hand of hate 01 - destiny blues (26 page)

“Sorry. I’m just here to pick up a package.” I ignored the mayor and moved past him to address the receptionist with my best smile. “You have a package here for Mattie Blackman?”
 

The woman must have been in her fifties, and like the mayor, her aura and lifeline were also visible. I noted some interesting differences in the colors and qualities of the older woman’s aura. Her lifeline was shorter than Mayor Brunson’s, and in some places, the brightness grew pinched and disconcertingly fragile-looking.  
 

“I’ll need some identification.”
 

After presenting my driver’s license, she handed me a padded manila envelope with my name written across the front in bold letters. I took the envelope, thanked her and wished her a happy day.    
 

Fifteen minutes later, Rhys and I pulled into the parking lot of House of Cards and parked the bike in one of the empty spots. The nondescript building had no windows, only a set of double glass doors. He asked me if I’ve ever been here before. I shook my head.
 

We strolled inside like we owned the place. I debated removing my sunglasses in the darkened game parlor, but decided against it. I carried the envelope full of money clasped against my chest. Rhys took up a bodyguard stance behind my left shoulder and gave me a fierce grin.  
 

“Well well, look who’s here.” Hector appeared out of nowhere and leered into my personal space. His clammy aura washed over me; his lifeline pulsed with good health. I didn’t want him to touch me, but I stood my ground. Rhys stepped up beside me.  
 

My heart hammered. “I want to talk to the manager.”
 

“She’s busy. You can talk to me, girlfriend.” Two other bouncer types approached, but he waved them off. They drifted away, keeping their eyes on us. They all wore shoes with leather tassels. Must be company dress code or something.    
 

“I’m here to make the payoff for Lance McNair.”
 

Surprise flashed across his face for a moment, replaced by a sneer of total scorn.  
 

“What, is the big man too scared to come in person? Give it here little girl, I’ll be happy to take whatever you’ve got. You must be tougher than you look, princess. I don’t see a mark on you. I must be losing my touch.”
 

He glanced at Rhys as if to size him up.  
 

Rhys tensed up beside me.  I took a deep, calming breath. This guy meant nothing to me. The only thing I needed to do was to get Lance’s debt paid off. This guy was merely a distraction, nothing more. The casino area was full of people; Hector wouldn’t dare make a scene in front of the customers.
 

“Just tell the manager I’m here, please. I believe I’m expected.”  
 

Hector spoke a few words of Italian into a walkie-talkie. After a moment, he got an acknowledgement. He flashed a sign at one of the other bouncers and the big man came over to man the door.  
 

“All right Miss Priss, follow me.”  
 

He led us across the main room, past blackjack tables, craps, and a carved, ornate bar. We passed through swinging doors into a well-lit kitchen, then down a dark hallway that dead-ended in an unmarked door. Hector gave a soft knock and Rhys and I followed him into a posh, well-lit office.
 

The oriental carpet glowed red beneath a matching cream-colored suede sofa and chairs. Along one wall stood a massive aquarium, filled with a dozen google-eyed fantail goldfish. An attractive Asian woman faced us, seated behind a carved black desk. She wore an expensive-looking black suit that must have been custom tailored to fit her toothpick figure. Two beefy men patted us down for weapons while Hector made the introductions.  
 

“This is Miriam Wu, the manager of the House of Cards. This here is McNair’s girlfriend. She says she’s here to pay off his tab.”
 

She ignored me; instead giving Rhys her attention over little half-moon glasses.  
 

“What are you doing here, Rhys? Miss me?” I glanced at Rhys but his face said nothing. I wondered how he knew her. This was no cavewoman Barbie. Her lipstick was bright crimson, and she sported a dragon-lady manicure.
 

“Play nice, Mimsy. I’m just here for moral support.”
 

I gave Rhys a look.  Mimsy Wu?
 

She closed the red leather book in front of her and addressed me without actually making eye contact. “I’m a busy woman, miss. Are you here to pay me the money Lance McNair owes me?”  
 

“Lance is my brother, and I want a signed receipt.” I was glad for the sense of assumed cool the shades gave me.  I felt my bitch hormones kick in. “Mimsy. And your word that you’ll leave my brother and our family alone.”  
 

She nodded and pulled a book of receipts out of the drawer next to her. “Give me the money.” She held out her hand without looking at me.
 

I don’t like you either.
If there had been any other way to do this, I would have walked out.  
 

I started to hand over the envelope when the fresh reek of licorice hit me, and I froze. It took me less than half a second to find the named djemon squatting invisibly on the oriental behind her chair.
 

“Well hello.” I leaned over for a closer inspection.   
 

The creature was like Blix and Larry; named, but not yet commanded, and thus not visible on the physical plane. The smell of this djemon, although still of anise, had a different quality than my guys. This one wasn’t mine. It wasn’t looking at me; its attention was focused exclusively on its master.  She knew it was there, all right, but nobody else did. Except me.  
 

“Looks like you’ve got a named djemon here, Mimsy.” I walked around the side of the desk to get a better look and the two bodyguards started toward me. I pointed at her. “Unless you want trouble, lose the palookas.” I squatted next to the demon, demonstrating to her I knew exactly what and where it was.  
 

She paled and dropped the receipt book. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. Give me the money.”
 

I leaned over and put my face close to hers, lowered my sunglasses and gave her the full benefit of my new look. She backed up a little and dismissed the bodyguards. They left without a word.  
 

She waited until the door closed behind them before she snapped at Rhys. “Who the hell is this?”
 

