Sacrificial Magic

“Kind of, yeah.”

The spring sunlight hit the black spikes of his hair and made them shine; he tilted his head and the light spilled across his face. Sometimes she forgot how handsome he was. But then, it was easy to forget things like that when it didn’t matter. “Been hearing crazy shit on this place. Figured on givin it a check-out, I did, then look who shows up. Got any knowledge what’s on the happening in there?”

“Even if I did, I wouldn’t tell you.”

“Ain’t expect any else. An what’s the happening with that face you got? Ain’t run into that Boil again, I don’t think.”

Shit. How bad did her face look? She hadn’t checked.

But she smiled at the reference. “It was Doyle, and no, I just fell down.”

“Must have fell hard.”

“Yeah, I did.”

His fingers stroked her sore cheekbone, light and delicate and warm. She fought the tiny shiver threatening to rise and risked a glance at his face, but his gaze focused on her cheek. “Ain’t a safe place,” he murmured.

Chess swallowed. The sun still shone, the air was still clear and fresh with the smell of blooming spring, but something had changed. No more breeze; everything seemed to stop and wait, including her own breath, damn it.

Nothing like that had happened the last couple of times she’d seen him. If it was even happening, which how would she know? The only men she’d ever spent more than a single night with were Lex and Terrible—one of whom she used to touch all the time because they were generally together for that purpose, and one of whom she’d almost never touched until they started touching in private. Maybe friends did that sort of thing all the time. He was only touching her cheek, inspecting it. It wasn’t like he’d started playing with her breasts or something.

Then it ended, as suddenly as it had begun. A gust of wind chased away the stillness, chased away the expression on his face so thoroughly she wondered if she really had imagined it. “You leaving?”

She nodded.

“Got time, maybe you wanna come back mine for a few?”

No. The answer should have been no, especially after that weird little moment. But then … aside from one night of wandering around and the night in Graveyard Twenty-three she’d tried her damnedest to forget, she’d never really been outside his bedroom on this side of town. He might have some information that would help her. Hell, he might have some information about the explosion at Bump’s pipe room, although she didn’t much expect he’d be willing to say a word to her about that.

And she kind of missed hanging out with him, if she were honest with herself, which she generally tried not to be. And nothing had happened in that moment, and nothing would. She knew that. “What have you got in mind?”

“Nothing good, Tulip.” Then, seeing her eyebrows rise, “But nothing you gotta worry youself on, neither. C’mon. Getting twitchy standin here, aye?”

Oh, what the hell. “You drive.”

His room hadn’t changed. The house hadn’t changed. Only the looks given her by the various guards or enforcers or whoever they were had, from bland acceptance to subtle suspicion.

And she’d changed, it seemed. At least a bit. In the car, chatting, all had been well, but when the door closed behind her it occurred to her how long it had been since she’d been there. And what had happened the last time she’d been there. Happened several times and again in the morning, if memory served, which it did.

Another awkward moment when she started walking toward the bed, remembered, and turned back to the couch against the wall. Lex already sat there, lighting a cigarette, flipping a switch behind him so the Jam started playing in the background. King of his room-castle, just like one day he’d be king of his side of town.

“So what’s up?” The question sounded lame even to her, but she couldn’t think of anything else to say. The bed with its plain blue blanket and sheets loomed larger and larger in her vision.

“Church sent you that school? Thinkin on it being for real? The spooks, meaning.”

“Too early to tell.” Not totally a lie. She’d taken the wrench, scraped the ectoplasm off the walls and into inert plastic containers to be tested. It felt like ectoplasm, sure, but that could be faked. People had faked more conclusive evidence than that. Hell, for all she knew it was some new hair gel or something. Way too early to start convincing herself that that bonus wouldn’t be hers.

“Aye? Some fucked-up place, that one. Ain’t envy you wanderin around there at night.”

“Who says I wander around there at night?”

He gave a short, low laugh. “Aw, c’mon now, Tulip. You forgetting, I been along with you on a few of them cases you get. Know the drill, I do.”

“Maybe this one is different.”

“Aye, and maybe it ain’t. Only thing I gots to say is be careful. Ain’t a good place, there.”

“Why?” She pulled out her own cigarette, lit it up to give her something to look at. Not sure how much credence she should give anything he said to her, if she should even listen, but at the same time listening hard.

Yes, sure, things were different now. But while she couldn’t say Lex had never lied to her—of course he’d lied to her, and she’d lied to him—she couldn’t see any reason for him to lie to her about a case.

Then again, she’d never had a case on his side of town before.

“Just ain’t safe. All kinds of shit in there, them teachers and all.”

“How do you know this?”

He looked at her with his head tilted. “It matter?”

“No. I just wonder what you know.”

“Ain’t know much. Hear tell on they being the sort sell them mamas it get they what they wanting, if you dig.”

She blew out smoke, shifted in her seat to face him better. “How does that make them different from anyone else?”

“Guessing it ain’t. Only most people ain’t big crowds like they. Could get up a fuck of a double-cross, be what they wanting to do.”

Chess looked at him without speaking, let the minute drag on long enough to have made anyone else feel uncomfortable. Lex didn’t, of course, because Lex never did, but his expression went from bland to curious before she spoke. “Is that what you came there today to tell me?”

“Nay, just came by check the place out, I did.”

“But why? And why today? And how did you know that was my car, you’ve only seen it like once before.”

He smiled, slowly, letting the change of expression itself waste time. “Aye, somebody gave me the tell you was there. Came by give you a hello. That a bad thing?”

What wasn’t he telling her?

And how much did it matter?

She pushed it all into the back of her head for later. He wouldn’t tell her if she asked outright anyway. Better to move around the question and see if anything else came out later. “So I guess I’ll be spending a bit more time on your side of town for a while.”

Lex stood up and headed for the mini-fridge he kept against the wall. Without asking he pulled a couple of beers out, opened them both, and handed her one. “Guessing you will.”

His amused expression told Chess he knew very well what she was getting to. Damn it. But not a surprise. “And I guess I won’t be the only person who lives on my side but spends a lot of time here.”

The couch sank when he plunked himself down, close enough that his hand almost touched her thigh. “Aw, Tulip, figured you come up with a better try-on than that. You know I ain’t givin you that knowledge anyroad.”

“Yeah, but I had to try.”