David ed. - Face Off (2014) Anthology

“I know this piece: the Cidsev Nelesso.”

“Sounds like a gelato flavor,” Jack said.

“It was found sealed in a sunken temple dedicated to an as yet unidentified deity in the drowned city of Heracleion.”

“So what’s it doing here?”

“Good question. It and part of a papyrus scroll found with it were smuggled out and sold on the black market. The buyer was purportedly Chastain.”

“And you know all this how?”

Quinn hesitated. “I’m a private investigator. And I’ve been a cop for the City of New Orleans. But, these days—”

He held off. He was always careful, especially with strangers—and more especially, New Yorkers. But, to his great humiliation, this guy could have killed him.

And he hadn’t.

“Part of what I do these days is work with a woman,” he said softly. “Danni Cafferty. Her father owned a shop and I worked with him until his death. And now Danni and I . . . collect things. Unusual things. Angus Cafferty was a real scholar and, in his business, he needed to know about history and—things.”

“Things?”

“Curiosities of evil,” Quinn said. “Believe me or not. Objects that are cursed or that create evil in those who know how to use them or seek power through them. And I have a feeling now that we’re not dealing with any film project—we’re dealing with a thing that can cause evil.”

Quinn waited for the other man— Jack —to tell him he was crazy.

Jack didn’t say any such thing. Instead, “What about this Madame de Medici he mentioned?”

“She’s another notorious collector, but the way this is going, I doubt she knows anything—just a red herring in the story Chastain concocted for you.”

Jack took the bracelet and held it up, turning it this way and that in the wan moonlight filtering through the stained glass.

“Valuable?”

“ ‘Priceless’ might be a better word. It’s one of a kind. Supposedly one of the Seven Infernals.”

He saw Jack stiffen. “An Infernal?” He shoved it back into Quinn’s hands. “Here.”

“You know of the Infernals?”

“Unfortunately, yeah. Met one.”

Something in his expression said it had been a harrowing encounter. Jack hadn’t doubted Quinn—and Quinn didn’t doubt Jack for a minute.

“But hardly anybody’s even heard of the Infernals. Even Danni—”

“Danni—your partner who collects things?”

“Her shop is called The Cheshire Cat. It’s on Royal Street. She sells art, jewelry, and innocent collectibles. And she has a separate collection of things in the basement which will never be sold.” He hesitated. “We also destroy things when they need destroying. And when there are things out there that might cause . . . violence or havoc, people sometimes come to her—or The Cheshire Cat.” He shrugged. “We work together most of the time; she had to be at a ceremony with a friend of ours, a voodoo priestess.”

“So you’re moonlighting on your own?”

Quinn cast Jack a sharp glance. “That’s kind of what you’re doing, isn’t it?”

“This is how I make my living—just not so far from home.”

Quinn continued with, “The upper half of the scroll Chastain bought with the bracelet was copied before it was stolen. That copy and the original of the bottom half of the scroll were left to Danni on consignment.”

“Who left it?”

“Some weird old guy. Wouldn’t leave his name. Said he’d be back after she sold it. There didn’t seem to be anything—well, not right about it.” He hesitated and then said, “We usually have a nose for things that aren’t—right.”

“He trusted her?”

Quinn shrugged, hiding a burst of pride. “She has a flawless reputation.”

“Any buyer?”

Quinn felt a mild jolt of unease as he remembered Danni mentioning that she had sold the fragment.

And to whom she had sold it.

“Yes. Madame de Medici.”

“I thought you didn’t know the woman,” Jack said sharply.

“I don’t know her; I know of her. She doesn’t come into the shop herself; she sends a minion.”

Jack laughed. “Minion? She’s got a minion ?”

“A number of them. Anyway, she’s purchased from Danni before and nothing bad has ever come of it.”

“So she does figure in this.”

“What the hell—maybe. But I still think Chastain is taking the two of us on some kind of a ride.”

“We’ll worry about Madame de Medici later,” Jack said, pointing to the bracelet. “What’s the deal on this thing?”

“The top half of the scroll claims the Cidsev Nelesso confers the ‘gift’ of knowing the thoughts of others. ‘No one can hide their thoughts from the wearer.’ ”

“I can see where that could come in handy during a negotiation.”

“For a collector like Chastain, who’s always haggling, it’s invaluable.”

“What’s the downside?”

Quinn was surprised by the question. “Why do you think there’s a downside?” He felt uneasy. They should have sensed something bad was going to go down.

“Always a downside with an Infernal.”

“How can you know that?”

“Supposedly there are seven Infernals. One of them damn near took the two people who mean more to me than anything else in this world.”

“How?”

“Too long a story for here and now.”

“Okay. Where is it now?”

“Gone. And don’t ask where because I don’t know. But it didn’t go alone. It took somebody with it.”

From Jack’s expression, Quinn knew better than to ask who.

Jack cleared his throat and said, “Enough about me. What’s the bottom half of the scroll say?”

“It says the bracelet isn’t of Greek or Egyptian origin—calls it ‘one of the Seven Infernals from the First Age.’ I obviously don’t have to explain that to you. But its ‘gift’ is considered a curse, so maybe that’s your downside.”

Jack shook his head. “If you know someone’s thoughts, they can’t hide anything from you. The truth can be ugly, and it can hurt, but knowing what’s really going down is better than getting the shaft.”

Quinn couldn’t disagree. The advantage in any relationship, business or personal, was obvious.

“But either way,” Jack said. “Why the hell are we here?”

“According to the scroll, the Cidsev Nelesso, like all Seven Infernals, must be triggered to work.”

Jack’s expression was bleak. “Yeah, I know.”

Quinn wondered just what the hell had happened to him.

He held up the bracelet. “Well, this one requires violence to activate it.”

“So, there you have it. That’s why we’re here. Was I actually supposed to kill you?”

“The scroll says death isn’t necessary. Just violence.”

Jack began wandering in a tight circle, muttering. “Curse. No one can hide their thoughts from the wearer. Violence.”

Suddenly Jack whirled and punched him in the gut. Quinn doubled over, as much in surprise as in pain.

“Are you out of your—?”

A right cross to the jaw snapped his head back.

That did it. If this son of a bitch wanted a donnybrook, he was going to get one. Quinn charged, head down, catching Jack in the midsection and slamming him back against the shelves.

“You son of a bitch!” Jack gasped in a breathless voice.

And then he grabbed Quinn’s arm and flipped him on his ass.

Ah, hell! Quinn thought, rolling and leaping to his feet.

But he was smiling as he charged at Jack.

“IS IT GOING AS YOU Hoped?” said a soft, feminine voice behind him.