To The Dogs (Dave Carver Book 2) by Andrew Dudek

Author:Andrew Dudek [Dudek, Andrew]
Language: eng
Format: epub, azw3
Published: 2016-04-25T06:00:00+00:00

Chapter 19

We rode in the Claimed's car. He was a better driver than I’d given him credit for—he managed to keep moving at a steady speed, no easy accomplishment in New York traffic. He lost cool points for the concentration it seemed to take. Or maybe he just wanted to look busy so I wouldn’t try to talk to him.

Amy and I were both sitting in the backseat. We chatted among ourselves as we rode. I was doing my best not to be unnerved by the windshield and the windows, all of which were tinted on the insides just as much as on the out. I couldn’t see out any better than I could in. The Claimed, who I realized bore a passing resemblance to Gandhi, seemed to have no trouble. Was the windshield blessed in some way? Did his eyes just cut through the glass like an eagle’s through water?

So weird.

“Where you from originally?” Amy asked.

“Grew up in the Bronx,” I said. “What about you?”

“Corporate sector brat,” she said with a wry grin. “My dad was a mid-level executive with about a dozen different companies while I was growing up. Manhattan, when I was little; then Boston; Miami; L.A.; Chicago; Panama City, for a while; and Santa Fe. That’s where I was living when I turned eighteen.”

“What’d you do after that?” I asked.

“Traveled for a while. I joined a group of Navajo mystics out of Albuquerque. They were amazing, but for some reason their magic methods didn’t click with my talents. Stayed there for a year or so. Afterwards I went up and down the country, looking for a real magical teacher.”

“Ever find a good one?”

She laughed. “Not really. One thing I found out was the Magic Council doesn't take kindly to hedge witches. I had a pretty solid foundation in a few different mystical traditions, so none of the fully trained and certified practitioners were interested in taking me on as an apprentice. So overall I spent about five years picking up spells here and there, learning some tricks.”

“What brought you back East?”

Her smile faded, just a bit, and turned darker. “I was in St. Louis, about six months ago, making money hustling tourists with a shell game—you know put a rock under three cups, shuffle ‘em around, and make folks guess which cup it was under, only I’d use a minor transportation spell to make sure they were always wrong—when a girl I knew mentioned she’d heard a rumor about some kind of real talent who was gonna be teaching a class in Newark. I hopped on a bus and enrolled at JCPU. And that’s how I met the Professor. That’s how those girls died.”

I shook my head. “That wasn’t your fault.”

She snorted. “Of course it was. The Professor couldn’t have summoned a demon as powerful as Cerberus by herself. Sage, Chyna, Marigold, none of them had the raw juice she’d need. I did. The only reason the Professor’s plan worked was ‘cause I was there.”

The Claimed glanced into the rearview mirror, but he kept his mouth shut.

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