Read Online Sinners & Sorcerers: Four Urban Fantasy Thrillers by Scott Nicholson, Robert J. Crane, Daniel Arenson, S.M. Reine, J. R. Rain - Free Book Online Page B
Tags: Literature & Fiction, Fantasy, Horror, Science Fiction & Fantasy, Genre Fiction, dark fantasy, Urban, Paranormal & Urban
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form and generous hips. The man’s eyes lit up for a second, but then his face went neutral.
“Dunno,” he said, scratching the mole on the left side of his neck. His fingernail was yellow and cracked. “My memory’s terrible.”
And me without money for a bribe.
“Thanks anyway,” I said.
The man looked disappointed. “Any time, bro.”
I made like I was walking down the street, away from the entrance.
As soon as I was out of sight of the office, I vaulted the brick wall and dropped down on the other side behind an RV.
The look that guy had given me when I described Stonecrow was the look of a man that had seen ungodly perfection in a woman. The kind of woman with hips that could knock down walls, and her breasts— Lord, those breasts . No wonder clients had been paying thousands of dollars for her time.
I slipped my hand into my pocket and clenched it around Stonecrow’s bracelet. The raccoon bones dug into my palm. The pain was enough of a reminder of what I was doing there, what I needed to do, and why.
Last time I’d let my balls do the thinking, I’d ended up with an innocent woman dead in my bathtub. And this particular woman, this necrocognitive, was the only way I was going to get justice for Erin. That’s all she was. A tool to clear my name and find the real villain.
A tool that was slinking around behind the RV three parking spots down.
The sight of her lurking just a few yards away jolted me to my core. I hadn’t expected to be so quick to find her, especially when she was already on the run again. I’d hoped to catch her off-guard, cozy and unsuspecting in her mobile escape unit. Instead, she was crouched behind an old RV that was decorated with beaded curtains and electric teal paint.
There were no animal skins in sight this afternoon. Stonecrow wore cutoff shorts and a baggy pullover. The only reason I could identify her at that distance was that she had feathers woven into her hair, like a faint echo of the elaborate headdress she had been wearing early that morning.
For a second, I thought Stonecrow had been clued in to my presence and was trying to sneak away. But she wasn’t looking at me. She was leaning around the corner of the RV to peer at something else.
I followed her gaze to see a black SUV parked on the other side of her vehicle. It had flashing lights set into the grille and dark-tinted windows.
A pair of men in black suits stepped out. They were big guys, so much broader than me that they made me look like a skinny-assed nerd. Their necks were thick as tree trunks. Every move looked deliberate, choreographed. Only one type of person moved like that: kopides. Super-powered demon hunters.
The Union had found Stonecrow.
Wild thoughts whirled through my skull. Had Suzy reported our findings to her superiors, even knowing that I was going to the same place? Maybe she’d thought that they could get to Stonecrow first. Take away my primary incentive for remaining in town. No way she’d deliberately attempted to fuck up my day.
Whether or not it was what she had planned, that was definitely the outcome.
Stonecrow jumped into the shadows behind the next SUV, which was rocking on its suspension, like there was a dance party inside. Or some other kind of party. Then she jumped behind the next. The same one that I was hiding behind.
That was when she saw me. Horror flashed in her eyes.
Yeah, she recognized the blisters.
“ You ,” she hissed.
I lifted her bracelet. “Got something for you.”
She snatched it out of my hand then turned to bolt.
I grabbed her by the upper arm. Stonecrow twisted and just about melted out of my grip again. I was ready for her this time. Seizing both of her wrists, I shoved her back against the brick wall, giving her no room to pull off ninja maneuvers.
“Your bosses can’t have me,” Stonecrow spat. “I’d rather bury myself alive.”
“I’m not taking you to anyone else. I don’t want to hurt you.”
Doubt flickered
“Dunno,” he said, scratching the mole on the left side of his neck. His fingernail was yellow and cracked. “My memory’s terrible.”
And me without money for a bribe.
“Thanks anyway,” I said.
The man looked disappointed. “Any time, bro.”
I made like I was walking down the street, away from the entrance.
As soon as I was out of sight of the office, I vaulted the brick wall and dropped down on the other side behind an RV.
The look that guy had given me when I described Stonecrow was the look of a man that had seen ungodly perfection in a woman. The kind of woman with hips that could knock down walls, and her breasts— Lord, those breasts . No wonder clients had been paying thousands of dollars for her time.
I slipped my hand into my pocket and clenched it around Stonecrow’s bracelet. The raccoon bones dug into my palm. The pain was enough of a reminder of what I was doing there, what I needed to do, and why.
Last time I’d let my balls do the thinking, I’d ended up with an innocent woman dead in my bathtub. And this particular woman, this necrocognitive, was the only way I was going to get justice for Erin. That’s all she was. A tool to clear my name and find the real villain.
A tool that was slinking around behind the RV three parking spots down.
The sight of her lurking just a few yards away jolted me to my core. I hadn’t expected to be so quick to find her, especially when she was already on the run again. I’d hoped to catch her off-guard, cozy and unsuspecting in her mobile escape unit. Instead, she was crouched behind an old RV that was decorated with beaded curtains and electric teal paint.
There were no animal skins in sight this afternoon. Stonecrow wore cutoff shorts and a baggy pullover. The only reason I could identify her at that distance was that she had feathers woven into her hair, like a faint echo of the elaborate headdress she had been wearing early that morning.
For a second, I thought Stonecrow had been clued in to my presence and was trying to sneak away. But she wasn’t looking at me. She was leaning around the corner of the RV to peer at something else.
I followed her gaze to see a black SUV parked on the other side of her vehicle. It had flashing lights set into the grille and dark-tinted windows.
A pair of men in black suits stepped out. They were big guys, so much broader than me that they made me look like a skinny-assed nerd. Their necks were thick as tree trunks. Every move looked deliberate, choreographed. Only one type of person moved like that: kopides. Super-powered demon hunters.
The Union had found Stonecrow.
Wild thoughts whirled through my skull. Had Suzy reported our findings to her superiors, even knowing that I was going to the same place? Maybe she’d thought that they could get to Stonecrow first. Take away my primary incentive for remaining in town. No way she’d deliberately attempted to fuck up my day.
Whether or not it was what she had planned, that was definitely the outcome.
Stonecrow jumped into the shadows behind the next SUV, which was rocking on its suspension, like there was a dance party inside. Or some other kind of party. Then she jumped behind the next. The same one that I was hiding behind.
That was when she saw me. Horror flashed in her eyes.
Yeah, she recognized the blisters.
“ You ,” she hissed.
I lifted her bracelet. “Got something for you.”
She snatched it out of my hand then turned to bolt.
I grabbed her by the upper arm. Stonecrow twisted and just about melted out of my grip again. I was ready for her this time. Seizing both of her wrists, I shoved her back against the brick wall, giving her no room to pull off ninja maneuvers.
“Your bosses can’t have me,” Stonecrow spat. “I’d rather bury myself alive.”
“I’m not taking you to anyone else. I don’t want to hurt you.”
Doubt flickered
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