Witches for Hire (Odd Jobs #1)(15)
“I don’t want the other man behind me, especially since I don’t know what his motives are.” Thanks to downtown Atlanta’s slow traffic, her car blended in with the other trapped vehicles. Loud crunching filled the car, and she turned to see Jeremy munching on potato chips. She held out her hand.
“They’re sour cream and onion.”
Edarra beckoned with her fingers for the food.
“I got this flavor because everyone else hates them.” Grudgingly, Jeremy poured a couple in her hand.
After stuffing them all into her mouth, Edarra chewed on them happily. “They’re not hot and fresh as I prefer, but they will do.”
“You’re doing a better job with our food than Clive is.”
“That’s because everyone makes him try weird things. I go for foods that we have similar versions of back home.” Thank the gods there was no Jell-O in her old world. She wished to banish the taste of it from her memories. Her friends swore it wasn’t poisonous, but the texture resembled clotted blood, and its strange sweetness made her anticipate cramping or her organs seizing up. It never happened, but one day she could be right. Ahead of them, both cars stopped. A door opened just a crack, and the top of someone’s head dipped out of sight into a crowd of sightseers wearing white T-shirts with peaches. She switched on her blinker and turned down a side street.
“What are you doing?” Jeremy asked.
“Gulley just went on foot. I think he spotted his second tail.” Edarra sighed. “There’s nowhere to park the car unless you’re a patron at one of these shops. Do you mind goi—” She stopped talking when Jeremy raised his hand.
“Someone is performing heavy magic right now. Strength and hunting is your department, but magic is mine. I’ll go on while you find somewhere to park.”
“Are you sure? If anything happens to you, that’s probably my third strike.”
“One, I’m not dumb enough to get caught. Two, we have no time to waste because whatever I felt is dissipating.” At a red light, Jeremy got out of the car and ran to the sidewalk. He quickly blended in with the other pedestrians.
Edarra had no choice but to keep going. At least he sort of looks like he knows what he’s doing. She circled the area three times before a spot opened up, and she finally got rid of the car. She couldn’t follow power trails like Jeremy, so she sharpened her hearing and concentrated on sounds that didn’t belong. Ignoring car engines, doors closing, and the normal gait of people, she heard deep intakes of breath tinged in the tones of Jeremy’s voice. Do not let that idiot get killed on my watch. She hurried toward the sound until she found Jeremy in an alley, bent over a prone man. Edarra went to his side. With her senses no longer concentrating on sound, her sight and smell returned in force to take in the dead man. His torso was splayed out like one of those fancy roast dishes with the tiny cloth booties. Except the white parts were ribs sticking out and organs and muscles were tossed about in a very messy manner. She covered her nose. Why does he smell so ripe? Edarra stepped closer. His organs were slightly shriveled, and the bones nearest the torn skin were yellowed. This isn’t right for a fresh kill. “He was the driver behind us.”
“I think that’s his heart lodged in his mouth.” Jeremy rummaged through the man’s pockets. He took out a hard card with a string going through it.
“What is it?”
Jeremy hung his head and groaned. “A staff backstage pass.”
Edarra slipped the pass out of his hand to examine it herself. “Who’s Desmond the Great?”
“A one-way ticket to we-are-buggered.”
He sounds more depressed about the ID than the dead body. Edarra reached in her pocket for her phone and dialed Clive’s number.
“Anything wrong?” Clive asked after picking up.
“Our target had extra weight but managed to get rid of it in a severely practical manner. What should we do?”
“Get out of there. I’ll contact the Council.”
“We’re leaving now,” Edarra said as she hung up. Pocketing the pass, she waved for Jeremy’s attention. “He’s letting the Council know, and we’re going to disappear. By the way, do you have a fix on Gulley’s magic?”
Jeremy straightened and crossed his arms. “Clive told us to leave.”
“Yes, and I’m leaving to continue following Gulley. Tell me where he is or don’t waste my time because you’re not powerful enough to do it.” He and Simone disobeyed Clive all the time, so he had a lot of nerve questioning her.
“I’m not some grunt you can antagonize into doing what you want.” Jeremy pulled out a small marble and bent down to the victim. After rolling the tiny ball in the blood that had leaked from the man’s mouth, he lifted it up and offered it to Edarra. “If you want to stupidly follow his trail, then use this.” He swung his hand to the left, and the marble glowed orange. “Gulley didn’t have time to perform a cleansing, so he’s going to be steeped in this dead guy’s essence for a while.”
Without hesitating, Edarra snatched the ball, walking in the direction it told her to go. Muttering reached her ears, but she ignored Jeremy’s complaining and focused on her prey. I don’t know why he’s surprised. I’m an Amazon. We don’t do running away. The marble also grew warm when it glowed, so she kept her hand closed around it and let the heat guide her. Out of the alley and onto the sidewalk, the trail straightened and crossed the street. No cars were coming, so she ran to the other side. She moved her closed fist left and then right. It became hotter as she paused in between the directions. Hurrying past more alleys, she struggled not to draw attention to herself. In their other cases, they faced cursed furniture and practically played animal control for creepy crawlies. This time, it was a real hunt.