by Jaye Wells
I was trying to wedge his trunk into the bus when I heard one of the guys say, “Your mom made you get a trunk, too? Lame, right?”
“She’s my sister, not my mom, but yeah.”
“Your sister’s old,” the girl said.
“She’s almost thirty,” Danny said in the same tone others might have used to say, “The disease is terminal.”
I smiled and finished putting his gear into the bus. Then I wiped my hands on my jeans and stood. “Hey, Danny?”
“What?” He had the slouchy posture of a teen in full impress-the-new-friends mode. I saw the fear in his eyes, though. He was terrified I would embarrass him. I suddenly was overcome with a sense of relief.
Danny was fine. Hell, he was better than fine. He might be headed off to a summer camp for Adept kids, but he wasn’t so different from the average American teen. His grades were solid, he never got into any major trouble, and he had a good head on his shoulders. On the other hand, by the time I was his age, I already had a tattoo, a smoking habit, and experience selling dirty potions on street corners.
Now I was a decorated detective on an elite task force, and I’d helped bring down some of the nastiest coven characters this city had ever produced.
I was under no illusions that I would never have a problem with Danny again. But for some reason, standing there that morning, I realized that I’d earned the right to feel confident that I could handle anything he threw my way.
“Um, hello? Earth to Kate?”
His new buddies snickered.
I shook myself. “Just wanted to let you know I’m headed out. You got the money I gave you?”
“Yeah.”
“All right. I’ll get going. Have fun and don’t forget to call every now and then.”
“Whatever.”
Turning to walk away, I felt a mixture of pride and sadness. It wasn’t easy letting him grow up. Hell, sometimes it was way harder than the things I ran into in my job. But I knew I’d done right by that kid.
I was almost at the car when I heard my name. I stopped and turned. Only to find myself the recipient of a quick side-hug.
“Thanks, Katie.”
I closed my eyes and squeezed him tight. “You’re welcome. Just do me a favor?”
He pulled away, looking bashful for an instant before the too-cool teen returned. “I know, I know. Don’t get in trouble.”
I shook my head. “Just promise me you’ll never forget who you are.”
“Like my name?”
“Some people might hear you’re a Prospero and think you’re bad news.”
He shrugged. “Fuck that. I don’t care what people think.”
I barked out a laugh. He was lucky the swear jar was at home, but he did sort of have a point. “Right, fuck them. Because you know what? We get to decide what it means to be a Prospero now.”
The bus driver honked the horn to indicate it was time to embark for the trip.
Danny squeezed me again. “I promise I’ll try to follow your example and show the world that being a Prospero means acting like a total badass.” He ran off, turning to taunt me as he went. “Behave yourself,” he mocked. “Don’t do anything that I wouldn’t do.”
With that, he ran off to join his new friends to climb on the bus. I forced myself to get into the car to watch them go so I wouldn’t be the dumb woman crying in the parking lot. Once the bus drove off, trailing exhaust behind it, I saw the man leaning against a truck on the other side of the lot.
Cursing under my breath, I climbed out of the Jeep and walked toward him. As I got closer, I noticed the truck’s bed was filled with luggage and fishing gear.
“You following me now?” I said.
Duffy didn’t crack a smile. “That your kid?”
I leaned against the fender beside him. “Brother.”
“How’s your partner?” He crossed his arms and looked up at the sky, as if we were just two pals shooting the breeze.
“Better. Should return to work soon.”
He turned his head to shoot me a meaningful look.
“What do you want, Duffy?”
He heaved a sigh. Whatever he’d come to say would cost him. I allowed myself to enjoy that. “To thank you.”
I raised a brow and shot him a side-eye. “Oh, really?”
“You saved my life.”
I opened my mouth to brush it off, but he cut in.
“It’s not often someone surprises me, but you managed.”
I huffed out an ironic laugh. “I suppose you meant that as a compliment, but I’m a little offended that you thought I’d let you die.”
He cocked a brow. “You know I know what happened with Morales in Los Angeles, right?”
I nodded. “Yeah, and you know I’m not my partner, right?”
He paused, thinking it over for a moment before nodding. “True enough.” He scrubbed a hand over his chin. “Anyway, thanks.”
“I guess I should thank you, too,” I said.
“How you figure?”
“Nothing would have stopped you from opening that IA investigation before you left the force. Could have gotten the last word in in a big way.”
“Eh, it was a lot of paperwork,” he said, underplaying it. “You hear they tapped McGinty?”
I nodded. “Last I saw him, he looked like he’d gotten a shot of adrenaline. It’ll be a good more for him.”
“He seems like good police. Hope he has an easier time than I did.”
“What do you mean?”
He shrugged. “You know, I seen a lot of shit in my day. Working homicide for so long, you see the worst of people, right?”
“If you say so.”
