by Domino Finn
From a distance, Connor studied the artifact. This was going better than I'd dreamed. But he was hedging now. Considering an alternate strategy where he didn't need to sign so much opportunity away.
I cleared my throat. I had to sweeten the offer.
"And don't forget what else you get," I added. Connor waited greedily. I lifted my index finger to the air, commanding his full attention. Then I rolled my wrist and pointed to myself. "A deal from me. Once we agree to terms, I'm not untouchable anymore. You can hurt me."
Connor Hatch showed his teeth, and I knew I had him.
"Fine," he said. "But I can defend myself against them, with deadly force, if they come at me or conspire against me." His voice dropped a few notes to emphasize the point. "Their protection is contingent upon them staying out of my business. They forget about me, I forget about them."
Well, he wasn't a complete idiot. He wouldn't agree to combat invincible chess pieces. Instead he was taking them off the board entirely. It suited his interests. I wasn't so sure it didn't suit mine either.
"But you can't trick them into confronting you," I said. "You can't seek their attention, directly or otherwise. Any ancillary conflicts resulting from normal police duties don't count either."
He nodded.
"To honor the terms," I stipulated, "you'll let us go. You'll leave me alone long enough to get Fran back home. We need to get everyone out of here safely. Only after that can we resume our business."
The Spaniard's eyes flared. He advanced on Connor again. I remembered what he'd revealed to me before, that he could only affect the physical world through my will, whether subconscious or not. The mind tricks he played, the attacks he carried out—as the bearer of the Horn, they only happened with my consent.
I forced my will into him. Full stop. I no longer considered it a healthy risk.
Here's the thing. The Spaniard didn't really know whether he could kill Connor or not. It was a gamble. Admittedly, this was a damn better chance than I'd ever had, but I wasn't sure that was good enough.
I hadn't planned for this eventuality. It just sort of happened. A last-second inspiration after thinking of Emily outside, wounded. After seeing the fear in my daughter's eyes. After slamming headfirst into the limits of my own shadow magic.
I was so close to victory, but I was just as close to defeat. If Fran were hurt, if Connor twitched a single finger and blew her brains out, then I would've failed in everything right and just.
No, this wasn't the plan. But I had to consider what victory really meant to me. Killing Connor? Protecting the wraith and others from his ends? Or was it doing the one thing I'd sworn myself to since returning to life?
My only job was keeping family and friends out of danger.
And I could do that now. With a simple agreement. Without making another move. Hell, it was practically done. I'd already won.
"Brujo..." warned the Spaniard. Connor ignored him.
All I needed to do was give the wraith the okay, to silently wish him to attack the jinn, and he would strike. But then my bargain would be lost, my daughter's future uncertain.
I kneeled and placed the Horn of Subjugation on the metal floor between us. My boot kicked it toward the jinn. "You have a deal," I said.
Connor Hatch's smile stretched from ear to ear. He released the girl and stooped before the Horn.
Fran ran for me. I caught her in open arms. She wanted to run, to keep running, but she didn't need to anymore. I clasped my arms around her and held her tight. She tucked her face into my shoulder and breathed muffled sobs of relief.
"The Horn," pronounced Connor as he held it in reverent palms. "The Horn of Subjugation is mine!"
The Spaniard's heavy voice rasped through his bones. "Yes, Master."
Chapter 47
A chill ran through me at the sight of the jinn and the wraith standing side by side. I didn't know who the Spaniard was in life, but I'd witnessed glimpses of a conscience within him. Now, bound to serve Connor because of the Horn, it didn't matter what the conquistador thought of the jinn. He would do his bidding. They were allies now.
With Fran in my arms, it was hard to care about anything else. The moment seemed like everything to me, but I hadn't made a deal with the devil for a single moment. It was for everything. Everyone. Now, and in the future. They would all be safe.
Fran lifted her head and wiped tears from her eyes. "Daddy!" she squeaked.
My heart stopped. I paused, unsure how to respond. I pulled Fran away. Gave her a startled look, half confused, half elated. But she didn't meet my eyes. She was fixated behind me. Fran shook out of my grip and ran to meet Evan approaching at my rear. My friend hugged her with one arm and spun sideways to position her behind his body.
I breathed again. For a moment I'd thought...
