C.H.A.R.O.N., page 20
Brent nodded. “Good. I miss him when he’s away for too long.”
“Speaking of being away, now that the cell phones are back up, I need to let Matt and Jon know what’s going on, and you’ll need to tell Alex not to panic,” Travis said. With the internet, landlines, and cell phones down, he and Brent had been unable to keep their friends updated, and he knew they’d be worried.
“Now we wait for the crews to clear one of the highways out of town,” Brent replied with a sigh. “Hope Chris wasn’t in a hurry to get rid of us.”
Travis and Brent pitched in to help anywhere they could lend a hand. Liz and Tammy were connected to every relief effort in town, helping people get food, shelter, clean water, and other necessities. Once the rain ended, medivac flights took those most in need of care to the nearest trauma centers. Between the storm and the tulpas, there was plenty of work to keep them busy, and keep their minds off everything that had happened.
Three days later, road crews broke through, opening one of the roadways.
“Guess we’ve got to head home,” Brent told Chris as he and Travis tossed their bags into the Crown Vic.
“It sure hasn’t been boring.” Chris grinned. He clasped Brent’s forearm and pulled him into a brief hug. “Thanks for answering my Bat-Signal and saving our asses.”
“Any time,” Brent replied. “But next time, let’s make it a social call.”
Travis shook hands with Chris. “Call if we can help. I know South Fork’s had some bad luck, but there are amazing people here.”
Chris nodded. “I know. That’s why I stay.”
As Travis drove out of town, Brent’s phone rang. He frowned at the unfamiliar number and put the call on speaker.
“If you were interested in Dr. Wyrick’s research, all you had to do was ask,” a man’s voice said.
“Who is this?” Brent demanded although Travis feared they both could guess.
“We’re impressed by the way you handled the situation,” the man continued. “You’d be a strong addition to the team.”
“No thanks,” Brent growled. “Not now, not ever.”
“How long do you think you can stay a free agent? You’re going to have to pick a team sooner or later. We can make you a very attractive offer.”
Brent looked torn between rage and nausea. “No. Lose my number. I won’t change my mind.”
“Everything changes,” the man replied, with an ominous undercurrent beneath his too-friendly tone. “And when it does…we’ll be here.”
The call ended, leaving Brent glaring at his phone.
“Talk to me,” Travis said.
“I don’t know who that was, or how he got my number—or how the fuck CHARON knows about us being in South Fork and what we did. I’m furious, and I feel stalked and…shit…I’m scared,” Brent confessed.
“And you’ve got every right,” Travis told him. “Bunch of arrogant bastards. But we’ve already passed along Wyrick’s backup notes to Simon, and he’ll made sure they got to the Alliance. We stopped what CHARON started here. And you’re not alone. I’ll do everything I can to keep them away from you—don’t forget, we’ve got some pretty damn powerful friends. We’ll keep you safe.”
Brent’s smile did not reach his eyes. “I know. Thanks. And the call doesn’t change a thing. By the time we get back from Hershey, we’ll probably have a slew of new cases lined up. Fuck CHARON and the Sinistram. We’ve got a job to do.”
AFTERWORD
It was a lot of fun to be back with Travis and Brent again—and to return vicariously to Western and Central Pennsylvania.
South Fork is a real town. My grandfather was a coal miner there, and my great-grandfather owned a lumber yard there. I haven’t been back since I was a teenager, so my description of the town is completely fictitious. Back in the 1930s, Fisher’s was a bar there, and people referred to someone who had too much to drink as “leaning toward Fisher’s” according to my grandmother.
I love weaving real places and history into the stories. To me, it makes them feel grounded and more believable. I also take authorial liberties to adjust real places to what the story needs. While Fisher’s was real once upon a time, it’s long gone. Every other business or organization mentioned is not real. I changed details about the geography around South Fork for story purposes, and the tragic, hard luck, supernatural history of the town is completely imaginary.
If “cannelmancy” sounded familiar, we used that type of magic in our Wasteland Marshals book, Shutdown Crew.
Travis and Brent will be back with more adventures, so stay tuned!
