Razor Dreams: The Seventh Jonathan Shade Novel Page 14

She parried with her sword and sliced the clawed hands from the shadowy arms. The hands continued forward, glancing off Kelly's shoulder to hit the concrete with a splat, and the hands popped into smoke.

  Gustav let out another shriek like a banshee in heat, and his arms snaked out to form hands and claws once more. He slashed at Kelly, but she blocked every attempt, sending pieces of him flying to hit bricks and concrete and explode into smoke that swirled up and rejoined the body.

  Kelly swung her sword through his midsection and severed him in two. Black smoke flared behind her blade in an arc, but then it circled behind her and re-formed into clawed hands. The claws stabbed into her back.

  Kelly didn't feel pain, so she barely noticed. Instead, she whipped her sword back through to sever Gustav's head. More smoke arcing. The head dropped into the torso, pancaked into the legs, and hit the ground in a splash of smoke.

  The smoke shot up and re-formed, solidifying as it rose. Claws raked through Kelly's stomach, but she stepped back before they carved her face.

  Blood dripped.

  “I need a minute to heal,” she said, jumping back.

  I rushed forward, punched Gustav in the back of the head. The impact felt like hitting a water balloon, but then the head puffed into smoke. I spun myself through the body, breaking it into soft tendrils that flared outward, leaving trails of gray in the air.

  The smoke dropped then rose, and Kelly kicked me forward, saving me from being sliced and diced. Gustav scratched her leg, but it didn't slow her down. She crashed into the smoke, sending it flying.

  It tried to re-form, and she threw herself into it again, spinning. It couldn't solidify.

  Finally the smoke shot upward and formed on the roof of Castle Clinton.

  I rushed to Kelly.

  “Are you all right?” I asked.

  “Of course,” she said.

  “He scratched you,” I said.

  “Being magically engineered has a few benefits,” she said. She peeled her bloody shirt up to show her midriff; the scratches were already healed.

  I'd seen Kelly cut apart by hatchets, but they had severed pieces faster than her body could mend. Gustav could scratch her but not do permanent damage unless he completely severed pieces from her. Isabel had been a regular woman, so her scratches wouldn't heal. Kelly didn't have that problem,

  “Good,” I said. “Turn around.”

  She did. A clawed hand still stuck in her back.

  “Let me get this out,” I said.

  “Leave it,” Kelly said.

  “But—”

  “Leave it,” she said again. “As long as it's lodged in my back, it's not going anywhere.”

  I looked up at Gustav. “Ready for round two?”

  Gustav let out a torrent of angry German followed by a screech. He threw himself at the ground to break into smoke and drifted on a breeze out into the bay.

  “Guess not.”

  Esther popped over. “There's no way to stop it,” she said.

  “There's always a way to stop it,” Kelly said.

  “We just need to learn what that is,” I said.

  “We have a hand.”

  “But no one to give it to,” I said.

  “Someone told this Gustav thing where to find us,” Kelly said. “Was it the wizards or the weirdoes?”

  “Esther?” I said. “Can you pop over to Kings Park to check on Martin and the others?”

  “I can try.”

  She popped away.

  “We should head back to the hotel,” I said. “I can call Brenda and see what's what.”

  “Call her from here,” Kelly said.

  “Gustav may have dropped dust on me,” I said.

  “So?”

  “So evidently the dust has an effect on me, so it's not a direct magic thing. I need to grab a shower so I can keep things together easily.”

  “I could toss you in the harbor.”

  “No thanks.”

  Kelly rolled her eyes. “Whatever. What about the ghost girl?”

  “Her name is Esther, and I'd appreciate it if you could call her by name.”

  “I don't know that I'm staying here once we wrap this up, so I see no point in lodging her name into my long-term memory.”

  “Are you vying for the Bitch of the Year Award?” I asked.

  “You know I've killed people for saying less offensive things, right?”

  “You should appreciate the fact that I shoot straight. And Esther will know to head to the hotel if we're not here. It's an easy jump for her.”

