by Chloe Garner
“Sammycat,” she said. “Now that’s a statement.”
Samantha shrugged, feeling Lahn at her back and the backpack weighing her shoulders. Like old times.
“Let’s go.”
“Where are we going?” Kelly asked, appearing from around a corner.
“Should he stay?” Jason asked.
“No, he needs to see this sometime,” Samantha answered. “Besides, we’re mostly doing the human stuff, today.”
“I don’t do human stuff,” Kelly said.
“They’re gray,” Samantha said. “We’re going shopping.”
Kelly looked confused when Jason grinned.
“Why is that funny?” the angel asked.
“Because you’re in for the shock of your life,” Jason said. “Both of you, actually.”
“If you’re talking about something you’ve seen, you need to shut up,” Samantha warned.
“I’m talking about the first time we came here with you,” Jason said. “No one does what you do like you do it. I swear, it’s the most fun I’ve had in this city.”
Samantha shrugged again, pushing the button for the elevator.
“It’s just shopping,” she said, though she knew exactly what he was talking about.
They took the subway across town and walked to the street market where she had always bought the bulk of her non-specialty magical supplies. She had most of what she needed at home, not to mention the stash she still held at the apartment, but she needed more than the stuff. She needed to put her face in front of the right people and start some rumors about what she was going to do next. The demons who had taken Isobel would have eyes all over the city, trying to keep other demons from stealing what they’d rightfully taken and trying to prevent any of Carter’s people from getting her back.
She would need to let Carter know what had happened, sooner or later, but she was keeping it to herself for the moment. She wasn’t ready for anything he would have to say about it.
She handed Jason a roll of bills and he nodded, stashing them in a pocket. So long as he didn’t hit a fragment, he’d be fine handling money, and it added a mystique to her negotiation that she’d long relied on with Sam. She would negotiate a purchase and simply walk away when it was done. Sam - or Jason - would pay for it and recover the goods. It added a psychological advantage in that, win or lose, she would walk away from any and every deal she did. She won all of them.
She started checking things off of her list, saddened as always at how quickly her knowledge of the market cooled off and got stale. She knew she was overpaying for a lot of the stuff she was getting, but at least it didn’t really matter. Her supply of funds wasn’t unlimited, but it was certainly outsized to anything she would buy in daylight hours.
“Sam,” a smooth voice said as she went past a particularly dark corner. “May I have a word?”
Samantha stopped, peering at the shadow.
“Celeste,” she said. There was silence and Samantha turned away. She wasn’t interested in selling to the woman, anyway.
“I need a word,” the woman said again.
“I don’t talk to shadows,” Samantha said without turning. She glanced back to find Kelly down the street away in the middle of an argument with someone. Kara was flirting just up the street, and Jason was at Samantha’s shoulder, alert. It was a formation, much as it might have looked like something else, and Samantha got the feeling that it was more centered on her than she was leading it, rather more like a tornado than an arrow.
“The shadows have many things to tell you,” Celeste said. Samantha scratched her head and waited. Still nothing. She drew Lahn, taking a step forward.
“Surely that isn’t necessary,” Celeste said, the shadow drawing further back.
“It is if you expect me to come to you,” Samantha said. “I’m a bit wary of ambushes, just now.”
“That’s precisely what I wish to speak to you about,” Celeste said.
“What do you know?” Samantha asked, stepping forward once more, the hair on the back of her neck prickling. It was daylight and the alley was almost exclusively human. There was no one here she feared, as a rule, and everyone knew who she was.
And yet.
Celeste was being uncharacteristically reticent.
“Come with me,” Celeste said, turning. There was the wave of fabric that was so characteristic of Celeste, then her shape disappeared. Samantha glanced at Jason and nodded, who put up an arm to attract Kara’s attention. Both Kara and Kelly converged, and Samantha started forward, finding a narrow gap between two buildings, just shoulder-width, that Celeste had taken.
Not appreciating the squeeze, but willing to trust Celeste at least a little bit more, Samantha followed.
There was a rustle of cloth ahead of her, just enough to let her know that Celeste was still there, and then the sound of a door.
Samantha wondered about the story of a building that had a door facing this tiny gap, but she continued on toward the faint light spilling out through the doorway.
The room where she found Celeste was hardly larger than the alley, but it at least had a single, aged bulb hanging from the ceiling.
“You lost something,” Celeste said as Kelly closed the door behind him. “Something of great value.”
“She’s a person,” Samantha said. “Don’t talk about her like an asset.”
Celeste nodded, the long gold fabric that covered her from her head down to her ankles masking any other expression. In the darkness, Samantha couldn’t even see the woman’s eyes.
“I understand,” Celeste said. “But it is what she is, is it not?”
“What do you know?” Samantha asked.
“I know that you have been a worthy business associate for a very many years,” Celeste said.
“Spill it, lady,” Jason said. “I’m getting bored.”
“We’ve worked together pretty well, sure,” Samantha said.
“Sam,” Kara said. “Who is she?”
