Page 14 of Curse of the Wolf
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Awarethat it wouldn’t take the thug long to escape my potion’s ten-mile radius, especially if he got on a motorcycle, I grabbed the vial and raced down the street to collect Duncan. As Bolin had said, Duncan perched by a koi pond, plucking a set of keys off his magnet while the fish hid on the far side from him.
“The local thugs robbed Rocket Coffee.” I waved for him to join me.
“The same thugs who took your sword?” Duncan laid the keys on the stone wall framing the pond and trotted over to join me. He wound his rope around the damp magnet and stuffed it all into a jacket pocket.
“I don’t know if they were involved in my robbery, but I’ll bet this one knows who was.” I held up my phone with the photo that Dubois had sent.
“And will be happy to tell us?”
“If my hand is around his throat, absolutely.”
“I do love a woman with a brutish streak.” Duncan grinned at me.
Since the coffee shop wasn’t far, we hoofed it. By the time we arrived, the police cars had left, and there was no sign of the thugs. I hoped at least one was on his way to jail.
When I texted Dubois, she admitted that the one who’d been leaping the drive-thru cars had escaped, but she had people out looking for him. Two other thugshadbeen captured and were on their way to the station for questioning.
“Our guy is still on the loose.” I held up the Elixir of Locus with a determined grimace. “Let’s hope this works.” I bared my teeth at the vial, working up the stomach fortitude to chug it.
“It must be as bad as you said if not worse,” Duncan commented, watching my face.
“Oh, it is.”
As I thumbed off the cork, Duncan walked up to the drive-thru window to examine the menu. The burglary hadn’t prompted the barista—or maybe that was the owner—to close the business. Even as I watched, three cars turned off the street and veered for the drive-thru, getting in line behind Duncan. In the Seattle area, it took a lot to stop the delivery of espresso to caffeine-addicted consumers.
Tears threatening before I lifted the vial to my lips, I tilted my head back, pinched my nostrils shut, and dumped the contents down my throat.
The viscous slug-slime-like liquid was as bad as I remembered. Maybe worse. It burned my throat like a propane-fueled weed-killing torch, and I struggled not to cough the potion back up as tears streamed down my cheeks and my esophagus undulated in distress.
Hell, was a magical sword worth this? If it hadn’t been a gift from Duncan, and I hadn’t felt so bad about losing it, I would have uttered a vehementno. Not that I could utter anything at the moment.
Duncan returned to my side. “That’s a dreadful sacrifice you’re making, my lady.”
“Tell… me… about it…” I rasped.
Wiping my eyes, I stood and took a couple of deep, shuddering breaths. If it was like last time, I would have heartburn for a few minutes before my esophagus started tingling and guiding me in the direction of our target.
Duncan stood with two different types of bottled water in his hands, as well as a caramel mocha.
“To help you wash that down,” he offered.
I took a swig from a carbonated water, then sipped the mocha and swished it around in my mouth. Normally, I didn’t drink anything that sweet, but, at that moment, I would have chugged a Yoo-hoo with a Snickers bar floating in it. Anything to get rid of the taste.
As I drank and wiped my eyes again, Duncan delved into a pocket. He pulled out a bag of white- and brown-speckled chocolate-covered coffee beans.
“Did you order one of everything on the menu?” I accepted the candies as he poured them into my hand.
“Almost. You looked like you needed a lot to wash that down. And possibly a visit to the ER.”
“I’ll pass on that.” I crunched down the sweet beans. “A doctor might notice the strangeness of my blood.” I grimaced at the growing pain in my chest. The candy beans and mocha helped flush the foul taste out of my mouth, but they couldn’t assist with the heartburn. “After all this, our brute had better not be more than ten miles away.”
After another swig of the mocha, I thanked Duncan for getting all the items for me. My esophagus started tingling. It was the same sensation as the last time I’d drunk one of the potions and accompanied by an urge to turn my chest in the direction of the freeway.
“It’s going to work,” I whispered, pointing.
“Excellent. Can you tell how far away he is? Do you want me to get my van?”