  “Fine. Let's go make sure you don't piss your pants with unwarranted fear.”

  “Really trying for that award, aren't you? I can't decide if it should be awarded to you or my sister.”

  “Who died and made you the final arbiter?”

  “I think you're working too hard. This comes more naturally to Monica.”

  Kelly shook her head and rolled her eyes, so I was making progress.

  ***

  By the time Esther popped back to the hotel, I'd already showered and dressed. My hair was still wet. I toweled it dry as she filled us in. Martin and the others weren't at Kings Park. No sign of them, and no sign of the older version of the hospital. It was the modern abandoned building and nothing else.

  “They may be trapped in the old place,” I said.

  “Or they betrayed us,” Kelly said. “Any sign of a struggle?”

  “It looked like it did last time we were there,” Esther said.

  “All right,” I said. “Shall I check in with our other absentee helpers?”

  “And how,” Esther said.

  When I called Brenda, my sister answered the phone. “You are not allowed to sleep with my staff,” she said without so much as a hello.

  “The last staff I saw turned into a snake,” I said, “so I'm not interested. Too many splinters in its normal mode, and too many bites in its reptilian phase.”

  “I don't have a wooden staff,” Monica said.

  “No, but a member of your staff gives me wood. Give the phone to Brenda, or I'll keep going down this road.”

  After a sharp intake of breath, my sister's voice said, “You can talk to him.”

  “Hello, Jonathan,” Brenda said. “Sorry I wasn't there.”

  “I survived.”

  “Your sister is my boss. She caught me when I went to get the file. I couldn't get access.”

  I paced the hotel room floor. Kelly and Esther watched from where they sat on the bed. “I'll deal with my sister for you.”

  “Good luck with that.”

  “Yeah. Let me run something by you. Your buddy Gustav the Necromancer. He's smoke until he attacks. Then he's solid when he's attacking, but if you hit him, he turns back to smoke. Ever deal with something like that?”

  “No,” she said.

  “If I have a solid piece of him, can you tell me if it's living tissue?”

  “If it's a piece, it's not.”

  “Yeah, I know, but can you tell if it was.”

  “Maybe. Hang on.” She muted the phone.

  Kelly shot me a questioning look.

  “I'm working on it,” I said.

  “I don't want to sleep with claws in my back,” Kelly said.

  Before I could reply, Brenda came back on the line. “Monica says we have wizards who can tell whether or not tissue was once alive.”

  “Will she allow them to deal with us?”

  “She says it will cost you.”

  “Money isn't the issue. Answer me this, Brenda: If it turns out Gustav is actually living tissue when he solidifies, if you touch him, will he turn to stone?”

  “Yes. I can't walk barefoot through the park without turning blades of grass and insects to stone.”

  “And if he tries to turn to smoke from stone?”

  “How would he do that?”

  “Magic,” I said. “He can turn from flesh to smoke, so why not stone to smoke?”

  “If he can do that, I don't know how w
e'd stop him.”

  “All right, put Monica back on the line.”

  I listened as she handed the phone back. “I don't want to talk to him,” Monica said from a distance, but a moment later, she came on the line. “What do you want?”

  “Give me an account number where I can transfer funds.”

  “Banks are closed. It's almost ten o'clock.”

  I ran a calculation through my head. “So it's almost four in the morning in Sweden. Banks usually open around eight-thirty in Zurich, so can we work a deal in advance of payment?”

  “I looked into your financials, Jonathan, and you don’t have any.”

  “Not under my name,” I said but decided not to head down that rabbit hole. “Fine. I have around five thousand in cash here at the hotel. Will that suffice as a down payment for you to get a few wizards to come into work right now?”

  “Five thousand in cash?” she asked.

  “That's right. I can hit an ATM and get another $500, I suppose.”

  “Tell you what, little brother. You pay us five grand up front, I'll supply the wizards, and you can owe us another twenty thousand. I'll let you make payments for as long as you need to on one condition.”

