Blood Mage

by Logan Jacobs

  Kalista typed in Oragon’s name, and a blank screen popped up. She scrolled down a little, and we could all see there was nothing there. I didn’t need to read Elvish to be able to read a blank page.

  “Nothing,” Ariette said with a sigh.

  “There is something,” Kalista replied as she clicked over to a new screen. “It looks like a fairy with the same name tried to contact the Seelie king about ten years ago. But when he was intercepted by security, he… disappeared?”

  The dwarf paused and clicked to another screen.

  “That’s it,” she continued. “Until he gave you his Hand, he was completely off the grid. Our database isn’t perfect, though, there are holes. It’s all built on things our agents have learned in recon, or information that has been shared with us. We don’t even know if he was good or evil.”

  “He was good,” I said with a sigh. Ariette’s head snapped toward me, and I shrugged. “He tried to contact the king, not kill him, and he gave me his Hand in order to kill the monster. In my book, that means he’s good.”

  Danira nodded and placed a hand on her forehead in thought.

  “Okay,” the leader started. “We have to take this one step at a time. Oragon is dead, and whatever life he may have led isn’t important right now. Whoever we’re up against is smart. They hacked into our system, and they figured out how to make that troll creature. We can’t risk screwing up and letting them get away. Right now, we have to figure out who was in the car. Kalista, can you run a voice recognition test on the recording?”

  Kalista held out her hand for the device, and Ariette passed it over. The dwarf plugged it into a cord connected to the center monitor, and we all watched as the data transferred over. Moments later the room was filled with a loud beep as a match came up.

  A large image of an Unseelie elf filled the screen. He had long black hair that was twisted into a ponytail, and there were tattoos on his neck that said something in Elvish. Beady green eyes stared out from yellowy-blue skin, and the Unseelie’s mouth was pressed into a thin line. He looked angry.

  “Who is that?” I asked the three Fae beside me.

  “Garod Durn,” Kalista said in a small voice. Clearly, this meant something to her. Danira placed a hand on her shoulder.

  I looked over at Ariette and saw the worry etched into her features. Her pointed ears twitched, and she looked back at me.

  “He…” Ariette trailed off as her voice cracked. She cleared her throat and continued. “He killed Kalista’s father. He killed a lot of people, actually.”

  Kalista’s heavy breathing was the only audible thing in the room. Her entire body was tense, and one fist balled itself upon her thigh. Snowy skin trembled with rage as her full pink lips pressed themselves together.

  Danira finally broke the tension to bring us back to the problem at hand.

  “Where is this elf?” she asked with her hand still on Kalista’s shoulder.

  Kalista slammed a button on the keyboard, and the screen in front of me shifted as a big red X appeared over the elf’s snide face.

  “He’s dead,” Kalista said excitedly, but then she frowned. “Wait a second, this doesn’t make sense.” The dwarf’s head bent over the keyboard, and she squinted at the screen.

  “What doesn’t make sense?” Ariette asked to bring Kalista back to the conversation.

  “According to this, Garod Durn died six months ago, but it was his voice on the recording.” Kalista scratched her head as she spoke.

  “Could it be someone else’s voice?” I asked. “Maybe someone who sounds like him?”

  “Nope, not possible,” Kalista replied. “Voices are like fingerprints. No two are ever the exact same, even with identical twins. This program analyzes the specific notes and tones in a voice, the cadence with which they speak, their accent. There is no possible way to have more than one match for a voice. Even a glamour couldn’t beat my software.”

  “Yeah, but whoever this is has already been good enough to hack your security. What makes you think they aren’t good enough to trick the software?” I instantly regretted my question. All three women rounded on me with pissed looks on their faces. “Nevermind, forget I said anything.”

  I backed off as Danira paced the room.

  “So,” she started, one hand on her forehead, “what do we know so far, team?”

  “We’ve never seen anything like that creature before. I don’t think it’s natural.” Ariette leaned back against the wall and raised one foot to rest perpendicular to the ground.

