Hexed

by Michael Alan Nelson

  “Where’s Gina?!”

  “Please, I—”

  SLAM!

  “WHERE IS SHE?!”

  Lucifer stepped forward and said, “We already know where she is. And the man can’t talk with a punctured lung.”

  “He only needs one lung to talk.”

  “Buck, I want to hurt this guy just as much as you do.” She pointed and said, “But I need you to get his briefcase. Then stand right there until I’m done. No arguments.”

  The cop’s herculean chest heaved as he struggled to calm himself. He turned on his heel and said, “Hurry up.”

  Lucifer turned to Sinkowicz. “This is how this is going to work,” she said. “It’s really easy. I’m going to ask you questions, you’re going to give me answers. If you don’t answer my questions, you’ll have to answer his.” Lucifer thumbed over her shoulder toward Buck.

  The blood drained from Sinkowicz’s face, leaving his already pale expression even more ghostlike.

  Buck came back and opened the briefcase, dumping everything on the ground at his feet. There were some papers, a notebook, a tablet, and various pens and pencils, but no Light Kings or other magical items. And no book.

  “Where’s the book?” Lucifer asked.

  “I don’t have it.”

  “That isn’t the question she asked you,” Buck growled.

  Lucifer shot Buck a withering glance before turning back to Sinkowicz. “Where?”

  “Please, you don’t understand what will happen to me—”

  “And I don’t much care. Where?”

  Sinkowicz dropped his chin to his chest. “In the office.”

  “Let’s go.”

  Sinkowicz chuckled through his broken nose. “You can’t go up there.”

  “You’re going to get me in,” Lucifer said.

  “I can’t.”

  Buck pulled his gun and pressed it to Sinkowicz’s head.

  “Whoa, Mr. Pierce! Calm down,” David said.

  Sinkowicz squeezed his eyes shut and whimpered. It was a stuttered wheezing that reminded Lucifer of someone trying to play a clarinet underwater.

  Sadly, this wasn’t the first time she had seen someone held at gunpoint. And if Buck pulled the trigger, it wouldn’t be the first time she had seen that either. Growing up in a favela made one a witness to all manner of horrors. But even though it was eerily familiar, Lucifer had absolutely no desire to watch anyone die. Not even the guy who emptied a can of mace in her eyes.

  “Buck,” she said in a calm, even-toned voice. “You don’t want to do this.”

  Buck didn’t speak. His jaw was clenched so tight that the muscles in his jaw popped with the tension.

  “If you kill him, then Gina is going to come home to a father in jail. Is that what you want?”

  “I want my daughter home and this son-of-a-bitch is the one that took her!”

  Sinkowicz yelped and nearly collapsed to his knees. A warm puddle of urine trickled out of his pant leg and pooled beneath him. “Please,” he begged.

  Lucifer gently reached out and touched Buck’s arm. “I’ve got this. Trust me.”

  Buck let loose with an indecipherable howl then holstered his gun. He bent down so close to Lucifer’s face that she could feel the heat radiating from him. “If he doesn’t give you the book in the next thirty seconds, I’m calling in SWAT,” he spat before walking away.

  “SWAT won’t do him any good,” Sinkowicz murmured.

  “Why not?” Lucifer asked. “Do you have a few more magical surprises up your sleeve? Why’s a middle manager like you playing with magic anyway?”

  “I have to. Everyone in the office . . . dabbles.”

  “What are you talking about?” Lucifer asked.

  Sinkowicz wiped a trickle of blood from his chin with his shoulder. “You have no idea what Graeae Industries is, do you?”

  “A company that steals from the rich and gives to the richer. What does that have to do with magic?”

  “Everyone in upper management is a member of the mystical community. Or at least knows about it. It’s the only way to get promoted to those positions.” He winced. “Please, can you get him to take these handcuffs off?”

  “No.” The idea of an entire company being run by people with knowledge of magic terrified her. There had always been vague stories surrounding Graeae Industries, but Lucifer had never seen anything to indicate that it was the dark and ominous enclave rumor said it was. To hear that those rumors might be true made Lucifer’s skin crawl.