  I shook my head. I had billions, but she refused to believe I could afford cab fare. Wow. I sighed. “What's the condition?”

  “If we help you deal with Gustav Reinhardt, you agree to leave New York City. I don't care where you go, but this is my city, and I don't want you living here.”

  “Can I visit the city from time to time, or would that upset your delicate sensibilities?”

  “Why should I let you visit?”

  “Oh, I don't know. Maybe I'll get tickets to see U2 at Madison Square Garden.”

  “Fine, for a special event, you can visit provided you've paid your bill in full beforehand.”

  “And if I pay my bill within twenty-four hours?”

  “Then I'll buy you tickets to see U2 and arrange for backstage passes for you to meet Bono.”

  “Will you throw in a pair of sunglasses?”

  “Quit while you're ahead. We'll meet you at the office in thirty minutes.”

  ***

  Monica counted the five grand twice, holding each bill up to the light and running one of those silly markers across the face to verify they weren't counterfeit. Esther, Kelly, Brenda, Monica, and I stood in Monica's office. The rest of the floor was deserted, and the mirrored walls were blank.

  “You're so trusting,” I said. “Where are the other wizards?”

  “We don't need anyone else.”

  “You're going to work with me on a case?” I asked.

  “Got a problem with that?”

  “Depends. You going to stab me with another pen?”

  “Did your scratch close up?”

  “Yeah, why?”

  “You can thank me for that.”

  “Thank you for stabbing me?”

  “Indirect magic. I used the pen to draw the toxins from the scratch, and as I wasn't trying to heal you directly, the toxins flowed right into the pen as I intended.”

  “And I should believe you, why?”

  “Because your wound closed up.”

  Brenda caught my eye and gave me a nod.

  “Thank you,” I said.

  “You're not welcome. I didn't want you dripping blood in my building.”

  Kelly smiled. “I like her.”

  “Yeah, yeah, just turn around.”

  Kelly turned and Monica examined the clawed hand that protruded from Kelly's back.

  “While you work on that . . .” I said and moved toward Brenda.

  Brenda smiled. “We can go to my office,” she said.

  “That's not going to happen,” Monica said. “Brenda, you stay right here.”

  “Oh, come on, Monica,” Brenda said.

  “You two are not allowed to be alone.”

  “The ghost can watch,” Brenda said.

  “I'm not playing fire extinguisher,” Esther said.

  “No, you're just an observer,” Brenda said.

  “It's all right,” I said. “I need to try and reach Martin again. See why he didn't show.”

  “The bastard is on the necromancer's side,” Kelly said. “How else would the smoke thing know to be there? And why else isn't he answering his phone?”

  “I don't think Martin betrayed us. I doubt he speaks German.”

  “Whatever.”

  I tried again to call him. As before, the phone went right to voice mail. “Damn,” I said. “Something must have happened. Esther?”

  Esther looked at me expectantly.

  “This will sound odd, but can you place your hand on Gustav's hand?”

  “I'll pass through it.”

  “But it won't have an impact, so it won't break into smoke.”

  “In theory,” Monica said. “Why do you want her to touch the hand?”

  “I'm hoping it will get some ectoplasmic dust on her so if Martin and the others are trapped in the old Kings Park, she'll be able to get through to them.”

  “She can't do anything there. She's a ghost.”

  “She can bring us the information,” I said.

  “It won't do us any good if we can't get to them,” Kelly said.

  “I just need to know if they're all right. Esther?”

  “I'll try.”

  “Hold still, Kelly,” Monica said.

  Kelly held her position.

  “All right, Esther,” Monica continued. “Gently push your hand through.”

  Esther held her hand over the clawed hand. She hesitated then let her fingers touch the flesh. Her fingers phased through without breaking the hand, and her eyes went wide. She pushed all the way through then pulled her hand back.

  “Did you feel anything?” I asked.

  Esther nodded. “Cold.”

  “You felt cold?” I asked. “I didn't know you could feel temperature.”

  “Normally I can't. But touching that hand gave me a shiver.”

