Fire Water (Black Magic Outlaw Book 5) Page 25
I turned and looked over the valley. The rain slowed and sputtered out. The water receded to normal levels in minutes. The clouds rolled away, the rumbling subsided. Everywhere, Bone Saints were rising to unsteady feet. Surveying the land as if for the first time. A line of Taíno regrouped and headed back into their holy cave. No zombies or mercs had been left standing.
I stumbled down the hillside, feeling the anger of the underworld settle. A Haitian man keeled over and choked out water. I grabbed him and pulled him to face me. He had a scar above his eyebrow. His actual eyes were what I needed to see. He wiped the water from them and opened them weakly against the strange world. Clear brown. Not a trace of the Spaniard's fog remained.
It was done. Coaybay was peaceful. Safe. No more threats to the Taíno underworld remained.
The arbiters gathered in formation encircling the valley. Their glowing white eyes contrasted starkly against their shadowy forms. Their attention locked on the Bone Saints. The arbiters raised their spears and hatchets, spread their wings, and launched into the air.
"No!" I shouted, running to stand between the opposing parties.
The arbiters were too fast now. And I too sluggish. They sped high above me. I didn't have my wings anymore. The shadow warriors swooped down on the defenseless men and women, piercing their hearts. Blue columns of light enveloped the Bone Saints.
"Don't kill them!" I yelled. "They weren't in control! They're human again!"
In the distance, Chevalier turned to me. The look of shock and surprise on my friend's face turned to panicked alarm. Arbiters closed around him. Instead of raising a weapon, he raised his palms in defense.
I raced toward him. In my frantic pursuit down the hill, I tripped and rolled. My elbows and knees scraped against rock but I shot to my feet again.
The arbiters struck like snakes. Their weapons bit into Chevalier and the heavens opened above him.
"Shadow walker," boomed a resonant voice in my head.
I folded to the ground under the unstoppable force. I turned to face the Shadow Dog, towering behind me. It was difficult to see his entire form against his words.
"It is done," was all he said.
Then a wave of darkness exploded outward from his being and consumed everything.
Chapter 47
For like the fifteenth time that day, I regained consciousness in a foreign place. Warm water nudged me to and fro, dragging me over sand.
I was still in Coaybay. Dead for good, then. My work complete, I could finally rest.
Rough shaking tore me from my bliss. A muffled voice. I cracked open my eyelids and was assaulted by blinding sunlight. I spasmed in shock.
Not the underworld then. It was daytime. I was back in the Earthly Steppe. Back home.
"Suarez," repeated the voice.
I squinted up at Chevalier. We were on a morning beach. He was kneeling over me, checking my vitals. I pushed his hands away.
"Beached again," I muttered. "It's a pirate's life for me."
"You would make an awful pirate, Suarez. Too many promises to keep."
I rose to my haunches and took in the coast. Twisting mangroves over wild sands. Boats and high rises in the distance. We were in Florida. Probably a natural park along the coast. Secluded but within sight of civilization.
A scene from an apocalypse surrounded us. Dead thralls and mercenaries rocked in the waves and hugged the coast. All the intruders from Coaybay had been cast out, living and dead. The angelic blue light had expelled us all from the Nether.
There was good in that news, though. The beach was populated by clusters of Bone Saints. They huddled around each other and tended to their wounded. The arbiters hadn't killed them.
I turned to my friend. Checked his silver eyes for signs of fog. I knew I wouldn't find any.
"I remember it only in pieces," he said. "Less at the end. The wraith had nearly drained us."
"But you'll live," I countered. I swallowed dryly. "I'm sorry for putting you and your people through that."
"Some of 'my people' want to kill you."
I curled my lip. "And you?"
"I think you'll get yourself killed soon enough without help from me." We traded a grim stare. "You are a dangerous man, Cisco Suarez."
"Says the head of a Little Haiti street gang."
I studied the Horn of Subjugation in my hands. Its thrum of power was gone. Or different. I couldn't be sure.
"What will you do with it?" asked the bokor.
"It's not a threat to us anymore."
"No," he agreed. "The only threat is you."
Chevalier trudged off to his men. He was bitter, and I could see why. His gang was in tatters. I'd played a dangerous game to protect my family and defeat Connor. I'd opened the Bone Saints up to utter domination.
But it was a threat that had always been there, even without my involvement. I hadn't created the Horn. It was a five-hundred-year-old time bomb just waiting to go off. It was me, after all that time, that put a stop to it. In the long run, the Bone Saints might see that. Chevalier would come around. I couldn't say the same for the rest of the Miami necromantic community.
I watched my friend in the distance, relieved it was over for them. My gaze trailed off to the thick mangroves behind. A pair of red eyes watched me from the shadows.
My face darkened.
The Spaniard wasn't dead, he was loose.
