Jocelynn Drake - [Asylum Tales 02] (36 page)

“Part,” I admitted with a blush. At least I had the decency to look embarrassed. “Part was because I didn’t know you were in Low Town until I spoke to Robert and I wanted to see you. And part is because I need to ask a favor.” I stopped, my mind struggling with how to broach the subject.

“It’s okay, honey. We’ll help you any way we can,” Mom coaxed.

“I know, but it’s a lot to ask.”

“Then ask and see if we can help,” Dad pushed, bringing a grin to my lips.

“A while ago, five kids escaped from the Towers much like I did,” I started, and then paused, licking my lips. Good grief, I had to be out of my fucking mind to even think this was a good idea, but I plunged ahead. “They’re young, between the ages of nine and seventeen. They can’t go home because the Towers are searching for them and it’s the first place they’d look. We’ve managed to find homes for some of them.”

I paused again and sighed, shoving one hand through my hair as I fought to block out visions of Alice. “Look, when we first came up with the idea of finding a home for these kids, you were the first people I thought of. I don’t know what it was, but you did something right with me. I got out of the Towers. I stuck to the ideas of right and wrong that you gave me. I clung to the belief that people were good. I’m afraid that if they don’t find someone like you, they’re going to end up like the monsters in the Towers despite having escaped. I won’t lie to you. There is some risk, but we can take precautions to protect you and them. If expense is a problem, I can help. I have some money saved.”

“Honey,” Mom said, laying her hand against my cheek. I was babbling. I was afraid if I stopped talking, they’d say no. She smiled at me. “What are their names?”

“Étienne is seventeen and from France, but his English is excellent. Anthony is fourteen and American. They escaped together and are close like brothers. Something in my gut says it would be a bad idea to separate them. I—”

I instantly shut up again when Mom put her hand against my cheek again. She looked over at my father and said nothing. He smiled at her and said nothing. Maybe that’s what came of thirty years of marriage. You didn’t need words anymore to say the things that needed to be said.

When she looked back at me, she was smiling a secret little smile that came with being a mom. “When can they move in?”

I pulled Mom to me in a fierce hug as a shudder of relief ran through my body. “Thank you. Thank you so much. I will help you in any way I can, I promise,” I said in a choked whispered.

Mom ran her hand over my back, soothing away the shaking. “We’re proud of you, Jason,” she murmured in my ear. “We always have been.”

After a moment I pulled away and hugged Dad, who only laughed at my worry. I should have known they wouldn’t hesitate to help the runaways.

At Mom’s urging, we followed her into the kitchen so we could sit at the table and talk while she finished making dinner. Throughout the meal, she hit me with a mound of questions, pulling out all the information I had about Étienne and Tony. By the end of dinner, she had a legal pad beside her, making a list of all the things that she would need to get to make the house ready before they arrived. Dad smiled, happy to leave the planning in her hands. As I said, Dad was practical.

It was after eleven when I finally managed to step outside the house following a series of long hugs and promises to come back soon with the boys. Leaving that night was one of the hardest things I had ever done, but I promised myself that I’d be back soon. I promised myself that my parents would be safe.

As I reached the bottom step, I realized that I never told them that my name was now Gage Powell. I never explained why I looked different, but I let it go. It had been nice to spend one last night as Jason Grant, son of Lily and Jonathan Grant. For one last night, I hadn’t been Gage Powell, a warlock who had killed for the first time at the age of thirteen. I wasn’t the monster who had killed other witches and warlocks. I wasn’t the one who’d traded another person’s soul to Charon the ferryman. I wasn’t the one who’d killed a dark elf to save his own life. I was just a guy trying to be something his parents could be proud of.

Turning away from the house, I spotted Gideon standing beside my SUV wearing a dark suit with his hands shoved into his trouser pockets. I hadn’t seen him since we’d left the New York Tower together nearly a month ago. Of course, I hadn’t been using any magic since then, so he wouldn’t have shown up. I received one brief message stating that Paola was now living with his wife and daughter, while James was safe on a ranch in Montana living with a witch and warlock who had faked their deaths. He never gave me names and I didn’t want to know. He only asked me for suggestions on where to place Étienne and Tony.

