“Don’t trust him. I got it, dude.”
I ran next door to Lucille’s Loft as quickly as I could. The lights were off, and the curtains drawn across the front windows.
I tried the door; it was unlocked. So I pushed it open very slowly.
“Hello?” No response. I tried again. “Anyone? Selena?”
I felt magical vibrations, but they seemed... off. It wasn’t Renee. Renee was driven and determined, but she was in control.
What I felt was entirely different.
The floor space was crowded with racks of clothing, cardboard boxes, and piles of dresses and blouses from my shop. A narrow passageway led to the worktables at the rear of the store.
I paused briefly and stroked my medicine bag before proceeding any farther. I started chanting, casting a charm for strength and focus. Unfortunately, I was more of a brewing witch than a battling witch. But when I was properly focused, I could send out a blast of energy, as I sometimes did when startled—as Aidan and I had when we last saw Jamie.
“Ihateit when you guys do that weird mumblin’ thing,” said Jamie as he emerged from the shadows. He held Selena in front of him, his right hand over her mouth, his left holding a knife to her throat. As usual, Selena’s affect was flat. But her eyes were screaming.
I kept on “mumbling.”
“Seriously, you don’t shut up, and the chickie here is gonna get cut.”
I stopped chanting, but continued stroking the medicine bag. I could feel the outline of the lachrymatory within the fabric. The vial with the salts of my teenage tears.
“I’m surprised at you, Jamie,” I said. I glanced at Selena, trying to telegraph to her that I would take care of her, that I would make sure she was safe. “I mean, I knew you were working for Renee, but I guess I assumed you were sort of a ‘bad guy with a heart of gold.’”
“Yeah, I get that a lot, actually. Don’t know why, except I really am a nice guy a lot of the time. But the truth is, people underestimate me. I got ambition, which is somethin’ a lot of people don’t understand these days.”
“So, is that what you’re doing over at the party? Creating a distraction? I must say, I’m impressed.” We could hear the cacophony next door, the mingled shrieks of delight and surprise.
“That? Naw, that ain’t me. Truth is, I don’t have that kind of skill. That’s all Renee. Shoulda seen her, laughin’ her ass off, cookin’ it up.” He shook his head, and nudged something with his foot. There was a soft moan. Only then did I realize—what I had assumed was yet another heap of clothing was actually Renee, lying on the floor.
“What did you do to her?” I asked.
“She’ll be okay, prob’ly, just a knot on her head. Maybe her ego will be a little bruised—you catch my drift. I gotta say, Renee and me, we don’t share the same sense of humor. That’s one reason, maybe, why this wholecoincidentiadeal isn’t gonna work between us like I hoped it would.”
“Thecoincidentia oppositorum? You wanted Tristan out of the way so you could step in and be Renee’s partner?”
He nodded.
“Why did you set up Sailor?”
He laughed. “That part was sheer luck. Renee just couldn’t stop talkin’ about him, how unfair it was that you was gonna get married and be happy when no one else in your—how do you call it?—‘profession’ did. Gotta say, you have a way of getting under her skin. She sent me to your boyfriend’s apartment to steal something of his. No offense, but that’s a pretty depressin’ place.”
“He’s not big on home decorating,” I said lightly,hoping my tone would help to ease Selena’s fears a little. “Why did you steal his father’s watch?”
“Renee was gonna use it to hex him, get control over him. Maybe change who he was fond of—you catch my drift. But then she got lucky when Maya brought you one of her pasties—it had a charm in it, made just for you so it wouldn’t affect anyone else if they happened to eat it. She didn’t want to totally do you in or nothin’, just distract you. Guess she managed that, right?”
“Yes, I guess you can say I’ve been a little distracted lately.”
“I happened to have Sailor’s watch on me when I tried my first silverfish deal. Looked in the mirror, and voilà! No wonder you people enjoy this magic thing so much. Anyway, I got a few of those special silverfish from a Russian out in the avenues who I was able to persuade to help me with the spell. Took some practice, but I got to where I could keep up a glamour for, like, twenty minutes. Which is pretty darned good, if you ask me. Had to keep checking the time—wouldn’t do to transform back to little ol’ me in the middle of things.”
“Again, I’m impressed. When you chased after us at Sailor’s apartment, I had no idea it was you.”
“Yeah, that was just dumb luck. It’s like I’m charmed lately, excuse the pun. I went by Sailor’s building just to practice this glamour deal. Gotta say, it’s a little addictive once you start doing it. I thought I’d see if I could fool folks who really knew Sailor, up close and personal, like his neighbors or landlord. Couldn’t believe it when I looked up the stairs, and there you stood, with that Gypsy lady.”
“Why did you chase us?”
He grinned. “Just to see if I could. A guy like me, in my normal form... well, I don’t exactly inspire fear and trembling just by looking at me. You get my drift.It was a hoot to see how scared you guys got. You just about jumped off the roof!”
