Black Magic (Black Records Book 1) Page 20

  Chapter Twenty

  “Alex.”

  The name bounced around my skull. Everything was inky black emptiness. Memory and pain surged to the fore, swimming up from darkness like a free diver racing death to the surface. I’d reached too deep. Risked all and lost everything. As the darkness resolved into light, I wondered what I’d find waiting. God? Charon the Ferryman? Some empty void in which to spend an eternity questioning every decision I’d ever made?

  “Alex, wake up. Can you hear me? You need to come back to me, Alex.”

  Hands gripped my shoulders and shook me gently. I blinked away the haze from my spell, and the shadow hovering above me resolved itself into a familiar face.

  “Chase?” My voice was little more than a hoarse whisper.

  A tear dripped from Chase’s cheek onto my face. He started laughing.

  “You’re alive,” he said. “I can’t fucking believe it. You’re alive.”

  He helped me sit upright. A broken and charred body lay in the sand at the other end of the hexagon. I understood immediately that it was what was left of Nyota, and that I had been the one to do that to her. If I’d had the energy, I probably would have cried. Instead I stared blankly, so thoroughly drained that it was all I could do to stay upright even with Chase’s support.

  “It’s okay,” he said, moving his body to block my view of Nyota’s smoldering remains. “The fight is over. You won. You nearly killed everyone in here, but you won the fight, Alex.”

  Niilo appeared beside us. He handed a glass bottle down to me, bright yellow liquid sloshing within. I shook my head and tried to push it away. I could barely lift my hand, but still I swatted feebly at the bottle.

  “Drink it,” said Niilo. He unstoppered it and crouched beside me, holding it to my lips. “If we wanted you dead, we wouldn’t overcomplicate things by poisoning you.”

  Chase eyed the bottle and then Niilo. “He’s probably telling the truth, Alex. They got one hell of a show out of you, and from how I saw the guys up in the high roller suite react, you were a big hit.”

  The elixir was syrupy and surprisingly sweet. Still, the sugar didn’t mask the cloying herbal aftertaste that choked me and sent me into a coughing fit. I let the glass bottle fall to the sand, and I snatched at the offered bottle of water, gulping greedily to wash away the bitter medicinal aftertaste.

  The effect was almost immediate. Energy surged back into my limbs, and it was only a matter of seconds before I was able to stand up under my own power. I felt as clearheaded as if I’d just knocked back a gallon of caffeine. The potion hadn’t restored my magic, but my body felt better than it had before I’d stepped into the ring. It had even seemed to heal the cut on my lip a little, and I had the impression the bruising around my eye had lightened significantly. Even the acid tang at the back of my throat had faded considerably.

  “If you’ll follow me, I’ll take you to Mr. Eskola for your audience now,” said Niilo.

  I nodded and turned to follow him, wanting to be out of there before any more audience members trickled back to their seats now that the danger had subsided. A pair of vampire mages were already busy renewing the wards around the hexagon, and I had no doubt the next fight would go ahead only slightly behind schedule.

  “What happened at the end there?” I asked Chase as we left the arena.

  “Are you kidding me?” asked Chase. “You fucking exploded is what happened. Well, obviously you didn’t actually explode, but that’s what it looked like at first. This crazy white light shot out of your body, and I only caught glimpse of Nyota flying across the arena before I lost my vision for a few seconds. When I could finally see again, it was chaos in the stands and Nyota was a smoking carcass.”

  I pinched the bridge of my nose and tried to figure out what spell I’d cast. Try as I might, I couldn’t for the life of me remember what I’d done. I knew I’d been about to attempt a suicide spell that would take Nyota with me, but there was no way I could have survived casting a spell with that kind of power. Something altogether different had happened, and I didn’t have the first clue what it had been. As intimidating as magic could be for ordinary people, it’s even more terrifying for those who understand its true potential. That I’d used a force that was as much a part of myself as the blood in my veins to do something so unpredictable was too scary to even think about. Not knowing exactly how I’d killed Nyota made me sick to my stomach, but I didn’t have time to deal with that just then.

