Free Play Dead by John Levitt Page A

from ten feet away.
    The spot on the door started to smolder, then char; then under the onslaught of concentrated heat, a section just dissolved away, leaving a gaping hole with flickers of flame licking around the edges. At the same time, I poured the rest of my energy into the sparks so that it now spilled over, the sparks being unable to contain the extra power. The wards around the door sensed this as a severe magical threat and attached their own energy to combat the threat.
    “Push it through,” I said to Sherwood. “I’ve got to concentrate on holding it all together.”
    She directed a rush of air toward the hole in the door and the energized points of light streamed through, taking the wards with them. Five seconds after, there wasn’t a single speck of light left in the room, and the wards around the door were gone as well.
    I reached through the hole in the door, felt around, and slid back the dead bolt. We moved cautiously out of the room and back up the stairs, watching for Cassandra, but she was nowhere to be seen. I wanted to look around the place, but Sherwood pulled me along.
    “Let’s get out of here,” she said. “She might be back at any time, and we’re both drained.”
    “Hold on a sec. I need to do something first.”
    I signaled Lou to keep watch at the front door, scanned the front room, and grabbed a couple of dog-eared paperback books and a half-eaten chocolate bar from a table. As soon as we got outside I picked up a smooth twig and put all the items together on the plank leading to the front door. I put out some more energy and diffused it through the objects there, then another, weaker pulse into the plank itself. I ran back in and put the books and the candy bar back where I’d found them. No point in alerting her.
    The twig went into my pocket. I now had an efficient alarm system; the twig was keyed to both Cassandra and the wooden plank, and if she returned, it would glow the minute she set foot on it.
    “Okay,” I said. “Let’s go.” Lou took the lead, still keeping watch.
    Before we even reached the car, the cell clipped to Sherwood’s belt went off. She made a face as she put it up to her ear. Then she made another face, this one directed at me, with sudden interest and raised eyebrows.
    “What?” I mouthed. She waved her hand at me for quiet.
    “Yes,” she said. “This is Sherwood.” A pause. “Melissa? Yes, I’m looking for a keyboard player.” Another pause. “Bass.” A longer pause. “Mostly originals, a few standards. I’m pretty open to different styles, though.”
    “Set up a meet,” I mouthed frantically. Sherwood waved me off impatiently and turned her back, but I waved my hands in her face until she said, “Hold on a moment, will you?” and put her hand over the phone.
    “What?” she said.
    “Try and set up a meet right away. The next time she talks to Cassandra, we’ll be toast.” She nodded, and went back to her conversation.
    “Sure,” I heard her say. “I’m out and about right now, but I could meet you somewhere and we could talk it over. Where? How about Potrero Hill; that’s up where I live. Do you know the Thinker’s Café on Connecticut? ... Good. About an hour, then.” I tapped her on the shoulder and pointed to Lou, and she nodded. “You’ll know me because I’ll have my dog along—he goes everywhere with me. A little black-and-tan guy, like a mini Pinscher ... Okay, see you then.”
    “So we’re on?” I asked as she snapped her cell shut.
    “Apparently. She sounds nice. I’m still feeling a little creepy about this. I don’t like lying to people much, even if it’s for a good cause.”
    “Yeah, I know.”
    “Why all this elaborate make-believe, anyway? Why don’t you just grab her if that’s what you’re going to do?”
    “I don’t want to grab her. I want to find out where she lives and what she’s been up to and maybe who she’s hanging with. And if she stole something, and if not, why Jessica’s