  Lucifer folded her arms and leaned in close. “What does any of this have to do with you and the book?”

  “Office politics. I overheard Carey from accounting talking about a new executive position opening up, that he would be great for the job. But he knew the company was leaning toward someone outside the company. So he had a plan to use the book to curry favor with a coven of witches. In exchange for helping them, the witches would give Carey the power he needed to get the job. The problem was, the book belonged to the COO, and he kept it locked in his office. So Carey was going to have to steal it.”

  “But you decided to steal it first,” Lucifer said.

  Sinkowicz nodded and hung his head. “Yeah. I made some bad investment deals and needed money. With the new addition on the house, the car, Ethan’s college fund, I couldn’t keep up. I thought if I could get the book, I could get the promotion. It was just a fantasy, really. But one day when I was going over budgets with the COO, he was called out of his office for a moment. The book was just sitting there on his shelf. No one was around. So I took it.”

  “Then what did you do?” Lucifer asked.

  Sinkowicz shrugged his shoulders. “I read it. I didn’t understand half of it, but the basic instructions were pretty clear. All I had to do was get the book into the hands of someone young, younger than me anyway, and the witches would take care of the rest. So I gave the book to Ethan.”

  “You gave it to your own son?” Lucifer asked.

  “I told you, I didn’t understand half of it. I didn’t know what was going to happen. It didn’t matter anyway.”

  “What do you mean?”

  Sinkowicz chuckled. “Ethan isn’t what you would call a reader. I told him we were experimenting with new marketing strategies and needed a teenager’s perspective. I asked him to take a look at the book, but he just tossed it aside and went back to his video games.”

  “Then how did it get to the library?”

  “When it became obvious he wasn’t going to read it, I asked him to give it back. That’s when he told me he took it to the library. Apparently, because that’s where books come from.” Sinkowicz frowned, the drying blood on his face cracking with the gesture. “I love my son, but he isn’t much of a thinker, either.”

  “So Ethan takes the book to the library. That’s where Gina’s friends pick it up to use it for their little Bloody Mary party at the Worcester House.”

  Sinkowicz nodded. “I swear, I didn’t know Gina would be taken. Please, you have to believe me.”

  “What did you think was going to happen?”

  “I don’t know. Not . . . this.”

  “Guess Ethan isn’t the only one who isn’t a thinker,” Lucifer chided. “So why did you attack me? Gina was already taken. The book already served its purpose.”

  “Carey from accounting.” Sinkowicz’s voice began to tremble. “The COO discovered the book was missing. It didn’t take long for him to hear about Carey wanting it. Apparently, I wasn’t the only one to overhear Carey talking about his plan. But since Carey didn’t take it, he denied everything. So they brought him before the CEO.”

  “Did they fire him?”

  Sinkowicz laughed. “No. He went up to the CEO’s office and never came back. The next day all of Carey’s things were gone and someone else was using his office. They just . . . disappeared him.” Tears formed in the man’s frightened eyes. When he spoke, his voice was barely more than a whisper. “You don’t know these people. They wo
uld find the book eventually and know that I took it. So I had to get it back. When Ethan told me some new girl came to school asking about Gina, I thought you were some PI the company hired to find it. Ethan told me Olivia had the book. But when I got there and saw you got there first, I . . . I panicked. I’m really sorry—”

  “Don’t,” Lucifer sneered. “Just tell me what you did with the book.”

  “Carey’s car was still parked in the garage. They hadn’t towed it yet. So I stashed it in there. The next day the car was gone and the book was back in the COO’s office. That’s why I can’t help you. I don’t have access to the executive floor any more. Even if I did, they have stronger security measures now. Magical security measures.”

  “You let me worry about those.”

  “You’re going to break into Graeae Towers?” Sinkowicz asked. “That’s insane.”

  “No, it’s a felony. Now tell me what’s waiting for me up there.”