  “Then let's see if it worked. Can you pop over to Kings Park?”

  “Jonathan, I'm nervous.”

  “It seems to be working,” Kelly said.

  “I get the heebie-jeebies just thinking about going back there.”

  “Just a quick pop in, look around, and pop back. You're perfectly safe. Nothing can hurt you there.”

  Esther closed her eyes and steeled her resolve. Finally she nodded. “For you,” she said and popped away.

  Monica looked closely at the clawed hand in Kelly's back and waved her hands around it. “Brenda, come over here.”

  The look on Kelly's face told me she was very much like my Kelly. She did not trust wizards of any stripe, and if Monica or Brenda made one move Kelly didn't like, there would be bloodshed.

  “Talk us through it, Monica,” I said. “We need to know the score.”

  “In laymen's terms,” Monica said, “the hand is made of living tissue. It's also made of necrotic tissue. The dust of dead bodies.”

  “Explain it to me.”

  “Just watch,” Monica said. “Brenda?”

  Brenda pulled off one of her gloves and hesitated. “Will this affect Kelly?” Brenda asked.

  “How do you mean?” Monica asked.

  “If I turn the hand to stone, it's touching Kelly. Will it turn her to stone too?”

  “It better not,” Kelly said.

  “Wait a minute,” I said. “If it turns her to stone, is there a cure?”

  “No,” Brenda said. “If someone is turned to stone, they're dead.”

  “What are the odds here?”

  “Fifty/fifty?” Monica said, uncertain.

  “Seventy/thirty against,” Brenda said.

  “That's not acceptable,” I said. “Can you push some kind of force shield in there between the claws and Kelly's tissue?”

  Monica shrugged. “I can try, but it might break the hand. If that happens, we won't know whether or not Brenda can affect it.”

&n
bsp; “I don't want Kelly to be turned to stone.”

  “Not taking the easy joke?” Kelly asked. “I'm disappointed.”

  “Stone-cold killer,” Brenda said. “Nice.”

  “Sorry, to me this isn't a joking matter.”

  “It used to be,” Kelly said.

  “That's not who I am.” I turned to Monica. “Try a spell.”

  “It's going to cost you.”

  “Here it comes,” I said. “I've already paid you.”

  “Not money. Information.” She stared at me for a moment then said, “How did Mom and Dad die?”

  “You know that already.”

  “I know what Uncle Arthur said. I want the truth.”

  “Tell you what,” I said. “You deal with this clawed hand without killing or hurting Kelly, and I'll tell you the whole story.”

  “Deal.”

  We shook on it. Then, as though it were nothing, Monica rubbed her hands together, touched Kelly's back, and guided light into the hand. An incandescent glow suffused it, and she slowly pulled back with her palms cupped, and the hand lifted itself out of Kelly's back. Her wounds healed quickly.

  “Now, Brenda,” Monica said.

  Brenda touched the hand. It turned to stone and dropped to the floor.

  “Oops,” Monica said. “I wasn't expecting quite that much weight.”

  Brenda crouched to lift the hand. “It's heavy.”

  She gave it to me, and I nearly dropped it. The damn thing felt like it was made of gold.

  The hand clicked and cracked between the fingers. The joints popped and the stone hand began to close the fingers as if trying to make a fist. The claws quivered.

  Monica shook her head. “That's some powerful magic,” she said.

  “It's already coming back to life,” I said.

  “It should be totally dead,” Brenda said.

  Monica rubbed her hands together until they glowed then took the hand from me. Light wrapped around the claws, and fingers then tightened. She focused her strength, and the force field around the stone hand glowed brighter. I leaned close to watch, and the light pulverized the hand into tiny specks of dust. Each mote glowed then fizzled out, leaving little tracers of light and smoke in the air.

  “Easy enough,” Monica said and faced me. “Now talk.”

  At that moment, Esther popped back into the room.

  “You were right,” she said. “Martin and the others are trapped in the building.”

  “Was Gustav there?”

  “I didn't see him.”