Katerina stepped out of the taxi and surveyed her surroundings. She was in a dingy part of town, far from her usual haunts of trendy cafes and upscale shops. Her body hummed with tension like a string pulled too tight on the verge of snapping. Danger lurked in all the dim corners of the deserted area.
Of all the places they'd choose to meet.
So off the beaten path, she supposed no one would stumble across them by accident. Most of her dealings didn't require stringent measures, but once in a while, her trade called for questionable associations.
She entered the dark alley, her heels echoing off the brick walls. Ahead awaited her contacts—the intermediaries of her transaction. They were standing near a dumpster, smoking cigarettes and looking impatient. She straightened her posture, approaching the men with confident strides.
One of the two, a burly, bearded brute with a thick build, broad shoulders, and muscular arms that suggested he was used to physical labor, dropped his cigarette and crushed it under his boot. He tugged on his leather jacket as he positioned himself in the center of the alley. The other man, taller and leaner, with a gaunt, angular face, pale, almost sickly skin, his eyes sunken and dark, held his stance by the dumpster. His long, greasy hair hung in straggly locks around his face.
Humans. They came in all shapes and sizes.
Katerina pulled a small velvet pouch from her purse. "Here it is." She held out the bag once she neared the first man, not wanting to get too close. She wasn't afraid of them; she was a charm mage. But breathing the same air as these cretins made her skin crawl. Their boss was the problem. He'd make trouble for her if anything went sideways.
The burly man claimed the pouch. Opened it. He poured the content into his palm. The orange gem gleamed in the muted lights. The fertility stone's value as a fashion piece dimmed compared to its black-market uses. Crushed and mixed with the right ingredients, it created powerful hallucinogens and aphrodisiacs.
Burly Man examined the stone as if able to discern a bauble from the real thing, then skimmed his leering gaze over Katerina. "Nice doing business."
"My money."
The gaunt-faced man took out a phone. Dialed a number.
"Yeah, boss. She delivered."
He hung up, and a minute later, Katerina's phone chimed. A message notified her of a deposit in her account. She turned, not bidding the men farewell, and stopped when Burly Man shrieked.
Black vapors rose from the man's palm. Katerina stumbled a step, recognizing the foul smell of a hex—a curse.
Franziska. She boobytrapped the stone.
Two pairs of cold, hard eyes bore into Katerina.
"What the fuck bitch? Are you trying to double-cross us?" Burly Man brandished a gun.
Gaunt-Face Man reached for his cell phone. If he called his boss...
"Don't move."
The gaunt-faced man obeyed, puzzled by his obedience. Manipulating humans was a cinch. A tiny nudge and they were putties in her hands. Regardless, Katerina liked to leave a slight gap in their consciousness where they could witness their actions, incapable of doing anything about it. Their shock always amused her.
Burly Man glared at his partner. "What the fuck are you doing? Call the boss." He made a threatening step for Katerina, recognizing his partner was no longer in control of his faculties. "What did you do to him?"
The corners of Katerina's lips curled upward, but the rest of her face remained impassive. Her pulse raced like a panicked animal trying to escape its cage. Stealing from the Falgors wasn't her first con. She understood the risks of crossing Franziska, a Grand Magus. But overconfident in her years of triumphant schemes, she missed the hex. She'd stolen something that wasn't meant to be stolen, and now everything she'd built all these years hung in the balance—her life on a razor's edge.
She had to find a way to make it right.
"I'm talking to you..."
"Stay still. Be quiet."
Burly Man bucked against her command, but every muscle in his body obeyed.
Dom wasn't the forgiving type. And acquiring another fertility stone was a stretch. All Katerina could do was put a temporary plug in the situation. Hope for a better solution later. Dom was expecting the gem tonight. She tapped a finger on her chin. Her best option was framing these two knuckleheads for double-crossing their boss, but Dom knew what she was. He'd have the men checked for tampering. Unless she destroyed their bodies. Which he'd find suspicious.