  Sinkowicz did his best to describe the layout of the executive offices and what he knew of their security systems. When he had finished and Lucifer was confident he had told her everything he knew, she pulled out her cellphone, tapped her glyph app, and held it up to his face. “What do you see?” she asked.

  “Uh, some squiggly lines and a spiral.”

  Lucifer turned to Buck and said, “I’m done with him.”

  The cop’s temper had cooled somewhat, but Lucifer felt there was still only a 50 percent chance Sinkowicz would make it out of the garage alive.

  “Promise you won’t tell anyone it was me,” Sinkowicz said as Buck grabbed his arm. “If they found out I was the one who took the book—”

  “Don’t care,” Lucifer said. “This is what happens when you dabble. Other people get hurt. From now on, learn to live within your means.”

  Mr. Sinkowicz protested as the cop pulled him toward the exit. Buck ignored the man’s blubbering as he read him his rights. David, who had been silently watching events unfold, stepped to Lucifer. “I can’t believe Ethan’s dad is the one who maced you. He would make pancakes in the morning for me and Ethan whenever I would stay over. I always thought he was a pretty cool dad.”

  “A pretty cool dad until he started playing with magic,” she responded.

  They followed Buck outside where his partner was waiting with a cup of coffee. Without a word, Buck’s partner opened the back of the police cruiser. “Do I want to know?” his partner asked.

  “Assaulting a minor, larceny, resisting arrest.”

  “I never resisted arrest—”

  “Keep your mouth shut.” Buck pushed Mr. Sinkowicz’s head down and shoved him into the backseat. Buck turned to Lucifer. “What now?”

  Lucifer looked up at the imposing height of the building looming above them. “Now,” Lucifer said. “I break into Graeae Towers and steal the book.”

  “What did you just say?” Ty asked.

  Buck motioned for his partner to give him a moment then led Lucifer away from the police cruiser. “Dammit, Lucifer, I’m a cop. You can’t just announce your intentions to commit a crime.”

  “Then I probably shouldn’t mention that I’m going to need your help,” Lucifer said.

  Buck sighed.

  Lucifer said, “If I’m going to get Gina back, I need that book. And there’s no legal way to get it. If that makes you uncomfortable—”

  “Just stop talking for a sec,” the cop bellowed. Lucifer could see he was on the verge of breaking down. Whatever resolve he had was quickly deteriorating. Buck looked over his shoulder to make sure his partner was out of earshot. “Answer me this, Lucifer. And be honest,” he said. “Did you have anything to do with the break-in at Brisendine Gallery?”

  Lucifer said nothing.

  Buck shook his head and said, “What do you need me to do?”

  CHAPTER 22

  “You’re not coming, and that’s final,” Lucifer said, stuffing a Pantouk crystal in her trick bag.

  David leaned against the wall of her apartment, his mouth twisted in disapproval. The faux-leather sleeves of his letterman’s jacket skiffed against the wall like a sigh. “Why not? I helped you in the cemetery. I helped you at the gallery. I even helped you with the witch! How can this be worse than that?”

  Lucifer had to admit that if it hadn’t been for David, she would have drowned. But it was her selfishness that let him tag along with her. She loved being around him, showing off for him, but it nearly got him killed. And this wasn’t a singular threat like the witch. She was breaking into an office run by a group of people with intimate knowledge of the mystical underworld. It was doubtful any of them were witches, but that was the problem. She had no idea what to expect. And that was the absolute worst way to start a job. If half of what Lucifer had heard over the years about Graeae Towers was true, she was going to have her hands full. And having her boy-crush along for the ride would be too much for her to handle.

  “It’s worse because it is, David. You know the story about Perseus? He visits three old ladies to learn how to kill Medusa. Those three old ladies were the Graeae. The book is in Graeae Towers.”

  David shrugged his shoulders. “So? It shares a name. What does that have to do with anything?”

  “Any company involved with magic and has the stones to share that name should be approached with extreme caution. And if Sinkowicz is telling the truth about the people with heavy-duty magical mojo running the place, caution might not be enough. I haven’t done any recon, any dry runs, nothing! I’m going into this job blind. I have no idea what is waiting up there for me. Taking you along would get us both killed.”