"Sorry, buddy," said Evan. "It's not that I don't trust you, but I couldn't sit out there doing squat."
I nodded absently. Then he raised his Colt Diamondback to Connor.
"Evan!" I snapped. "No!"
"Get behind me, Cisco."
"Don't do it," I urged. I turned my back to Connor and the Spaniard and held my arms across Evan's path. "You're safe—she's safe—as long as you back down."
Connor Hatch crossed his arms calmly. He stood unimpressed, in cocky challenge. The bastard wanted Evan to fire, to cancel the terms. If that happened, it would've all been for nothing.
Evan remained in a firing pose but allowed my words to sink in. He lowered the gun a hair and darted his eyes to me. Thank God.
"He's letting Fran off the hook," I said softly. "And you. And Emily. You're all free of Connor Hatch forever."
His brow furrowed. He wasn't sure it was true.
Connor shrugged in disappointment. "A deal's a deal, Lieutenant. Give my regards to your wife."
Evan checked his daughter in his arm and then considered me again.
"I told her I'd do anything to get her back." I sighed heavily. "You're my family." Then, "Get out of here, Evan."
My friend clenched his jaw. "You too, Cisco. Let's go. Don't die down here for nothing."
"He won't," remarked Connor. "Not tonight anyhow. Such are the terms of the truce. But it is odd, Cisco, that you would sell one family out for another."
The jinn waved the Horn to me in a taunt. It took me a few seconds to catch his meaning. I swiveled to meet the Spaniard's eyes, but he glumly dropped his head.
Suddenly, I understood why I had been the one to find the Horn in the first place. Why the Covey had chosen me for the task. Why Fran was the backup. In a rush of clarity, I answered the question I had never bothered to ask: why my lineage was important.
The fucking Spanish necromancer, the subjugator of the Taíno people, was my great great copy paste great great rinse repeat grandfather.
Connor casually turned away and made for the end of the hallway. For him, there was nothing else of interest here. The Spaniard stood silently, head down, allowing the jinn to pass.
Connor ordered the wraith without a passing glance. "Escort them off the vessel." When the jinn crossed the far hatch, he turned around in triumph.
"Sleep, Cisco. You'll have peace tonight." His eyes flared even as his face darkened. "After that, you'll never again know what it's like to be safe. You'll always look over your shoulder, wondering when Connor Hatch will come for you." He sneered. "And trust me, I will come."
The hatch shut and twisted closed. The Spaniard hovered listlessly and nodded for the exit. Evan was only too happy to get Fran out of there. My steps were less driven. Once I made sure they were on the ladder above me, I paused and turned to my old companion, at a loss for words.
The engines of the submarine kicked on. The interior whirred around us.
"Ten years ago," said the Spaniard hollowly, "I convinced you not to hand me over to them. Now you have done so willingly."
I swallowed. "My whole world has changed since then."
"More is changing still," he countered. "Next time
we meet, it will be as enemies." He placed the ceremonial knife in my palm. "You have made a grave miscalculation."
"Why didn't you tell me?"
The burning eyes and raspy voice betrayed no emotion. "It was not relevant."
"The hell it wasn't." I watched Fran clear the hatch. "She's my daughter," I said plainly.
"That is exactly why I held my tongue. Family matters disturb your judgment."
"Is that so wrong?" I asked indignantly. "You know, considering our relationship, Fran's your family too."
He looked after her wistfully, but she was already gone. Evan, too, disappeared outside. "It is not your heart that I fault."
I swallowed again. The taste of what I had done was bitter in my mouth. "Could you have done it?" I asked. "Could you have killed Connor?"
"I am confident I could have triumphed." His helmeted head cocked to the side. "But I was confident right up until I was bound to the Horn as well."
I nodded. That told me I'd made the right move.
I gripped the rung of the ladder but remained at the bottom. I couldn't pull myself up yet.
"I'm sorry," I said. "I'll find a way to get you out."
"That is no longer in your hands, brujo."
"The hell it isn't. I'm free to fight Connor without my friends and family getting hurt now. I won't stop."
The apparition scolded me harshly. "You have given away your best weapon against the jinn. I will make short work of any thralls you send his way. I, his greatest fear, am also his greatest defense."
