Free Strange Fates (Nyx Fortuna) by Marlene Perez Page B

clear. It was as if the storm hadn’t even happened, if you ignored the snow crunching underfoot.
    I needed to get my hands on a bloodstone, two if I could, but one was essential. I could protect myself from magic, but Elizabeth was defenseless. I’d give her the amulet and then dump her. I needed a clear head and no distractions.
    I hopped into the Caddy and drove until I found Hennepin. I passed a Masonic temple, a comic-book store, and an Irish pub, before I finally found a bank. I needed to make a withdrawal. The amulet wouldn’t be cheap. I had money stashed away, a lot of it. I relied on good luck—and if I had to, hard work—for money for my minimal day-to-day expenses. I liked knowing that if my luck ran out someday, I’d have something to fall back on.
    I’d discovered a long time ago that the old saw was true: Money didn’t buy happiness. On the other hand, poverty sucked. I’d discovered that, too.
    I needed cash to buy what I needed. The kind of people who had what I needed didn’t exactly take Visa.
    I filled out a withdrawal slip and got in line for the teller. I sorted through my IDs to find the one I would need and handed it over with my slip when my turn came.
    “How would you like this, Mr. Fortuna?” the teller asked.
    “Hundreds, please,” I replied.
    I looked around nervously. I half expected my aunts to show up, hissing about ill-gotten gains, but the transaction went smoothly and I exited the bank without spotting them. It was pure stubbornness that made me cling to the name Fortuna. It was my mother’s name and when I heard it, I thought of her.
    I walked along Hennepin, trying to get a feel for any magic lurking inside the restaurants, bars, and clothing stores that lined the street.
    I wandered for blocks without picking up anything, but finally caught a faint trace of magic.
    I looked around and paid attention to my surroundings for the first time in hours. It had grown dark during my search and I was in the seedy part of town. But the trace of magic was coming from a pawnshop on the corner.
    The sign read ETERNITY ROAD PAWNSHOP . There was the usual stuff in the windows, a brass trumpet, a couple of diamond rings, and an old moth-eaten fox stole that screamed to me of its death. There was no sign of the bloodstone I was seeking, but I didn’t really expect it to be in a display window.
    The bell over the door clanged when I entered, but the store was empty. The interior was crammed with floor-to-ceiling shelving and a stack of wooden chairs created a wobbly tower in one corner.
    An enormous stuffed bear stood in the other, poised to strike, but there was a mischievous expression on its face. The shop reminded me of my mother’s closet, safe and warm and stuffed full of fabulous trinkets.
    “Hello?” I said. “Is anyone here?”
    There was no answer, but I felt magic somewhere in the store. A jewelry case contained cut-rate diamonds. The bottom case held an emerald that sparkled with magic and two bloodstones, imbued with protective power.
    A mannequin was dressed in a shimmering gown with a dusty feather boa around the neck. On her head was a cloche hat with one faded silk flower.
    When I was fifteen, my mother’s luck started to run out. She’d sold or traded magical items before, but they were mere trinkets. I was too stupid to know that what she’d done was something different, something drastic. She’d sold the diviner’s ring, the pack of gilded tarot cards, and the pair of golden dice, but she held on to her necklace.
    When I closed my eyes, I could see the charms: a black cat carved from Indian ebony, the little coral fish, an emerald frog, a diamond-studded key, a miniature book, an ivory wheel of fortune, and a horseshoe made of moonstones. The diamond-studded key hung on the chain around my neck. I was still looking for the rest. The charms held all of Lady Fortuna’s luck and I was determined to find them.
    As I examined the exotic and mundane items, something