“This is Celeste. She buys things from me and sells them to people who don’t have access to our markets.”
“I don’t trust people who wear bedsheets to business meetings is all,” Kara said. Samantha smiled.
“That’s why she buys from me and not Carter,” she said.
“Among other reasons, “Celeste said.
“Are you sure it’s her?” Jason asked.
“I know her voice,” Samantha said. “But I don’t see what good dragging us in here would do anyone. I’ll blow the place up and walk us out, if I need to.”
She wondered quickly exactly how she would do it, but things like that tended to occur to her when she needed them, more than anything. Plus, Jason had a pretty potent bag of goodies built up at this point.
“Your friends are fools,” Celeste said. “You do yourself no favors with your company.”
“Celeste, do you know what kha is?” Samantha asked, ignoring the indignant intake of breath from Kelly at the hellspeak word.
“I do not,” Celeste said.
“Then you have no space to evaluate my people,” Samantha said. “Jason is one of us.”
The woman’s head turned slightly to take Jason in more carefully, then she looked at Samantha again.
“As I was saying, we have been very profitable business associates for some time,” she said.
“And I agreed,” Samantha said, willing Jason to keep his trap shut and let Celeste work up to her point. There was an angle here, and Celeste was trying to keep her hand close to her chest until she was as sure as she could be that Samantha would compensate her for what she knew.
Samantha wasn’t going to go along with that until she knew what it was Celeste knew.
And that was how these negotiations went.
“You are, and always have been, a fair woman,” Celeste said.
“Don’t know what her skin tone’s got to do with it,” Kara said. “Spit it out already.”
“What do you know, Celeste?” Samantha a
sked.
“Knowing things is a fine art,” Celeste said. “You have to know what you know, you have to know what it’s worth, and you have to know how to stay alive long enough to make it worth your time.”
Samantha sighed. Pointedly.
“Yes, yes,” Celeste said. “Benjamin was here this morning, quite early, buying purple gleans, rootbark, January crumbs, and gray dust.”
“Where did he get gray dust?” Samantha asked, momentarily distracted. She was certain you couldn’t buy it any more.
“Jean, up the street,” Celeste said. “There’s a conglomerate out of Singapore that started manufacturing it recently.”
Samantha frowned.
“Fair enough.”
Celeste dropped her head again in a small nod.
“You understand what you do with those things,” she said.
“Of course I do,” Samantha said.
“You care to fill in the studio audience?” Jason asked.
“Rootbark is used to damp out magic, and as a silencer,” Samantha said. “It’s about the strongest thing out there for it. Purple gleans are decreases how much people perceive something, almost to nothing, January crumbs are used to keep things from being able to glitch in, and gray dust is an amplifier. They’re mostly natural magic. Which is interesting.”
“Benjamin only works in natural,” Celeste said.
“I know,” Samantha said. “But it’s odd for a demon to not add in his own work.”
“Benjamin is the best,” Celeste said confidently.
“Who is he working for, these days?” Samantha asked.
“I don’t know,” Celeste said. “Not me.”
“So they’re building a sound-proof room,” Jason said.
“This is where you stop talking,” Samantha said. She didn’t want to know what he knew about her search for Isobel.
“If they find out that I told you, they’ll kill me,” Celeste said.
“Then why say anything?” Samantha asked.
“Because you have access I want.”
Samantha waited.
“First, I need a demon,” Celeste said.
“I don’t have any to spare,” Samantha said.
“You have a whole houseful of them,” Celeste said. “Everyone knows you took envoys.”
“They aren’t mine,” Samantha answered.
“But they’ll do it if you ask them to.”
“Do what?” Samantha asked.
“Glitch to New Orleans and go shopping for me.”
Samantha waited.
“You’re kidding,” she said finally.
“There are lucrative opportunities to purchase there and sell here at good markups, if you know the two markets well enough,” Celeste said.
“I know you better than that,” Samantha said. “What’s the real price?”
“Didn’t your mom ever teach you anything about gift horses?” Jason asked.
“Why would you ever give someone a horse as a present?” Kelly asked.
“Clearly you’ve never been a little girl,” Kara said.
Samantha watched Celeste without blinking.
“I make a very good living,” Celeste said. “The women who buy from me believe my life is glamorous and dangerous, and they pay me well simply to give them vicarious access to my adventures. I need very little else.”
Samantha continued to wait.
“How would I have been a little girl?” Kelly asked.
“She isn’t saying you have been one, she’s saying you haven’t,” Jason said.
“What’s that got to do with anything?” Kelly asked.
“Clearly I’ve underestimated them,” Celeste said.
“Every little girl wants a pony,” Kara said, sounding embarrassed. “Hush.”
Samantha tried to hide a smile.
“I want to give my clients a one-of-a-kind experience,” Celeste said.
“I’ve made magic kits for them,” Samantha said. “They’re hobbyists, and I don’t care about them. Tell me what you want.”
“Is he gray?” Celeste asked. There was no way of telling from her face, as it was hidden, but clearly she meant Kelly.
