Actually, no, it wasn’t better. Now it was going to be the scent of absolute bowel-loosening fear.
He was in the Gem Keep. Home turf of a race of powerful beings who had the ability to cause him incredible pain and then banish him to the worst of the bad places for an eternity.
And he had broken one of their expensive toys.
He cleared his throat. “Again, I am so very sorry about the automaton,” he said, “I thought it was someone impersonating you for nefarious purposes.”
The Sapphire Witch turned her face to his. The soft blue glow of her goggles was disconcerting. The downturned corners of her mouth adequately stated her displeasure, though.
“We are from the unseen world, clown,” she said, “When are our purposes not nefarious?”
He opened his mouth to reply. Realized he had nothing to reply with. He promptly closed his pie hole.
His stomach rumbled.
Yes, pie would be nice. A double bacon cheeseburger would be better. A Boinkbo burger would be just the thing to calm that rumble.
Too bad there weren’t any Boinkbo burger restaurants in the unseen world. Though if the humans of the normal world ever found a way into the unseen world, there would probably Boinkbo Burgers and Wally Coffee shops on every corner.
It would be an improvement.
“Stop here, clown,” the Sapphire Witch said.
He jumped, jerked out of his burger fantasies. He laid on the brake a little too hard. The van skidded to a stop.
In the back, Marco let out a stream of profanity.
The Sapphire Witch gave Hilario an expressionless look. He shrugged his well padded shoulders and honked his nose.
The passenger door opened by itself. She gracefully slid off the seat, the six-tailed rat demon tucked under her arm.
“Follow, clown,” she said.
Hilario glanced back at his two remaining passengers.
Marco glared at him. His fingers tapped the butt of his gun. Which thankfully remained silent. Next to him, Larry looked miserable. The Sapphire Witch had evicted him from the passenger seat as abruptly as she had before.
Larry pulled at his ghostly cheeks.
“I really messed up, didn’t I?” he said.
Hilario paused with his hand on the door handle. “What do you mean?”
“I should have never gone into her kitchen,” Larry said, “I should have stayed in Rachel’s kitchen. She wouldn’t have left me. Everything would be okay. The Sparrow would still be there. I’d be making pies instead of being…dead.”
Hilario took a deep breath of sulfur tinged air.
“There’s worse things than being dead.”
Larry gave him an incredulous look. “Like what?”
“You remember that place we were before we came here?” Hilario asked.
“Yeah.”
“That place was a nice relaxing day spa compared to other places in the unseen world,” Hilario said, “Trust me. I know from personal experience.”
The driver’s side door opened by itself.
“My patience wanes, clown,” the Sapphire Witch said.
Hilario swiveled his seat and got out. The Sapphire Witch stood at the front of the van. The rat-demon sat on the ground beside her. She held her hands at her sides, the fingers curled slightly. Not in any position for casting. That was slightly encouraging. He hurried over to her, his floppy clown shoes slapping the smooth, black lane.
He glanced back at the van and his companions. All he could see of Larry was his ghostly blue glow. Marco…
Oh, poop nuggets.
…was getting out of the van through the still open driver’s side door.
The detective held a fierce look on his blocky face. His fingers were wrapped around the butt of his gun. Though, fortunately, it was still in the holster.
“Detective Marco,” Hilario said, “Perhaps you should stay with Larry.”
“Fuck that,” Marco said, “That bitch knows where my sister is. I’m not leaving without her.”
Hilario winced at the b-word. Oh dear. He snuck a glance at the Sapphire Witch. She held her face in regal impassiveness, her body as still as the crystal towers around her.
At least there wasn’t steam coming out her ears.
Yet.
“Detective Marco,” Hilario said, “I would urge discretion in our host’s home.”
Marco spat on the ground. “She can kiss my ass,” he said, “Where’s Rachel? I know she’s here.”
The Sapphire Witch came to life. She stepped closer to Marco. Her fingers curled into fists. Her brows drew low over her brass rimmed goggles.
“How do you know your sister is here, Detective Marco?” she asked.
Marco glowered at her. His fingers white knuckled on the gun. Could a human weapon hurt the Sapphire Witch?
It wasn’t a question he wanted to personally find the answer to.
“I just know,” Marco said, “She’s here. I…”
The Sapphire Witch stepped closer. She towered over him. But he didn’t shrink back. He probably thought his thickly muscled physique would be more than a match for the willowy witch.
Oh, how wrong he would be.
The Sapphire Witch tilted her head to him. “Do you feel her presence, Detective Marco?”
Marco’s face went crimson. His lips pressed to a thin line.
“Where is she?”
The Sapphire Witch straightened up. Turned her back to him. She walked away.
“Follow, clown,” she said, “And you, also, Detective Marco.”
31
They followed the Sapphire Witch, six-tailed rat demon still tucked under her arm, into the largest and most spiky of the crystal towers. A pair of extra large armored soldiers that stood at the entrance turned and followed them in. Their metal clad feet rang against the stone floor. Echoed in the cavernous space.
The inside of the tower was mostly hollow. The space was crisscrossed with a crystalline lattice structure that glowed in soft, pastel colors. Colors that contrasted with the harshness outside.
Gone was the sulfurous odor. Instead there were pleasant scents of spices like cinnamon
