Hells Magic (The Armistice Book 1)

by Leslie Vatenar

  “You seem to need company. I can fix that.”

  With his perverted smile and his horrible breath, it was hard not to vomit my last meal, a meal I ate the night before, just before the attack.

  “Oh, I’d be happy to keep you company, if you like a-hundred-and-seventy-year-old women.”

  At once, he lost his smile. “You’re lying.”

  I showed him my face; that of an old woman wrinkled and gnawed by old age. He took a step backward, shocked. I smiled at his expression of pure disgust before rushing to the exit. Some mages used their magic to mask their old age or to lengthen their days on Earth, but not me. At twenty, my youth was fully flourishing. The face I’d shown him was an illusion created from scratch.

  Two more other bars like this, a few more prayers, and that should do it. My thoughts came back to the young waiter who was looking at me, intrigued. What if it was Jayden Rik?

  How was I supposed to know? I must say it, facing death while trying to give me instructions was quite tricky for Alice. I couldn’t blame her for having trouble giving me Jayden’s resume.

  After leaving Higher Blood, I felt ready for anything and confidant to enter Warriors’ Cries. Well, no, I wasn’t ready. Higher Blood had the worst necromancers in town, but Warriors’ Cries had a suitable name.

  There was a war in this bar. When I arrived, a shapeshifter in his bear form was fighting with another shapeshifter in his snake form. I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw the fight. The other members of the bar applauded, some shouted, “Snake,” and others, “Bear.”

  Even the waiters shouted their favorites, fists raised, smiles on their faces. The screams rose, the fight became more and more violent. The snake had wrapped itself around the bear’s neck and bit it ferociously on the head as the bear, on its knees, screamed in pain.

  I approached the bar. A bartender handed me a glass already filled, all smiles and excited by the fight that was raging.

  “A tequila sunrise for the lady, I bet. Fresh and exotic. Just like you.” He winked before focusing again on the fight.

  “Thanks, but, actually… I’m looking for someone. Jayden Rik? Do you know anything about him?”

  “Never heard of him, sweetheart. Enjoy the fight and your drink.”

  His jaguar essence floated in the surrounding air. It was normal for the fight to excite him so much. The jaguar men often had an aggressive and competitive nature. He seemed young. His blue T-shirt highlighted his slender but muscular body. He was cute if I looked carefully. He didn’t seem at all aggressive at first, not until his jaguar side came back to the surface.

  “I need you to pass on the word that a young woman named Katy is looking for him. And let you be on the lookout if anyone mentions his name.”

  “Nothing is free in life. I have other things to do.”

  “Here.” I gave him the money and my number. “Call me if you hear anything.”

  “All right, ma’am,” he said with a delighted smile and a wink that would melt any woman’s heart.

  I looked at the glass he had laid on the counter for me. It was tempting, but, like him, I had other things to do. I’d be back when I didn’t have to carry the weight of the world on my shoulders. I left the counter before being savagely shoved by a woman. The last fight had ended and the bar’s other waiters were already beginning to clean the bear’s blood on the ground.

  “Do you have a problem?” the woman shouted. She had a slender and muscular body, a wrinkled face and arms tattooed with tigresses in all the positions possible—a lying tigress, a grunting tigress, a tigress jumping to attack and all that only on her arms.

  She approached me, her fists clenched.

  “No, I just want to go home.”

  She was blocking my way, and the other people at the bar seemed to get ready for another fight. I didn’t have time for that. Anger was beginning to take hold of me.

  “I think you have a problem since you bumped into me.”

  “For a cat, you seem stupid and blind, since you were the one who shoved me.”

  I realized my mistake the second after I finished my sentence. I’d done everything to annoy her. This young woman wore tattoos of tigresses all over her body to show her pride in being a tigress woman and I’d just insulted her by calling her a cat. Blind and stupid became compliments next to it. I’d let my anger get the better of me when I just wanted to get out of that hole.