“I always avoided getting involved in the Arcane shit until Eldritch hired me to take over the Cauldron homicide beat. My daddy was an Arcane cop—you know that?”
I shook my head.
“Worked in the Cauldron, in fact.”
“No shit?”
He nodded. “He was killed by a Votary wiz when I was seventeen.”
I closed my eyes and cursed under my breath. All the sudden it made sense. Gardner had tried to hire Duffy multiple times to the task force because he was both a Leftie and a highly respected homicide detective. He’d turned her down flat each time. Now I knew why.
“He was an Adept too,” he added. “Before he died, I heard him complain to my mom almost every night how the Mundane cops distrusted the Lefties on the force. So, when I became a cop, I did my best to distance myself from being an Adept. Played it straight and stayed as far from the Arcane shit as I could.”
“Why are you telling me all of this?” I asked.
He licked his lips and sighed. “Because I was wrong.”
“About what?”
“About you. I never thought that police work was black-and-white. I seen lots of gray on the homicide beat. But I still managed to stay on the right side of things most of my career. It wasn’t until I got put on the Cauldron beat that those beliefs were challenged. Policing magic is complicated.”
I laughed. “No shit.”
“I mean it,” he said. “After Krystal got whacked, the murders slowed down for about twenty-four hours. Turns out, all the Votary peons were fighting over whether to listen to her or not. But once she was gone? They started killing each other to see who got to be the next leader. It’s endless. And all over what? Who got to control a few lousy street corners?” He shook his head at the futility of it.
“And then that night at the theater,” he said, “you did everything against the book. But I also realized that there wasn’t another option. It’s like the rules on the Mundane side of things don’t translate in the chaos of magic.”
“I’ve never thought of it that way, but yeah, that’s a good way to put it.”
“Truth is, since the day I started working the Cauldron, I’ve constantly felt under water. But you’re from here. You know how to swim through the currents.” He held up his hands. “Don’t get me wrong. I still believe a
lot of your choices have been shady as hell, but I guess what I’m saying is I don’t condone it but I get it.”
I didn’t know how to respond to him, so I just nodded and waited for him to continue.
“I tried to hack it here. Sure, I got a few good solves, but mostly I ran into case after case of shit that I didn’t begin to understand. Then the wedding from hell happened. I’ve had nightmares about it ever since that night.” He shuddered. “The screams.”
“It got to me, too,” I admitted.
We were quite for a moment, silently bonding over the shared memories of the horror of seeing Aphrodite burn.
Finally, Duffy sighed. “I gave my resignation the next morning. Realized life is too short. I never married or had kids, because I was so dedicated to the job. And here I am, with gray hair and nothing to show for all that work but nightmares.”
I looked over my shoulder and nodded. “What’s with the fishing gear?”
He patted a hand on the truck’s bed. “Got a cousin has a place out in Montana. Gonna fish and drink beer all day.”
“That sounds”—boring, I thought—“nice.”
“You’re a terrible liar,” he said. “But don’t worry. Your day’s coming.”
“Which day is that?”
“Day when you’re too old for this shit too.”
I laughed. “I’ve been too old for this shit since I was a teenager, Duffy.”
He tilted his head and shot me a pointed look. “So, why are you still here?”
I didn’t love the way that question caused my gut to twist, so I didn’t say anything.
“I’m gonna give you some unsolicited advice, Kate,” he said. “You should take that boy”—he nodded after the direction the bus had gone—“and get out of town. Go far away. Don’t come back.”
I twisted my lips into a cocky smile despite the inner turmoil. “Why’s that?”
He sucked his front teeth, thinking it over. “Because you swim a little too well in these waters. If you’re not careful, you might forget you’re not a shark.”
I tilted my head and watched him for a moment. Finally, I decided to forgo my usual sarcastic response and go with honesty. “I got unfinished business here.”
“That’s your pride talking. Listen to an old man. It’s better to walk away with your life than to die proud.”
I crossed my arms. “I don’t plan on dying anytime soon.”
“Neither did that hermaphrodite, girl. You saw what happened to them.” He shot me a look heavy with irony. “And, not for nothing, but if your partner doesn’t get you killed, then your association with that crooked mayor will do you in.”
An electrical charge flashed under my skin. It was anger, but the reality was, I was just angry because he was telling the truth.
“Well, thanks for your advice,” I snapped. “I’ll take it under advisement.”
I started to push away from the car, but he put out a hand to stop me.
“Tell me something. What really happened with that potion?” he asked. “The one you and Volos made?”
Now that he’d dropped the advice, I relaxed against the truck again. “I don’t know. The cook was good. It should have worked.”
He nodded and looked down, thinking it over.
“But I have a theory,” I continued. “Aphrodite tried to cut corners to enlightenment. Just like a hexhead, they were looking for an outside fix—a potion made by someone else to solve their problems. But what I’m starting to realize is that inside problems require inside fixes.”