  Lucifer rifled through a pile of stuffed animals in the corner of her room. She found a few to her liking and crammed them into her trick bag as she continued.

  “I don’t believe it,” David said, crossing his arms. “There’s no way Graeae Towers is more dangerous than the Witch of Cape Vale.”

  Lucifer said, “That’s just it, David. I don’t know. Probably not, but it sounds like there’s enough sorcery in that place to give Minnie Hester a run for her money. For crying out loud, the COO of the company keeps the book on a shelf in his office like it’s a dictionary.” Lucifer rummaged through her closet until she found the pair of dark gray sneakers she was looking for. “All I know is that there’s going to be a whack-ton of mystical muscle guarding that place. It’s too dangerous for you to go with me.”

  David stepped forward and put his hand on Lucifer’s shoulder. He looked down at her with his crooked smile and said, “That’s exactly why you need me to go with you.”

  That smile made Lucifer’s knees buckle. How could she say no to such a beautiful thing? She pried her gaze away from his magnetic smile and said, “No. David, the security is going to be more than just cameras and guards on patrol.”

  “But you said you haven’t done any recon. You never break into a place without knowing everything you can about it first. Let me help you case the joint, at least.”

  Lucifer hated herself for not cringing when he said it. Even the little things he did that annoyed her were starting to seem cute. “We don’t have time for that,” she said. “Minnie Hester said that whatever it is the Sisters are planning to do with Gina, it’s going to happen under the full moon. That’s in two days. There’s no time for recon. I have to do this blind and I can’t if I have to keep one eye on you.”

  David tapped his chest and said, “I was the one who saved your life with the witch, remember. And I think I can take care of myself.” He squeezed Lucifer’s shoulders. “We make a good team, Lucifer.”

  Lucifer looked up into his eyes, stared at the sweet curl of his smile, remembering the way his kiss finally broke the witch’s spell. He gently pulled her closer and leaned down. Lucifer put her hand on his chest, the pointed corner of one of the many sports patches that adorned his jacket biting into her palm. “Stop.”

  David straightened. “Sorry, I . . . sorry.”

  “I never should have let you come with me
to Cape Vale. Hell, I should have never let you come to the cemetery with me. But I . . . I like it when you’re near me. And that’s a problem.”

  “Why is that a problem?”

  “Because I can’t concentrate when you’re around, David! This is dangerous work and I have to be focused because when I’m not focused, people die. And you make it very hard to focus.” Lucifer slipped her trick bag over her shoulder.

  “But I like being around you, too, Lucifer.”

  Lucifer’s heart swooned, but her stomach twisted into a giant knot. It was if her internal organs were being pulled by opposite forces of gravity. She had never felt anything like this before. How could she like being around him so much yet feel so horrible about it? “That doesn’t help,” she said. “We’re supposed to be helping Gina. Your girlfriend, remember?”

  David looked as if he had been slapped in the face. “I know, I know. But I can’t help the way that I feel. I like you, Lucifer.”

  “What about Gina?”

  David paused, his crooked smile now wilted into a twisted frown. “I don’t know. She’s my girlfriend, yes, and we have to save her. But . . . none of that changes how I feel about you.” David shrugged his shoulders. “I’m not sure what else I can say.”

  Gina isn’t real, Lucifer thought. Say that she never was and all this was just a bad dream and the two of us are going to wake up from a cat-nap in the park, under the rustling leaves of an oak tree while swans splash and swim in a nearby duck pond.

  “I have to go,” Lucifer said.

  David gently grabbed her arm to stop her. “Please, let me help.”

  “Not this time. I’m sorry.”

  “I won’t let you face that kind of danger alone. Don’t expect me to sit around and do nothing,” David said with a firmness in his voice she had never heard before.

  “You can do whatever you want. You just can’t come with me.”

  “Lucifer—”

  “David. You know how much I like you. But don’t think for a second I’m not above knocking you out and tying you up in the closet.”