The Patron Saint of Necromancers by Stefon Mears

Author:Stefon Mears [Mears, Stefon]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Thousand Face Publishing

At half an hour before noon, the rain hadn’t let up. What was more, it had added plenty of lighting and thunder, to make both Ogun-Shango and Oya proud. Enough storm in July to keep most of the joggers and bikers away from scenic Riverfront Park.

But not all of them. Not here in the Pacific Northwest where it seemed that people didn’t have enough sense to come in out of the rain. The most hardy, or the most dedicated, wrapped themselves in rain gear and persevered.

Still, they were few and far between enough that Heath felt confident in a certain amount of privacy.

He leaned against a pillar under the Burnside Bridge, the smell of wet asphalt and oil stronger here than the clean water scent of the Willamette. On the bridge above him a steady static of cars rushing their way across the river.

Heath stood on asphalt, not the tile of the nearby sidewalk. He’d picked a spot free of graffiti, one he was able to walk to without having to step anyplace that might be hiding goofer dust, or any of a dozen other little hexing possibilities that might pick away at his defenses.

Nothing like that would have been more than an opening salvo for Uncle Andre, but so much had happened in the last couple of days that Heath had to assume a wartime demeanor.

Trust nothing.

Past the pillar behind Heath were crisscrossing stairs that led up to the bridge, for those who wanted to walk across the river. Dangerous to have at his back, except that Nariko was watching them. She in her business outfit once more – tight jeans, form-fitting black top and bun held in place with a steel spike – leaning against the pillar opposite Heath, maybe thirty paces away. She definitely looked more deadly than Heath did in his blue-and-white striped shirt and black jeans.

Colin was around here somewhere. Invisible again, which was a trick good enough that Heath was seriously considering giving one of Colin’s books a try. If he could muddle through the over-the-top, infomercial style. Jenny H. was living on the street and addicted to crack, but one chant later she’s beautiful and healthy and courted by the richest and most handsome bachelors in Johannesburg. Or something like that.

Maybe invisibility wasn’t worth it after all.

Invisibility wouldn’t have mattered for Heath right now anyway. His uncle had found him again. At Colin’s house. While both Heath and Colin had spells up trying to foil trackers. Though admittedly, Heath’s had probably given out around midnight. Still, none of the others after the Black Book of Saint Cyprian had managed to track Heath down.

But Uncle Andre did. And Uncle Andre knew that Nariko was there, through a closed door, even though she hadn’t said a word.

More subtle ways to remind Heath that however much he learned, his uncle would always know more.

Just when Heath was about the check his watch again, he saw a black limousine pull up to the curb. He felt that old childhood itch to run, right behind his kneecaps.

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.