Then he'd likely out her, blow her cover. Going on the run from the entire witching community wasn't ideal. She had skills, but her magic had limits, and Franziska would come after her. Hexes canceled charms.
Dom might be willing to strike another deal if she had something valuable to trade. Like what? Katerina paced, considering her options.
"My, my, my, what a pickle."
Katerina froze at the voice originating from the top of the alley where she entered.
A man in a long, black coat blocked the entrance, facing her and the two other men. His coat billowed behind him like wings, giving him a sinister appearance. Without saying a word, he strolled forward.
Fear, raw and primal, gripped Katerina at the sight of him. She retreated, her withdrawal delayed by the outstretched gun hitting the nape of her neck. The newcomer stalked closer, and as he did, he pulled out his black steel pocket watch with a gloved hand and checked the time before tucking it away again.
"We have ourselves a predicament."
Katerina wet her dried lips. "W-what do you mean?"
"Your plan. It's unraveling, and you're running out of time. Honestly, Katerina, did you think this through?"
"It's—everything's—T-they don't know. I charmed the human—"
"Sloppy work, I must say. The charm's unraveling as we speak."
Katerina shook her head. "N-no. Impossible." Humans were easy marks. There's no way one could slip out of her control.
"And once Ronin and his team start looking into you, what will they find?" He sounded genuinely curious about her answer.
The man inclined his head. Katerina squinted to see his face. The alley wasn't dark enough to hamper visibility, but he could alter his appearance like her. She'd met him only once before when she sought him for help creating her new persona, and she hadn't seen his face then either.
"Katerina?"
"Nothing. There's nothing to find." She forced aside the thought of the safe under her bed. Of the stolen access card she swiped during their first meeting as insurance. It was the only thing linking her to the Faceless Man's organization.
The Faceless Man nodded. Regarded the two frozen men. "Then the only blotches are you three."
Katerina floundered, stepping forward. "No. This isn't—I can handle this."
The Faceless Man didn't move, yet he appeared nose to nose with Katerina, bent to her eye level. His face was like a smudged painting, all the details in the middle distorted, but his piercing gaze burned into her. In her mind, she pictured a hint of a smile. Despite his rebuke, amusement tinged his voice. Her skin prickled with goosebumps.
"Afraid not."
With his teeth, he removed the glove from his hand.
Katerina's thoughts scattered, finally free from their cage, leaving her hollow. Disoriented. Cornered by her fate.
... you're running out of time.
The Faceless Man moved out of sight, and his magic filled the alley. With the thugs dispatched, he again faced her, rubbing his thumb and index finger together.
"A stingy morsel. Neither had much time left. But alas, all time is money."
Katerina closed her eyes as the Faceless Man's cold fingers touched her cheek.
"Goodbye, Catarina Hallowell. It's only business."
~
The Faceless Man climbed into his vehicle and sighed.
"What now, sir?"
The Faceless Man handed over the cell phones he gathered from the dead men to his tech mage and driver.
"What can we do? It won't be long before Ronin figures out she's not Katerina Kelmor. All these years, operating undisturbed and a silly tantrum screws it to hell." He pinched the bridge of his nose. "Hack her accounts. Liquidate her assets and transfer the proceeds to Dom as compensation."
"Yes, sir."
"Honestly. They're all criminals. Must they be so emotional about everything?" The Faceless Man paused, his attention caught by something shifting up the street. A small fox emerged under a street lamp, sniffing the air. Satisfied it was alone, a woman took the fox's place. He smiled. "Already on the trail, eh?" He chuckled, reclining in the seat. "Let's go."
Inola paused on her way to the alley and turned as if sensing she wasn't alone as the car rolled by. Her eyes moved over her surroundings, not lingering on anything in particular. The Faceless Man moved unseen in the world he controlled from the shadows. Where he'll remain until the time of his choosing.
~~~
Thank you for reading Season 1 of Love and Other Crisis. To read Seasons 2 and 3, join me on Ream. The link's in my bio on the home page. Hope to see you there.