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district. He ordered a copy spell from Wiz where I was supposed to go to the cartel’s nightclub as him, enter the boss’s office upstairs, and let them know that he’d lost the money. Nonetheless, Wiz and I had fought our way out there that night and refused any more jobs that dealt with the cartel. Apparently, losing their money meant dying immediately.
    Wiz’s attitude about our jobs shifted to a heightened level of anxiety. He double-checked everything as much as he could and forced me to move into my own room away from Haven. He figured that the more people who saw us in each other's company would start to put two and two together, and come to the theory that I was possibly the copy spell. I found a room in Aztec Hotel the next day. Wiz hated the location and pled with me to find another place, but I refused. Mom didn’t like Shango district and avoided entering the poor areas of it as much as possible. I found that to be the best reason to stay there.
    “My room is on the fourth floor where all the long-termers stay ,” I said to Sasha. “Don’t worry, it’s clean and safe.”
    “Not that you’ll be there for a long time, vamp.” Rich dug his hands into his pockets. “If Wiz wakes up and sees you, he’ll kill you.”
    “I warned her.” I nudged him.
    “When do you think he’ll wake up?” Rich asked.
    “I’m not sure.” A cold sliver of fear slipped up my spine. “Since these worm things arrived, it’s been taking him longer and longer to wake up.”
    Rich stopped walking. I continued with Sasha, not willing to go into what was probably gnawing at Rich’s thoughts.
    One day Wiz may never wake up.

Chapter 6
     
    Drug dealers loitered outside of Caged View Apartments across the street.
    “Hey, Cameo,” one of the guys said. “You rolling with a crew tonight, huh?”
    “Yep.” I didn’t even check to see who was talking to me as I hurried Rich and Sasha forward.
    Orange lingerie decorated the hookers that pranced back and forth in front of Aztec Ho tel. Most were vamps, the rest mixbreeds. They wore the color orange in respect for Shango the god of fire since we were all in his district. I kept a good distance from them. Prostitutes with respectable pure bloodlines, like shifters and witches, worked in wealthier districts. Any of the hookers in Shango were considered scum and they acted like it—stealing from people whenever they could, heckling at anyone who walked by, and at times providing sexual services right out in the street in front of anybody.
    We climbed the outer stairs. The rusty metal screeched under our weight.
    “Eww.” Sasha stared at her hand. “What’s this sticky stuff on the handrails?”
    “One could only imagine.” Rich grinned.
    “I have no idea.” I held out my hands on the side. “The maid only cleans weekly and she doesn’t do anything on the outside.”
    A chubby dwarf couple argued on the second flight about some money that the husband thought he had placed under the ir mattress. On the fourth flight, a bum slept in the corner and hugged an empty bottle. The odor of urine radiated from his dingy clothes. I held my nose as we all stepped over him and traveled up to my room.
    My lips curled into a smile. Finally, I’m home. Today was the worst day of my life. Wiz was unconscious. My future safety was unsure. Mom killed herself, and even though she’d cursed, terrorized, and beat me when I lived with her, I missed Mom in my own way. But, the thought of entering my room sent warmth to my center and soothed some of the day’s stress. I had somewhere to hide and cry, to think of dark times with Mom and scream at the gods in rage. And to keep Wiz safe—a person who seemed to accept me fully, scales and all.
    Home sweet home.
    We entered the enclosed hallway. A blue light blinked on and off. Fin leaned against my door. She bobbed her bald head to the beat that came out of the headphones plugged in her ears. We approached her. She looked at us and yanked the