Rhys grinned hugely; I could tell he was enjoying himself. “This is Lance McNair’s sister, Mattie Blackman. You might know her better as the new Hand of Fate.”
 

Mimsy squealed and did a double take. “Oh my god.  I can’t believe it.” She jumped up and hugged me. “You’re Madame Coumlie’s heir?”
 

I stared at Rhys, hoping for an explanation but he shrugged me off, grinning.  
 

“Why didn’t you say so? Why are you paying off this note?”
 

“I’m not. I’m just delivering it.” I handed her the cash. “This is Lance’s money. I’d appreciate it if you wouldn’t let him in here anymore.” I forced myself to say it aloud. “He’s a compulsive gambler.”
 

“Yes, I know. He’s got himself mixed up that skank Andrea Gregson. I don’t know how she managed it, but she’s got her claws in deep.” She scribbled out a receipt and signed it and held it out to me. “Here, take it. I don’t want your money. Lance’s debt is paid in full.”  
 

Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth. I took the receipt before she changed her mind. It acknowledged receipt of sixty-three thousand dollars. It was signed by one Miriam Mingmei Wu. I wondered if she was related to the same Mingmei my great-grandmother had told me about. Had to be.  
 

“Thanks.” I tried to explain. “He’s my brother. He raised me.”
 

She sighed. “I know what it’s like to have a brother in trouble. You want to help them, but they have to fight their own battles.” She reached out and took my hand with her manicured fingers. She had bones like a bird.  “I truly am so sorry for your loss. Madame Coumlie has always been a true friend to my family; she was a wonderful woman.”   
 

I accepted her condolences and answered her questions about the funeral. She assured me she would be attending the visitation and gave me her card with her personal contact information.  
 

“What about that guy?” I nodded to the creature squatting at her feet. A miniature pterodactyl, if I had to guess.  
 

“I talked to Madame last week, and she told me she would take care of it.” Mimsy was closer to my age than I’d first guessed. “I do apologize for my poor manners earlier. Will you be taking over for her?”  
 

In spite of everything, I sort of liked her. I mumbled something about taking care of her little djemon problem as soon as things settled down, although I didn’t have a clue what I had just promised. I also made a mental note to stop making promises like that in the future.  She escorted us out to the parking lot, assuring me that everything between Lance and the House of Cards was now copacetic. She even promised to permanently eighty-six Lance from the premises.
 

I climbed back on the bike behind Rhys and waited for him to start the engine, but he didn’t.  
 

“What?”
 

“Mimsy is the biggest gossip in town. By tomorrow, everyone is going to know you’re the new Hand.”
 

“Do I need to be concerned?”
 

“Madame Coumlie had a lot of clients, Mattie. Shore Haven is a well-known sanctuary for the supernatural community, and you’ve just been elected president of the club. Your life is about to change.”  
 

“Don’t you worry about me; I can handle myself just fine. How do you know Mimsy?”
 

He laughed and kick-started the engine. Any further conversation on that topic was going to be impossible. We cruised up the street and I put my head down and held on tight. I wondered what kind of club he meant. When Mimsy had escorted us outside, I’d noticed every single person in the card room, including Hector and the doormen had an aura and lifeline. Everyone, that is, except Mimsy, Rhys, and me.   
 

CHAPTER 29
 

Rhys dropped me off at Madame Coumlie’s house to search through the journals one last time before we headed out to the cave again. He’d arranged for the French translator to come over to his place that afternoon anyway, so I told Rhys I would meet him at Mystic Properties in two hours. Besides, I had an idea I wanted to try. He took off on the bike and I let myself in with the key he gave me.   
 

For all its gaudy emptiness, the old Queen Anne house welcomed me. I stashed the envelope full of Lance’s money under the sink and brewed a pot of coffee. I would probably need that money to pay the lawyer. I heard an old clock ticking somewhere upstairs. With the curtains closed all day, the house was a peaceful oasis, but I had work to do. I took my coffee and a few journals into the living room. I settled myself in against a needlepoint pillow on the faded pink couch.  
 

I wondered how Mimsy and Rhys knew each other. She’d been all over herself to make it up to me when she realized I was Madame Coumlie’s heir. She was the only other person I’d met with an invisible djemon. I sort of liked her, except for the fact that she might have slept with Rhys, who seemed to be well acquainted with quite a lot of women.  
 

I still had questions about her aura, though. Or lack of it; and Rhys and I didn’t have auras either. I doubted the lack of an aura and lifeline meant the same thing for each of us. I mean, there could only be one Hand of Fate, right?  
 

When Mimsy talked about Madame Coumlie banishing her djemon, it started me thinking. Banishing a djinn or djemon had to be something simple. I considered my little congregation of djinn and named djemons.  
 

“Scat.” I waved my hand at them. Nothing happened. They didn’t even blink.  
 

I sighed and opened the journal on my lap, staring at pages and pages of tight, tiny, even script. The penmanship was neat, but convoluted, and hard to make out unless I gave it my full attention and concentrated. This would take forever.  
 

I put the book aside and slid off the couch to the floor. Blix and Larry crept closer, but the others remained huddled in a group about six feet away. I thought about how Madame Coumlie commanded Oneiri to appear. I wondered if, with my new abilities, I could do something similar. What if I gave them a direct order? It would have to be something formal, I decided. What should I say?   
 

“I command you to disappear.” I simultaneously clapped my hands, receiving a small electric shock. One of the djinn vanished, only to reappear a moment later as a fully materialized djemon in the flesh. It was real. I got goosebumps. What had I done?