“No,” Samantha said. “And even if he were, he’s off the table.”
“Then I want Carter to do a demonstration of dark magic,” Celeste said. “Margaret wants an indestructible vehicle, Babe wants a more powerful tracker for her daughter, a few other things like that.”
Oh, the multitude of sins that generic language like that could cover.
“Not a chance,” Samantha said. “There’s absolutely no way I could talk him into it, and I’m not helping you gateway your so-called clients into dark magic.”
“I could think of some interesting uses for a psychic,” Celeste said.
“Abby isn’t allowed out without Carter,” Samantha said. Not these days, anyway.
“But Sam is,” Celeste said.
Ah.
She’d finally gotten to the real ask.
Sam.
“He’s not available right now,” Samantha said.
“When?” Celeste asked.
“I can’t promise his availability without asking him,” Samantha said. “All I can give you is a promise I will ask if he’s willing.”
There was a silence as she considered it.
“And if I fear for my life, I need a safe place to hide,” Celeste finally said. “One you vouch for.”
Samantha reached into her pocket and pulled out the key to her apartment. She held it up where Celeste could see it.
“This is where Sam and I stayed when we were living here. The closet is full of all kinds of wonderful things, and if you lay a finger on any of it, I will know. You use it to sleep and nothing else. No storing things, no bringing other people in, no phone calls. You do not give the address to anyone else. Don’t put food in the refrigerator. Delivery only, and take the trash out when you leave. Is all of that clear?”
Celeste put her hand out for the key.
“Three months,” Samantha said. “Then I get this back. If you make a copy, I will find out, and you will pay. Is it all clear?”
“I can accept those rules,” Celeste said. Samantha gave her the key and told her the address. She looked back at the others and nodded.
“Let’s go.”
They were most of the way out of the alley before Jason spoke.
“Why no food in the fridge?” he asked.
“Because it rots and smells bad,” Samantha said. “Everyone always forgets to clean it out when they leave.”
She heard Jason laugh.
<><><>
Carter was unbelievable. Just unbelievable.
<><><>
She sat and mixed. Measured, cut, mixed, treated, everything she could think of.
Kelly sat on the bed and watched her without comment. Jason and Kara went down to the gym to work out, for lack of something better to do at the moment.
“Is there anything you can tell me about angel magic that I might not know that would help?” Samantha asked.
“No,” Kelly answered. She frowned at the supplies on the floor, knowing she had asked an ambiguous question, but having hoped he would offer up more information than that.
It didn’t matter.
She just wished she knew what he knew.
She knew more about angels than any living person she was aware of; she potentially knew more than any living person, save a couple of key ones.
It still wasn’t enough.
She needed to move fast. Really fast. Whoever had Isobel was dealing with a truly soft target, extracting information from her. She had no trained defenses, no experience with demons at all, and no apparent threshold for pain. The only question was where here greatest values were, and whether the demon who had taken her would keep her for himself or sell her.
She would go after Benjamin. Oh, yes. The witch was talented, immensely, but he knew better than to go toe-to-toe with her, and he would be avoiding her, having
completed whatever magicwork he’d been paid for. But she would find him.
If he was still alive.
He knew his way around a contract, and should have done a decent job at guaranteeing both his freedom and his life after completing the work. It didn’t mean he couldn’t have messed up. Just that he would have known the consequences of messing up.
She needed to be able to work around his magic, though, even if she did know what it was, and given the ingredients and his level of skill, she had some idea what she needed to do, in order to get through whatever containment they’d built for Isobel.
She needed to be ready.
She wasn’t going to let them surprise her. Not again.
So Kelly watched, and she worked.
She glanced up at him again, his fists buried up under his jaw and his eyes soft but intent.
“How did you know?” she asked, continuing to work.
“Know what?” Kelly asked.
“That Jason fragmented,” Samantha said.
“Can’t you tell?” Kelly asked.
“No,” Samantha told him. “That’s why I ask you.”
“Oh,” he said. She waited, glancing up at him through her eyebrows. “Oh,” he said again. “Um. I don’t know. The world ends and starts again?”
“It does what?”
“It starts again,” he said.
“Not what I asked,” Samantha said.
“Yes it is,” he complained.
“No, it isn’t,” Samantha said, reaching into her bag for anointing oil. One of her favorites.
She heard him whispering.
“Yes it is,” he said after another moment.
“I said ‘it does what’,” Samantha said. “Not ‘what did you say?’”
She watched him frown.
“It means,” she said, “that I want you to explain more, not say it again.”
“How am I supposed to know that?” Kelly asked.
“I just told you,” Samantha said. “So you’ll know next time.”
“Okay,” he said.
She waited.
“I’m waiting,” she said finally.
“I wouldn’t,” Kelly said. “Those need to mix fast.”
“For an answer,” Samantha said with exasperation. He was right. She poured the dry mix into the salted anointing oil and shook aggressively.
“Oh,” he said. She tossed the vial at him.