by D. J. Butler
The answer came from Jim. He stood in the wrecked doorway of the Silver Eel, a big, broad-shouldered silhouette against the light, naked sword in his hand.
“We gonna rob filling stations for cash, then?” Eddie asked. “Chicago’s a ways away, still.”
“We’re not going to Chicago,” Jim said.
“What the hell?” Eddie demanded. “We come all this way, and you go and give the hoof to the first pig-headed giant who asks pretty please?”
Jim raised his shirt, showing the bands of duct tape that still held the fragment of his father’s hoof there. “Hell knows we’re coming,” he said, stepping out into the rain. “We’d better take a short cut.”
Adrian couldn’t hold his curiosity and uncertainty in any longer. “Jim, what happened back there?” he almost exploded. “What was that?”
Jim arched his eyebrows at the wizard. “What was what?”
Adrian didn’t know where to start. “You’re a sorcerer.”
“No.” Jim shook his head. “But I’ve spent a lot of time around them. Enough that I knew when to jump into the spell.”
It was Adrian’s turn to raise his eyebrows. “Enough to be able to read, write, and speak Adamic?”
“What Adamic?” Jim laughed lightly. “That was some Old Occitanian. France has turned out more than a few decent witches and wizards in her day.”
Adrian didn’t believe him for a heartbeat. Should he play along? “Which you learned … by hanging around wizards,” he asserted.
Jim nodded, and clapped his hands once. “Our shortcut’s going to mean no instruments,” he said, “but if you left anything else you want in the building, now’s the time to get it.”
“And Elaine?” Adrian tried to catch Jim’s eye.
Jim stared back levelly, and nodded once, slow and deep. “We’ll get Elaine,” he said.
“How about the van?” Mike asked.
By way of answer, Jim stepped forward and smashed the side view mirror off the minivan with the pommel of his sword. He picked the mirror up and showed it to the bass player. “This is all we’ll need from the van,” he said.
“Oberon’s teats,” Twitch cursed.
“I thought Oberon was the male.” Mike frowned as he got out of the van.
“Sometimes, Mike,” the fairy said with an affectionate smile, “you have a very limited imagination.”
“My pistol,” Adrian said. And nicotine patches, and gum. He felt good, in ways he couldn’t quite put his finger on, but he had no confidence that he wouldn’t fall unconscious the next time he came under pressure. He still needed to undo his curse, still wanted power, was still looking to deal with the devil.
“You’re definitely going to need a gun,” Jim said. He grinned, but Adrian knew he was keeping secrets, and that made the grin seem less friendly.
“Some things never change,” Eddie grumbled. “Come on, I’ll help you find your shit.”
“It isn’t shit,” Adrian said, but he followed Eddie into the devastated club.
With the Fallen gone, the Silver Eel was transformed from a menacing trap, a mouth of steel, concrete and storm, into a simple wreck. Adrian picked his way among shattered timbers and severed mantis-demon limbs, hearing a fire truck siren start up somewhere in the city. “Maybe we could get something to eat in the kitchen before we leave,” he suggested to the guitar player. “Who knows when we might get our next safe meal?”
“Sure,” Eddie said. “That’s a good idea. They might not have eggs blessed by the Dalai Lama here, though.”
Adrian’s stomach rumbled.
“Steak,” he said. “I was thinking maybe a nice ribeye.”
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About the Author
D.J. Butler (Dave) is a novelist living in the Rocky Mountain northwest. His training is in law, and he worked as a securities lawyer at a major international firm and inhouse at two multinational semiconductor manufacturers before taking up writing fiction. He is a lover of language and languages, a guitarist and self-recorder, and a serious reader. He is married to a powerful and clever woman and together they have three devious children.
Dave writes fantasy, science fiction, space opera, steampunk, cyberpunk, superhero, alternate history, dystopian fiction, horror and related genres for all audiences. His novels Crecheling and City of the Saints are available from WordFire Press, and his middle reader steampunk adventure series, The Extraordinary Journeys of Clockwork Charlie, launches soon with the novel The Kidnap Plot (Knopf, 2016).
Read about all of Dave’s fiction projects at http://davidjohnbutler.com.
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