Page 14 of Hex and the City
My car was waiting by the sidewalk where I’d parked it, newly washed and polished, black as a beetle’s back. I threw open the door, shoved myself into the front seat, turned over the engine. The leather interiors squeaked in protest as I threw the car in gear and went peeling down the street.
Good thing there wasn’t much traffic in Dos Lunas. Less than ten minutes to hit the park, locate the anomaly, and — and then, what? I was one guy, not enough to contain the chaos an anomaly might bring, or ward off any gathering crowds.
An anomaly, in arcane underground terms, was when the supernatural collided with the natural. A flare of magic, in other words, in a place where magic wasn’t welcome, or accepted, or understood. A pillar of fire in the middle of nowhere, for example. A flock of birds that could sing the masterpieces of classical music.
We in the arcane underground worked our hardest to keep our abilities and activities hidden from the eyes of regular people — the normals, we called them. And when too much magic was loosed from a source, be it a mage or an enchanted object, there was always a chance that an anomaly could manifest.
I pulled into a spot right outside Lunata Park, my teeth, my fingers, God, even my butt clenched as I launched myself out of my car. I scanned the grounds for bizarre phenomena as I ran. Anything out of the ordinary, like crimson lightning, or a rain of spiders.
My blood froze. It was a cold night, but not nearly that cold. This kind of chill came from the sight of something unsettling, something more than the regular flavor of supernatural.
There it was, off in the corner of the park, far from the empty playground. The rustle of leaves was unmistakable, a single tree going through the seasons in rapid, terrifying sequence. The leaves began in the green of spring and summer, withered and browned in autumn, then fell completely from the boughs in winter, leaving the tree completely bald, a single trunk with empty branches.
And then it started all over again, the fallen leaves crumbling to dust even as the bare branches produced new shoots and leaves. All in a matter of minutes.
“Holy crap,” said the voice beside me.
I nearly jumped out of my skin. I glowered at the intruder, taking a full step back away from him.
“Leonardo,” I grumbled.
7
LEON
Iwhistled at the bizarre sight, never taking my eyes off the anomaly.
“Hey, guy,” I mumbled absently.
Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Max’s hand curl into a fist, then twitch. It was fun, poking holes in his ego, pretending not to remember his name.
He shook his head, slipping his hand into his pocket to reach for his phone. “Vera texted you too, didn’t she? Asked you to check out the anomaly.” He said it with so much venom, holding his phone like a touchstone, as if hoping that the Jade Spider could hear his accusation.
I shrugged. “I guess she thought you and I could do something about it. Just you and me, huh? Leon and — um — I want to say Mac?”
His lips drew back as he showed me his teeth. “It’s Max. Maximilian Drake.”
I snapped my fingers. “Right, right. Sounds just like a wannabe action star. My bad. I should have remembered.”
Max Drake stuck both his hands in his pockets, keeping them there. I liked to think that he was fighting the urge to punch me in the mouth.
“So,” I said, scratching the top of my head. “I guess we should do something about this tree, huh? Before any civilians see it.”
I took a couple steps forward. One strong hand grabbed the back of my jacket, holding me in place. I didn’t even know Max could move that fast. I strained against his grip, throwing him an angry glare over my shoulder.
“Let go,” I whined. “Hey, what gives?”
“Don’t be stupid,” he barked, his breath emanating in misty wisps. “Is this really how you operate, Alcantara? No pausing for thought, no attempt to formulate a plan?”
I made one final tug to free my jacket from his clutches, rolled my eyes, and crossed my arms. Fine. I wouldn’t approach the damn tree anymore.
“All right, already,” I said. “Geez, Mac. No need to get so handsy with me.”
“For the last time, my name is Maximilian Drake, and I — ”
We both fell silent as a pigeon unknowingly flew past the tree. It tried to, at least, entering the anomaly’s field. I watched in horror as the bird aged instantly, its feathers dulling, fraying, then falling away completely, along with its flesh.
Bones creaked as its little skeleton sailed through the anomaly. My stomach turned as the chaotic essence of magic continued to exert its influence. New muscle, new organs and skin began knitting and forming over the skeleton, the pigeon reborn in the most grotesque possible way.