I scoffed. "I made you a promise, and I intend to keep it."
The wraith considered me without pretense. "You do not know what you've done."
Water rushed into the ballast tanks. The vessel listed slightly. I held the ladder tight for balance. The Spaniard had no need for the precaution. He hovered wordlessly and nodded his skull upward.
The submarine was beginning its descent. It was time to go. I climbed up and out. As I stepped down the sail tower, the top hatch flipped closed by itself.
That was pretty cool. Why hadn't I used the wraith for dramatic stuff like that?
Then again, I'd used the wraith very sparingly, out of fear that he was a corrupting power. Whether or not he was, Connor Hatch would have no such reservations.
Waves of bubbles flooded the surface along the submarine's length. The vessel rocked. Jets of water misted the air. Before I could fully make it down, water rushed over the deck, submerging it. I jumped directly from the ladder to the shipyard platform.
Milena hurried to my side. Evan brought his daughter to Emily. She lay next to the other wounded DROP team officers, crying tears of joy. Even the Drop 2 member I thought was dead looked like he was gonna pull through. The Fire Rescue vehicles lighting up South River Drive were a promising sight.
It was over.
I watched as Connor's sub disappeared under the surface of the Miami River. It was anticlimactic. But maybe that was because I'd been gunning for the wrong climax. It was a good day, all things considered. Maybe I hadn't secured a victory, but I'd prevented a debilitating loss. All these people that I cared about, they wouldn't be in harm's way anymore. They wouldn't live in fear. All because of one simple powder trade.
I rejoined the crowd. I shared their smiles. We all had made it against stacked odds. Everyone was happy and relieved and full of adrenaline.
That would wear off. The pretty makeup would flake away and reveal the scars underneath. Fran had lived through a nightmare ordeal. Emily and others were injured. Evan's eyes were open to his wife's power now, and that wasn't even considering whatever Fran knew. I would need to follow up with her one day. Then there was the DROP team. Onetime enemies, full of bravado and camaraderie. They'd seen things today they'd never soon forget.
Everybody would change after this. I wasn't scared about that. Change is good. Change is the only way to grow. To prove you're alive.
Evan returned and pulled me and Milena aside as the crews of paramedics entered the marina. "You guys should get out of here," he said. "My team will take care of the rest."
The sub was gone, but the Russians were still secured in the warehouse. The bags of money and weapons were on display.
"What're you gonna tell them?" I asked.
He smiled. "I'll let you know when I figure that out." He shoved us toward the edge of the property, where we could slip down the street before the police arrived.
"Emily?" I asked.
"She'll be fine."
"I mean you and her."
He bit his lip. "She'll be fine."
I grunted. Milena and I hurried away.
"Hey, Cisco," he said, watching me over his shoulder. "What I said before, about operating outside the law..."
"I know," was all I said.
We traded a wordless glance, like it was us against the world. It reminded me of our days in middle school. Then he went back to the cleanup.
"Let's go," said Milena, leaning into my shoulder. "After firing that artillery cannon, I think I need a massage."
"It's gotta be two in the morning," I protested.
She smiled coyly. "I'm sure you'll manage." Milena pulled me to the street where we skirted the incoming emergency vehicles.
Everything was a blur. I felt different, somehow. Either the adrenaline was wearing off or I was in shock. The burden of the Horn was gone, but I carried a larger load now. I was personally responsible for unleashing an unknown threat on the city of Miami. My city. I tried not to think about Chevalier's disappointment or the Society's wrath. Hell, I forced myself not to consider how and when Connor Hatch would come for me next.
With the Spaniard as his ally, the jinn now knew where I lived.
But I had one night, damn it. One night I could enjoy, per the terms of the bargain. And seeing Fran in her mom's arms had made up for everything else.
I won't apologize for my decision. I would, however, do everything in my power to set it right. My family was now safe, but my city wasn't. No way, no how was I gonna let that slide.
-Finn
(Thanks for reading Powder Trade. Next stop? The final showdown in Book 5. Join my reader group to get it before everyone else.)
About the Author
I'm Domino Finn: hardened urban fantasy author, media rebel, and espresso junkie. (Pro Tip: Sugar is your friend.)
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Contents
Copyright
Title
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
Chapter 46
Chapter 47
About the Author