  “And whoever set it loose isn’t too happy about the fact that

  I killed the thing, so they tried to get to the footage,” I added.

  “Whoever did the hack is good,” Kalista grumbled.

  “And the voice that HC and I heard is a dead Unseelie’s voice, but he was definitely in that car,” Ariette said.

  “So maybe,” Danira said as she looked at all of us and quirked the eyebrow over her good eye, “somebody’s trying to make a statement before they make a comeback.”

  “But how?” Kalista said with a slight whine. “He’s dead. There is no way an Unseelie would be able to fake his own death and get away with it. I also don’t think a thug like Durn has the smarts to make anything like that creature, at least not by himself. So what was he doing there? And what does he want to do? Come back and just kill even more people?” Kalista stood from her chair as she spoke and fiddled with the jewelry around her neck. Suddenly, she spun around, threw open the door, and stormed out of the room.

  The door banged shut behind her, and the three of us stared at it in silence.

  “She’ll be okay,” Danira reassured Ariette and me. “Milton, we’re going to need you in tip-top shape for this. Your power display in the street today was extremely advanced, but I can’t trust that you have that much control at all times. We’re going to have to test you and train you, make sure you’re not going to lose control suddenly and rip all the blood out from some poor unsuspecting Seelie. You pass the test, and you’re officially on the team.”

  “And what happens if I fail?” I was almost afraid to ask.

  “Well, I hope your old boss is willing to give you your job back,” Danira replied with a smirk. “Go wait in the control room. I’ll send Ariette to get you in a moment. The grown-ups need to have a discussion.”

  The wink Ariette gave me when Danira finished was enough to get me to comply. I had no idea what these tests would be, but I definitely was in need of a moment alone. I wasn’t used to being surrounded by so much damn estrogen.

  I walked out of the tiny computer room to find that the guild had returned to normal. Fae still rushed around with clipboards and papers, but the panic in the air had dissipated.

  When I reached the corridor on the third floor, the din of the guild members below faded to a calm silence. No one was in the hallway, but two doors before I reached the control room, I heard a soft sniffling coming from behind one of the doors.

  I opened the door slowly and found Kalista huddled on the floor, the only thing in the empty office room. Her arms were wrapped around her knees, her head was down, and she cradled her forehead on the tops of her thighs.

  Her soft sniffles reverberated around the chamber and her shoulders shook with emotion. She did everything she could to keep giant sobs from floating out of the room and into the hallway.

  “Kalista?” I said as I approached her with soft footsteps.

  “What?” The silver-haired beauty raised her head. Her eyes were rimmed with red, and her tiny face was streaked with tears. She took in a shuddery breath and opened those plump pink lips, but no words came out. Instead, her voice broke in a strangled cry, and then she thrust her head back down between her knees in frustration.

  “I don’t mean to interrupt, but--”

  “Then why are you here?” she growled.

  “Sorry, I heard you crying and figured you might want some company.”

  “I just met you, Milton,” she sighed.
>
  “Yeah,” I said with a wince. “I’ll go. Sor--”

  “No,” she interrupted me. “You can stay. If you want.”

  “Oh, okay,” I said, but she laid her head down on her arms again and let out a shuddering breath.

  For half a minute I didn’t know exactly what to say, but I realized she wouldn’t have hinted I was allowed to stay if she didn’t really want me to.

  “I’m really sorry about your father,” I said as I sat down next to her. “My parents are dead, too.”

  “Did you ever know them?” she asked in a muffled voice.

  “No, I didn’t,” I replied.

  “Then it’s not the same,” she stated and lifted her head to meet my eyes. “My dad was there. He raised me. He and my mom were happy together… and then that murderous man killed him just because he wanted to because he didn’t like my dad. Were your parents murdered because someone didn’t like them?”

  “No, they weren’t,” I said softly. “They were killed by a drunk driver.”

  “Then it’s not the same,” Kalista repeated, and her voice broke again, “but thank you for trying to understand. It's sweet.”

