When he had a moment alone in the office that had been cleared out for him, Maxim Prather pulled out his own private cell phone and dialed information. He gave the city and state, and requested the number for “Zeke’s Books”. The automated system was unable to locate it, so a human operator came on the line.
“I have the number for a ‘Zeke the Lobster’s Adult Books and Novelties’ in Star Harbor,” she said. “Could that be it?”
“Hmm, er, possibly,” he said, turning beet red.
“Would you like me to connect you?”
“Yes!” he said.
There was a moment of silence, then the sound of ringing.
“Zeke the Lobster’s, home of ‘the lobster’… when your date orders ‘the lobster’, you know it’s serious!” a voice said on the other line.
“Ezekiel, my friend,” Prather said. “It’s me.”
“Me? Me who? I know twenty Me’s… none of them call me ‘Ezekiel’ and even fewer call me ‘friend’,” Zeke said.
“Max. Max Prather,” he said.
“Who?”
“Alcheman,” Prather whispered.
“Alcheman? Well, doesn’t just beat all? The last time I talked to you, you told me that Alcheman was dead and to stop calling you. How was the funeral?”
“Be serious, I need your help.”
“How badly?” Zeke asked. “Be specific. Use as many zeroes as you like.”
Prather sighed.
“Five thousand dollars if you can get me what I need to know, and not a penny if you can’t,” he said. “I believe in giving value for value, but I believe there are worthier charities to which I could contribute than a pornographer’s retirement fund.”
“You don’t want to put me out of business? You’re all heart, Maxie,” Zeke said. “But why should I spend my time chasing your answers if there might not be anything in it for me? If you’re not going to make it worth my while to look, I can’t think why I’d bother.”
“Only you can decide if the chance to earn five thousand dollars is worth your time or not,” Prather said.
“And now you’re promoting gambling. Really,” Zeke said. “I’m surprised at you. What do you need to know?”
“There have been a series of fires around…”
“Mystical,” Zeke said.
“Yes, I know!” Prather said. “That isn’t the question. The churches… some of them… were destroyed by an ancient spell of unmaking, invoking the classic Aramaic formula of such. I need to know what would be involved in setting up such a spell… materials, time requirements, rituals practices.”
“That’s big magic, boss,” Zeke said.
“It’s bad magic,” Prather said.
“Listen, that kind of stuff… it’s monitored,” Zeke said. “Even asking questions about it, I’m going to have to be circumspect. I’m going to be taking a big risk just by poking my nose into it. I want five thousand up front, and another five at completion.”
“You don’t have a nose,” Prather said. “And if you’re that scared, who’s to say you won’t pocket the first half and then say you couldn’t find anything?”
“I’m not sticking my neck out for five grand.”
“Ten thousand, then, but the full amount is payable upon completion,” Prather said. “I’m not subsidizing indolence.”
“When do you want this by?”
“As soon as possible. It could be a time sensitive matter.”
“How sensitive?” Zeke asked.
“If the world ends, you’ve taken too long,” Prather said. “I’ll be in town for at least five days. If you haven’t produced results by then, I may not be in the market for them later.”
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