I couldn’t stop the smile that rose when I reached him. “The boys will stay with my parents,” I announced before he could ask.

Gideon gave a soft grunt and a nod, at least acknowledging that he heard me. His face was blank, but his eyes wouldn’t meet mine.

“Paola okay?”

“Yes, fine.” His words were clipped and terse, but I didn’t get the impression that he was angry at me. When Gideon was pissed at me, there was no doubt about it. Of course, when he was pissed at me, I was usually in pain.

“You’re not here about the boys, are you?” I asked as a deep uneasiness settled into my bones.

Gideon looked up at me, meeting my stare with his unblinking silvery-gray eyes. His expression was solemn and a little sad, but his voice never wavered. “You need to change. We have a job to do.”

I nodded, fighting the urge to let my shoulders slump in resignation. I’d made my choice. I chose to go back to the Towers rather than face death. Now it was time to live up to my end of the bargain. I’d survived Simon Thorn’s murder attempts. I’d survived Reave’s attempts to plunge the world into another war. I’d survive this. I escaped the Towers once. I could do it again, and this time I was taking Gideon with me.

How hard could it be?

About the Author

The bestselling author of the Dark Days series and a former financial analyst,
JOCELYNN DRAKE
lives in Wisconsin.

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www.AuthorTracker.com
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Also By Jocelynn Drake

THE DARK DAYS NOVELS

Nightwalker

Dayhunter

Dawnbreaker

Pray for Dawn

Wait for Dusk

Burn the Night

THE ASYLUM TALES

The Asylum Interviews: Bronx

The Asylum Interviews: Trixie

Angel’s Ink

Praise for
Angel’s Ink

“Jocelynn Drake’s writing holds a wonderfully wry humor akin to dark chocolate: bitter but irresistible. With a unique and fascinating magic system,
Angel’s Ink
is a new take on traditional and urban fantasy themes, spinning a tale of personal vendettas, mob bosses, and just a touch of romance. Gage is an engaging, sympathetic character with curiously twisted problems that he brings upon himself despite his best efforts. Keeping secrets from his friends works . . . until the hapless Gage makes the largest, and perhaps best, mistake of his life. Now he just has to survive it.
Angel’s Ink
is an otherearthly blend of magic and technology in the best tradition of urban fantasy that refused to let me go. The continuing Asylum Tales promise to be intriguing and wildly inventive.”

—Kim Harrison

“A lot of fun, with a whole new take on the dark urban fantasy. Bright and breezy, with fascinating characters, and a background with hidden depths. Drake puts the ‘ink’ in ‘incredible.’ ”

—Simon R. Green

“Gritty, authentic, and fast-paced! This urban fantasy series rocks!”

—J. R. Ward

“Jocelynn is amazing at fleshing out plots, subplots and characters.”

—
USA Today

“A distinctive and absorbing tale.”

—
Kirkus Reviews

“Drake kicks off a new urban fantasy series with a strong first title. . . . Definitely check out this series from the popular Drake.”

—
Booklist

“Drake (the Dark Days vampire series) very ably spins a series launch. . . . Stirs up trouble that sends the plot caroming with ferocious intensity to a satisfying but open-ended conclusion.”

—
Publishers Weekly

“Expert storyteller Drake invites readers to join her in a spirited and spellbinding new series. . . . The author does a great job of introducing her mesmerizing new world and then filling it with a truly compelling cast of characters. She is on track to deliver another outstanding and inventive series.”

—
Romantic Times BOOKclub

“Fans of Kim Harrison and urban fantasy alike will enjoy this.”

—
Library Journal

Credits

Cover design by Richard L. Aquan

Cover illustration © by Don Sipley

Copyright

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

DEAD MAN’S DEAL
. Copyright © 2013 by Jocelynn Drake. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.

FIRST EDITION

Print book ISBN 978-0-06-211788-5

Epub Edition © MAY 2013 ISBN 9780062117892

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