  She leaned her head back against the wall and took three deep breaths. I could tell she counted each one out because her lips moved wordlessly with each inhale and exhale.

  The hacker was beautiful like this. Her long lashes were thicker and darker, and they framed her eyes in a way that made the violet stand out even more. Freckles darkened against pale skin, and her lips were redder and fuller than before. As she breathed, her breasts bounced up and down and strained to be released from her brown top.

  Kalista’s head rolled toward me, and she caught on to my eye line.

  “Like what you see?” she joked as some of her snarky personality returned.

  “You look beautiful,” I breathed out. I couldn’t help it.

  The dwarf’s pale hand reached up to wipe a tear from her face, and then she reached over and mussed up her hair.

  “I guess I should cry all the time then,” she whispered as she cracked a small smile.

  Her violet eyes met mine, and she shifted her body closer to me. My knee touched her thigh, and then I reached out a hand to wipe another stray tear from her chin. Kalista’s eyelids lowered at the contact, and she slowly drew her bottom lip between her teeth.

  “You always look beautiful,” I assured her.

  “You just met me,” she whispered again.

  “So?” My hand trailed down her chin to her neck, and I reveled in the feeling of her soft and smooth skin.

  “There is something strange about you, Milton.” She tilted her head slightly to give my hand more room to roam, and her eyes focused on my lips.

  “Yeah?” I whispered.

  “Yeah.” She sighed as she closed her eyes for a moment. “Something… seductive and dark and powerful. Maybe you got more than the Blood Hand from the dead Unseelie?”

  “I don’t feel any different though,” I said, even though it was a bit of a lie. While the old me wasn’t bad with women at all, I could almost feel the increased attraction the women around me were feeling, the way they couldn’t quite pull their eyes away from me.

  Fae skin felt so different from human skin. A woman could have the softest, most well taken care of skin, and it would feel like old worn out leather compared to the skin of the Fae. It was as if Kalista’s skin had been formed from porcelain.

  In a flash, Kalista closed the distance between our lips. My tongue slipped inside her mouth as she swung her tiny frame over my body. Her knees landed on either side of my hips, and one of her hands went to my torso and pressed me back against the marble wall.

  The warmth from her hand distracted me as she left my mouth to kiss along my jawline. Her soft lips tickled the five o’clock shadow at the base of my jaw. The hand on my torso slid gently underneath my shirt, and nimble fingers brushed along my skin.

  The energy in my cells began to vibrate, and heat rushed between my thighs. I almost couldn’t believe what was happening. I had never touched a Fae before, much less started a heated make-out session with one, and I realized how much sexiness I’d been missing out on for the last twenty-four years of my life.

  Her body slid even closer to mine, and I slipped my hand under her shirt to caress her toned abs. Slowly, I moved my fingers further upwards as her mouth returned to mine. I brushed my fingertips along the soft skin of her breasts, and she let out a soft exhale to let me know I had hit just the right spot.

  The hand that was on my chest suddenly slipped much further downward, to the tops of my cargo pants. Soft lips pulled back for a moment, and I saw her violet eyes search mine for permission.

  “Yeah, go,” I said even as I wondered at how fast we were moving.

  My fingers began to follow the same pattern along Kalista’s body, but before we could get any further, there was a sound from back in the doorway.

  Kalista jumped back, and I pulled my shirt back down as footsteps came toward us.

  I looked up to see Ekador’s gray eyes above us, and the thinness of his lips told me he hid a smile.

  Kalista adjusted her shirt and hair and didn’t meet the old wizard’s eyes. The hint of red that spread down her neck told me she was as embarrassed as I was at being caught.

  “Ariette is looking for you two,” the wizard said with a laugh.

  “Oh, uh, thanks for telling us. We’ll be right there,” I managed to stutter out.

  “She’s in the control room,” Ekador stated and turned to make his way out of the empty chamber. “Where you were supposed to be, apparently.”

  “We’ll be right there,” Kalista assured him in her calmest voice.

  “Oh, and I don’t think there’s any time for you two to finish what you started just so you know,” he added over his shoulder as he exited the room.

