“You, you, and you,” I said, pointing my gun at the remaining dealers. “Get the fuck out of here, and if I eventhinkyou wantto come back here, I’ll put a bullet in every one of you. Not even the best fae healer will be able to save you once I’m through with you. Understand?”
They leapt from their seats and rushed for the door, leaving me alone with the sleeping Percival and his friends. All I could think of was Veronica. She needed me. If this prick didn’t give up his info willingly, then I would make him do it against his will, and that option would be much more painful than the other.
He was most likely a skilled witch like his brother, and even high as a kite, he might be dangerous. I unzipped an inner pocket of my jacket and extracted another little toy I’d bought from Toby years before. A single clear stone attached to a metal base. A tiny piece of rubber sat on the metal, and when I pulled it off, it revealed a barbed pin. I walked over and slapped it on his chest as hard as I could, stabbing the pin into his skin.
He sat forward, howling in pain as the magic neutralizer took effect. Instinctively, he reached to swat away the thing that caused him so much pain, but he couldn’t touch it. As soon as the charmed item touched blood, only the one who placed it could remove it. Toby was a fucking nitwit, but he came up with brilliant shit.
The others sat up groggily, awoken by their friend’s screams. It took a moment, but when they spotted meandmy gun, they screamed and rushed to the door like the dealers had. Percival glared at me.
“Who thefuckare you?” He sounded both enraged, scared, and still a bit high. The charm would neutralize his natural magic, but would also quickly burn away the magical drugs. I could already see his eyes clearing.
I shoved the pistol under his chin. “Your piece-of-shit brother has something I want back.”
“V…Virgil?” he whispered, his eyes rolling down to look at the gun.
“Yes, unless you have another prick beside you on the family tree.”
“Okay, man,” he said, holding his hands up in surrender. “Don’t cap me, bro. What do you want to know? Me and him haven’t talked in a few years.”
In my brief conversation with Veronica, I’d been able to make an assumption that she and Wendy were being held underground. No windows, musty and mildewy smells. It all made sense.
“Where would he go to have a large holding area? Someplace hidden away underground.Think,” I added, pushing the barrel deeper into his chin.
“Uh…uh…I don’t…Wait!”he cried, his eyes widening. “Maybe the family crypts?”
“Say more,” I growled.
“Sorry. The crypts. Our family…well, they used to be a pretty big deal. I don’t want to get into it, but we had an estate. There were huge underground crypts there. That could be the spot. We still own the land. Ugh, well, I guess, he does, anyway.”
True.
I narrowed my eyes at him. “You and your brother don’t get along?”
Percival’s lip curled back in disgust. “I hate him. He took what little we had left. All I have is what I can scrounge up. I comehere to feel good for a little while. He ruined my life. I wish he was fucking dead.”
True.
It seemed I might have a surprising new ally.
“If I bring you with me, to a friend, will you promise to behave? If I remove this”—I flicked the stone pinned to his chest—“you won’t try to attack me?”
“Nah, bro. No chance. I’ll do whatever.”
True.
“Good enough.” I yanked the pin out of his chest.
He cried out and put a hand to the small wound. The stone dimmed, going from bright white to black. A one-time-use gadget. I tossed it aside, and it rolled across the floor.
Grabbing Percival by the arm, I tugged him to his feet. “Come on. We’re gonna go see my friend Nyxia.”
“Yeah. Cool,” he said, moving toward a pile of clothes by the door so he could dress.
He drew up short as he bent to retrieve his pants, every muscle in his body flexing tight. He shook slightly, and his skin went pink, then red. I raised the gun on instinct. Could he have tricked my gift? That shouldn’t be possible.
“It’s him,” Percival hissed as though his teeth were clenched tight and he couldn’t pull them apart. “Virgil.”
“Percival?” I said warily.
