The Last Adventure of Constance Verity by A. Lee Martinez Page A

than you have.” Connie tapped her knuckledusters together with a clink. “Now, are you going to help me, or do I have to get rough?”
    â€œI told you, I don’t know anything.” Thelma belched, and fire erupted from her throat. It scorched the non-dragon portions of her half-transformed flesh. “Excuse me. I don’t know what—”
    With a painful retching heave, her head burst into flame, consumed down to the bone in a green-and-blue explosion. The rest of her flesh followed suit, turning to ash in moments. A smoldering, malformed reptilian skeleton was all that was left behind, and that crumbled to blackened powder when the breeze kicked up.
    â€œSon of a bitch,” said Connie.
    â€œWhat happened?” asked Tia.
    â€œBad magic from a broken wand and iron don’t mix.” Connie swept up a handful of ashes in her hands. “I need something to hold this in.”
    Tia took off her sneaker and offered it to Connie. “Glad I didn’t go open-toe.”
    Connie scooped more ashes into the shoe.
    â€œWhat are you doing?” asked Tia.
    Connie shrugged. “Grasping at straws.”

12
    â€œC an you do it?” asked Connie.
    Madam Zura examined the plastic bag filled with ashes. “I don’t know. I’ve never tried to channel a nonhuman spirit.”
    â€œIs there any harm in trying?”
    Madam Zura said, “Probably not. Most of the time, if the spirit is beyond my reach, nothing happens.”
    â€œMost of the time?” asked Tia.
    â€œThere are accidents. When you reach into the Other Side, sometimes you end up grabbing something else. People think the Other Side of death is full of ghosts, demons, and angels. There are far worse things out there.”
    â€œWhat sort of things?”
    â€œJust things,” said Zura. “Trying to give them labels beyond that will only give you a headache. And that’s not counting all the little things, the unborn spirits, the petty dead, those bitter souls caught between this world and the next, waiting for a chance to reenter ours.”
    â€œCan you do it?” asked Connie.
    â€œAre you sure you really want me to? The answers the dead bring are rarely to our liking. Take it from me. I do this for a living.”
    â€œI know the rules. I don’t care. I need to ask her a few questions.”
    â€œAnd you’re willing to pay the price?”
    Connie wanted those answers, but she hesitated.
    â€œWhat’s the price?” asked Tia.
    â€œI’ll pay it,” said Connie.
    â€œWhat price?” asked Tia again, louder this time.
    â€œThat’s up to the ghost,” replied Zura. “Providing I can summon her in the first place.”
    â€œThe ghost of the person Connie killed only a few hours ago?” said Tia.
    â€œYou killed her?” Zura shook her head. “That complicates matters.”
    â€œI didn’t kill her,” said Connie. “Not directly. It was an accident.”
    â€œIn my experience, spirits tend to be touchy about those responsible for their deaths, even if those deaths are accidental.”
    â€œI’ll have to take that chance.”
    â€œIt’s your chance to take. Give me a few moments to set things up.” Zura, taking the ashes with her, disappeared beyond a beaded curtain.
    â€œI don’t get it,” said Tia. “We’ve dealt with ghosts before. Remember those ghost cavemen? They didn’t seem so tough. I think real cavemen would’ve been tougher.”
    â€œThere are different kinds of ghosts,” said Connie. “Every ghost you’ve encountered never journeyed to the Other Side. They haven’t pierced the greater mysteries beyond the Veil. But when a spirit crosses over, it learns things we shouldn’t know.”
    â€œCould you be a little more vague?”
    â€œIt’s vague because that’s the whole point. If we knew the mysteries, if we could fathom