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“Why?”
She holds up her phone.
“This is a Vigil app, kind of an augmented reality thing. It detects and displays traces of magic.”
I look at the screen. Max Overdrive is rimmed in pulsing neon green.
“That’s cool. Good for the Vigil.”
“Fuck the Vigil,” says Kasabian. “Can you break the door down?”
I shake my head.
“Whatever kind of hoodoo they’re using, it looks powerful. If I knocked the door down the blowback would probably wreck the whole store.”
“That’s what someone wants,” says Candy. “For you to break in. The county calls in the sheriff’s department, and they seize the property out from under us.”
“We get thrown out of the Chateau Marmont and now we can’t even go home,” says Kasabian. “Vincent and me, we don’t have any clothes but what we’re wearing. We were out getting food.”
I haven’t eaten all day. I take a donut out of the bag. Chocolate glaze. It’s pretty good.
“They were probably waiting for you to leave.”
“Screw your clothes,” says Candy. “I don’t have my laptop.”
I go around to the side of the building.
“Hang on, all of you. We can’t live here, but maybe I can get some of our things.”
“How?” says Kasabian.
“Are you going to do that trick again?” says Vincent.
“I’m going to try.”
“What trick?” says Candy.
“Something I learned the other night. It’s a little like shadow walking, but it’s going to wear off in a few days, so don’t go asking me to steal the crown jewels.”
“Where do you pick up this new talent?”
“At Piss Alley.”
“Really. And what did you give them?”
“Just a bottle of Aqua Regia.”
“It’s going to cost you more than that, you know,” she says.
“I know.”
“If you can do something, then do it,” says Kasabian. “I’m feeling a little exposed out here.”
“Relax. I’ll know in a minute if it works.”
I step to the right and the hurricane hits me. The outside of the store glows the same neon green I saw on Candy’s phone. I put out my hand and touch the side of the building. Nothing happens. No alarms and no counter-hoodoo. So far, so good. I press my weight against the wall. It bends a little, but holds. The hoodoo is powerful, even against sidestepping. I back up a back a few paces, then run at the wall. And end up on my ass, thrown back to where I started. I’m not going to try that twice.
I walk around to the front of the store. Candy, Kasabian, and Vincent still stare at the place where I disappeared, moving so slowly they look like ants in amber.