I fought off a shiver and gave him a nod. The barren skull acknowledged me with a dip. Before I could do anything else, the wraith vanished. That was kind of his thing.
It was a new day. A bright morning. I had high hopes things would finally be back to normal, but I wasn't quite there yet. My work wasn't yet finished. I watched the clear sky over the horizon and felt an echo of the rumbling from Coaybay.
Maybe it was just me.
Chapter 48
The passage was long and dark and winding. Dirt walls joined over my head in a tangle of roots. I was in the Nether again, but this place wasn't nearly as exotic or mysterious as Coaybay.
I knew of several rabbit holes in Miami, ones that didn't require elaborate rituals to enter. I'd taken one down to this steppe to wander. I was in the margins, the edges of the world that weren't ruled by silvan circles or other factions. These twisting halls were a wild, convoluted maze. Free of politics if not danger.
Little scourgelings skittered at my presence. Chitinous mandibles sniffed the air. They knew I was here. It aggravated the numerous beasts. Normally they'd trail me at a safe distance until they congregated in overwhelming numbers. Then they would strike and feast on my flesh.
But not today. Netherlings were deeply terrified of primal beings and I had one in my pocket. Like Connor had said, he may have been exiled, but he was still a jinn. The underground halls seemed to empty before me. The creatures scattered and begged me to move on.
I walked and walked until the passages grew smaller and more remote. I made my way through the unending darkness. Eventually, I found the perfect spot.
A chunk of limestone bridged the corner of the wall and the floor. Too massive to displace, it had been left as part of the narrowing corridor. I tugged at the powerful shadows to shift the dirt and heft the gargantuan rock out of place. Then I pulled the Horn of Subjugation from my belt.
"Not the Nether," insisted Connor. He stood beside me, minorly bruised and cut up, but not too worse for wear. His flowing red hair and beard seemed too bright for this place. "This subterranean hell is dank and depressing."
I chuckled. "Not a sun or open sky in sight. Imagine that. You might actually get homesick here."
"And what will you do?" he returned. "Abandon me for good?"
"Like a genie in a lamp," I said.
I dug a small hole in the space behind the rock and wrapped a cloth around the artifact. I nestled it snugly in place and covered it with dirt.
This would be Connor's new home now. Isolated and lost. Except finders wouldn't be keepers. Because of Connor's modification to th
e pictographs, any new bearer of the Horn wouldn't inherit its power. That still came down to my word.
It was a safeguard that wouldn't be necessary. This earthen passage was barren and ill-traveled. Any Netherlings that did come this way would sense a disturbance. They'd avoid this cursed tunnel at all costs.
No, Connor Hatch would be left alone for quite a while.
I finished packing the dirt and considered the spot grimly. "You once told me jinns live interminably long."
Connor's hardened face could do nothing but grimace. His eyes simmered with inner heat, but his power was contained.
"Think of this as your own private hell," I told him. "A chance to ponder your mistakes for the rest of your miserable life."
A tendril of shadow heaved the limestone back into place. I did my best to make the area appear undisturbed. I turned and marched down the tunnel the way I'd come.
"You'll be back," called Connor, but his voice was weak. Uncertain. "You'll need my power one day and you'll come back to get me."
I let myself smile, finally. An expression of relief as much as joy. I was eager to get out of here.
"Don't count on it," I said and disappeared into the shadows.
-Finn
* * *
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Acknowledgments
This has been (and still is) a great series to write, and I simply couldn't have done it without my amazing production team who've stuck with me the whole way. Thanks to my editor, Philip Newey, for continually improving my work. Thanks to James Egan for making every cover a work of art. Neil Hellegers deserves high praise for his gritty rendition of Cisco and the cast. Thanks to City of Miami Police Captain Dan Kerr, who I ping from time to time with hard-hitting questions (although he gives me funny looks whenever I ask about jinn politics). Of course, thanks to my wife for putting up with my restless nights scribbling story notes in the dark (she doesn't notice).
Finally, I'd be remiss if I forgot to thank the legion of fans in my reader group. These books are for you. As long as you keep reading, I'll keep writing.
-Domino Finn
About the Author
I'm Domino Finn: hardened urban fantasy author, media rebel, and guava paste lover. (Pro Tip: Smear it on Cuban crackers with cream cheese.)
Don't believe the hype. Black Magic Outlaw will be back. Join my reader group to get the first word on sequels and cover reveals. And, hey, you can see what else I'm up to.
If you appreciated Fire Water, know that your kind words are vital to my success. Really. Please leave a review on Amazon, even if it's only a line or two. A few clicks from you go a long way.
Finally, don't forget to keep in touch. You can contact me, connect on social media, and see my complete book catalog at DominoFinn.com.
Contents
Copyright
Title
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
Chapter 46
Chapter 47
Chapter 48
Acknowledgments
About the Author