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Thank you so much to my editor, Jean Rabe, to my husband and writing partner Larry N. Martin for all his behind-the-scenes hard work, and to my wonderful cover artist, Lyndsey Lewellen. Thanks also to the Shadow Alliance street team for their support and encouragement and to my fantastic beta readers and the ever-growing legion of beta and ARC readers who help spread the word, including: Andrea, Anne, Barwell, Ben, Candi, Chris, Darrell, Dawn, Debbie, Donald, George, Glen, Grace, Jamie, Janet, Joanne, Kandice, Karen, Karolina, Laurie, Leesil, Miki, and Vikki. And of course, to my “convention gang” of fellow authors for making road trips fun.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Gail Z. Martin writes urban fantasy, epic fantasy, and steampunk for Orbit Books, Falstaff Books, SOL Publishing, and Darkwind Press. Urban fantasy series include Deadly Curiosities and the Night Vigil (Sons of Darkness). Epic fantasy series include Darkhurst, The Chronicles of The Necromancer, The Fallen Kings Cycle, The Ascendant Kingdoms Saga, and The Assassins of Landria. Under her urban fantasy MM paranormal romance pen name of Morgan Brice, she has five series (Witchbane, Badlands, Kings of the Mountain, Fox Hollow, and Treasure Trail) with more books and series to come.
Co-authored with Larry N. Martin are Iron and Blood, the first novel in the Jake Desmet Adventures series and the Storm and Fury collection; and the Spells, Salt, & Steel: New Templars series (Mark Wojcik, monster hunter) as well as Wasteland Marshals and Cauldron: The Joe Mack Adventures.
Gail’s work has appeared in more than forty US/UK anthologies. Newest anthologies include: The Weird Wild West, Gaslight and Grimm, Baker Street Irregulars, Across the Universe, Release the Virgins, Witches, Warriors,& Wise Women, The Four ???? of the Apocalypse, Nevermore, Three Time Travelers, Christmas at Caynham Castle, Trick or Treat at Caynham Castle, and Ring in the New at Caynham Castle.
Join the Shadow Alliance street team so you never miss a new release! Get the scoop first + giveaways + fun stuff! Also where Gail and Larry get their beta readers and Launch Team! http://www.facebook.com/groups/MartinShadowAlliance
Join the newsletter and get free excerpts at http://eepurl.com/dd5XLj Gail is also a con-runner for ConTinual, the online, ongoing multi-genre convention that never ends. www.Facebook.com/Groups/ConTinual
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ALSO BY GAIL Z. MARTIN
DARKHURST
Darkhurst
Scourge
Vengeance
Reckoning
Ascendant Kingdoms
Ice Forged
Reign of Ash
War of Shadows
Shadow and Flame
Convicts and Exiles: Collection
Chronicles of the Necromancer / Fallen Kings Cycle
The Shadowed Path: Jonmarc Vahanian Collection
The Dark Road: Jonmarc Vahanian Collection
The Summoner
The Blood King
Dark Haven
Dark Lady’s Chosen
The Sworn
The Dread
Watch for the new Legacy of the Necromancer series, which picks up 17 years after the end of The Dread.
Deadly Curiosities
Deadly Curiosities
Vendetta
Tangled Web
Inheritance
Legacy
Trifles and Folly: Collection
Trifles and Folly 2: Collection
Trifles and Folly 3: Collection
Assassins of Landria
Assassin’s Honor
Sellsword’s Oath
Fugitive’s Vow
Exile’s Quest
Outlaw’s Vengeance
Night Vigil
Sons of Darkness
C.H.A.R.O.N.
Other books by Gail Z. Martin with Larry N. Martin
Jake Desmet Adventures
Iron & Blood
Spark of Destiny
Storm & Fury: Collection
Spells, Salt, & Steel: New Templars
Spells, Salt, & Steel: Season One
Spells, Salt, & Steel: Season Two
Wasteland Marshals
Wasteland Marshals Volume One
Joe Mack: Shadow Council Archives
Cauldron
Black Sun
Chicagoland
Spellbound
Gail Z. Martin, C.H.A.R.O.N.
