Then she went to work with a series of maps and a magically-charged pendulum. Hours of work over a map of the U.S. turned up nothing, so Libby widened her focus to North America, and got a hit. Juarez, Mexico.
It took her a while to find a detailed map of Juarez on the Internet. She printed it out, then went back to work. The pendulum stopped at a point that could represent anything within a four-block area.
So she went to Google Earth. Who needs magic when you've got technology?
Libby printed out the image for the area she wanted, uttered a brief incantation, and picked up the pendulum again. Its thin point swung, hovered, then stopped - over one, specific house.
To be sure, Libby did it twice more. Same house, each time.
Later, handing over the printed satellite image to the parents, Libby said, "I won't sugar-coat this. She's in a bad part of town. A twenty-year-old girl, alone, far from home - she could be in a pretty bad situation down there. You should be prepared for it."
"Maybe she was only visiting that area," the mother said tentatively. "It's possible that she lives somewhere... nicer, isn't it?"
"Possible, but not probable, I'm afraid. I scryed the image three times over a 24-hour period." Libby tried to make her voice gentle. "I got the same result every time."
"I suppose you want your money," the father said. Fear and worry had made him rude. Libby was used to such reactions, and didn't fire back.
"No, Mr. Deshayne. Not yet. You've paid me half in advance, as agreed. You can send me the rest once you get back from Mexico."
I hope what you find there doesn't make you wish you'd stayed home .
Back in her condo, Libby said a prayer to the Goddess, asking for the parents' safety and success on their journey. Then she checked her calendar, and found the rest of the week empty.
She remembered that she had tried to reach Quincey Morris several weeks ago, and failed - and he had never called her back. She opened her phone and pressed the icon that would send a call through to Quincey.
"Howdy. You have reached Quincey Morris investigations..."
Libby said a bad word and terminated the call. A frown sprouted on her face, and rapidly grew. It wasn't like Quincey not to check his messages regularly, and it was really not like him to get a message from Libby and not reply.
Libby stood there, staring at nothing.
Maybe a little more scrying is in order. If I can find out where he is, I might be able to figure out whether he's in trouble, or on vacation.
She needed a personal item. She and Quincey weren't in the habit of exchanging trinkets, but he had once spent a night at Libby's place, sleeping on the couch. There had to be something.
But there wasn't. She thought of using a locater spell to see if something would turn up, then realized the folly of that idea.
I'd need a personal item from Quincey to make the spell work, and that's what I'm fucking looking for in the first place. Shit!
Libby thought for a few minutes more, then decided a trip to Texas was in order. She might be able to pick up Quincey's trail, then she could decide whether to follow it.
Somebody takes care of his hamster - what's his name, Carnacki? Probably a neighbor kid does it. Maybe he knows where Quincey's off to.
And if this turned out to be a wild goose chase, Austin was a pretty nice town - for Texas. Libby was sure she could find something interesting to do there.
She got online and started looking for airline ticket bargains.
Pity I don't really fly a broom. It would make stuff like this sooo much easier.
Malachi Peters looked at the demon Astaroth. "Okay if I go get another coffee?" he asked. "Sounds like we're gonna be here a while."
"Here - take mine." Astaroth pushed his coffee cup across the table.
"Thanks. But it's, um, cold by now."
The demon touched the cup with his index finger. A whisper of steam began to rise from it immediately. "Not any more," he said, with a tiny smile.
Peters stared at the hot cup of
It took her a while to find a detailed map of Juarez on the Internet. She printed it out, then went back to work. The pendulum stopped at a point that could represent anything within a four-block area.
So she went to Google Earth. Who needs magic when you've got technology?
Libby printed out the image for the area she wanted, uttered a brief incantation, and picked up the pendulum again. Its thin point swung, hovered, then stopped - over one, specific house.
To be sure, Libby did it twice more. Same house, each time.
Later, handing over the printed satellite image to the parents, Libby said, "I won't sugar-coat this. She's in a bad part of town. A twenty-year-old girl, alone, far from home - she could be in a pretty bad situation down there. You should be prepared for it."
"Maybe she was only visiting that area," the mother said tentatively. "It's possible that she lives somewhere... nicer, isn't it?"
"Possible, but not probable, I'm afraid. I scryed the image three times over a 24-hour period." Libby tried to make her voice gentle. "I got the same result every time."
"I suppose you want your money," the father said. Fear and worry had made him rude. Libby was used to such reactions, and didn't fire back.
"No, Mr. Deshayne. Not yet. You've paid me half in advance, as agreed. You can send me the rest once you get back from Mexico."
I hope what you find there doesn't make you wish you'd stayed home .
Back in her condo, Libby said a prayer to the Goddess, asking for the parents' safety and success on their journey. Then she checked her calendar, and found the rest of the week empty.
She remembered that she had tried to reach Quincey Morris several weeks ago, and failed - and he had never called her back. She opened her phone and pressed the icon that would send a call through to Quincey.
"Howdy. You have reached Quincey Morris investigations..."
Libby said a bad word and terminated the call. A frown sprouted on her face, and rapidly grew. It wasn't like Quincey not to check his messages regularly, and it was really not like him to get a message from Libby and not reply.
Libby stood there, staring at nothing.
Maybe a little more scrying is in order. If I can find out where he is, I might be able to figure out whether he's in trouble, or on vacation.
She needed a personal item. She and Quincey weren't in the habit of exchanging trinkets, but he had once spent a night at Libby's place, sleeping on the couch. There had to be something.
But there wasn't. She thought of using a locater spell to see if something would turn up, then realized the folly of that idea.
I'd need a personal item from Quincey to make the spell work, and that's what I'm fucking looking for in the first place. Shit!
Libby thought for a few minutes more, then decided a trip to Texas was in order. She might be able to pick up Quincey's trail, then she could decide whether to follow it.
Somebody takes care of his hamster - what's his name, Carnacki? Probably a neighbor kid does it. Maybe he knows where Quincey's off to.
And if this turned out to be a wild goose chase, Austin was a pretty nice town - for Texas. Libby was sure she could find something interesting to do there.
She got online and started looking for airline ticket bargains.
Pity I don't really fly a broom. It would make stuff like this sooo much easier.
Malachi Peters looked at the demon Astaroth. "Okay if I go get another coffee?" he asked. "Sounds like we're gonna be here a while."
"Here - take mine." Astaroth pushed his coffee cup across the table.
"Thanks. But it's, um, cold by now."
The demon touched the cup with his index finger. A whisper of steam began to rise from it immediately. "Not any more," he said, with a tiny smile.
Peters stared at the hot cup of
Similar Books
