Staring Down the Barrel of a Wand: Uncollected Anthology, #25

By Stefon Mears

Jake had the wand. I had a grin.

 

The grin was fake. The wand was all too real…

 

Carlo Genovese, an honest private detective in love with the wrong woman. To help her, he'll brave magic and criminals, lies and betrayal, demons and necromancy.

 

"Staring Down the Barrel of a Wand" - an exciting short story of hardboiled urban fantasy, featuring a clever hero with lots of attitude. From the twisted mind of Stefon Mears, author of the Spells for Hire series and the Rise of Magic series.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Thousand Faces Publishing
• Release date: Aug 1, 2021
• ISBN: 9798201014919

Book preview

Staring Down the Barrel of a Wand

Staring Down the Barrel of a Wand

Uncollected Anthology #25 Conjuring Crime

Stefon Mears

Thousand Faces Publishing

Contents

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Uncollected Anthology

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About the Author

Also by Stefon Mears

Jake had the wand. I had a grin.

The grin was fake. The wand was all too real.

Jake looked like he shouldn’t know which end of a wand to hold. Built like a tombstone, and just about as bright. Couldn’t even find a decent tailor for that suit. Who wears pinstripes anymore?

The wand, though. Looked like teak, and there’s a reason people say teak means trouble. Already had a red spark at the end, like Jake was itching for a reason. Or thought he already had one.

I was betting on the latter.

No backup with him though. Maybe meant it was off the books. Which was something. Not much, but something. I could work with it.

Just him and me, in the back of Tony’s. Under the unforgiving light of the fluorescent ceiling lamps.

A goddamn restaurant storeroom. Should have had places to hide. Maybe a teetering crate I could tip. But not Tony’s. Never Tony’s. Storeroom as spick and span as the restaurant itself.

I mean even the roaches must have wiped their feet before setting foot back here.

No, there was only one place to hide in Tony’s storeroom, and the last thing I wanted to do was call Jake’s attention to it.

What else did I have to work with? Not much. Couple of toys in my pockets, but nothing that’d stand up to teak. Racks of cleaning supplies behind me. Simple, chemical stuff. No thaum, but maybe something useful if the first blast doesn’t get me.

Crates to my right, stacked against the wall. Like maybe I could climb them, if I were fast enough. And if I could fit through that little window up above.

I’m fast. And I’m a skinny guy. But not that skinny. And I’m not sure anybody’s that fast.

Two exits then. Doors. One to the outside. Back alley I knew pretty well. Closed. Maybe locked. Wouldn’t have time to do anything about that, if it were.

The other, the door into the restaurant. Closed, but likely unlocked.

Both those doors, on the other side of Tony.

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