Read Online Death and Relaxation by Devon Monk - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Devon Monk
Tags: Fantasy.Urban
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a game of bingo or two.
Better to put some distance between me and those who could be harmed or affected by it.
I walked out of the building like nothing was bothering me. Kept an eye out for trouble. Didn’t see anything but mortals walking into the place, flat gray sky above, and cars rolling past on the highway.
As soon as I got in the Jeep, I took a closer look at the envelope. White, unremarkable. It was the kind that business letters were mailed in. The seal at the back was pointed and not self-moistening.
There was no stamp, not that I would expect one, and no other indentation or mark on it. I tipped it up to the light, shined my flashlight behind it.
It was security lined, but I could tell that it held a piece of folded paper. My name wasn’t computer printed. Each letter left a small indent in the envelope.
So an actual typewriter had been used to address it. That might narrow down who the sender was a bit, but not by much.
I flipped open my pocket Leatherman, sliced the side edge, and drew out the paper. It was folded in thirds.
In the center of the sheet of paper was one line:
Tonight. One will fall.
“What the actual hell,” I breathed. Dread and fear clenched my stomach and my heartbeat picked up the pace. Was this a warning? A threat? Was this the bad feeling Jean had been sensing?
What did it even mean? One what would fall tonight?
I searched the parking lot again to see if anyone was watching me, but it was empty of people, creatures, and deities.
There was no date on the envelope or the paper, but someone inside would know when the mail had been delivered, and how. If this had come to the casino via some unusual way, I wanted to know the details.
I tucked Thanatos’s contract into the glove compartment and locked it, then walked back into the casino, my nerves tight, even though I didn’t let it show.
Myra had the gift of always being where she needed to be at the right time. Jean could tell when something bad was going to happen and usually had an idea as to what it was.
My family gift was a little different.
What I hadn’t told Thanatos, because it wasn’t his concern, was that the only way a god power could be given to a mortal was through me. I was the bridge between mortality and the immortal, a wire through which power could travel and connect to its new host.
That was a family thing too, handed down through the generations. It didn’t always show up in the firstborn—there was a great-great grand uncle Otis, who was the sixth-born, and he had been one of the best bridges for power transfer.
Dad had been the most recent bridge. He’d made me stand with him one time when I was fourteen to watch him endure that pain. Endure that power.
I’d had nightmares of it for years afterward.
So far, I hadn’t had to bridge a god power. Not a single god had died while on vacation in the last year. Not even Poseidon, who was a chronic idiot when it came to staying alive as a mortal.
If I had any say in it, no god ever would.
I strode back into the casino to do my due diligence. I’d check in with the cashier and anyone else who had seen the envelope delivered. Find out who had dropped it off. Then I’d head back to town before Death got there.
Chapter 6
I PULLED into the station. Six cars filled the parking lot—one was Myra’s squad car. One was Roy’s sleek convertible. Two had tow tags on them, and one was Jean’s truck. The other was a sedan—Washington plates. Out-of-towner.
I dragged my hair back into the rubber band and swung into my official jacket, the white envelope in my pocket. I dug Thanatos’s contract out of the glove box and strolled in.
Roy sat behind the counter and switchboard. He was a big, amiable man in his seventies. His wide, dark face supported a thick white mustache and a shock of white hair trimmed tight to his skull, making his bright brown eyes stand out. He worked LAPD dispatch back in the day, retired up here to Ordinary,
Better to put some distance between me and those who could be harmed or affected by it.
I walked out of the building like nothing was bothering me. Kept an eye out for trouble. Didn’t see anything but mortals walking into the place, flat gray sky above, and cars rolling past on the highway.
As soon as I got in the Jeep, I took a closer look at the envelope. White, unremarkable. It was the kind that business letters were mailed in. The seal at the back was pointed and not self-moistening.
There was no stamp, not that I would expect one, and no other indentation or mark on it. I tipped it up to the light, shined my flashlight behind it.
It was security lined, but I could tell that it held a piece of folded paper. My name wasn’t computer printed. Each letter left a small indent in the envelope.
So an actual typewriter had been used to address it. That might narrow down who the sender was a bit, but not by much.
I flipped open my pocket Leatherman, sliced the side edge, and drew out the paper. It was folded in thirds.
In the center of the sheet of paper was one line:
Tonight. One will fall.
“What the actual hell,” I breathed. Dread and fear clenched my stomach and my heartbeat picked up the pace. Was this a warning? A threat? Was this the bad feeling Jean had been sensing?
What did it even mean? One what would fall tonight?
I searched the parking lot again to see if anyone was watching me, but it was empty of people, creatures, and deities.
There was no date on the envelope or the paper, but someone inside would know when the mail had been delivered, and how. If this had come to the casino via some unusual way, I wanted to know the details.
I tucked Thanatos’s contract into the glove compartment and locked it, then walked back into the casino, my nerves tight, even though I didn’t let it show.
Myra had the gift of always being where she needed to be at the right time. Jean could tell when something bad was going to happen and usually had an idea as to what it was.
My family gift was a little different.
What I hadn’t told Thanatos, because it wasn’t his concern, was that the only way a god power could be given to a mortal was through me. I was the bridge between mortality and the immortal, a wire through which power could travel and connect to its new host.
That was a family thing too, handed down through the generations. It didn’t always show up in the firstborn—there was a great-great grand uncle Otis, who was the sixth-born, and he had been one of the best bridges for power transfer.
Dad had been the most recent bridge. He’d made me stand with him one time when I was fourteen to watch him endure that pain. Endure that power.
I’d had nightmares of it for years afterward.
So far, I hadn’t had to bridge a god power. Not a single god had died while on vacation in the last year. Not even Poseidon, who was a chronic idiot when it came to staying alive as a mortal.
If I had any say in it, no god ever would.
I strode back into the casino to do my due diligence. I’d check in with the cashier and anyone else who had seen the envelope delivered. Find out who had dropped it off. Then I’d head back to town before Death got there.
Chapter 6
I PULLED into the station. Six cars filled the parking lot—one was Myra’s squad car. One was Roy’s sleek convertible. Two had tow tags on them, and one was Jean’s truck. The other was a sedan—Washington plates. Out-of-towner.
I dragged my hair back into the rubber band and swung into my official jacket, the white envelope in my pocket. I dug Thanatos’s contract out of the glove box and strolled in.
Roy sat behind the counter and switchboard. He was a big, amiable man in his seventies. His wide, dark face supported a thick white mustache and a shock of white hair trimmed tight to his skull, making his bright brown eyes stand out. He worked LAPD dispatch back in the day, retired up here to Ordinary,
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