“Sounds like you’re closer to enlightenment than Aphrodite ever was.”
I smiled. “Good thing I’m not trying to become immortal.”
“Aren’t you?” He looked me in the eye, daring me to deny it.
I wasn’t touching that one. I pushed away from the truck. “Anyway, I hope you find what you’re looking for in Montana.”
“And I hope you find what you’re looking for here. I just hope the price you’ll pay on the way won’t be too high.”
“Goodbye, Duffy,” I said.
His smile told me he wasn’t offended that I ignored his advice. He seemed content now that he’d said his piece. “Bye, Detective Prospero.”
With that, he got in the truck and drove off toward his easier life. I watched him go and thought over what he’d said. Maybe he was right. I should have left Babylon ten years earlier when I left the covens. But there was too much on the line to leave now.
I turned to watch the sun come the rest of the way up over the river. Since I’d started with the MEA, we’d brought down the leaders of two major covens. The only major player still on the street was Harry Bane, but he seemed to have an unfortunate habit of getting his ass kicked often enough to not be a real threat.
Nah, I thought, I wasn’t about to cut and run. I’d fought too many battles to give up on this city now. Duffy was probably right that shit would get a lot worse before it got better. But the thing I knew for sure was that if people like me didn’t fight the hard battles, nothing would ever change.
Prosperos never ran from a fight. We stood our ground, protected our turf, and when push came to shove, we fought dirty. And if there’s one thing my time on the task force had taught me, it was that we’d never win the war against dirty magic by fighting clean.
Also by Jaye Wells
The Prospero's War Series
Dirty Magic
Cursed Moon
Fire Water (novella)
Deadly Spells
* * *
The Sabina Kane Series
Red-Headed Stepchild
Mage in Black
Violet Tendencies (Short Story)
Green-Eyed Demon
Silver-Tongued Devil
Blue-Blooded Vamp
Rusted Veins (Novella)
Fool’s Gold (Novella)
* * *
Meridian Six Series
Meridian Six
Children of Ash
* * *
Other Works
The Uncanny Collection
About the Author
USA Today Bestseller Jaye Wells is a former magazine editor whose award-winning speculative fiction novels have hit several bestseller lists. She holds an MFA in Writing Popular Fiction from Seton Hill University, and is a sought-after speaker on the craft of writing. When she’s not writing or teaching, she loves to travel to exotic locales, experiment in her kitchen like a mad scientist, and try things that scare her so she can write about them in her books. She lives in Texas.
Find out more about Jaye Wells
www.jayewells.com
[email protected]
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Acknowledgments
My name may be on the cover of this book, but a lot of people helped me bring this story to you.
Lyndsey Llewellen at Llewellen Designs created the beautiful cover. She did a great job keeping the look and themes of the original covers created by Lauren Panepinto and the team at Orbit, but also put her own mark on it.
Melissa Hayden provided content editing and Richard Shealy provided copyediting. Thanks to their eagle eyes for catching all my typos and continuity issues. Any errors that made it through are my own.
Thanks to my assistant, Chelsea Klepfer, for keeping me organized and for all your excellent ideas.
Special thanks to Chia Hwa Chang for answering my Chinese language questions. Also Pat Hughes, who, in addition to being my uncle, is also an expert on fire fighting. He answered all my questions about drug lab explosions and provided excellent insights into what happens at the scene. In addition, his No bullshit before 5 p.m. sign inspired the one in Gardner’s office. Again, any errors in the
story are my own.
I couldn’t do what I do without the support of my readers, family, and friends. For this book, especially, I had a lot of encouragement and advice from some very smart writers, including Kathleen Baldwin, Kay Thomas, and Yasmine Galenorn. Thanks also to Team Awesome for your continued support and excitement for this series.
Last but not least, Zach and Austin Wells deserve medals for keeping me grounded and laughing. ILYNTB.
If you enjoy the Prospero’s War series by Jaye Wells, be sure to read her post-apocalyptic thriller,
Meridian Six:
* * *
In a world at war, freedom is a luxury paid for with blood.
* * *
The daughter of a rebel leader, Meridian Six was used as a propaganda tool and blood slave to her vampire captors for years after her mother died. When she finally escapes, she runs toward a red light signal that leads the way to the underground world of human rebels.
All she wants is freedom, but what she finds instead of a rebellion in search of a hero--and for some reason they think she fits the bill. The vampires used her famous name as a tool of oppression, but now the humans want to use it to inspire a revolution.
Merdian Six
One
The frigid air scraped my lungs raw. I pumped my legs faster, praying for a second wind. Stopping wasn't an option. Their breath beat at my back, and if they caught me, I'd be dead.
I turned the corner, running down an alley. Footsteps echoed behind me. Faster. I wrenched two trashcans back into their path. A male cursed and grunted. Metal scraped against concrete. I focused on the mouth of the alley and prayed for a miracle.