  “Well,” Kalista laughed, “I can safely say that out of all the embarrassing things to have happened to me at work, this easily makes the top ten.”

  “Top ten?” I asked in shock. “What else could you have done that was more embarrassing than getting caught by an old wizard when you’re seconds away from fucking the newest member of the team?”

  Kalista looked over at me, amused.

  “Story for another time, Milton.” She winked playfully. “If we ever get to finish what we started, I’ll tell you. Now, come on.”

  The hacker made her way out of the room, and I followed with a shake of my head. The heat between my thighs loathed me for cutting off what would have been a very fun time. I just promised myself we would finish that soon.

  We entered the control room to find Ariette in front of the computers. She took in our flushed faces and mussed up clothing, and then she elegantly hid a snicker behind her hand.

  “Did you two have a good chat?” the blonde elf asked as her eyes drifted down my chest and to my crotch.

  “Yep, pretty good,” Kalista retorted with a smile, and I tried to keep my blush from my cheeks.

  “Oh?” Ariette asked.

  “Well, you know,” Kalista said as she gave me a smoldering look. “Or, hopefully, you’ll find out soon.”

  “Hmmm,” Ariette hummed as she glanced at me again. “Hopefully I will.”

  “Wait, what?” I asked as I glanced at both of the women.

  “What?” Kalista shrugged.

  “Are you both talking about--”

  “Let’s go, HC, we’ve got to get you tested,” Ariette interrupted as she clapped her hand on my back. “Hopefully, you didn’t use up all of your energy.” Her hips waggled playfully as she exited the control room, and Kalista winked at me before she followed suit.

  Electricity shot through my body as I congratulated myself. Clearly, I was on a team with two gorgeous, sexy women that both seemed interested in me.

  And life was pretty fucking awesome.

  Chapter 5

  Ariette led the way through a different part of the guild headquarters. I took my time wi
th the walk so I could admire the architecture. We wound our way past huge sculptures of important looking Fae and past twisted columns made out of sparkling diamond.

  “Wow, this place is like a beautiful maze,” I breathed as I watched my reflection glisten in the pearl walls. “It’s so cool.”

  I wasn’t even aware that I had spoken aloud until Kalista paused and looked back at me.

  “Do you want to see something actually cool?” the dwarf asked with a hint of mischief in her eyes.

  “Kal, I don’t think so,” Ariette responded hesitantly, “we’ve got so much to do.” She clearly knew what Kalista was thinking, and my curiosity was piqued.

  “Come on, Ari!” the dwarf fired back sweetly. “Don’t you think our newest team member deserves the whole tour? Besides, it’ll take like five minutes, and it’s not like he ever really does anything.”

  Ariette quirked an eyebrow as she considered Kalista’s request.

  “Oh, come on, I want to know!” I begged as I threw my most charming smile at the statuesque elf. Her resolve broke, and she rolled her eyes with a nod.

  “Yes!” Kalista exclaimed before she ran off down a hall to our right. Ariette and I had to hurry to catch up with her.

  As we got further into the building, we began to descend slowly. The floor was tilted a few degrees downward, and it brought us into the cold, damp earth. Things were darker down here and torches lighted the way instead of artificial light. We passed a room that looked suspiciously like a cell, and a roar cried out from its depths. I stopped in front of the bars, which were made out of dull iron, to look inside.

  It wasn’t even a room. The bars separated me from a huge hole. It must have been as wide across as a football field, and much, much deeper. The roar came again. It emanated from the depths of the pit, but I couldn’t see to the bottom.

  “What is that?” I asked with wide eyes as I glanced at Kalista.

  “That is one of the Seelie’s best-kept secrets,” the dwarf replied with a grin, “which you’re now privy too since you’re on our team. He isn’t really talkative but--”

  Suddenly, there was a flash of orange-red light, and a wave of searing heat blasted my face. I didn’t step back, though, because what came screaming out of the pit was a sight I thought I’d never see.