Poison Sleep Read Online Free PDF Page B

bruiser, a movie version of gangster street muscle, but in reality he was a master of delicate sympathetic magics. Marla could work a few sympathetic magic spells—burning effigies to create bad luck for her enemies, that sort of thing—but Hamil was an artist of the technique. Specialization had its benefits, though Marla preferred her own hodgepodge approach to magic, using a little bit of everything. She’d been called a brute-force-o-mancer, and a foul-rag-and-bone-shop sorceress, and though both terms were usually meant as insults, she supposed they were accurate enough. She preferred broad adaptability to niche expertise.
    “You can meet with Mr. Kindler in my office, if you like,” Hamil said. “The heat there is less oppressive. He should be along shortly. He called to say he was running late.”
    Marla grunted. “He’d better learn to be punctual if he wants to work for me.”
    “Oh, yes, I’m sure you’ll be very stern with him,” Hamil said. “It’s not as if he has some supernatural power that makes people fall in love with him—oh, wait, he
does
. He’s a Ganconer, Marla. I doubt even
you
would find it possible to speak sharply to a lovetalker.”
    “Whatever. You’ll see. Besides, he’s not a Ganconer, a Ganconer’s a kind of
fairy,
and I’m not even convinced those things are real, despite what your crazy-ass friend Tom O’Bedbug says. Joshua Kindler was born of man and woman. He’s no elf.”
    Hamil rolled his eyes. “But we call his kind lovetalkers and Ganconers for convenience, though they do more than seduce. When I was young we called them Charismatics, but since the ’50s that word has too many religious associations.” He glanced at his watch. “I hear from one of my street urchins that you rushed out to the countryside this morning. Any problems?”
    Marla grunted. “Your little orphans have eyes everywhere, huh? Yeah, I went out to Blackwing. Dr. Husch has a runaway.”
    Hamil’s eyes widened. “Not Jarrow? No, of course not, you wouldn’t be sitting here so calmly if that were the case. Who, then?”
    “Genevieve Kelley. She’s a psychic,
maybe
a reweaver. She’s been catatonic for a long time, but Jarrow woke her up while
trying
to escape, and now it’s Genevieve who’s gone wandering. I’m going to track her down before she gets hurt, or hurts anyone else.”
    “Do we have a description? I can put the word out among my children.”
    Marla shrugged. “White lady, light brown hair, petite. Wearing a yellow blouse and a black scarf…Wait.” She frowned. “Strike that last. We don’t know what she’s wearing. Probably a nightgown. I don’t know why I thought…huh. Funny. I have this mental picture of her in yellow and black.” She shook her head. “I’ll have Rondeau send the picture over.”
    “I’ll expect it to arrive in six to eight weeks, then,” Hamil said dryly.
    Marla grinned. Rondeau was not the most reliable courier. “
And
I met a slow assassin this morning. There are a bunch of them in town looking for one of their wayward brothers.”
    She recounted her conversation with Kardec, and Hamil clucked his tongue. “An eventful morning. I hope this Zealand isn’t in town to eliminate anyone we know. Well, unless it’s Gregor. I wouldn’t shed any tears over him.” His phone rang, and Hamil answered. “Yes? Ah, Mr. Kindler, I’ll buzz you in.” He closed the phone. “Your beautiful boy is downstairs. Don’t be too rough on him. I’m sure he’s very delicate.”
    “Yeah, a precious flower who’s always gotten his own way. A little jolt will do him good.” She cracked her knuckles.
    A few moments later the doorbell rang, and Hamil opened the door. “Do come in,” he said, and Joshua Kindler entered.
    Once she saw him, Marla couldn’t stop looking. His slim hips, his pale eyes, his dark, long eyelashes, his sweet lips, his copper-colored tousled hair, his beautiful hands, the entirety of him. Looking at him was like sipping