Dim Sum Asylum(42)

“I know a couple of people powerful enough to do that kind of thing without having a host to draw energy from, but none of them would waste their time doing it for money. That level of magic costs more than energy. That much drive would suck the life from a person.” She shook her head, and the ornamentation in her coif jingled when their edges struck one another. “I’m going to need some time.”

“Of course you are,” I replied, waiting for the other shoe to drop. Trent leaned in, brushing my shoulder, and I had a hard time focusing until Jie smirked at me. “Let me guess, your time—”

“Doesn’t come cheap.” She delivered, as usual. “You know how this works, Roku. Nothing comes free or cheap. I provide a service, and you provide payment for that service.”

“All I’m asking you is to see if there’s someone putting themselves on the market. The people I know aren’t packing this kind of skill, and the ones that do are either dead or sitting behind bars weaving macramé planters out of jute.” Leaning forward was a mistake, my back told me, but I did it anyway, trying to reach some kind of empathetic connection with the little girl I hoped was still somewhere inside this beautiful woman playing me like a fiddle. “As for time, I’ve got the feeling we don’t have a lot of it. I don’t know why this caster killed those people or what the shrine god was meant to do. Or even where it started. It could have killed someone we haven’t found yet. And Shelly Chan could be someone who was conned into giving away her chi to fuel something this caster is going to use to kill someone else. It could all be related, Jie, or all of these bits could have nothing to do with one another, but I can’t take that chance. So yeah, whatever you need to get me a name, I’m willing to pony up.”

“Even if it means getting me in front of your grandfather?” Her slithering request dug fangs into my soul, and I bled someplace deep and dark inside. “If I wanted an audience with him, you’d make it happen? For this name?”

“Why do you want that, Jie?” I didn’t want to put her in front of the old man. It would be a favor I wouldn’t be able to repay with anything other than chipping away at my freedom from his stranglehold. She was asking me for more than the information was worth. Jie knew that, but she was angling for something, something I couldn’t put my finger on. “What do you really want, honey? If I do that, if I put you in front of him, you become something he can use… something anyone in the family will use to force me into things, and I don’t want to have to choose between saving you or keeping me alive.”

She studied me, dissecting me with her eyes and probably sifting through every bit of knowledge she had of me. Jie had quite a lot. She knew me probably better than anyone else except perhaps Bob the Cat. We shared life experiences John never would have been able to comprehend, much less embrace. We’d lived in a world I’d never wanted my daughters to know, and when they died, I’d fallen right back into it, bathing in the filthy gutter until I choked on its familiar mud.

“Don’t ask that of me, Jie. I’ll find the name some other way because, even if you don’t deliver, I’m still going to hunt this guy down. It just might take me a little longer to do so,” I said. “But see, he’s going to keep killing, and the longer I take, the more people die. Do you want that on you, Jie? Do you want those people’s blood on your hands?”

“We already have blood on our hands, Roku,” she countered. “Or have you forgotten that?”

“I can’t change the past, Jie. Only the future.” It was a good knife to the ribs, but I’d been bleeding since I’d walked through the door, so I shrugged, feeling Trent stiffen on the couch’s arm. “Get me a name and help me put an end to this before it goes really bad for a lot of people. This guy’s not going to stop, because I don’t think it’s about being paid for his casting. I think this is personal. Let me know if you find anything. Trent and I are going to pick up where we left off. Call if you can help me.”

I stood shakily and was more than a little bit grateful for Trent’s hand discreetly sliding under my elbow when I got to my feet. It wasn’t the way I’d wanted his hands on me, but at the moment, it was probably for the best. As much as I hated to admit it, I probably needed another dose of painkillers and maybe some food, but the last thing I wanted was to grab something to eat on the main floor where I’d left a sticky mess of politics and old grudges.

“Go out the back way. You’ve caused enough shit for one day, Roku.” Jie must have read my mind. She jerked her head toward the north side of the building and pulled her mouth into a curl. “If I find anything, I’ll call, but just so you know, this is going to cost you something big. You’re asking for a snitching, and I don’t do those, honey. Not unless I know for sure it can’t come back to bite me on the ass.”

“No ass biting,” I promised and kissed her on the cheek. “Farthest thing from my mind, and tell Sarah she can skip the coffee. I’m not sure I can afford it.”





Eleven


“ARE WE going to talk about this? What happened back there? In that club,” Trent barked at my back. It wasn’t really a question. More of a command. Like he was used to ordering people around and expected them to stop in their tracks to immediately do what they were told. “MacCormick! Are you listening to me?”