  The punch went off so fast that I didn’t see it coming. I was thrown a few meters away. I crashed into a wall that stopped my gliding flight. The shock caused a striking pain in my back and I screamed. Immediately, I used my power to heal myself. The woman was returning to the attack.

  The other shapeshifters’ screams of excitement increased in intensity in the face of the apparent battle. She grabbed me by the neck before smashing my head against the wall behind me. I struggled to come to my senses. The pain was unbearable; her hands strangled me and made the simplest task of breathing the most difficult thing to do now.

  “Don’t start a fight you can’t win,” she whispered in my ear.

  I could hardly hear the screams, my vision was blurry and I could barely feel the pressure of her fingers around my neck. My power continued to take effect, gradually healing me. Without it, I was sure that I’d be nothing more than a lifeless body on the ground.

  Shapeshifters were known for their superhuman strength, and I’d bet my head had left a beautiful hole in the wall. I felt slightly better thanks to my power. I still couldn’t breathe, but at least I could finally move a finger. I stopped the healing process and attacked.

  A bolt of pure energy left my hands and struck the woman in the chest. She was thrown a few meters away but soon got up. I channeled my powers. The young woman turned into a full tigress faster than I would have finished my glass of tequila sunrise and ran toward me.

  We both fell to the ground, but before she sank her fangs into my neck, I released a blast of energy. This time, the intensity had tripled. She was hurled into the air and hit the ceiling before falling to the ground with a thud.

  All the screams stopped. They all looked at the limp body of the tigress still in her animal form. She wasn’t dead, just stunned. Shapeshifters were nowhere near as easy to kill. I got up and rushed to the exit before one shapeshifter decided to avenge their friend.

  I didn’t stop running until I found a taxi to take me to Post-War. My back was hurting, I was still bleeding from the head wound and I wobbled. But I had to hold on. The taxi driver threw me a handkerchief.

  “No blood on my seats,” he shouted.

  I took the handkerchief to wipe off the blood flowing down my face. That driver was a human. He seemed relatively calm about taking a woman covered in blood in his taxi. A few minutes after we left, he gazed at me in the rearview mirror.

  “From what I see, your last visit to one of these dangerous neighborhoods wasn’t a romantic walk.”

  “No, not at all.”

  “And you ask me to take you to Post-War. Violence has no virtues. You should run away from bars like these. Men of the worst kind hang out there,” he said darkly, his voice low as if it were a crime to admit it.

  “I’ll be more careful,” I said with a false smile.

  Some humans were aware that supernatural beings existed, often because one of us married one of them. As a result, they agreed to keep it a secret. It was part of the terms of the marriage. Others suspected with no actual evidence.

  In Mayi, all factions mixed up and humans remained a majority, but we knew how to keep a low profile. The Order ensured it. Each faction minded their own business. The government managed humans; the Order managed supernaturals. One was never to get involved in the problems of others. We had a peace agreement, but mutual aid was far from the norm all the time. That is why, as the only survivor of the Armistice attack, it was up to me to find Jayden.

  Spencer Vace and his shapeshifters, Clinton Bak and other necromance
rs were present during the attack, but they had to protect their own. Unfortunately, I had no news from them. Alice had to protect her people, but this task ultimately proved impossible.

  The taxi dropped me off in front of Post-War before speeding away. This time I felt the magic of mages. I was relieved. There were people like me in this bar. I entered. I soon became disillusioned.

  What I saw took my breath away; the horror of what my kind was doing nailed me to the spot. Each mage held a human or several in their arms, and they kissed. Languorous, wild kisses. Humans groaned with happiness, but this feeling of fullness they experienced would be short-lived.

  The mages were draining them of their vital energy to increase their power. The smiling humans were oblivious that they were losing precious days of their lives. They were giving away their energy, their life force, their youth to these mages.

  The bar had black sofas and only a red ambient light allowed me to see the acts that were committed here. It wasn’t allowed. Strictly forbidden by our laws.

