Read Online Fiction River: Hex in the City by Fiction River - Free Book Online Page B

one of those. He lived in a boxy blue house that had seen better days and little love out in Morningside, his address easy to find since he was on the Registered Spell Offender list. Verity splurged on a taxi, tucking Ruby into a clean sweatshirt, a Detroit Red Wings hoodie this time. Her rat had to be bribed with a bowl of pineapple chunks to accept the idea of doing more work, her body starting to show bruises, and her mind over-stimulated from the fight. Verity sympathized. She couldn’t leave Ruby at home. She would need the rat’s senses if her stupid plan worked.
    Of course, part one of the Dumbest Plan Ever depended on the help of a man who hated her.
    “Fuck off, Ms. Li,” he said, not even waiting for her to mount the final creaking step up to his porch before he leaned out the door and glared. Cord was a big, raw-boned man in his forties, hints of Native blood showing in his tanned skin, wide cheekbones, and black eyes.
    “Been a while,” Verity said, trying on a smile. It hurt. “How do you know it isn’t missus by now?”
    “Because you sniffers are all married to your rats,” he said, folding his arms and leaning against the door, blocking all view of the interior.
    That stung in a way only truth could and she almost told him where to shove his crooked picket fence. Only the weight of the paper bag in her hand and the shifting of Ruby’s bulk inside her shirt reminded her she was here for something more important.
    “I need your help,” she said. “Can you still do tracking spells?” Tracking missing persons was what she’d collared him for, almost three years ago. He had done a year in prison and paid a hefty fine. Tracking people with magic was illegal, a serious invasion of privacy that even the government wasn’t allowed to breach. Yet. Maybe tomorrow the law would change. Again.
    He looked like she’d grown a unicorn horn for a moment, then he sighed. “Seriously?” When she nodded, holding up the bag, he shook his head and stepped out of the doorway. “This’ll be good,” he muttered, waving her inside.
    Cord heard her out, then patted her down, much to Ruby’s consternation, and finally accepted that this might not be a trap.
    “This is illegal,” was all he said.
    “The law sucks. I wait on the law, this kid dies or disappears and the bastard that has him escapes.” Verity stroked Ruby’s fur, careful of where the rat’s pale skin showed bluish-green with bruising.
    The bloody stains on her sweatshirt did the rest of the convincing. He made her wait in his living room among a seriously impressive and seriously dusty collection of leather-bound books while he cast the tracking spell. Cedar smoke and vanilla wafted in from under the door to his office.
    “Do you know what that boy is?” Cord said, coming silently through the door from his office and pulling Verity out of her unhappy reverie.
    “A kid. He had some kind of power though.” She stopped herself from saying it smelled delicious. That kind of thing tended to freak people out.
    “He’s a wellspring.” Cord ran a hand through his hair, making the thick brown curls stand on end. “He ain’t got power. He is power. People like him; they’re rare as two-headed snakes. The kind of spells you could do with their blood powering things. Geez. I don’t even know.”
    “Did you find him?” she said, sitting up. Ruby twisted in her arms and looked at the big mage, feeding Verity his smells. Behind the magic residue was something strong and pleasant, like the aftertaste of a good peaty whiskey on her tongue.
    “Yeah, I got him pinpointed to an area out near the airport. Can’t get closer than that. Something’s blocking me.”
    “Show me on a map,” Verity said.
    “Nope. I’m coming with you. You and your bloody eyes might win a staring contest, but you sniffers don’t know shit about magic. And something real bad is hanging out there.” Cord was already moving back toward the door, pulling a red and green