by Pratt, T. A.
“Wow,” Marla said. “That’s, uh... Wow.” What had she set free? Hell. It wasn’t her fault. Viscarro should have given her a bomb that worked.
“Leave me now,” Viscarro said, and turned in his chair to stare at the snow globe some more.
Marla walked out of Viscarro’s catacombs, past hurrying apprentices, down narrow corridors, through brick-lined tunnels, and climbed a ladder to emerge from a manhole not far from her apartment. Autumn was getting a grip on Felport, and there was a definite nip in the air. Winters here were always hard, but did it seem... colder than usual, for October?
“Ice will suffice,” she muttered, and wrapped her cloak more tightly around herself, and set off for home. Maybe this year she’d send her mother a Christmas card. All things considered, maybe the old lady wasn’t so bad.
STORY NOTES
It's always nice to go back and tell stories from Marla's mercenary days. Even if I kill her in a novel someday (which is a distinct possibility), there are countless interstitial stories I can tell from earlier in her life. The villain, Regina Queen, is one of my favorites, and I may return to her someday. She's still out there, after all, working her cold ways. I also like this story because it gives a small glimpse into Viscarro's inner life. He's one of the more cold and unsympathetic characters I've ever written, but I've always had a fondness for his undisguised avarice, and I suspect Marla learned a thing or two about being an arrogant jerk from him.
This story first appeared in an anthology called The Way of the Wizard, edited by John Joseph Adams and published by the good people at Prime Books. It's a great anthology. You should track down a copy.
I must thank Heather Shaw, Jenn Reese, and Greg van Eekhout for reading an early version of this story and convincing me to do away with the pointlessly non-linear structure I had at the beginning, which essentially read like I'd chopped up the scenes and put them in random order. (I was trying to be fancy, but sometimes, you don't need to be fancy.)
I would also like to note that I have no mommy issues. My mom is awesome.
If you like this story, you can learn more about Marla at www.MarlaMason.net.
Table of Contents
Cover
Mommy Issues of the Dead
Story Notes