thirteen at the time,” Cyrus said. “Just coming into her talent.”
“Right. The families of her parents had certain legal obligations, which they dutifully carried out. The Snows and the Callahans packed her off to a fancy boarding school and dumped her out into the world, alone, at eighteen. From what I can tell, Sedona hasn’t had much, if any, contact with either of her families since the day she graduated from that boarding school,” Marlowe said.
He had only known Sedona for a few hours but he had a hunch it would take a hell of a lot to make her go to her relatives to ask for help with anything—money, a job, or introductions to potential marriage partners.
“The fact that she is so alone in the world might be one of the reasons Blankenship decided to use her in his research experiments,” Marlow said.
“He knew that no one would look too hard if she went missing,” Cyrus said.
“Anyone who had decided to look for her would have to have been in a position to apply pressure to the Gold Creek Guild or else fund a private search-and-rescue operation,” Marlowe said.
“The Snows could have done both.”
“So could Brock Prescott, her ex–MC husband,” Marlowe said. “But he didn’t bother.”
“The son-of-a-bitch.” Cyrus tightened his grip on the phone. “How did Sedona end up working for the Guilds?”
“She came into her gatekeeping talent in high school. There’s not a lot you can do with that talent except open gates and control energy rivers in the Underworld. After she graduated she started taking contracts. She made good money and used it to put herself through a couple of years of college before eventually leaving to work full-time in the Underworld.” Marlowe paused.
“How did she meet her ex?”
“In the course of a Guild contract job. Prescott’s company does a lot of business in the Rainforest. Prescott was touring one of the company projects and met Sedona. Evidently they hit it off right from the start. Prescott asked her out to dinner. The rest is the usual sort of MC history.”
“Anything else?”
“That’s it for now,” Marlowe said. “I’ll pursue the Blankenship and Amber Crest leads in the morning. How’s the monster-hunting going?”
“Haven’t done any hunting yet. But something interesting did happen tonight.”
“What?”
“Someone set a psi-trap for Sedona.”
“Good grief. Were you able to get medical attention for her there on the island?”
“She’s okay.” Cyrus looked toward the bedroom hall. “She’s asleep now.”
“How can she be okay if she tripped a trap?”
“Her talent saved her. She’s strong.” No need to mention that it was Sedona’s new talent that had protected her. Marlowe would be seriously alarmed if she thought that the experiments on Sedona had been successful.
“Hmm,” Marlowe said.
“It was a close call but she’s all right,” Cyrus said smoothly. “The point is that it looks like someone—most likely Blankenship—tried to grab her tonight.”
There was a taut silence on the other end of the line.
“Are you absolutely certain that she stumbled into a trap?” Marlowe asked. “By all accounts, she must have been badly burned on her last job. It’s a wonder she survived whatever Blankenship did to her. She might be suffering some serious side effects. Hallucinations and bad dreams are not uncommon in such situations.”
“The trap was real. Trust me.”
“Guess that means you’ve got other problems on Rainshadow besides finding Sedona Snow and hunting monsters.”
“Looks like it.”
“Where are you now?”
“Playing bodyguard while Sedona sleeps off the post-burn buzz. She used a lot of energy evading the trap tonight.”
“Bodyguard? That sounds . . . cozy.”
“Got to go now, Marlowe. I’ll check in with you tomorrow.”
He ended the call before Marlowe could ask any more questions.
The coffee was ready. Cyrus poured a cup for himself and then put some in a shallow
“Right. The families of her parents had certain legal obligations, which they dutifully carried out. The Snows and the Callahans packed her off to a fancy boarding school and dumped her out into the world, alone, at eighteen. From what I can tell, Sedona hasn’t had much, if any, contact with either of her families since the day she graduated from that boarding school,” Marlowe said.
He had only known Sedona for a few hours but he had a hunch it would take a hell of a lot to make her go to her relatives to ask for help with anything—money, a job, or introductions to potential marriage partners.
“The fact that she is so alone in the world might be one of the reasons Blankenship decided to use her in his research experiments,” Marlow said.
“He knew that no one would look too hard if she went missing,” Cyrus said.
“Anyone who had decided to look for her would have to have been in a position to apply pressure to the Gold Creek Guild or else fund a private search-and-rescue operation,” Marlowe said.
“The Snows could have done both.”
“So could Brock Prescott, her ex–MC husband,” Marlowe said. “But he didn’t bother.”
“The son-of-a-bitch.” Cyrus tightened his grip on the phone. “How did Sedona end up working for the Guilds?”
“She came into her gatekeeping talent in high school. There’s not a lot you can do with that talent except open gates and control energy rivers in the Underworld. After she graduated she started taking contracts. She made good money and used it to put herself through a couple of years of college before eventually leaving to work full-time in the Underworld.” Marlowe paused.
“How did she meet her ex?”
“In the course of a Guild contract job. Prescott’s company does a lot of business in the Rainforest. Prescott was touring one of the company projects and met Sedona. Evidently they hit it off right from the start. Prescott asked her out to dinner. The rest is the usual sort of MC history.”
“Anything else?”
“That’s it for now,” Marlowe said. “I’ll pursue the Blankenship and Amber Crest leads in the morning. How’s the monster-hunting going?”
“Haven’t done any hunting yet. But something interesting did happen tonight.”
“What?”
“Someone set a psi-trap for Sedona.”
“Good grief. Were you able to get medical attention for her there on the island?”
“She’s okay.” Cyrus looked toward the bedroom hall. “She’s asleep now.”
“How can she be okay if she tripped a trap?”
“Her talent saved her. She’s strong.” No need to mention that it was Sedona’s new talent that had protected her. Marlowe would be seriously alarmed if she thought that the experiments on Sedona had been successful.
“Hmm,” Marlowe said.
“It was a close call but she’s all right,” Cyrus said smoothly. “The point is that it looks like someone—most likely Blankenship—tried to grab her tonight.”
There was a taut silence on the other end of the line.
“Are you absolutely certain that she stumbled into a trap?” Marlowe asked. “By all accounts, she must have been badly burned on her last job. It’s a wonder she survived whatever Blankenship did to her. She might be suffering some serious side effects. Hallucinations and bad dreams are not uncommon in such situations.”
“The trap was real. Trust me.”
“Guess that means you’ve got other problems on Rainshadow besides finding Sedona Snow and hunting monsters.”
“Looks like it.”
“Where are you now?”
“Playing bodyguard while Sedona sleeps off the post-burn buzz. She used a lot of energy evading the trap tonight.”
“Bodyguard? That sounds . . . cozy.”
“Got to go now, Marlowe. I’ll check in with you tomorrow.”
He ended the call before Marlowe could ask any more questions.
The coffee was ready. Cyrus poured a cup for himself and then put some in a shallow
Similar Books
