When Morales finally hung up, Uncle Abe cocked his head in a facsimile of concern. “Bad news?”
Morales forced a casual shrug. “Some might think so.”
I looked at him and waited for the bad news to drop.
“Ramses Bane,” was all he said. He didn’t say the word dead but it was there, hanging in the air like black smoke.
“How?” I snapped.
“Hung himself.”
“Bullshit.” I rounded on Uncle Abe. “You did this.”
He raised his hands in an innocent gesture. “Why, Katherine, I have no idea what you mean. After all, I am locked up in this prison on a remote island. How on earth could I have killed Ramses Bane?”
I gritted my teeth and tried to keep a lid on my urge to throttle the old bastard. If I had to guess, he planned to murder Bane before he ever called the mayor to orchestrate our first meeting.
“A pity poor Ramses couldn’t handle the pressure of his impending trial.” Abe tipped his chin in a facsimile of sympathy. “Yet there is an upside.”
“What?” The word bit into the air like a blade.
“His death settles accounts, yes? At least where Danny’s concerned.” He said this all magnanimous, like he’d done me a favor.
“You’re welcome to think so,” I gritted out. I stood up and loomed over the table. “But in all your planning, you failed to consider one thing.”
He smiled and crossed his arms, so cocksure and untouchable. “I’m breathless with anticipation.”
“Bane didn’t just try to kill Danny. He also went after John Volos.” Abe’s smile wavered a fraction. “And I’m pretty sure Volos won’t consider that Bane’s death erases the debt he owes you.”
“John Volos is a child.”
“Who is about to become the mayor of Babylon.”
He didn’t look surprised by the revelation. Further proof he was keeping up with things on the outside. “As recent events have revealed, Babylon’s mayors are hardly immune to violence, Detective.”
“Hmm, time will tell,” I conceded. In a breezy tone, I continued. “There’s something else I’ve been meaning to ask.”
“What is it?” he snapped.
“What really happened to my mother?”
All emotion and color drained from Abe’s face.
Loud banging sounded from the door. The guard telling us time was up. I held up a finger. “You better hope they keep you in this prison for a good, long time, old man.” Leaned across the table to get in Uncle Abe’s face. Sweat beaded on his brow. “Because John Volos is the least of your worries.”
Abe’s eyes skittered toward the guard and Morales—anyone who’d listen. “She just threatened me. Did you hear that?”
The guard yawned from the doorway. “Didn’t hear nothing.”
Morales crossed his massive arms. “Me either.”
I drew myself up and turned slowly to face the man who’d once been my mentor, but was now the closest thing I had to a mortal enemy. “Come on, Morales.”
Morales’s chair screeched against the concrete floor. I took two steps toward the door before Abe got in his parting shot.
“Ask your boyfriend Volos about Flamel.”
I froze and turned. “Why?”
Abe rose from his chair and stood straight and proud. “That’s always been your problem, Kate, you think you’re smarter than you are. But there’s gears at work you can’t begin to understand.”
“Kate, let’s go,” Morales said.
I held up a hand and turned toward Abe. Behind me, I felt Morales brace himself. I should have been angry, but I wasn’t. For the first time in my life, I looked at Abraxas Prospero and felt nothing except resignation. “You and I are going to have a reckoning one day.” I paused to let him digest that. “I won’t lie. I’m really looking forward to it.”
He smiled like he was, too.
“But today? You’re just a sad old man in an orange jumpsuit whose kingdom only extends as far as those bars.”
The transformation happened so fast I didn’t see it coming. One second Abe stood with perfect posture and a taunting smile. The next he lunged, his face contorted into a rage mask—all flashing teeth and pulled-back lips and wild, hot eyes.
Time slowed. The guard screamed. Morales cursed. My left hand jerked into motion. I don’t remember grabbing the Taser, but suddenly it was in my hand. Bright blue electricity arced between the metal prongs. An instant later Abe was on me. The force of the collision knocked me back. I slammed the stun gun into his neck and pressed the button so hard my finger cracked.
He was suspended for a moment and then fell into a heap on the ground. Foamy spittle bloomed from between his gray lips, and his eyes fluttered as convulsions rocked his thin frame.
“Holy shit.” The guard skidded to a stop next to me. He looked at the weapon in my hand. “How many volts did you give him?”
I shrugged. “A lot.”
Morales turned me toward him. “You okay?”
I looked down at the man I’d once believed to be larger than life—the god of my small world. Now he resembled one of the potion freaks he’d profited from for so many years. “Yeah,” I said. I raised my chin and turned my back on the man I’d made into my own personal monster. Seeing him on the floor like that reminded me of something I’d forgotten under the strain of all the memories I carried. Abraxas Prospero, for all his magic and manipulations, was simply a man.
A man who’d taught me that magic was supposed to be dirty. That it was a weapon and a gold mine. But I’d learned a few things since I’d escaped his influence, and I would use those hard-won lessons to bring his ass down when the day came.
“Kate?” Morales prodded.
I looked up at him and smiled the first real smile since I’d walked into that room. “I’m all good now.”