Read Online Game Of Cages (2010) by Harry Connolly - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Harry Connolly
Ads: Link
holding a gun.
It was a Colt .45, very old, very intimidating, and very aimed at my head. Someone who knew more about guns would have aimed it at my chest, where I had protective tattoos. I didn't have any protection on my face.
"Put that away," I said, sounding much more calm than I felt. "I've come to offer you a job."
"Hands up!" she barked. "Take your hand out of your pocket slowly. It should be empty, or I will shoot. Yes?" Her accent was northern European--Swedish maybe. I left my ghost knife in my pocket and showed her my empty hands.
"How did you get in here without ...?" She glanced back at the wall and saw that the tile was gone. She didn't think to look on the floor. "Who are you?"
"You should hear me out, and quickly. I'm not kidding about that job."
"I think you are kidding. Even if you were not, I would never work for a man dressed as kitchen help. Besides, I already have a job. I will be traveling with Armand early tomorrow, and I do not have time to waste."
I smiled. "Armand isn't going to Hong Kong with Yin."
She smirked at me. "Do you know something I don't?"
"Everyone knows something you don't. Why don't you close that door? This jacket isn't worth a damn."
I held open the servant's jacket so she could see I was unarmed, then stripped it off and tossed it onto the top of the plastic cage. She stared at me in shock. Apparently, touching the cage was Just Not Done.
She entered and pulled the door shut. The latch didn't engage because I had cut it off. "This is my home," she said.
I felt a twinge of guilt at that. I had done a lot of rotten things and I'd broken my share of laws, but I didn't like scaring women. Not that she looked scared.
Too late now. "I'm sorry for barging in, Ursula," I said, trying to keep any genuine regret out of my voice. I didn't think she'd trust a sympathetic face. "I had to see this setup for myself. It's not much, is it?"
"What is it that you know that I do not?"
"That Asian fellow offered you a job, correct? To keep caring for Armand?"
She nodded. "Of course. I have cared for him for years. I am the expert."
"Well, he doesn't have Armand anymore."
Her expression didn't change. "What do you mean? Who has him, you?"
"No one has him, as of an hour ago. He's running loose on the mountainside."
Her expression still hadn't changed. I didn't like the way she was looking at me. It reminded me too much of Regina's flinty stare. "Why should I believe you?"
"Because I'm here." I sat in the rocking chair and didn't let my smile fade. "I wanted to see whether he came back here. This is his home, isn't it?"
"It has been for twenty-two years." Both of us stared into the empty cage.
"Do you think he will come back here eventually? His home doesn't look very comfortable."
"He does not need comfort. He is not like other kinds of dog. At first, we gave him chew toys and soft blankets, but he never bothered with them. He never ate, either. Never drank water. I'm not even sure he ever breathed ..." Her voice trailed off. I wanted to keep her going.
"Never ate?" I prompted. "What kind of dog is he?"
"He is not a dog, of course. Not a real one. He is a spirit. We fed him with our love. That was all he needed."
We heard a pair of gunshots. They were far away, faintly echoing off the mountainsides. Maybe Biker wasn't going home after all.
"My God!" Ursula said. "Are they hunting him?"
"No one is going to shoot him, not when he is worth so much," I said. "It was probably--"
She turned toward me and raised the Colt. I threw myself and the rocking chair to the side as the gun went off. I rolled onto the floor, wondering if she'd hit me.
The ghost knife was already in my hand. I threw it.
The gun went off again, splintering the wooden floor. A moment later, the ghost knife sliced through the Colt's barrel and hammer. Then the spell passed through Ursula's shoulder.
Her ski jacket split open, but I knew the flesh beneath would be unmarked. The top of the pistol fell to the
It was a Colt .45, very old, very intimidating, and very aimed at my head. Someone who knew more about guns would have aimed it at my chest, where I had protective tattoos. I didn't have any protection on my face.
"Put that away," I said, sounding much more calm than I felt. "I've come to offer you a job."
"Hands up!" she barked. "Take your hand out of your pocket slowly. It should be empty, or I will shoot. Yes?" Her accent was northern European--Swedish maybe. I left my ghost knife in my pocket and showed her my empty hands.
"How did you get in here without ...?" She glanced back at the wall and saw that the tile was gone. She didn't think to look on the floor. "Who are you?"
"You should hear me out, and quickly. I'm not kidding about that job."
"I think you are kidding. Even if you were not, I would never work for a man dressed as kitchen help. Besides, I already have a job. I will be traveling with Armand early tomorrow, and I do not have time to waste."
I smiled. "Armand isn't going to Hong Kong with Yin."
She smirked at me. "Do you know something I don't?"
"Everyone knows something you don't. Why don't you close that door? This jacket isn't worth a damn."
I held open the servant's jacket so she could see I was unarmed, then stripped it off and tossed it onto the top of the plastic cage. She stared at me in shock. Apparently, touching the cage was Just Not Done.
She entered and pulled the door shut. The latch didn't engage because I had cut it off. "This is my home," she said.
I felt a twinge of guilt at that. I had done a lot of rotten things and I'd broken my share of laws, but I didn't like scaring women. Not that she looked scared.
Too late now. "I'm sorry for barging in, Ursula," I said, trying to keep any genuine regret out of my voice. I didn't think she'd trust a sympathetic face. "I had to see this setup for myself. It's not much, is it?"
"What is it that you know that I do not?"
"That Asian fellow offered you a job, correct? To keep caring for Armand?"
She nodded. "Of course. I have cared for him for years. I am the expert."
"Well, he doesn't have Armand anymore."
Her expression didn't change. "What do you mean? Who has him, you?"
"No one has him, as of an hour ago. He's running loose on the mountainside."
Her expression still hadn't changed. I didn't like the way she was looking at me. It reminded me too much of Regina's flinty stare. "Why should I believe you?"
"Because I'm here." I sat in the rocking chair and didn't let my smile fade. "I wanted to see whether he came back here. This is his home, isn't it?"
"It has been for twenty-two years." Both of us stared into the empty cage.
"Do you think he will come back here eventually? His home doesn't look very comfortable."
"He does not need comfort. He is not like other kinds of dog. At first, we gave him chew toys and soft blankets, but he never bothered with them. He never ate, either. Never drank water. I'm not even sure he ever breathed ..." Her voice trailed off. I wanted to keep her going.
"Never ate?" I prompted. "What kind of dog is he?"
"He is not a dog, of course. Not a real one. He is a spirit. We fed him with our love. That was all he needed."
We heard a pair of gunshots. They were far away, faintly echoing off the mountainsides. Maybe Biker wasn't going home after all.
"My God!" Ursula said. "Are they hunting him?"
"No one is going to shoot him, not when he is worth so much," I said. "It was probably--"
She turned toward me and raised the Colt. I threw myself and the rocking chair to the side as the gun went off. I rolled onto the floor, wondering if she'd hit me.
The ghost knife was already in my hand. I threw it.
The gun went off again, splintering the wooden floor. A moment later, the ghost knife sliced through the Colt's barrel and hammer. Then the spell passed through Ursula's shoulder.
Her ski jacket split open, but I knew the flesh beneath would be unmarked. The top of the pistol fell to the
Similar Books
