Smoke and Ashes by Tanya Huff

Author:Tanya Huff
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Penguin Group US
Published: 2006-01-28T16:00:00+00:00

At a quarter after midnight, they were in Richmond, driving slowly south on No. 3 Road past the old Canadian Pacific Railway lands.

“Feeling’s getting stronger,” Leah murmured, drumming her fingers against the steering wheel. “It feels like I have slugs writhing in my navel.”

Tony hurriedly chewed and swallowed his eleventh glazed chocolate Timbit. “Thank you for that image.”

“Any time.” She turned left on Alexandra, slowing further. “We’re close.”

They found the weak spot halfway up the side of a building, anchored on a crack in the masonry. There were a few taxis down the street by a hotel, but other than that, the street was empty. Quiet. Once they parked, nothing moved.

“Is this because of the weak spot?” Tony wondered as they crossed the street. All the empty was beginning to creep him out.

“No, it’s because it’s Thursday night and the bars don’t let out for a couple of hours.”

“Right.” Head cocked to one side, eyes rolled up and over, Tony frowned and lost sight of the blazing line of energy spilling out of the crack as his face realigned.

“See, this is why you learn to do it properly.” Hands on her hips, Leah glared up at the building. “Unless we break and enter and dangle you out the third-floor window—which I’m not philosophically against—you’re going to have a little trouble just shoving the runes through this one.”

Feeling he should protest, more on principal than because he actually had something valid to say, Tony squinted the crack back into alignment. “This one’s a lot brighter than the last one.”

“It’s a lot deeper. Better hurry.”

“I could probably throw them into it.”

“Whatever. Just do it.”

Her tone, bordering on panic, pulled his attention off the weak spot and that, he realized as he took Leah with him to the ground was probably all that kept him from being blinded as light flared brilliantly purple and something big burst out of the crack.

She slapped the asphalt on impact, grunting as Tony’s weight drove the air out of her lungs. “Get! Off!”

“You’re welcome!” As the light show from the building dimmed, he rolled off, scrambled to one knee, and aimed his left hand down the road, blinking away afterimages and breathing heavily. He wouldn’t be able to see the cheat sheets through the sparkly purple blotches, so he’d have to do this his way.

Not that sparkly purple blotches suggested imminent danger.

On the other hand, the large asymmetrical shape in the middle of the road did.

Bright side, large was easier to hit.

Eyes watering, he scrawled a very quick go home and threw it.

Blue sparks on impact.

Blue sparks, purple blotches. It’s like demonic Lucky Charms.

A sound like wet sneaker tread dragged against tile. A giant wet sneaker tread.

“What have you done?”

“I told it to go home!” He grabbed Leah’s hand and dragged her with him as he rose to his feet.

“It didn’t work!”

“I know!” Rapid blinking brought the street into partial focus. The demon still looked a little blurry around the edges, but Tony had a bad feeling that wasn’t his eyes.

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