The Price of Exorcism by Dakota Brown (sneezy the snowman read aloud .txt) 📗

"Ow, damn, dude," Billy said, watching overmy shoulder.

"Magic has a cost," I muttered as I finishedthe spell shape. I drew on my internal storage of power, pushed it into my handas I quietly spoke the words to the spell, then put my hand on her doorknob. Theknob absorbed the spell, and the magic absorbed my blood. I heard the tumblersclick as the magic did its job.

I turned the handle and let my hand heal.

"That's...badass..." Billy breathed.

"Lots of practice," I replied, flipping onthe lights when Billy shut the door behind us.

The apartment was sparsely furnished, though therewere a few touches that certainly made me think of Mandy. Some whimsicalpictures, some a bit more gothic. Her bookshelf had knickknacks on it, and afew paper books. I'd expected more, but she likely had an ereader.

The couch was second hand, I suspected from itscondition, but looked comfortable. Nothing was new, but everything matched in akind of eclectic way.

Her jean jacket from the pizza shop was slung over theback of a kitchen chair.

I pulled my map out of my pocket and unfolded it ontothe table. Billy watched as I pulled an old brass pendulum out of my pocket andheld it over the map. I put my hand on her jacket, concentrated on her essence,which surrounded us since we were in her space, and asked the pendulum to tellme where she was.

The response was immediate. She was still down inAlbuquerque. I circled the location with a pencil, dropped the pendulum back inmy pocket and folded the map.

"That easy?"

I shrugged. "It's easy now. When I first startedit would have taken me an hour or more to get that clear of an answer. She isn'tbeing shielded magically, which is a good sign, and she's still alive."

"How long have you been practicing the occult?"

What was with everyone wanting to know how old I was?I took a breath, not wanting to snap at the poor kid. "A long time."

"Ah, right. Sorry," Billy replied, running ahand through his hair nervously.

The hint of fear caught my attention, and I carefullydidn't look at him until I got my reaction under control. No reason to freakhim out more. It wasn't difficult to control my impulses after centuries ofpractice, but the predator was always lurking just below the surface.

I grinned at him. "Relax. Your boss would kill meif something happened to you, and she's way scarier than I am."

Billy chuckled. "Yeah, okay. Sorry. Uh, how'd youknow I was nervous?"

I debated my answer for a moment before shrugging. "Ican smell it."

He swore under his breath. "Right. Okay. Nohiding anything from you, then."

"It can be done, but it's difficult. Okay, let metext Aaron and then I'll go see if I can rescue Mandy from whatever she'sgotten herself into."

"Should we call the cops? They could be therefaster."

"If I knew she was in merely human trouble, yes,but if she did manage to tangle herself up with something supernatural, itcould go poorly for the cops."

"But you'll be okay? 'Cause Chris will kill us ifanything happens to you, too."

"Yes." I laughed. "I doubt she'd blameyou for getting me into trouble. I can do that all on my own."

"Okay."

I sent Aaron a quick text letting him know I washeading out.

"If anything comes up that can't wait for me toget back, call or text Aaron. He's at work, but he might be able to help out."

"Yeah, he might be done by the time therestaurant really gets swinging. Thanks, Mal."

"Of course."

Billy followed me out of the apartment. We werecareful to lock it behind us, and as soon as I got in my car, I headed towardthe city in speeds that were certainly faster than was strictly legal.Fortunately, I had a few wards on my car that would keep me from gettingunfriendly attention.

∞ ∞∞

I parked my Prius several blocks away from thelocation the pendulum had indicated. This was certainly not the bestneighborhood, and I wrapped a vampiric cloak of anonymity around myself. I didn'twant to have to deal with any sort of attention while I was here. I picked upthe pace, not sensing any indication that there were other supernatural beingsin the area. That didn't mean they weren't here, but I was beginning to suspectthis was simple human fuckery. That made it both easier, and harder to dealwith.

The house I arrived at was pretty standard for thearea. A little run down, but someone had attempted to make the yard look nice.It was landscaped with native plants and the desert climate in mind. I couldsense Mandy and two other humans inside. No one supernatural at all.

I walked up to the front door and listened. It waslocked, but this one I didn't care about breaking, so I gave the handle a swiftjerk and listened again. No one responded. The two people I didn't know hadslow heartbeats, as if they were asleep. Mandy's raced and I could smell herterror from here. Unlike before, this degree of fear didn't call to thepredator I was, it simply repulsed me.

I slipped inside after a quick scan for any energiesthat might indicate wards or other traps. Nothing. The house was quiet, and Ighosted through the living room, past two bedrooms with shut doors, and into aninterior room with no windows.

I ducked inside quietly. Mandy hadn't noticed me yet,and I studied her. She was huddled in a corner, one leg cuffed to a bolt in thewall. Clearly this was not the first time they'd done this to someone, and thiswas obviously not meant to be a fun, sexy type of restraint, either.

"Mandy," I whispered, nostrils flaring as I smelledblood. I did not, however, smell sex. That was a good sign.

She jerked, gasping, eyes wide. "Mal?" shewhispered. "Mal, you have to leave, they're still here." Her hoarsevoice tugged at me, as did her concern for my safety.

Hurrying to her side, I knelt next to her.

She flung herself in my arms and I held her while shesobbed.

"I'm here to rescue you," I whispered intoher ear.

"But..."

"Shhh. I can handle anything a pair of humans canthrow at me." She already