Left Hand Magic by Nancy A. Collins

Author:Nancy A. Collins [Collins, Nancy A.]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Penguin Group
Published: 2011-12-05T23:00:00+00:00

Chapter 14

They found Quid’s body just before dawn, dumped at the yawning maw of the Gate of Skulls, the official entrance to Golgotham, like some horrible sacrifice. No one saw who did it. Or at least no one was willing to admit to seeing.

As for the video posted on YouTube, it was promptly yanked once the site realized its content, but not before the link spread throughout the Internet like ink in a glass of water. Judging from the appalling comments left on the page before the video was taken down, there were a good number of viewers out there who either shared the SOA’s opinion of Kymerans or simply thought beating one to death was funny. I could only hope the latter posters thought it was faked, and not a real snuff film—but I was probably being optimistic.

Unfortunately, it was proving almost impossible to trace the video back to its original source. According to news reports, whoever this Cain bastard was, he was smart enough to use daisy-chained anonymizer proxies in order to upload his little manifesto. Captain Horn held a press conference and told the cameras that the PTU was meeting with the NYPD as well as the FBI to deal with what he called “the terrorist situation.” The FBI was providing facial and voice recognition software so law enforcement could try to identify the man called Cain and, hopefully, locate him before anyone else was hurt.

As we watched the head of the PTU field questions from reporters on Hexe’s ancient portable television, I found myself with a few queries of my own.

“I wonder why the other two don’t show their faces?”

“They’re probably afraid of getting busted for first-degree murder,” Hexe replied.

“And this Cain guy isn’t?”

“He’s the leader,” he said with a shrug. “He’s a narcissist, just like every other crackpot leader in the history of the world. He wants people to pay attention to him. What’s the good of being the boss, and getting all this press, if nobody knows what you look like?”

“You’ve got a point,” I conceded. I checked the clock over the stove and cursed under my breath. “I better get going, or I’m going to be late.”

“Do you really have to go?” Hexe frowned. “Can’t you reschedule for another time?”

“I wish I could,” I explained. “But this bridal salon is by appointment only, and if Vanessa cancels, it might be weeks, even months, before they can fit her in again.”

“Very well.” Hexe reached inside the pocket of his coat and fished out an amulet on a long gold chain. I recognized it as a gladeye charm like the one he’d given Madelyn, save that this one was shaped like a pyramid. “Take this with you,” he said, placing the amulet around my neck. “It’s to protect you when I’m not around. It will turn aside even the strongest curses and keep you safe from harm—at least of the supernatural variety.”

“That’s very sweet of you, darling,” I said, tilting the amulet between my thumb and forefinger, so I could look into the artificial eye embedded in its center.

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.