The words were tiny daggers piercing my half-formed plan for a normal life. My ideas about moving to the ’burbs and getting a desk job had been a form of self-defense. I’d expected to walk in that office and find out I was officially relieved of duty. Instead, they offered me everything I thought I wanted. And it scared the hell out of me. What if I wasn’t good enough? What if I let everyone down? What if Danny got hurt again? What if I did and he was left alone?
“Kate?” Eldritch snapped.
I sucked on my teeth for a moment. Out of nowhere, his words from earlier echoed in my brain. “You Prosperos: You’re all fighters.”
He was right. But I didn’t learn how to be a fighter from Uncle Abe or his wizard pals who swaggered around the Cauldron like kings. Instead, I’d learned how to be strong from my mother. A humble woman who worked two jobs to support her kids. A proud woman who never got a fair shake but didn’t complain about it. A complicated woman who always told me she wanted Danny and me to have a better life than she had. A beautiful woman who died too early because I didn’t understand then that selling potions wasn’t the path to a better life.
In the days following Danny’s recovery, I’d tried to convince myself that a simple existence in a cookie-cutter house with a boring job was better. But deep down I knew the truth. A better life was one where I got to be that lion standing in front of the gates.
“Kate,” Gardner prompted, “what’s it going to be?”
I lifted my head and looked Gardner in the eye. “When do I start?”
Chapter Thirty-Six
The stage stood in the center of what used to be the barren lot in front of the Arteries. Not ten feet from where I’d put a bullet into Ferris Harkins’s face, John Volos smiled like a politician as he addressed the crowd gathered to celebrate the ground-breaking of the community center.
Danny and I stood in the back, near the street carnival Volos had hired. Morales was with us, watching with his arms crossed. Behind us, calliope music and the occasional screams provided the sound track to Volos’s speech.
“Today is a new day not just for the citizens of the Cauldron, but for the entire city of Babylon. For too long, we’ve allowed criminals to rule these streets and prevent us from providing adequate services to the future of this city—our children.”
A smattering of applause rippled through the crowd. On my left, Danny stared up at his savior with wide, worshipful eyes. As far as the kid was concerned, any tarnish on Volos’s armor had been polished away the moment he rescued Danny. I tried to tamp down the spark of jealousy it caused, but just once I wished my brother would look at me with that kind of admiration.
“It is my hope that the Cauldron Community Center will be a safe place for kids to go after school to learn a new hobby or practice a new sport or just hang out in an environment that fosters creativity and confidence. Every child deserves to grow up feeling safe—especially those who have been marginalized by circumstances beyond their control. For too long the Adepts of this city have been treated as second-class citizens.”
The Mundanes in the crowd shifted uneasily, but the Adepts burst into a round of enthusiastic cheering.
“Fortunately, Mayor Owens agrees that it’s time to start healing the rift that magic created in our community. In fact, he and I met just yesterday to discuss plans to build a free clinic in the Cauldron. The clinic will help those ravaged by addiction by offering discount antipotions, which will be provided by Volos Labs and subsidized by the City of Babylon. Our hope is that by next summer, we will be able to put a dent in the dirty magic problem in this city by addressing the demand side of the equation.”
I snorted. Yeah, they’d be putting a dent in the magic problem by putting extra coin in Volos’s pockets. Was there any opportunity he couldn’t find a way to profit from?
John glanced back toward the end of the stage where the mayor and Captain Eldritch sat. “The Volos Corporation is also donating $100,000 to the joint BPD/MEA task force to help address the supply side of the equation.”
Morales nudged me with his elbow. I grimaced up at him. I hated the idea we’d be using Volos’s money to fund our operations, but since the task force was already on thin ice with the mayor, refusing the donation wasn’t exactly an option.
Eldritch came forward to accept a check from Volos. The men shook hands and smiled politely for the cameras. I thought it was interesting Gardner hadn’t been invited onstage, too. Instead she stood to the side, looking unimpressed by either the spectacle or Volos’s generosity.
“I’ve heard enough. Let’s go ride some rides.” I tugged on Danny’s shirtsleeve. “You coming?” I asked Morales.
“Will you buy me some cotton candy?” He shot me an amused look.
“No.” I smiled. “But I’ll let you buy me a beer.”
He held my gaze, his eyes sparkling with something that made me nervous. “Deal.”
* * *
The inevitable happened an hour later. I sat alone on a bench with a rapidly warming beer in my hand. The sun was warm on my face and the leaves were turning colors in the distance. Danny and Morales were somewhere high up above me on a ride that appeared to exist solely to induce nausea in its riders. I was smiling when the shadow fell over me.
“Having a good time?” Volos’s voice was warm like the sun, and just as likely to burn.
“Yeah.” I squinted at him. “I was going to call you.”
“Liar.” The corner of his lip lifted. “How’s the kid?”
“Better.” I shoved my hands in the pockets of my worn jeans and shrugged. “Thank you.”
He watched me for a moment, as if he was trying to figure out if I was thanking him for asking or for saving Danny’s life. Either way, he nodded. “Any side effects?”
“Low-grade fever for a couple days, but that’s cleared up.” I shook my head. “Nightmares, too, but I’m not sure if that’s a side effect of the potion or the ordeal.”
He nodded too quickly, as if he’d experienced the same problem. Instead of thinking about that because it might make me feel bad for him, I soldiered on. “But his appetite’s normal and he’s bitching a lot, which is a good sign.”
“If anything changes, be sure to let me know.”
“Of course.” I looked away because now was the time to offer my heartfelt gratitude. But I couldn’t do it.