Page 39 of Elixir of Strife
“Bye, I guess,” I said, absently scratching the edge of my cheekbone with my middle finger, angling my face slightly toward him.
“I saw that,” the mouthless, disembodied mask grumbled.
Yeah, I thought, biting back a happy little smirk.You were supposed to.
Prick.
16
MAX
Istudied the faces of the others as they, in turn, studied the little jar of olives. To a mundane, nonmagical observer, these were just tasty things for throwing in a salad, garnishing a cocktail. If Dan D. Lyon and Edel Wise were telling the truth, these tart little fruits held the secrets to unlocking untold knowledge, accessing new heights of consciousness.
Provided your brain didn’t explode from receiving so much new wisdom in one go, of course. Talk about mind-blowing.
We’d gathered around our regular table at Unholy Grounds, ice cubes thawing in our drinks. Johnny squinted as he quietly examined the jar from a safe distance. Roscoe adjusted his glasses and tilted his head. Leon’s eyes flitted from one face to another as he nibbled on the side of his thumb. Cute. Annoyingly cute.
Guillotina was there, too, arms crossed and leaning against a nearby wall, pretending not to care. I could tell she was rubbernecking, just as curious as any of us. She liked to be in on things, even if she liked to act too cool for it all.
“You sure those are the real deal?” she asked, casually flipping her hair with a huff. “Sounds like a case of magic beans to me.”
“If that’s true,” Leon said, “then we totally made out like bandits. Beanstalk, giant’s castle, golden goose eggs? Sign me up.”
We did, in fact, make out like bandits. In the car, in the parking lot, for a few intense moments.
Something about flipping Daniel Lyon the proverbial bird and earning a bonus on top of our paycheck had gotten me all amped up. Part of it was seeing Leon handle the situation like a pro. I didn’t know why it was such a turn-on. Competence and confidence, together in the same guy? A deadly combination.
Maybe it was the acknowledgment that we’d done something borderline naughty, too. We’d basically intimidated a client, never mind that Daniel was being a dick. I wasn’t supposed to be in the business of threatening clients, except that none of my clients had ever tried to screw me like that before.
It was exciting. Delinquent. Bandit shit. Kind of hot.
And then finally, movement. Johnny, still silently eyeing the olives, reached forward and poked at the jar with his fingernail. He licked his lips.
“Don’t you dare.” Roscoe drew himself up, fixing Johnny with a glare. “Don’t you even think about it, Jonathan Slivers.”
Hands up, eyes wide, Johnny backed away. “I didn’t do anything!”
“But you were thinking it. No. You arenot, under any circumstances, putting one of those things in a martini. But I will have one, thank you very much. Hold the evil olive, please.”
Johnny scowled as he lumbered out of his chair, grumbling to himself as he passed me on the way to the bar. “He knows me too well, damn it.”
“We should keep these somewhere safe.” I pointed at the jar, then held up a single finger. “Just the one olive might be enough to drive anyone insane, honestly. The hagriculturist who helped breed them says you can get plenty of mileage out of a single drop of oil.”
Leon nodded solemnly. “You could make a wicked tapenade out of these things. But best believe what Edel Wise says.”
“Edel Wise?” Tina scoffed. “Are you serious? You got these from someone named Edel Wise?”
I shot her a smirk. “Oh, I’m sorry,Guillotina, I didn’t realize Edel Wise was such an unbelievable name. She seems cool, actually. It’s the other guy who’s dubious, the one from the Lyon family.”
“That Dan D. Lyon is a piece of work,” Leon said.
“Well, now you guys are just shitting me.” Tina huffed again as she peeled herself from the wall. “Gonna go make Johnny make me a drink.”
“Tell him to hurry up with mine,” Roscoe called out, his voice overly sweet.
From behind the counter came Johnny’s gruff response. “It’s coming, already. Damn.”
I was about to add insult to injury, ask him to make me something nice with a cherry in it. But then I noticed the group of men standing just outside the front entrance.