  Some had moved on to more subjective acts than just kissing, as sex was known to help energy transfer. The sexual pleasure shared between humans and mages embellished the magical act.

  Without further delay, I walked to the bar. I repeated my speech and went out after dropping off the wad and my number. Jayden was still unknown.

  I returned to the hotel, horrified by everything I had seen. The receptionist, Linda, gave me a welcoming smile before she gazed upon me and noticed my state. But I didn’t stop. I went back to my room. I closed the door. I went into the bathroom, and I washed all the stains to which I’d been exposed today.

  The world differed from the one I was living at the kingdom of mages and what I was seeing at the Armistice. Sometimes the Armistice welcomed some shapeshifters and necromancers seeking refuge far from their own. Mages were arrogant and reckless but straight and thoughtful. Shapeshifters were impulsive and aggressive but willing to sacrifice themselves for their families, and they were righteous. Necromancers were violent and terrifying but determined and loyal. Today, I saw their flaws multiplied by a thousand and their qualities absent.

  I heard a knock on my door and when I opened it, I found myself face-to-face with Linda, who considered me with a worried look.

  “I came to see if everything was okay. I mean… what do I say? Of course, you’re not okay. Your condition was deplorable when you arrived. But it was me who led you to these bars. I feel a little bad. Did you find your man?”

  “No. But I talked to the bartenders. For now, I’m waiting.”

  “Okay. Do you want something? I can call the room service…” She did a full scan of my body with her eyes. “Or the hospital?”

  I had showered and my wounds were almost healed. “No, I’m fine, thank you.”

  “Okay, Okay. I’ll let you rest. If you want anything, call me,” she said before she left.

  I looked at my phone. No calls. I finally let my thoughts overwhelm me, confronting me with the gravity of the situation. I’d used my powers against the shapeshifter, which meant the Hells soldiers weren’t far away. They must have spotted me. I had to find Jayden, and faster than that. One more day was a day when Craid had the power to tyrannize whoever he wanted. Or another day when mages were preparing to fight back and start a war they couldn’t win.

  I was still thinking about the bartender, the necromancer who seemed intrigued. He seemed to know something. Against my will, or rather against my nature, I decided to go back to the first bar to talk to him, just to be sure. It took all the world’s will to do it. These bars had been a terrible experience.

  ***

  “Are you closed?” I asked Liam, the necromancer at the first bar who had seemed intrigued.

  Fortunately, he was still in the bar when I came back. He was the only employee left. He had short black hair and captivating green eyes. His necromancer’s magic was strong. It emanated from him and surrounded me like a snake. Of all the magics, that of the necromancers was by far the most terrifying.

  “Tonight, yes.”

  “Um… OK. It won’t be long. I just have one question. Do you know Jayden Rik?”

  “I know a Jayden Rik.”

  I hope it’s the Jayden I’m looking for.

  “Like everyone else. Such an effective criminal always makes a name for himself,” he added.

  I hope it’s NOT the Jayden I’m looking for.

  “A criminal?”

  He crossed his muscular arms without taking his eyes off me. He didn’t seem as threatening as the necromancers I’d met earlier, but I didn’t let my guard down.

  “Why are you looking for him? Who are you?”

  Jayden couldn’t be a criminal. How could a criminal be our only hope?

  “I’ll only speak to him.”

  This sentence will remain in my annals, for it was the worst thing I could have said. This sentence caused my loss.

  CHAPTER 4

  I woke up with the most painful headache of my life. I was sitting in a chair. My head was lolling to my side. My vision cleared, and I saw a man’s back. I was slowly coming round.

  What happened?

  The bar, Liam way too fast for his own health, a blow to the head, nothingness.

  “One hundred. It’s a hundred thousand dollars or nothing,” the man said over the phone.

  He turned with a look of surprise on his face. He was probably in his thirties, tall and thin. He approached me, forced to bend over so we could be face-to-face.

