Lilith Saintcrow - 05 Heavens Spite by Lilith Saintcrow

Author:Lilith Saintcrow
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2016-02-13T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 15

The bezoar tugged against white silk and a spider cage of silver filaments; Galina had the cage lying around and it worked like a charm. The knife, driven through the cage, held it against the passenger-side seat like a pinned butterfly. The silver in the blade sparked in waves, spume against a rocky shore.

Tires screaming, I jagged around a corner and up Fairview. Morning traffic was just getting started, and intuition tingled along my nerves. I cut the wheel sharply just as the bezoar leapt, the cage yanking against the knife, and I slapped it back down. The Pontiac was an automatic, so I didn’t have to worry about shifting. It was a good thing, too. Because the bezoar went wild, tugging and straining against the silver threads, and I had to shove the knife more firmly into the upholstery again to keep it trapped. I cut the wheel once more, tires smoking, and slewed into a turn onto 139th, the direction the bezoar was pulling.

Tracking with a physical link is so easy, it’s frightening.

Warehouses rose around me. The industrial district simmered under a flood of sunshine, day peeking wearily through the streets, trapping dust in the air. Soon the winter frost would break and we’d get a roil of spring storms and flash floods, settling into summer’s crackheat glaze.

The bezoar rattled and sprang, to the left this time. Intuition warned me, a sharp prickle along my entire body, and I stood on the brakes. The car slewed, I realized I was swearing low and steadily under my breath, and I narrowly missed Tboning a semi. It hove out of the way, I smashed the pedal to the floor again and was off. The subtle knocking in the engine got fractionally louder.

I penetrated the tangle of warehouses and shipping yards, following the bezoar’s urging. It rattled around in the cage like an angry cancer. The nearer I got to its source, the more violently it moved, fighting against the blessing on the silk and the silver’s sharp gleam.

My prey probably guessed I was tracking him. He’d be stupid not to.

I finally skidded to a stop outside a shambling warehouse on 154th and Chavez. Slid the knife free of the upholstery, the bezoar trying futilely to knock the cage into the footwell. Grabbed the little bastard, folding the cage down around it until it hummed like an angry bumblebee in my hand. It went into my pocket, where it felt like my pager trying to get my attention.

I knew this place. Years ago it had actually been a rave joint, hopping almost every night and raided sporadically by Santa Luz’s brave boys and girls in blue. Then a couple Traders got involved with slipping roofies to kids they thought wouldn’t be missed and then carting them out of town to a friendly slave ring.

It happens.

One of the rules of my town is “you don’t play in the under-18 pool.” I came down on those Traders as hard as I could,

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.