Knew you were barely good for my fees too. I cut you a huge break and still had to come after you to collect."
"Maybe I just wanted you to chase me."
Oh dear god, was that flirting? I was pretty oblivious when it came to personal relationships. "Wanted to see if your status as a member of the watch made you safe from persecution?"
"No. But I certainly never imagined that was a break." He slowed down as wqe passed through the gates to the world outside.
"I normally help friends, but rarely do anything for free. If I started doing that, I'd never have time for my paying cases."
"I didn't expect you to take my case for free."
I grinned at him. "For a change, I wasn't just needling you.. This morning's client gave me the impression she's desperate but broke."
We picked up speed and dust swirled behind us in spite of the hard-packed clay of the roads. "Who is she?"
"They don't usually tell me on the phone." This one had, but he didn’t need to know..
"So you have no idea who your meet is with? You sure you don't want me to stick around?"
I chewed my fingertips and worked hard not to roll my eyes. "Yes, I'm sure. I've been handling my own business for ten years now. Haven't met a client I needed to wrangle with yet. They're coming to me. They usually go out of their way to be polite."<
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"All right. But--" He broke off as his cell phone rang. "Damn it." He flipped it open. "Detective; to what do I owe this pleasure."
Thompson's voice buzzed into the car. I strained my ears to pick up his end of the conversation. "Told you to leave your cell on, Sergeant."
"Must have been more tired than I thought, Sir. Just noticed I slept through three calls."
"Did you at least get some last night?"
"Oh yeah, slept real good." Wally went with deliberately obtuse on Thompson's lewd suggestion.
"Where might that have been? As if I have to ask. Sent a car to your house when you didn't answer your phone. You weren't there."
"No, I wasn't."
"And Francesca's car is still in District Two."
"Yep. Is there a point to this call, Detective?" I liked that about Wally. He didn't feel the need to make his business the world's, not even to defend himself against false accusations.
"I asked you to leave your report on my desk last night."
"I did. Made a copy for the chief and a copy for you."
"Well it wasn't here when I got back from District Three."
I added the missing report to my suspicion that the siphons hadn't latched onto my houseguest by accident. Somebody with connections in HQ was interested in what happened to them.
Wally asked Thompson, "Chief have his copy?"
"Yes."
"There's a copy in the top right hand drawer of my desk, if you need another. I'm assuming nobody saw anyone near your desk."
"Nobody that's come forward. Chief already gave me a copy of the report. Just had a few questions about your girlfriend's participation and the pictures she took of our missing mage."
"Ask away." Wally didn't bother to correct the mistaken impression. He put the phone on speaker.
"She with you?"
"Yep."
"All right then. The prodigy's father has had a look at the photos she took. He wants to know how often his son slept with the siphon."
"It's in the report. He was a weekly. And Frankie only watched her for two weeks so only twice for certain. Of course the husband came to her with suspicions of cheating so probably at least once or twice before that."