“A mighty flame follows a tiny spark.”
― Dante Alighieri, The Divine Comedy
When the morning came I didn’t really want to move, and I was a little bit hungover from last night. It felt surreal to remember that I used to drink until I would pass out in the pub or on my sofa. The old damaged, Maxine was long gone.
Zach had his arm around me and his closeness felt comforting. I could see myself living with him, as a normal couple, but I had another little person that I had to consider too. Summer was part of me and at some point we were going to be reunited.
Ronan went out early and came back with newspapers and some fresh bread for breakfast. He was used to getting up early, and he liked his solitude. Two years ago when I lived with him, he had a tendency to disappear often enough to get me worried.
Later on in the afternoon I started talking to Zach what was going to happen next, basically going over our plan. Emma was banned from leaving the pub, and she wasn’t too happy about that, although she agreed that she wasn’t on form.
I knew Zach was too stubborn to even consider staying with her. His position as a detective had been compromised. Alexis or Rodriguez must have tampered with his boss’s mind and ruined his career in the police force.
In the end, he insisted on accompanying me to see Dostojevsky.
“Someone has to keep an eye on you, Flower,” he argued, staring at me intensely.
“He and his people are dangerous, but if you want to get yourself killed then be my guest,” I snapped, ready to lose it with him.
“Ronan will have to change my appearance. That way you can protect me,” he added, smiling. I didn’t like his humour and the fact that he was taking his safety so lightly.
After that argument Ronan prepared more potion for him, but when he was handed the black liquid, he didn’t seem too keen to drink it. He knew the score: he couldn’t go with me as Zachary Quinton.
I only drank a small amount that would allow me to walk through London undetected, then wear off. Andrej wouldn’t care about the fact that I was in trouble with the law and the whole city was after me. He would need to see the real me. He often sent his people to get me to play poker with him again, but most of the time I declined.
This whole operation today was going to be tricky, and I couldn’t forget that Andrej was a head of one of the most violent gangs in London. I had to convince him to help me. He had a few ex-Watchers in his ranks, and that could work to my advantage. Cyril mentioned Rodriguez had made a deal with Berith, which could only mean that the whole place was riddled with security.
We took the tube and then walked through London for about half an hour, getting to that part of the city anyone else would normally avoid.
“Zach, you have to let me do all the talking. Andrej doesn’t trust anyone, but he has a soft spot for me,” I told Zach when we got to the outskirts of the council estate in Stockwell. Homeless humans, obscure-looking teenagers, and mountains of rubbish welcomed us as we walked through the gloomy streets. We also passed a few burned down cars and abandoned houses. I didn’t like the fact that I had to do this, but this time around I needed to have a backup.
A few dodgy-looking individuals were hanging outside the off licence shop, staring at us as we passed by. Zachary noticed a few human call girls too, standing outside the building and trying to stop passing cars. It was just after eight, and the temperature dropped right down.
“I don’t like this, Max. A few of my colleagues have been shot somewhere around here. Cyril should be able to help us,” Zach said when a few youths tried to stop us to give them some money.
“We have to do what we have to do. It’s a war and this time around I’m not taking any chances,” I told him, knowing exactly what he was talking about. “Cyril is being watched. He risked a lot and I don’t want to drag him into this mess ever again.”
“You haven’t gone out with this guy, right?” Zach suddenly asked. I wanted to laugh; the detective was getting jealous.
“No, Zach, although he did ask me out a few times, but I always declined. It’s cute, you know, even if you never admit to it,” I said, as we turned to the right. There was an old pub with a broken window on the corner, and a few people were standing outside smoking cigarettes.
“Admit to what?”
“To the fact that you’re jealous.” I chuckled.
“I’m not jealous, Flower. I just want to protect my interest,” he said, sounding annoyed.
I had drunk the potion that Ronan had given me earlier on. I was fully myself again and my look only just now returned completely to normal. I knew it was a risk going out like this, but I needed Andrej to recognise me.
We went inside the pub that was opened to the general public. It wasn’t busy; there were only a few older humans, sitting around and drinking their pints. Some other men were playing pool at the back. The place stunk of sweat and old men. It needed a complete renovation. Paint was peeling and the floor was wonky when we walked through it. The barman glared at both of us, and his eyes stayed on me for a bit longer than I wanted. He must have recognised me from the news.
“We are looking for Andrej,” I said to him. He blinked at me a few times, registering the name. He was tall, probably in his late fifties. Seconds later he picked up his mobile and dialled the number.
I didn’t have a chance to hear what he said, because someone poked me in the back from behind.
“I saw your face on the evening news. There is an award for you, girl,” said the stranger. A man with a long silver beard was looking at me and Zach like he knew me. He was at least a half foot shorter than me.
“Dean, fuck off, will you? Or Andrej will squash your balls,” the barman barked at him. The man spit on the ground and wiped his face, glaring at the barman with anger.
He hesitated for a second, then backed away to his table, mumbling some swear words under his breath.
“Follow Vladek, girl,” the barman said, waving his hand for me to go.
Everyone in the pub was staring at me when I nudged Zach and followed the obese Russian that waited for us on the other side of the pub. Soon we found ourselves in the large back room. There was a table with cards and it looked like four humans around it were just about to start a game of poker. There was a significant amount of cash in the middle and I automatically thought about all the times when I used to go back home completely broke. Sometimes I would win, but my problem was I didn’t know when to stop.