  Niilo led us back through the warm-up room, into the hallway, and down a side branch leading away from the direction we’d first entered by. The sweat from my fight was evaporating quickly, and I shivered in the cool air of the hallway. I’d been about to tell Niilo I needed to go back for my hoodie when I felt something soft brush against my arm. Chase had been holding my sweater the entire time, and I felt eternally grateful as I slipped it back on and zipped it up.

  This hallway eventually led to a T intersection, and we turned again, heading deeper into the underground complex. We walked only a short distance before Niilo pushed open a door that brought us to what looked like a miniature subway station.

  “It’ll only be a moment,” he said as he pressed a button on the wall.

  “You can’t be serious,” said Chase when the lights of a subway car brightened one end of the tunnel. “How freaking big is this place?”

  “Club D.O.I. is nearly twice as large as what you’ve seen tonight,” explained Niilo as he gestured for us to board the small train car. The doors closed and we took our seats as the train whisked us forward into the darkness. “These tunnels are part of a private network that covers most of the city. This car, however, is the only one with the security clearance required to access Mr. Eskola’s personal track.”

  A fork appeared in the distance, and sure enough, the track clicked over as we approached. Instead of continuing along the main line, we veered off onto a much smaller secondary tunnel. I’d completely lost my bearings on our journey through D.O.I., but I took a moment to orient myself to the nearest ley line, and I figured we were headed northwards. Since D.O.I. and its storage facility cover were right near the edge of Vancouver Harbor, my best guess was that we were zipping along to the northern part of the city under several cubic miles of seawater that filled the long and narrow stretch of water.

  The train accelerated and began to climb steeply.

  “How far away is this place?” asked Chase.

  “Not long now,” answered Niilo.

  My ears popped as we ascended, and I knew we had to be heading up into the mountains that stood watch over the city. We’d climbed much further than we’d descended in the elevator back at D.O.I., and just as I’d begun to wonder how far back into those mountains Eskola’s home was situated, I saw the light of an approaching station where the car slowed to a smooth stop.

  Once again, we followed Niilo into a long and nondescript tunnel. The walk was much shorter than the one we’d taken to get from the D.O.I. entrance to the station. The tunnel became a service corridor, and when we finally emerged from that, it was into a private home of the sort you’d expect a celebrity to live in.

  Niilo led us down a last hallway and into the large open-concept main floor of the house. Huge windows looked out over a stunning view of the city that sprawled below, validating my theory that we’d traveled a considerable ways onto the North Shore. The twinkling lights of the Lion’s Gate bridge told me we’d come quite a bit west of D.O.I., and even I couldn’t believe Eskola’s private line stretched such a long way.

  A fire crackled in the fireplace, and a man in dark jeans and a half unbuttoned black shirt sat waiting for us in a high-backed leather chair.

  He rose as we approached, and he stepped forward to kiss my hand just as Niilo had when we’d first been introduced. He looked much older up close than I’d guessed him to be when we’d first entered the room. His light hair was shot through with gray, and his face was thoroughly wrinkled with age lines and liver spots. The po
wer in his eyes made the vampire who’d officiated over my fight seem a mere baby in comparison, and I knew immediately that I stood in the presence of one of the most powerful beings in the Western Hemisphere.

  “Your performance tonight was rather spectacular,” he said. He completely ignored Chase, gaze focused solely on me. “I don’t suppose you’d consider fighting for me on a more regular basis? You would, of course, be extremely well compensated for your efforts.”

  “I don’t ever plan to go through anything like that again,” I said.

  “A pity,” said Eskola. “So much potential in you. I hate to see it wasted.”

  “We came here tonight because we need your help. Niilo said…” I turned to look for our escort, but he was already gone. “Niilo said you’d hear my request if I won your little game. I’m here now, and I hope you’ll give me the consideration I’ve earned.”

  Eskola’s eyes narrowed, and he smiled thinly. I could feel him probing me, trying to get a psychic read on my true reason for coming. As drained as my magic reserves were, I could do little to block him out. Before I knew it he was in my head, sifting through my thoughts like they were slides in a Powerpoint presentation.

