Icebound by Corinna Rogers

Author:Corinna Rogers
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780007568772
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Published: 2014-08-28T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Seven

Madame Jiri’s Palm Reading and Tarot hasn’t changed since the last time Shane was here. It’s still a little dump of a place, tastelessly decorated inside and out. Hell, for all Shane knows, she does it on purpose. The whole Blind Psychic thing is probably some sort of draw for idiots who think spiritual powers are linked to outward appearance.

It’s annoying to have to buckle and unbuckle their sword belts every time they get in and out of the car, but it’s better than courting accidental impalements, and teleportation is still too inaccurate to be worth the trouble. Besides, Shane hasn’t quite mastered the art of showing up with clothes on, though he’s so far managed to laugh it off as intentional.

Shane knocks on the bright pink door, sending out a little trail of his power to see if Jiri’s inside. It’s swatted away after a moment, and a few seconds after that, a familiar old woman opens the door. “Rude,” she says without preamble, confusing Drake. “You always were rude, Shane Conell.”

“I haven’t changed that much.”

“And that’s a pretty lie. Drake, I wasn’t expecting to see you again after last time.” Jiri doesn’t look like anything other than a short, squat, wrinkly woman. Her eyes are droopy, her skin sallow, and her hair is not only pure white, it’s obviously been falling out for some time now, leaving her with patchy clumps where it’s abandoned her head.

Then again, no human woman would have been able to parry Shane’s magic like that, no matter how “powerful” a mage.

The disguise is a good one, and thorough. Shane’s even seen what lurks underneath the false skin, and he can’t see more than the faintest trace of it peeking out. A normal human would see even less. He has no idea what Drake sees.

“With all due respect, Ma’am, you poisoned me,” Drake points out, but Jiri waves that away.

“A job’s a job. You knew the risk when you paid my price. Come in, come in.”

The inside is just as revoltingly tacky as Shane remembers. A bright yellow couch with orange slipcovers fills up most of the room, with pastel pink curtains and a mud-brown carpet, not to mention eye-burning knickknacks purchased from every part of the extensive Ethnic section of the local Farmer’s Market, something Jiri never seems to get enough of. The whole place reeks of patchouli incense, probably the only thing strong enough to cover up what really happens in here.

Jiri seats her wide, wrinkly self on the most comfortable armchair in the room, navigating with no difficulty despite her obvious blindness. “I’ve raised my prices,” she begins, and Shane doesn’t bother sitting on the ugly couch.

“Then we’re leaving. You already ask for too much.”

She glares at him, and a whip of power catches him across the cheek, sending him sprawling on the couch as Drake tries not to snicker. “Rude again. I’m also raising the value of what I’m selling. Three facts about your subject, not just one. And you get the full package, past, present, and future.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.