The House of Fire and RainFiremountain Chronicles, #2
by Victoria Lynn Osborne
Publication date: November 15th 2018
Genres: Adult, Fantasy
BLURB
Dave Dobrowski is a detective in Firemountain. Things haven’t been the same in Firemountain since Dinah Steele took down Gleebelix. Now illegal prostitutes are dying in droves. Yet the legal brothel, The House of Fire and Rain, on tribal land is immune to a curse that is killing not only working girls but their clients. Dave and his alchemical partner Jolene Anderson, race to discover why legal girls are protected why illegals are dying and discover there is more than just morality at stake.
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EXCERPT
The medical examiner was still putting bodies in body bags when Dave left the house. What is going on? Is Cinnamon safe? Could he convince her to leave the profession and marry him?
Back at the squad room, the television was on in the corner and the officers were gathered around it. On the screen, in a bright red business suit with a black silk blouse, her long black hair tied up in a bun, Jezebelle addressed the crowd.
“We are saddened and sickened by the deaths of the college students, but the girls at the party were illegal. We have no way to know if they were clean or if they were infected. Here at the House of Fire and Rain, our girls are checked every week. Mandatory condoms and birth control. Weekly cervical checks and routine flushes with holy water ensure that our girls are as clean as possible. We must, as a society, protect these women and their clients. Illegal prostitution doesn’t protect our society. If you don’t believe me that only illegal girls are infected, watch Nevada. Not a single case of AIDS has been connected to a Nevada ranch. Not a single case of AIDS or STD has been connected to our house. I call upon the legislature of Washington to legalize prostitution. Get the girls off the street and into safe, clean, well-managed houses. Do this before the death toll rises.”
The press clamored for more information. She fielded questions.
“Interview her,” Laya told Dave. “Find out what she knows about what is going on. I don’t like it that she is making statements.”
Dave got into his car and drove to the brothel. The trees were bare of leaves and the deep green of the coniferous trees stood in stark contrast to the bare oaks and maples. Winter was coming to western Washington and that meant rain—a lot of it.
He pulled into the parking lot of the brothel. The door to the House was unlocked. The girls who normally lounged in the parlor with silk negligees were not in evidence.
A stunning Nubian woman with chocolate skin and velvet brown eyes greeted him. “What can I do for you, Officer?” She gave his badge a cursory glance.
“I’m here to speak with Jezebelle about the press release.”
“This way, please. We were expecting you.” The scent of musk flowed from her smooth skin and her hips swayed suggestively as she led him down to the madam’s office.
Jezebelle was still in her red suit. She rose from behind the desk and glided to Dave, taking his hand in her warm soft hands.
“I assume you are here about the interview. My attorney warned me you would be coming if I made that announcement.” Jezebelle indicated a rose-colored wingback chair for him to sit in.
“Yes, the sheriff wants to know what you know about these incidents.” Dave took the proffered seat.
“Ah that. In my profession, it helps to know of the occult and what is happening in the hidden world. These spiders, this plague, it is of demonic origins, is it not? Residue of brimstone.”
“How do you know? We never released that detail to the public.”
“People talk, and the smell of rotten eggs was present. A pact has been made between the hormanseph realm and the legal houses that the girls who had legal license would not be infected.”
“And what is in it for you? What do you stand to gain by this bargain?”
“Only the legitimacy of working girls. I am not behind this infection, but it has delivered to me the platform. The working girls need to be protected. They need to feel safe. Our oracle has predicted that this plague will sweep the world before it is curbed. I seek only to lessen the death.”
“Your oracle?”
Jezebelle drew out a scroll from her desk. “I routinely go to an oracle. There is one in Washington. Not all of the state’s occult experts live in Firemountain, you know. This one is out by Coleville. I go out to visit her once a month. She predicted that a plague would be visited upon the world. That working girls would need to be accepted by society or they will die. Thus, when the deaths started in Firemountain, I knew that the time had come. To protect the girls and their clients, I realized we needed to make theirs a socially acceptable practice. Without the acceptance of society, the death toll will be even greater.”
Dave took the readout. It was written in a nice, neat hand, evenly spaced. The script was obviously penned with a fountain pen.
Things will change for the whores
It will arise and change the world
The deaths of the working girls will
Make the deaths of the johns profound
No one will be immune.
Only the acceptance of whores
Only a change in our perception
Will keep the plague in check.
He handed the paper back to Jezebelle. “So who is behind this?”
“I’m not sure. From this note, it appears it is just starting. But I don’t know where it will go.”
“And your new girls? I saw them here last night. Where did they come from?”
“Well, from all over. They are here to learn the ins and outs of managing a brothel.”
“You seem sure that this is the start of something significant.”
“Prostitution is the oldest profession in the world and often looked down upon. Women come to our house with emotional baggage. They come looking for absolution from the abuse they suffered in their childhood homes. They want to escape. Here it is safe. We protect them, pay them, keep them healthy. And you have the temerity to tell me that I shouldn’t cause a panic?” Jezebelle rose to her feet, her black eyes flashing dangerously. “This is the beginning. Society must stop being hypocritical and acknowledge the need for prostitutes. Must accept the fact that these women need to have the same protections that any other person is allowed to have. They need to be free from pimps, and websites, and drugs. Here they are given protection and a sense of purpose. They are neither exploited nor forced to stay because of drugs. Can you say the same about the women in Seattle, or even Olympia? For the most part, the disease-ridden streetwalkers don’t exist in Firemountain because of this house. Only high-end call girls and coeds looking for a quick buck at Shattered Dreams. But what if all those girls had a safe place to stay? What would happen? How much better would our world be if their exploitation was at an end?” Jezebelle took a deep breath.
“No, Detective, I didn’t start the plague, but I will use it to further my agenda. The world needs to stop the exploitation of these women and empower them. Not just in the US, but in all the world.”
“And you think that your brothel is safe? What is to keep it from jumping there?”
“Well, we regularly douche our women in holy water, which is a great deterrent to anything demonic. But more to the point, these women have the protection of our society, which is something that the others do not. Mark my words, Detective, things will get worse.”
Author Info
Victoria Lynn Osborne has always had a passion for telling stories. She wrote her first short story at the age of five and has kept her finger on the artistic impulse of writing. This has taken the form of plays, Dungeons and Dragons, short stories, and now novels.
Her greatest passion is fantasy, especially epic, and urban fantasy. She also loves mysteries. Her book series Jason and Mortyiene mysteries are murder mysteries in a high fantasy setting. Her epic series The Great Wyrm Saga is due out in 2015.
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