  “So you believe the Duan Marbhaidh is once again in play,” he said a second later. “What makes you think this is any of my concern?”

  “If you know anything about the Duan Marbhaidh, you know it’s an incredibly powerful artifact capable of great destructive magic,” I said. “The Dark mage who took possession of it is here in the city, and I need the Conclave’s help to stop him before he can use it.”

  “It is doubtful that this supposed Dark mage has managed to locate the lost grimoire,” said Eskola. “Even so, the Conclave has better things to do than to play detective with you and your chunky companion.”

  I didn’t look at Chase, but I was relieved to not hear him snap back at Eskola. If the guy had any sense in his brain, which had already proven iffy, he’d keep his mouth shut. A vampire as old as Eskola could rip Chase’s heart clean out of his chest, keeping him alive long enough to watch as Eskola drained the still pulsing organ of every last drop of blood.

  “How can this not be important to the Conclave?” I asked. “A threat like this affects all of us.”

  “Does it?” asked Eskola.

  He returned to his chair and sat, folding one leg over the other. His smile indicated he was toying with me, and I saw then that he had no intention of offering any help. Niilo had only said that Eskola would grant an audience. No one had promised anything about how seriously I’d be taken.

  “I don’t understand,” I said. “Why won’t you help us?”

  “Do you know what the Amulet of Duan Marbhaidh does?” Eskola waited for me to shake my head before continuing. “No, I didn’t think so. The amulet has the power to destroy non-magical creatures with a simple thought from the wearer. It holds no power over the fae or mages like yourself. Only ungifted sacks of flesh and fat like your friend here need fear such a thing.”

  “But surely you care about the future of humankind, don’t you?” I asked. “What will you feed on if there are no humans left?”

  Eskola smiled, exposing a row of viciously sharp teeth that gleamed red in the firelight. “That is no concern of yours.”

  I’d like to think I’d have been better prepared for what happened next if I’d been at full strength, but the truth of it was that I’d been so floored by his complete lack of concern I doubt I’d have been able to stop him anyway.

  Eskola’s eyes met mine, and I felt him take hold of me before I could shout a warning to Chase. Paralyzed completely, I couldn’t move a muscle save for the beating of my heart and the now rapid inflation and deflation of my lungs as I hyperventilated with panic. Even blinking was difficult, my eyes stinging when my eyelids refused to cooperate with my impulse to open and close them every few seconds.

  The ancient vampire rose from his seat and strolled towards me. When he was close enough for me to smell the cologne he wore to cover the stench of rot clinging to his skin, he sniffed my neck and breathed out a small sigh.

  “Such raw talent,” he said. “I think I’ll take my time with you. It will be worth the wait to let your magic replenish a little.”

  A shout of rage sounded from beside me, and I strained my eyeballs in their sockets to catch a glimpse Chase lunging at Eskola. He didn’t make it more than a step before the vampire flung his hand out, barely connecting with Chase yet sending the guy flying across the room where he slammed into a wall next to the fireplace.

  “He’s feisty,” said Eskola. “I’ll give him that.”

  I heard movement from beyond the edge of my vision, and I could only hear Chase coughing and spitting what I imagined to be blood.

  “Take me,” he said firmly. “Let Alex go, and take me instead. You can feed on me all you want.”

  Eskola laughed and beckoned the boy forward. When Chase was once again within striking distance, he motioned for him to come closer yet. The vampire then reached out and used his fingernail to pierce the skin over my collarbone. A single drop of blood sat poised on the edge of his nail when he drew it away, and he held it up for Chase to see.

  “This single drop of Alex’s blood is more valuable to me than every last ounce in your entire family,” said Eskola. “But please, do tell me again how I should let her go and keep you instead. I do so enjoy a good plea for mercy.”

  Chase merely shook his head, at a complete loss for any rational response to such a monstrous statement. I felt terrible for allowing him to come with me. Once again, an innocent person was going to die because I’d been too weak to do this on my own.

