Callie nudged open her car door, and vomited. Even energy shots and water couldn’t settle against that fucking truth. A couple people bustled past her parked car, but none gave her a second glance. Locals didn’t gawk. Thank God. She closed the door again, and swiped her sleeve across her mouth. Was that why she’d been so volatile with Zara? After what her mother went though, how could Callie have let anger override her common decency? She could have taught a master class in taking care of belligerent mothers, but you wouldn’t have known it by today’s behavior. She flipped open the center console and rummaged past cables and an inch-thick stack of fast food napkins until she found a small bottle of the energy drink. She knocked it back. Her stomach punched back up, but not hard enough to expel the liquid.
She put the car into drive, and headed back toward the Charmer’s shop. She hadn’t been thrilled about backup for meeting the Anonymous Souls dealer, but after today’s encounter it no longer rankled to have Beck tag along. She glanced at the clock—it was almost five already. She toed the accelerator a little lower. The sidewalk traffic increased the closer she got to downtown, but thankfully the streets were fairly clear. Dirty snow was clumped on either side of the road. Callie turned onto a side street, and the steering column whined. Derek would want to fix that, too. She bumped along the hodgepodge road of brick and concrete. She was only blocks from the Soul Charmer’s store when she had to slam both feet onto the brake.
A man in a grey parka staggered into the street, his back to her. It was twice as wide as she was. At least he was hard to miss. He lifted a bulky, black camera and angled it toward one of the low lampposts. It had to be something fancy and expensive to have the long lens and the bright flash. If he could afford that, you’d think he could afford some basic life skills like ‘don’t step out into oncoming traffic.’ Callie slammed the heel of her palm against the horn. He startled, and then spun toward her. She couldn’t hear what he was saying, but he had the sense to look abashed. Callie wouldn’t try to guess where the tourist was from. She simply hoped he didn’t find his way to the Soul Charmer’s. Idiot tourists were a pain in her ass before she had to worry about getting back the rented goods before they left the state.
Callie parked near the back of the shop, but walked around to the front door rather than taking her usual route inside. Even if Derek had the blood and glass gone, she wasn’t ready to test the lingering magic there. Her nerves were fried and whatever the Charmer left for her was not going to help the situation.
The anteroom was empty. The gentle hum of the furnace welcomed her. She waved at the conquistador woven into the tapestry on the north wall. He did not wave back, which given this day was a good sign. The slick surface of the countertop had smudges of black ash at the edges. She swiped a finger through one pass. The soot was smooth against her skin, but a half second later the material began to bubble and fizz until it was gone. It didn’t evaporate as much as slip into her pores. Scrubbing her hand against her pant’s leg did not quell the lingering tingle in her fingertip. It also didn’t leave dark smudges on her jeans.
“Is anything in this place real?” she muttered to herself.
“Yo.”
Callie shot a look over her shoulder to see Beck stepping into the shop. A wicked wind gust blasted in behind him and had the conquistador art shivering, too. Beck waved at her with two fingers.
Maybe he hadn’t heard her talking to herself. “Hey.”
“You ready to see how the other side lives?” He tugged off his gloves.
“Ready to be done with this and have the Charmer back here.”
Beck didn’t bother hiding his grin. His smiles were all teeth and all light. Must be nice. “Bet you didn’t think you’d say that.”
He had her there. “True enough.”
“If it makes you feel better, I was surprised to miss the fucker, too.”
“I wouldn’t go that far.” Her playful tone masked the unvarnished truth.
Derek emerged from the curtain. The white cloth in his hands was stained with dark reds. “Where are we going?”
“To rent a soul, of course.” Beck sang the words like he was about to hop on the Yellow Brick Road.
Callie could play along. “I tried renting before and didn’t get the hype.”
Beck laughed. Derek’s brows lowered. He wiped his hands on the cloth. If menace had a signature look, this was it. “Not a time for joking.” He wasn’t talking to Callie.
“Doom and gloom doesn’t make this shit any easier. You of all people should know that.” Beck shoved his hands into his coat pockets, and the
