mouth opened into a yawn before he spoke.
“The fuck you want, Prospero?”
I looked into the homunculus’s eyes and said, “How’s it hangin’, LM?”
His mouth twisted into a jaded grin too mature for his chubby-cheeked profile. “Low and to the left, as usual. Wanna see?” His chubby hand made for the waistband of his diaper.
To the passerby, the pair probably looked like a hulk of a woman with questionable personal hygiene carrying a creepy baby doll. Instead, Little Man and Mary were actually conjoined twins. Their mutations were the result of their mother’s addiction to fertility elixirs. Unfortunately, she hadn’t survived pushing out the twenty-pound baby Mary.
On the other hand, Little Man started as what appeared to be a mole on his sister’s chest, but eventually he grew into the homunculus she carried everywhere. Any advantage Mary had over Little Man in size was mitigated by the fact that he got all the brains.
I grimaced and shook my head. “Got a few questions for you.”
“Come back later.” His infant-sized lips pursed into a pouty moue. “It’s almost time for sleepies.”
I pulled my wallet from my pocket. His eyes widened. That kind of money could buy a large pack of diapers or some special time with a discount whore.
“In that case, let’s retire to my office.” He motioned his tiny fist at Mary.
She pivoted her large body like an ocean liner executing a wide turn and lumbered toward a nearby bench. Even sitting, the giantess loomed over me, which meant Little’s face was even with mine.
“I assume you’re here about that junkie you smoked?” he snapped.
I nodded.
“Rough business,” LM said, his high-pitched voice a facsimile of sympathy. “Word is you shot his dick off. That true?”
“Thought you knew better than to listen to rumors.”
LM shrugged. “Every rumor holds a grain of truth.”
“The challenge is finding that one little grain in the pile of bullshit,” I said. “Anything you can tell me about a new potion making the rounds?”
He wrinkled the bald skin where his eyebrows would have been if he’d had any hair. “Like you said, I know better than to listen to rumors.”
I raised the bills and rubbed them together. “Tell me anyway—just for shits and giggles.”
Little raised a hand to indicate Mary should lean closer to me. I paused and then played along, leaning close enough to smell Mary’s body odor and the diaper cream on LM’s ass. “People been talking about a unique new package.”
I kept my expression poker blank. “Who’s putting this package out?”
He shook his head. “No one’s naming any names. Either way, that new shit? The Wolf? Nasty.”
The wound on my arm throbbed. “Tell me about it.”
“Hear it makes the user crave human flesh.” Little Man ran a speculative glance over my blackened eye and the bandage peeking from under my shirtsleeve. “You know anything about that?”
“Maybe,” I evaded and changed tactics. “Back up a sec. You expect me to believe you don’t have a theory about who’s cooking this potion?” I looked in his heavily lashed blue eyes. “Stinks like shit, LM.”
The laugh that came from his mouth was a bizarre, squeaky cackle. “That’s why I like you, Prospero. You understand that 80 percent of the Cauldron is illusion.”
“So what’s the real story?”
“Honestly? If it’s a new wiz, he’s got titanium balls. Unless…”
“Yeah?”
“The potion’s not from a new source at all.”
“Preliminary tests say it’s alchemical.”
“Heard that myself.” He shrugged. “Could be a low-level cooker looking to make a name.”
“Any of the old Votary boys making noises about stepping into Abe’s shoes?”
“No one wants to die that bad, Prospero.” He laughed.
Steel bars didn’t prevent Uncle Abe from playing puppet master on the streets. None of his loyal guys would dare step up to usurp his power. Which meant whoever was putting this new potion out either
“The fuck you want, Prospero?”
I looked into the homunculus’s eyes and said, “How’s it hangin’, LM?”
His mouth twisted into a jaded grin too mature for his chubby-cheeked profile. “Low and to the left, as usual. Wanna see?” His chubby hand made for the waistband of his diaper.
To the passerby, the pair probably looked like a hulk of a woman with questionable personal hygiene carrying a creepy baby doll. Instead, Little Man and Mary were actually conjoined twins. Their mutations were the result of their mother’s addiction to fertility elixirs. Unfortunately, she hadn’t survived pushing out the twenty-pound baby Mary.
On the other hand, Little Man started as what appeared to be a mole on his sister’s chest, but eventually he grew into the homunculus she carried everywhere. Any advantage Mary had over Little Man in size was mitigated by the fact that he got all the brains.
I grimaced and shook my head. “Got a few questions for you.”
“Come back later.” His infant-sized lips pursed into a pouty moue. “It’s almost time for sleepies.”
I pulled my wallet from my pocket. His eyes widened. That kind of money could buy a large pack of diapers or some special time with a discount whore.
“In that case, let’s retire to my office.” He motioned his tiny fist at Mary.
She pivoted her large body like an ocean liner executing a wide turn and lumbered toward a nearby bench. Even sitting, the giantess loomed over me, which meant Little’s face was even with mine.
“I assume you’re here about that junkie you smoked?” he snapped.
I nodded.
“Rough business,” LM said, his high-pitched voice a facsimile of sympathy. “Word is you shot his dick off. That true?”
“Thought you knew better than to listen to rumors.”
LM shrugged. “Every rumor holds a grain of truth.”
“The challenge is finding that one little grain in the pile of bullshit,” I said. “Anything you can tell me about a new potion making the rounds?”
He wrinkled the bald skin where his eyebrows would have been if he’d had any hair. “Like you said, I know better than to listen to rumors.”
I raised the bills and rubbed them together. “Tell me anyway—just for shits and giggles.”
Little raised a hand to indicate Mary should lean closer to me. I paused and then played along, leaning close enough to smell Mary’s body odor and the diaper cream on LM’s ass. “People been talking about a unique new package.”
I kept my expression poker blank. “Who’s putting this package out?”
He shook his head. “No one’s naming any names. Either way, that new shit? The Wolf? Nasty.”
The wound on my arm throbbed. “Tell me about it.”
“Hear it makes the user crave human flesh.” Little Man ran a speculative glance over my blackened eye and the bandage peeking from under my shirtsleeve. “You know anything about that?”
“Maybe,” I evaded and changed tactics. “Back up a sec. You expect me to believe you don’t have a theory about who’s cooking this potion?” I looked in his heavily lashed blue eyes. “Stinks like shit, LM.”
The laugh that came from his mouth was a bizarre, squeaky cackle. “That’s why I like you, Prospero. You understand that 80 percent of the Cauldron is illusion.”
“So what’s the real story?”
“Honestly? If it’s a new wiz, he’s got titanium balls. Unless…”
“Yeah?”
“The potion’s not from a new source at all.”
“Preliminary tests say it’s alchemical.”
“Heard that myself.” He shrugged. “Could be a low-level cooker looking to make a name.”
“Any of the old Votary boys making noises about stepping into Abe’s shoes?”
“No one wants to die that bad, Prospero.” He laughed.
Steel bars didn’t prevent Uncle Abe from playing puppet master on the streets. None of his loyal guys would dare step up to usurp his power. Which meant whoever was putting this new potion out either
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