Page 15 of Hex and the City
The velocity of its flight propelled it outside the anomaly’s radius. By then it had entered a phase of existence where it had all its flesh and feathers intact, basically back to where it began. The pigeon flapped its wings and took off into the sky, never knowing just how close it had come to annihilation. Luckiest flying vermin on the planet.
I cleared my throat, staring sullenly at the ground, at a lamppost, anywhere but his face. “Um, thank you, Max. For stopping me.”
“Whatever. I didn’t want to have to explain to Vera why one of her new finders turned into a stack of bones on my watch. You owe me one, Leeroy.”
God, I knew he would take it as an opportunity to gloat, or at least to return fire. I kicked at the ground, sulking as I muttered under my breath. “Jerk.”
Max chuckled, then pointed to either side of the tree. “Look around for any sign of our friend from the Smith house. I’m a hundred percent sure this has something to do with the velveteen bag.”
I placed my hand above my eyes, shielding them from the glare of the streetlights. “Huh. Is that them over there?”
“Where?” he asked, squinting. His eyes went wide. “Oh, shit. We need to get out of here. Quick.”
I frowned at him, defiant once again. “Why? What’s the big deal if — hey, let go of me.”
Max yanked me away from the anomaly and clear out of the park. When I struggled, he wrestled me into place. When I protested, he clapped his hand over my mouth. What the — the fucking audacity of this Maximilian Drake person, taking charge and manhandling me like a sack of potatoes.
Did I like it? That was beside the question.
He didn’t stop moving and dragging me with him until we’d made it far past the park’s gates. He huddled behind a low brick wall, pulling me down with him.
“What’s the big idea?” I hissed, flustered and burning in the face. He was glaring over the top of the wall, focused and intent like a hawk. Why was that so attractive?
“Masques,” he whispered back, placing a finger over his lips. “Didn’t you see?”
The anger drained from my body. I shook my head, turning my attention back to the anomaly, which now had three people standing in front of it. One of them appeared to be examining the grounds. The figure turned toward us. Max and I hit the ground.
“Didn’t see their faces,” I muttered. “I mean their masks. Just saw all black. Thought it was our bag thief.”
“Well, I don’t think they saw us,” he replied. “I’m surprised they only sent out low-ranking goons for this. Three alabasters.”
I cocked an eyebrow. “Alabasters?”
“That’s how they rank themselves. Different specialties, too, depending on the color of the mask. You’ve got your alabasters, your cinnabars, your pyrites. And then at the very top, there’s the onyx masks.” Max winced, shuddered. “Never met one, and never want to.”
“Seriously? That’s all so confusing.” I made a face. “And did you say cinnabuns?”
Max glowered. “Don’t try to be cute. They’ve got ranks within ranks, too, depending on how much of the face the mask covers. You’ve got half alabasters, full cinnabars — I don’t get it. It’s all fucking bonkers to me.”
The half and full masks, I’d actually heard of. Bunch of weirdoes. We risked another look over our brick wall. The coast was clear. The Masques were gone.
But so was the tree.
“Fuck,” Max said, climbing to his feet. “They took the whole thing. How did they — never mind. Fuck this. No evidence for us, then. Still no leads on that missing bag.”
“There’s a hole, though,” I said, gesturing at the mound of dirt where the tree used to be. “It’s not my favorite idea, but we could go poking around in it.”
“No. The Masques are pricks, but they’re thorough pricks. If the velveteen bag or its insides were on the premises, they would have picked up on it already.”
“But they were here. The bag thief.” I looked around hopefully. “Right? They had to be. What else could have caused this?”
Max raked his fingers through his hair so hard his nails must have dug into his scalp. “You know what? Fuck this. I’m out. I need a drink.”
His boots struck the pavement heavily as he stomped back to his car. Where to, exactly? Was he planning to head to Silk for another one of those cocktails? As if. Could he live with the Jade Spider sighing and shaking her head at him in disappointment?
He slipped into the driver’s seat, pounded his hand against the steering wheel as he pulled the door shut. The other door slammed shut as I pulled it, too. I was already in the passenger seat. Max gave me a scowl that could have withered half of Lunata Park, that should have put me in tears, sent me running for the hills.
Instead I sat there and marveled at the interiors, running my fingers over the leather seats. “Damn, Max. Sick ride you got here. You must make bank. Do finders make bank in Dos Lunas? Too bad I’m leaving eventually, anyway.”
