The Curse Merchant (The Dark Choir Book 1) by J.P. Sloan

Author:J.P. Sloan [Sloan, J.P.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781620075500
Publisher: Curiosity Quills Press
Published: 2014-09-14T04:00:00+00:00

n the last week, my core problem hadn’t changed. I lacked knowledge of soul trafficking, and that ignorance of Osterhaus’ system had caused me considerable embarrassment. I had made Carmen’s situation worse. I needed to educate myself.

Syrian or no, I had to get back to the Reading Room to find that book.

I drove down Edmondson and weaved past a city bus to park on the street in front of the shabby brick storefront. I hopped up the sidewalk to give the front door a tug.

It didn’t budge.

I squinted through the filmy glass panes along the lobby front, and found nothing but a dark, empty retail slot. The books were gone. The bookshelves were gone. The microfiche readers and even the front desk were gone. The Reading Room had been completely stripped.

A vinyl sign hung on the corner window mullion… a real estate agent advertising commercial space.

Great.

I had half a mind to go find the president of the Occidental Temple and demand a refund for my bullshit reading fee membership. Just one book. That’s all I needed.

I had books. I had an entire Library. No. I wasn’t going to do Carmen any favors if I lost my sanity trying to solve her problem.

As I returned to my car, I wondered if the Syrian had anything to do with this. A dread filled my chest as I thought about Edgar and Wren. I U-turned back east and fished my phone out of my pocket to call Edgar. The phone rang a gut-wrenching four times before Wren answered.

“Hey, Wren. It’s Dorian.”

“Dorian, how are you holding up?”

That was a curious question, but at least she didn’t sound pissed at me.

“Uh, yeah. Stressed as hell. Anyway, you guys okay?”

“Sure. Why wouldn’t we be?”

“No reason.”

“Dorian?”

“Seriously.”

“Right. Should I be warding the shop now or after you arrive?”

“When am I arriving?”

“Tonight, of course.”

“Okay. Did I miss something?”

“No. I’m inviting you for hamburgers, and I’m not going to take no for an answer. So let’s just save time and possibly a kick to your ass and agree that you’re coming. Seven o’clock sound good?”

Actually, it did. It really did.

“I’ll bring some wine.”

“Screw that. Bring some beer! You don’t drink wine with hamburgers, dumbass.”

“Gotcha. See you at seven.”

I wasn’t sure if Wren was worried about me relapsing into my non-existent drug binge, but the thought of a quiet, safe evening in the sleepy town of Frederick sounded like exactly what I needed. It was possible I might pick Edgar’s brain a little as well.

The phone rang again. Edgar often figured out that Wren had taken his call and had already hung up before he got to it. His overblown sense of decency always required that he call me back.

I keyed my phone and said, “Beer. I know. I’ll bring beer.”

“I thought scotch was your thing,” Julian Bright’s voice lilted from my phone.

I really needed to learn how to check my calls before I answered. “Sorry about that.”

“You have a bad habit of thinking I’m someone else, you know that?”

“Yeah, I’m seeing a specialist about it.

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