“That happen a lot?” This shit hits hard and fast and though I’m really, really awake I can tell this is going to suck even more later.

“Not so far, but occasionally somebody huffs bug poison.”

“You couldn’t have used smelling salts?”

“I needed to let out some aggression.”

“On me?”

“You were here. You needed to wake up. I figure it was a win-win.” I’m sure there’s a hole in that logic somewhere but I’m not seeing it. I look at my bandaged left hand, and spot the hammer and nails on the floor. I can taste the magic again, the mix of cultures, attitudes, and religions that makes L.A.’s magic stand out from New York, San Francisco, or any other city.

“Thanks,” I say. “Please don’t stab me again. Twice in one lifetime is enough. How’d you find me?”

“I can do all sorts of fancy phone shit without a warrant. I was able to have it tracked.”

“How long was I out?”

“About an hour. It’s a fucking nightmare out there. Massive fires are kicking up all over the place. Police and Sheriff have called a tac alert and everybody’s been pulled off everything but dealing with these fires.”

She helps me to my feet. Not only can I not feel my left hand, I can’t move it. I raise it up so she can see it flopping uselessly to the side.

“Vivian told you I probably broke something and to pump it full of Lidocaine, didn’t she?” That would happen from time to time when we were together. I’d get into a fight I couldn’t punch my way out of. If it wasn’t for her I doubt I’d be able to hold anything.

“Xylocaine,” she says. She holds me steady as I take a few tentative steps. The atropine has me a little wobbly, and there’s something wrong with my leg that’s got me limping. “Other than that, how are you feeling?”

“My heart’s about to explode out of my chest, I don’t even want to think about what my hand looks like. Now that the magic’s back, my tattoos are doing their job and I don’t feel like I’ve been run over by a train quite so much. Could still use some Vicodin.”

“Has it occurred to you that you might have a problem?”

“I have several problems. Just ask Vivian. Right now it’s finding a psychotic arsonist who, unless she’s dead, isn’t done lighting shit on fire.”

“With all the chaos out there she’s going to be hard to find.”