The Long Way Down (Daniel Faust #1)(79)



Caitlin and I ran them through the high points of the story. We skirted around the parts about Solomon’s ring. I meant what I had said to Caitlin back on the plane: the fewer people who knew it existed, the safer we all were. I felt bad, holding out on everybody right after they’d gone out on a limb for me, but then I imagined the consequences if word got out. I knew I was making the right call.

“These smoke-faced men,” Corman grumbled, “I’ve never heard of anything like ’em. You sure this professor had all his marbles in one bag, kiddo? I mean, he has spent the last twenty years in a rubber room.”

Mama Margaux mused over her drink. She had swapped her shake for a rum hurricane once we started talking. The apocalypse always goes better with booze.

“I’ve seen some of the Loa pictured a little like that, but the deed doesn’t fit. The spirits get up to grim mischief sometimes, but not that grim.”

“Mama’s right,” Jennifer drawled. “Whoever these boys are, they’re into delivering doom on an epic scale. Patient critters, too.”

I looked around the table and said, “Whoever they are, we’ll settle up with them soon enough. Priority one, tonight, is to get the Box and take down Lauren and her crew.”

“Got any ideas?” Corman asked.

“Well, etiquette and tradition dictate that I challenge them to a formal duel of sorcery refereed by an elder scholar of the art. All things considered, though, I’m leaning toward just shooting them. Everyone in favor of the just-shoot-them plan?”

Everyone held up their hands.

“Getting in, that’s the hard part,” I said. “The entrance is on Fremont, in the pedestrian mall. Big crowds, lots of attention. We can’t just kick in the front door without being noticed.”

Jennifer rubbed her chin. “They gotta have a cargo entrance, don’t they? I mean, when the place was open for business, they weren’t bringin’ delivery trucks up that street.”

Bentley slid a fountain pen from his shirt pocket and reached for a spare napkin. He sketched as he spoke, outlining the building.

“There is indeed. The Silverlode’s quite the historical artifact. The casino, here, and the hotel tower were originally separate, adjoining buildings. Benny Binion bought them both in the early fifties and remodeled them as a single venue, Binion’s Silverlode. The old girl had a good run. Finally closed its doors about ten years ago. An investment firm tried their hand at reopening for a couple of years after that, but they never got the magic back.”

I pointed at a thin line. “So what’s this? An alley?”

“An alley from a street one block over,” Bentley said. “There’s a service entrance to the casino along with a loading-bay door. Quite private. Here’s your problem, though. The Klondike Room is here, on the twelfth floor. To get to the stairs, you’ll have to cross the casino and the hotel lobby.”

I thought back to Nicky’s warning about Meadow Brand’s traps, and my jaw tightened. “Nicky said the hotel elevator will take me right up to the Klondike. That right?”

Corman snorted. “Sure, if you’re in a hurry to get killed. Think about it, kiddo. Elevator that opens right into the room where they’re camping out? They’ll cut you down the second the doors open, and they’ll see the car coming up five minutes before it gets there. Same problem with the emergency stairwell.”

Margaux frowned at the sketch. “What kind of place was the Klondike? Bar or a restaurant?”

“Full service,” Bentley said. “Had the best steak and martini special in town, and for peanuts too. Cormie and I used to be regular fixtures there.”

“They didn’t squeeze slabs of beef into the elevator with the dinner guests,” she said. “Had to be a way for the workin’ folks to go up top, too, and supply the kitchen. Bet you there’s a service elevator.”

“What kind of opposition are we looking at?” Corman asked.

“Three sorcerers,” I said. “They’re good, and I mean good. First up is Sheldon Kaufman. He’s a brawler, does this thing he calls Forsaken Hand style—”

Bentley scrunched his nose. “Ugh. I’d thought that school went extinct a long time ago. Dreadful people. I’ll not put you off your drinks by describing their teaching techniques.”

I nodded. “Least of our worries, I think. Number two is Meadow Brand. She builds things. I’m not sure if she can do any spontaneous, impromptu magic, but the Silverlode’s her house and she’s had plenty of time to prepare surprises for us. Finally, there’s Lauren. You’ve all seen what she’s capable of.”

“So how do you want to play it?” Jennifer asked.

I sat back and sipped my margarita, watching the slow traffic on the boulevard. So many happy, innocent people, not knowing they could be headed for their last sunset on Earth. I’d botched this thing from start to finish. Spengler died in front of me because I couldn’t save him. I was too late to rescue Amber Vance. Now, all eyes were on me, and they expected me to come up with a plan to stop Armageddon. No pressure.

“We hit them hard and fast. Not just because we’re on a deadline—the longer it takes me to climb that tower, the longer they have to prepare a welcoming party. I need to know what I’m running into, before I run into it. Corman, you’re the best remote viewer in the business. If you’re up for it, I want you on astral overwatch.”

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