Read Online Wicked And Wilde: Immortal Vegas, Book 4 by Jenn Stark - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Jenn Stark
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have worried.
“You’re Spinners,” Nikki said, dropping into a chair and leaning in with her characteristic subtlety. “Any of you know about entering Hell? ’Cuz we’re about to go and would appreciate the—”
“Don’t say it,” I muttered.
“Down low.” Nikki grinned as one of the men edged forward, puffing on his cigar. None of the group wore robes, which was totally undermining my opinion of dark mages. Next they wouldn’t have souped-up lightsabers either. What was the point of being a dark mage?
“Which of you is going?” he asked. “Both is foolish.” His gaze slid to me. “You, I think. I know you.”
“Her face was on a lot of milk cartons. Ancient history.” Nikki rested her elbows on her knees. “What should we expect from the other side?”
The men and lone woman stared back at us for a long minute. I focused on the woman, but she was watching Nikki, not me. As we all eyeballed each other, I could sense the battering of their psychic tendrils against my brain. They were probing, pushing, testing, all while looking like they might meet up later for a canasta tournament. These were no comparison to the kind of attacks I’d endured from the Council, but my brain wasn’t the only one in this conversation.
As I frowned at Nikki, one of the men shrugged. “Information is money,” he said mildly.
“Money or services rendered, yes, it is. But first give us something worth paying for, then we’ll negotiate. What do we need to know the first thirty seconds we step foot in that dimension?”
“The first thirty seconds are your last thirty seconds.” The woman’s voice was as hard as her appearance, and it cut across the group with a strange mix of suppression and goading. “It’s all the same in Hell.”
“So a temporal displacement?” I frowned. This was exactly the kind of information I needed.
“More like a vortex,” she said. “Time bending back on itself. You step in and a century could pass, or a moment. You lose track, but it doesn’t matter. As long as your tether remains waiting for you,” she flicked her glance to Nikki, “she holds the hourglass.”
“It’s a building filled with endless rooms, as many have said but none have proven.” Another man sighed. “Each more fantastic than the last. Everything you ever wanted, everything you imagined might come true but didn’t… It’s there. All the wrong decisions and missed opportunities too.”
Dread made up a nice futon in my stomach, preparing for a long stay, but Nikki waved the guy off. “You don’t need to scare us, friend. We’re already full up on that.” She peered around the group. “What’ll it take for legit intel?”
“Some in return.” The hard-faced woman took out a metal case and a tool and snipped the end off her cigar into the ashtray. She then neatly slid the cigar out of sight. “Why are you attempting to breach the doors of Hell?”
Nikki slid me a glance, and I nodded. I didn’t mind Nikki airing my laundry. Soo had already hung me out to dry.
Nikki apparently agreed. “Annika Soo hired my friend to find a bauble she believes was stuck in Hell a generation ago. Soo pays well but knows little.”
That got a snort of appreciation around the table.
The woman didn’t laugh. “What does she want with this bauble? The woman is richer than God as it is.”
“Power.” Another man was leaning in now, his eyes on me, the touch of his mind against mine annoyingly persistent. “She’s arming herself. Which means despite what you say, she knows something we don’t.”
I held up my hands, keeping a tight clamp on my brain, feeling like a fat little guppy surrounded by sharks with bad dentures. “I don’t know what she plans to do with it. She doesn’t pay me to ask that kind of question.”
“She’s not your only client either.” The woman leaned back, her arms crossed. “The Arcana Council is allowing this. They must need you in Hell as well.”
“Nope,” I said
“You’re Spinners,” Nikki said, dropping into a chair and leaning in with her characteristic subtlety. “Any of you know about entering Hell? ’Cuz we’re about to go and would appreciate the—”
“Don’t say it,” I muttered.
“Down low.” Nikki grinned as one of the men edged forward, puffing on his cigar. None of the group wore robes, which was totally undermining my opinion of dark mages. Next they wouldn’t have souped-up lightsabers either. What was the point of being a dark mage?
“Which of you is going?” he asked. “Both is foolish.” His gaze slid to me. “You, I think. I know you.”
“Her face was on a lot of milk cartons. Ancient history.” Nikki rested her elbows on her knees. “What should we expect from the other side?”
The men and lone woman stared back at us for a long minute. I focused on the woman, but she was watching Nikki, not me. As we all eyeballed each other, I could sense the battering of their psychic tendrils against my brain. They were probing, pushing, testing, all while looking like they might meet up later for a canasta tournament. These were no comparison to the kind of attacks I’d endured from the Council, but my brain wasn’t the only one in this conversation.
As I frowned at Nikki, one of the men shrugged. “Information is money,” he said mildly.
“Money or services rendered, yes, it is. But first give us something worth paying for, then we’ll negotiate. What do we need to know the first thirty seconds we step foot in that dimension?”
“The first thirty seconds are your last thirty seconds.” The woman’s voice was as hard as her appearance, and it cut across the group with a strange mix of suppression and goading. “It’s all the same in Hell.”
“So a temporal displacement?” I frowned. This was exactly the kind of information I needed.
“More like a vortex,” she said. “Time bending back on itself. You step in and a century could pass, or a moment. You lose track, but it doesn’t matter. As long as your tether remains waiting for you,” she flicked her glance to Nikki, “she holds the hourglass.”
“It’s a building filled with endless rooms, as many have said but none have proven.” Another man sighed. “Each more fantastic than the last. Everything you ever wanted, everything you imagined might come true but didn’t… It’s there. All the wrong decisions and missed opportunities too.”
Dread made up a nice futon in my stomach, preparing for a long stay, but Nikki waved the guy off. “You don’t need to scare us, friend. We’re already full up on that.” She peered around the group. “What’ll it take for legit intel?”
“Some in return.” The hard-faced woman took out a metal case and a tool and snipped the end off her cigar into the ashtray. She then neatly slid the cigar out of sight. “Why are you attempting to breach the doors of Hell?”
Nikki slid me a glance, and I nodded. I didn’t mind Nikki airing my laundry. Soo had already hung me out to dry.
Nikki apparently agreed. “Annika Soo hired my friend to find a bauble she believes was stuck in Hell a generation ago. Soo pays well but knows little.”
That got a snort of appreciation around the table.
The woman didn’t laugh. “What does she want with this bauble? The woman is richer than God as it is.”
“Power.” Another man was leaning in now, his eyes on me, the touch of his mind against mine annoyingly persistent. “She’s arming herself. Which means despite what you say, she knows something we don’t.”
I held up my hands, keeping a tight clamp on my brain, feeling like a fat little guppy surrounded by sharks with bad dentures. “I don’t know what she plans to do with it. She doesn’t pay me to ask that kind of question.”
“She’s not your only client either.” The woman leaned back, her arms crossed. “The Arcana Council is allowing this. They must need you in Hell as well.”
“Nope,” I said
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