Modern Sorcery: A Jonathan Shade Novel Read Online Free PDF

told me that if someone came in and told her they actually read Stupid American that she’d have to get even with me.
     
    “So I’m guessing you heard about my father,” she said.
     
    I nodded.
     
    She looked away and I took her hand in mine. “Did you learn anything today?”
     
    “Nothing good.   I’m sorry.”
     
    She shook her head.   “So he was guilty.”
     
    “I wish I could tell you something different.”
     
    The doorbell rang.
     
    She reached for her purse on the glass coffee table.   “I hope you’re hungry.   I didn’t feel like cooking, so I ordered some pizza.”
     
    “I’ll get this,” I said.   I stood and headed toward the door, pulling a twenty out of my wallet.
     
    I opened the door, and a tall man punched me in the face.
     
    I staggered backward, stunned.   The man had long, black hair and dark sunglasses and wore a black leather trench coat.   He looked like he’d stepped out of a heavy metal video.
     
    He didn’t have a pizza.
     
    Before I could recover, he bolted through the door and punched me again.   This time I fell, but my training chimed in, and I tried to kick his feet out from under him.   Unfortunately he moved too fast, and I kicked air.
     
    Naomi threw her hands out toward him, and the air shimmered.   As I mentioned, Naomi is a low-level wizard.   From the energy blast, I’d say she’d gained some ground in the past half decade.   The blast knocked the attacker back a step and gave me time to get to my feet.
     
    He punched Naomi before she could summon up another blast.   She hit the wall hard, cracking the drywall and knocking the paintings askew.
     
    I raced over and grabbed the man around the neck from behind.   He grabbed my hands and pulled them away from himself.   The son of a bitch was strong.   I drove my knee into his kidney, but he barely reacted.   He twisted around, folding my arms over themselves hard and fast.   I flipped sideways and crashed through the glass table.   The glass hurt a little, but when I landed on my side against the metal table support, that hurt a hell of a lot more.   I couldn’t breathe.
     
    The warrior grabbed Naomi by the throat and lifted her off the floor. “Where are the crystals?” he asked.
     
    She tried to speak, but all that came out were a few guttural choking noises.   He drove her into the wall, further cracking it and knocking one of the pictures down.   I don’t know if it was “peace” or “tranquility,” but I don’t suppose that matters much.   He relaxed his grip on her throat.
     
    “Where are they?”
     
    “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she said.
     
    “Don’t lie to me, bitch.”   He slapped her across the face.
     
    I struggled to get up.
     
    The warrior turned to look at me.   “Don’t even think about it,” he said.
     
    Blood dripped into my eyes as I pushed myself to my feet.   My side throbbed.   I held my ribs and wondered if they were broken.   It hurt to breathe.   I didn’t get a chance to throw any one-liners at him about how it’s not nice to hit a woman or anything.   As soon as I was up, he dropped Naomi and spun around.   He moved so fast, I had a hard time blocking his roundhouse kick.   But I did block it.
     
    Well, the first one.
     
    The second kick came so fast, I didn’t even see it, and I found myself on the floor again in more pain.   I wished I’d worn my shoulder holster.   I could have just shot him.   But no, my gun was back at the office.
     
    Naomi moved to blast him again, but he caught her hands and held them apart.   Energy danced on her fingertips, but she couldn’t direct it toward him.
     
    I grabbed a shard of glass from the table, rolled over, and got up.
     
    He looked back at me. “Not very bright, are you?”
     
    “I have my moments,” I said, taking up a fighting stance.   “Come and get some.”
     
    “I’m not here for you.”
     
    I knew he couldn’t let go of Naomi’s