Dirty Magic by Jaye Wells Read Free Book Online

favor. “All right, so one of my boys says if you wanna get a piece of the new package, you gotta go through this guy at the Green Faerie.”
    “The absinthe bar on Exposition?” I frowned. “Who’s the connect?”
    Little Man shook his head. “Not sure. I guess there’s some password or some shit. You know how the wizes are with new customers. Gotta sniff ’em out first, make sure no Arcs”—the slang for Arcane officers—“are poking around.”
    “What’s the password?”
    “Beats me.” LM shrugged. “But you hang around long enough I bet you’ll see something interesting.”
    “Well, it’s a place to start, I guess.” If we could catch the dealer maybe he could be flipped into admitting his source. That was a big
if
, though, given we had no idea who the dealer was. It was an even bigger
if
regarding whether there would even be a “we” since I still hadn’t heard from Gardner.
    My lack of optimism must have telegraphed through my posture because Mary raised a ham-steak paw and awkwardly patted my shoulder. “It’s okay, lady.”
    I forced a smile at her. “Thanks, Mary.” With a sigh, I rose.
    “Ahem,” Little Man said. “There’s the small matter of our fee.”
    I handed the wad of bills to him. He stuck them in his diaper. Before I could continue, my phone buzzed in my pocket. Normally I wouldn’t have taken a call during a meeting with an informant, but I was still waiting for word from Gardner.
    “Prospero,” I said, trying to sound capable and trustworthy.
    “It’s Gardner.”
    “Hi—”
    “You’re in,” she barreled ahead. My stomach dipped with excitement, but I kept my features bland for LM’s benefit. “Nine a.m. sharp tomorrow.” She rattled off an address on Stark Street.
    “Thank you so—”
    “And Prospero?”
    “I—Yeah?”
    “Don’t make me regret this.”
    I cleared the bubble of emotion that unexpectedly formed in my throat. “I won’t.”
    “Good. Oh, and you’re in the MEA now. Try to dress the part.”
    My hand went to the frayed collar of the T-shirt I’d thrown on to go meet LM. No doubt she was thinking about the scrubs I’d worn the night before. “Yes, ma’am.”
    “‘Sir,’ Prospero,” she snapped. “Call me ‘sir.’”
    With that the line disconnected. I sat looking down at the phone for a minute, unsure whether to do a victory dance or crap my pants. For a woman offering me good news, she sure didn’t sound too happy.
    “Ahem.” LM stared at me expectantly.
    “Sorry,” I muttered. He looked curious about the call, but I wasn’t ready to show that particular hand to him yet. I needed to change the subject and fast.
    “So what are you gonna do?” LM asked.
    “What do you mean?” I frowned at the homunculus’s impish smile.
    LM shrugged and leaned back on his elbow against Mary’s chest. “Way I remember it, you and Volos used to be sweet on each other.”
    I sighed. “Right. Used to be. That was a long time ago, LM. Besides, I’m not convinced he’s involved. He’s got too much to lose to go back to cooking.”
    “Still,” LM said slowly, “you know what they say, right?”
    I raised a brow and waited.
    “The wizard can leave the magic, but the magic never leaves him.” He winked at me. “Ain’t that right, Prospero?”
    The insinuation made me want to tell the homunculus to go fuck himself, but I knew better than to react. Betraying any defensiveness about my own relationship—or lack thereof—to dirty magic would be ammunition in his little hands. Especially if any of the lowlifes I was trying to arrest were more generous tippers than I was.
    “Thanks for the help.” I tipped my chin.
    LM nodded back, but a speculative gleam in his eye told me that brain of his was already strategizing the best way to use our conversation to his advantage.
    “See you around, Mary.”
    The giantess smiled, revealing an abundance of sickly white gums and a handful of crooked, decaying teeth. “Be careful, lady.”
    I