  “There has to be a way,” said Chase, his voice so quiet I worried he was on the verge of tears. “Please. There has to be some kind of an arrangement we can make. I have money. How much for Alex’s life?”

  Instead of laughter, there was only pity in Eskola’s eyes when he frowned at Chase. He opened his mouth to respond, but instead he sniffed at the air around Chase before reaching out to run his finger through the blood dripping from his nose. Eskola licked his finger and raised his eyebrows.

  “My my,” he said. “Aren’t you full of surprises. Your family comes from very old stock. I doubt you’re even aware of the history of your bloodline, are you?”

  Chase spluttered and muttered an incomprehensible response before being shushed by the vampire.

  “Tell you what,” said Eskola, his eyes on me. “I’ll let Alex go if you agree to let me turn you.”

  “Into a vampire?” asked Chase, features twisted in confusion.

  I tried to scream for him not to accept, but no sound escaped. If Eskola had already betrayed me, there was no way he’d honor any agreement he made with Chase. Even if he did actually make the guy into a vampire, the process would mean Chase was effectively dead to the world for hours, if not days. That gave plenty of time for Eskola to do with me as he wished. Once Chase realized how fully he’d been deceived, he’d never be able to fight against his master’s orders. He’d have to live with the consequences of this decision for what could easily be a thousand years or more.

  “Fine,” said Chase. “Whatever you want. Turn me into a bloodsucker, but promise you’ll let Alex go.”

  Eskola turned away from me then, beckoning Chase to follow him to the leather chair. He had Chase kneel beside him, and he took hold of Chase’s trembling hand. Unfastening the buttons at his shirt’s wrist with deliberate slowness, Eskola peeled back the fabric, sliding the sleeve upwards so he could press his thumb into the flesh of Chase’s forearm. I watched in horror as a fat artery swelled purple beneath his skin, bulging outward like a junkie’s eager vein.

  Chase was only seconds away from the excruciatingly painful first stage of being turned into a vampire, and there wasn’t a damn thing I could do about it.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Frozen in place, I watched as Eskola ran his fingernail along Chase’s vein. The old vampire was taunting me.
The Conclave played by its own set of rules, and Eskola clearly considered himself immune from even those few laws governing how his kind were supposed to treat non-vampires. I didn’t know if it was because I’d killed his fighter, or if he was doing this for no other reason than because he felt like it, but the reason didn’t matter. The undeniable result was that Chase was about to join the undead, and I was going to die if I didn’t figure out how to get us both the hell out of there.

  Eskola turned his attention away from me, and I screamed a voiceless protest as his head dove forward, moving in a blur of supernatural speed as he sank his teeth into Chase’s wrist. A look of hurt and panic flashed across Chase’s features, replaced almost immediately by the sort of blissful calm you might imagine a heroin addict feeling upon injection. The first part of the transformation process was a simple feeding, something some humans actually enjoyed on a regular basis, but there was more still to come for Chase. Much of it would be excruciatingly painful. Then it would get worse.

  Tears dripped down my cheeks from being unable to blink normally, and my eyelids suddenly responded by opening and closing a dozen times in rapid succession. Eskola’s attention on Chase had lessened his hold on me somewhat, but it was only enough for me to blink and move my head a little.

  Tapping my mage sight, I explored the spell holding me immobile. Blood red tendrils of magic swirled around me, effectively binding me in place. The spell was so intrusive that it had pushed past my lips, freezing my tongue and giving the distinct impression of someone having stuffed a wad of cotton balls into my mouth. I could see every strand of the spell in my mind’s eye, and I probed it for weaknesses, searching for a sliver of leverage from which to unravel the whole thing.

  Eskola was no baby vampire though. Only a few of his kind were strong enough to bind a mage so completely, and Eskola was proving himself more powerful than I could have imagined. I briefly considered trying to recreate the spell I’d used to open Xander’s lockbox, but I couldn’t see how I’d be able to brute force this spell without vaporizing myself in the process.