“Maxine Brodeur, what a treat! I thought you would have been rotting in some royal cell by now,” said the man with yellowish blond hair, holding a cigarette in his mouth. Andrej Dostojevsky was skinny, pale, and he had very strong Eastern European features. He inhaled the smoke into his lungs, shuffling the cards in his hand. “Who is the other dude? He’s not a cop, right?”
Zachary took the identity of Devlin, so he could avoid being recognised by the criminals that he had locked up in the past. It was kind of creepy kissing him. I used to drink and play poker with Devlin on a regular basis.
“A partner in crime, works with me in Doomed,” I explained, with a nervous chuckle. “Yeah, I used to shag the prince, but I didn’t bloody kill him. They are blaming me, because they haven’t got any other suspects.”
Andrej was the sort of man that didn’t believe in any reports on the mainstream media. A few years ago, he told me that the government controlled what information was shared with the general public. The man was dangerous, he had personally beheaded a lot of people, and that’s why I kept my distance from him.
“What do you want? I haven’t seen you around for ages,” he asked, getting straight to the point, and nodded to the other guy. Another Russian placed a bottle of vodka on the table and started pouring clear liquid into the shot glasses.
“A favour. Two of my friends are being kept in the old steel factory. I need to get them out tonight,” I said and then told him exactly what I needed him to do. This wasn’t about magic or demonic energy. Rodriguez had people all around that factory and I needed someone to keep them busy while I got Ricky and Paul out of there. Andrej was a sadistic motherfucker, but with his skills, he always got the job done.
He listened, drank vodka and continued to play poker. That deep burning sensation in my core to join him was making me crazy. The thing was, I hadn’t played for a while and I kind of missed it, even though that part of my life was behind me.
“I don’t like the way your silent partner is staring back at me, Maxine,” Andrej suddenly said, after I went through all the details. I had warned Zach to let me talk. A few times Andrej touched me and I had a feeling that Zach shot him a few nasty glares. That was the downside of not having any magic. I couldn’t sense any emotions around me anymore.
“Devlin is just shy, he’s my partner. You shouldn’t worry about him,” I explained, rubbing the sweat off my forehead. The tension became uncomfortable.
“I have to make sure that Maxine is not going to get in any trouble,” Zach barked and I wished that he hadn’t said a word. Andrej liked playing games, sometimes very twisted games.
Suddenly the other Russian guy that stood by the stack of beers moved. Everything happened so fast, and when I blinked again Zach was held by the Russian dude, who was pinning him down to the wall.
“Olek will break your jaw unless you apologise, mate. Everyone in the area knows I adore Maxine. Why would she get into trouble with me?” Andrej had spoken and I swallowed hard, knowing that Zach couldn’t afford to make a bad move right now.
Zachary’s eyes were moving from me to Andrej. The silence stretched for longer than I wanted. My heart had practically stopped beating. Dostojevsky’s men considered hesitation a weakness.
My magic was gone, lost and caput, and I couldn’t do anything, so Zach had to pull his head out of his arse and fucking apologise. We really didn’t have any time to waste. We still needed to go back to the pub and then drive to get Ricky and Paul out.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to disrespect you, Andrej,” Zachary finally said, obviously struggling to breathe.
Andrej’s eyes flickered at the corners and then he winked at me. All right, so this whole thing was a joke to him. Well, that was to be expected. Andrej felt an unhealthy attraction towards me. That’s why I was still alive and had such an easy access to him in the past.
He dragged more toxins into his lungs and blew out smoke from the cigarette.
“Olek, you can let our guest go. We were only fucking with ya,” he added in his strong Russian accent. The huge Russian nodded and let Zach go.
“All right, Andrej, my time is precious, so I really need to know if you’ll be able to help us tonight.” I asked, staring down at the clock on the table.
“Of course I’ll help you. One day I want to be famous, but being called one of the most dangerous gangsters in London isn’t doing it for me anymore. I would very much prefer being a politician,” he said. “So I have a condition, Maxine. Something that I want you to do for me too.”
“I didn’t think you would do it from the goodness of your heart, Andrej,” I said, folding my arms over my chest. In the past when I had my magic, I could always predict if he was in a good mood or not. Now it felt odd not sensing how he was going to react.
“That agency of your Doomed Cases… I heard good things about it,” he said. “My ex-wife has taken my daughter away and no one can seem to track her down. I want you to find out where she is. Apparently you can find anyone.”
I scratched my head and thought about his proposition for a moment. He was right—in the past I could always find anyone. A lot of my clients had hired me to look for missing family members or people that owed them something. This was all before my troubles with royals started, before I had an affair with the prince.
“Depends how quickly you want me to find her?”
“Just find her, I don’t have a timeline. If you agree, then we have a deal,” Andrej said and lifted his hand for me to shake it.
Zachary was staring at me intently and I already knew what he was thinking. This was a bad idea, but I desperately needed Andrej’s help. Without him the whole rescue mission could be a big flop. It was my fault that Ricky was behind bars.
I smiled and shook his hand, silently thinking I was going to regret this later.