  “I wasn’t expecting you so soon,” he said with an icy smile.

  My hands were tied behind my back, and this man stank of black magic. I was in trouble. I took my chance right away, taking advantage of his proximity to throw my foot between his legs.

  He cried in pain, holding his genitals before the rage took over the pain, and, in a sudden motion, he threw himself at me, his palms open and his hands wide enough to grab my neck.

  I threw myself back. My back and my head smashed on the ground. The momentum he’d taken brought him with me into my fall.

  I ignored my pain and my healing power helped me regain my senses more quickly. I got up and ran to the door, but the man grabbed me by the hair and sent me to the ground.

  All my body’s weight had fallen on my tied hands and I added one more pain to the list.

  He spread his legs and straddled me. I saw red. I used my magical energy to cut my ties and tried to push him away with an energy blast, placing both my hands in front of me to direct the attack right on him. But nothing happened. I tried again with all the magic in me. Still nothing.

  “Your little magic tricks don’t work on me,” he said with a vicious smile. “But you did try to attack me. What do you think if I return the favor?”

  His hand rose and lodged in my chest. I was about to scream, but nothing came out. The pain was so intense that my cry took refuge in my throat. I felt his hand in my bowels, ready to collect my organs, while I was still alive. My body reflexively tensed, which increased the pain.

  “What are you doing here? Why are you looking for Jayden?”

  He stopped his attack, and my body relaxed. I took several painful breaths, calling my healing magic at the same time. I was breathing slowly, I felt like my heart and lungs were idling. I couldn’t move any muscle, I could only blink and call a healing power that seemed overwhelmed by the events.

  “Answer me,” he shouted, shaking me.

  His gaze swept over my numb body. “Pretty. I have clients who would pay dearly for all this.” His hands slid under my shirt.

  I realized that I no longer had my coat, and I felt too exposed with my simple cotton T-shirt.

  I noticed a painting hanging on the wall behind him, near the door. I used a force field to propel it toward the disgusting man in front of me. It struck him with surprising force. The painting frame broke into a thousand pieces of glass as the man fell beside me, face down. I got up and ran to
the door. But before I could open it, it opened itself.

  A man as tall as the previous one, but more muscular, appeared in front of me. I backed off.

  His magic. His magic took me by surprise. More powerful than anything I’d felt so far. His icy blue eyes promised a thousand and one sufferings to all who would stand in his way.

  He closed the door behind him. A few strands of his brown hair fell across his forehead and highlighted the youth of a man who radiated authority, terror, and coldness. All my blood fell to my legs because I had to run and get out of there.

  His gaze swept from me to the man who was getting up with difficulty. I didn’t wait for him to do that. I launched a powerful force field, attacking the hulk in front of me. He deflected the blow with a wave of his hand.

  No… He was immune to my powers too? What the hell? I could feel the panic building inside me. One of them had threatened to make me a prostitute. If I couldn’t find a way out of here and fast, it would be the end.

  I had to fight, even if I knew I couldn’t win. I kicked him in the stomach to distract him while I used a fresh force field to bring the glass debris from the frame of the painting, which had been my best friend so far. He pushed my foot away and stooped, avoiding the pieces of glass flying in his direction.

  With panic as my only companion, I turned to flee the man in front of me. There was no other exit. If I could get him away from that door, I had a chance. However, faster than I had time to blink, his hand snaked around my waist and he pulled me firmly against his torso. I wiggled and kicked, punched, but nothing helped. He was rock-solid.

  “If you want to lose a limb, go on like this,” he whispered dryly in my ear.

  “If you don’t let go of me, it’s your most precious one that I will snatch.”

  I realized what I’d just said. Anger was definitely my worst enemy. I could be in trouble, but it wasn’t enough, I had to dig my own grave too. His arm tightened around my waist, and I stopped struggling. I closed my eyes, waiting for the ultimate punishment. But nothing came.