by Rik Hunik
"That sounds like easy money. I like the idea."
When I dropped her off she gave me a passionate kiss before going inside to her anxious parents.
Despite all I'd been through tonight I was feeling mighty fine and I was too wound up to sleep so I got a bottle of wine and went to Caracalla's bathhouse to soak and do some healing spells on myself.
Chapter 49
"You should be pretty busy for the next few days," Zena said after she greeted me.
It was nearly noon but I felt great, if a bit hungry. "Why is that?" I asked, brilliant conversationalist that I am.
"Haven't you heard? You're a hero." She handed me a sheet of paper. "Read this. The news service dropped off a personal copy for you."
Zena watched in silence for several minutes as I quickly read through the big story about the spectacular capture of The Skinner atop the Triumph Of Germanicus. After he was arrested he gave a full, detailed confession, telling where he hid the bodies of the twelve women he had killed as part of the spell. When I put down the paper she said, "See, you're a hero."
I just grunted, or maybe it was a snort.
"You're saying they got it wrong?"
"No, no, not at all. Despite my deep involvement in most of the affair, and my key role in the finale, I didn't have any time to grasp the big picture, so, even with their sensationalistic tone I have to give them credit for summing it up pretty well. I learned a lot of things I didn't know before."
"Like what?"
"The whole story of his miserable childhood, the names and locations of all his victims, that his name was Vernon, and I never once thought that Silvina was the real Skinner."
"He didn't know his dark wizard was dead so he turned him in too. He even told the police how the wizard was involved with the volcano cultists. He told so much I don't know if he just likes to talk or if he's trying for sympathy."
"My favorite part though was where he implicated Thaddeus as his contact inside the police department and got him fired."
"Thaddeus was the victim of a spell. I'm sure he can get a lawyer to prove that and get his job back. I just hope the irony isn't lost on him."
The door opened and a stranger stuck his head in. "Are you Berk?"
Zena was right about me being busy for the next several days, but I didn't have to look for any people and I had no trouble finding any of my client's missing objects.
One final note. A week after I helped rescue Princess Nyanza a tremendous explosion rocked the island of Sicily and the largest eruption of lava in recorded history spouted over a thousand feet high and poured down the eastern slope of Mt. Etna all the way to the sea. Fortunately a local magician predicted the eruption so, despite a lot of property damage, no lives were lost. Could the cultists have prevented the eruption with all their sacrifices? Maybe, but they didn't have the right to try, and as it turned out, even a single sacrifice would have increased the death toll from the eruption.
The End
About the Author: Rik Hunik was born in Nelson, British Columbia, Canada, in 1957, and has lived his entire life in BC, except for a few summers in Alberta and a few days in Washington state climbing rocks. He has lived in Ymir, Wells, Quesnel, Prince George, North Vancouver, Burnaby, and North Delta. He currently lives in Quesnel, B.C. with his wife Jo and a 17-pound, blue-eyed, white cat named Mister. He mostly builds houses and shops to earn a living, but he's written dozens of stories, including fantasy, horror, sword & sorcery, mystery, humor, erotica, and science fiction, frequently combining genres. Twenty-five have been published in small press magazines and e-zines, and more as ebooks at Smashwords.
Other titles by Rik Hunik:
Down Among The Hoodoos (ghost story)
The Tale Of Orm's Revenge (sword & sorcery)
Berk's Agency (paranormal detective, alternate history, fantasy)
The Emperor Germanicus (time traveling to change history)
For Sakina (fantasy mystery.)
The Hole Story (science fiction)
Widdershins (modern fantasy retelling of old French folk tale)
The Gold Watch (western ghost story)
Defiance (horror poem)
Reality Check (science fiction horror)
Find them at httpssmashwords.com