Dreamleaf Blues (The Book Wielder Saga)

by Sean Davies

  “Yes, you wouldn’t mind if we joined you, would you?” Varsara asked softly. “We have a lot of free time tonight, thanks to you, and we just don’t know how to occupy ourselves…” she purred in a voice that radiated pure seductive enticement.

  Genevieve gasped and rolled her eyes as Kaylie worked her magic, using her tongue and fingers expertly, and then took another lungful of blue smoke and let it slip out of her mouth in a climatic sigh of relief. Tanesha was already undressing Varsara, and Genie couldn’t take her eyes off their inviting forms. She fixed her sights intently on Anna and willed the hallucination to disappear, before looking back at the two gorgeous girls at the end of the cell.

  “Sure, fuck it, why not,” Genevieve sighed dejectedly, yet full of desire.

  The remaining scraps of her morality wouldn’t bring her true love back from the dead, after all.

  Chapter 8

  Lingering Doubts

  Her dreams were surprisingly silent, but Genie still awoke with a killer headache and felt as though someone had driven a car over her body repeatedly through the night. She was comfortable on Kaylie’s large bed, but she was incredibly sore in her sensitive areas and when flashes of the night’s debauchery flicked through her mind she sat bolt upright, which made her headache a hundred times worse.

  Tanesha, Kaylie, and Varsara were sleeping soundly in various ungraceful poses, and the bed was littered with assorted sex toys. Genevieve tried to piece together the night’s events as she nursed her aching skull, and knew that it had been her doing. She silently pulled herself off the bed and walked bowlegged to the bathroom. Genevieve knew she needed blood to heal, and her stomach growled loudly as an unsubtle reminder to feed, but she felt dirty and cheap and didn’t want to wake the girls.

  She turned on the shower and stood underneath the water for a long time, mourning the loss of Annabelle and beating herself up about everything that had transpired from the lumber yard onwards. Genevieve stood there for what seemed like an age until Kaylie bounced into the room.

  “Hey, beautiful, you are one talented woman. And I thought I was good!” the Mage beamed cheerfully as she began sharing the water. “How long have you been up?”

  Genevieve shrugged and moved out of the way.

  “Oh, I was afraid of this…” Kaylie began sadly. “I’m sorry, but you were pretty damn convincing last night.”

  “It’s not that,” Genie shook her head. “I found out about my friend Annabelle last night and… she’s dead.”

  “Oh no, I’m so sorry. If we’d known…” Kaylie said guiltily. “We thought you were just cutting loose.”

  Genevieve began crying uncontrollably, and Kaylie wrapped her in a big towel and comforted her kindly as Genie cried on her shoulder. The Mage shushed her, even as Genevieve instinctively latched onto her neck and suckled on her blood until her thirst was sated. Her hunger was gone but the ache from her overwhelming grief remained. Her headache did abate, though, and her physical soreness faded. As she composed herself, Kaylie gathered the clothes she’d had washed from Genevieve’s very first visit to the fort. Genie got dressed in her white t-shirt and black leggings, and borrowed a pair of lacy black underwear from Kaylie. She put her handbag over her shoulder and politely refused Kaylie’s offer to talk about it all, as putting her loss into words made it feel all the more real. The Mage gave her a tight squeeze and a long kiss on the cheek, and Genevieve thanked her for her continuing kindness and support.

  She left the cell quietly as not to wake the other girls, and stood around aimlessly. Genevieve was unsure of where to go and what to do with herself, especially in the day time. Genie looked down towards the enchanted locked door at the far end of the dungeon and a spine-tingling thought formed in the forefront of her mind.

  Seth had told her that the Shadow Circle and Morriganigh had been responsible for Annabelle’s demise, which didn’t seem unusual for the amount of tension building between the gangs, but Genevieve had discovered at the Taynulia MPK outpost that Anna worked for the Circle. So in theory, the Morriganigh were responsible, unless the Shadow Circle were the type of gang to cull their own members – but Genie still felt as though it was all too easy, considering the timing of Seth’s revelation after her success at the lumber mill. She couldn’t help but feel that the Golden Fangs were deliberately pointing her towards their enemies as she was a naturally skilled asset to them, or that they were hiding the fact that they killed Anna. A risky plan formed from her paranoia and Genie left the dungeon to put it into motion.

  Fort Dominia was eerily quiet, and the few people Genie encountered looked either half asleep or extremely hungover after the night’s festivities. Next to no light made it past the black film on the fort’s small windows, and Genie felt as though it was always evening inside the old castle. She could barely remember what the world looked like in the daylight.

  Genevieve timidly entered the library. She remembered that she’d visited Chloe during the evening but couldn’t remember what had transpired, and Genie hoped she hadn’t made a total fool of herself. She couldn’t see Chloe about in the main section, so she peeked around her bedroom door. The young Book Wielder was splayed out on her bed in her reagent- stained clothing, and reeked of the sweet smell of Dreamleaf. Genie left the girl to catch up on her sleep and tried to bury her head in the books around her.

  Most of the old tomes were interesting but far too heavy going for her current state of mind, so Genevieve moved onto a selection of casual reads that she assumed Chloe had brought to the ancient library herself.

  She started with a book about a fictional planet called Terra which became overrun with an aggressively contagious form of alien fauna, but put it down when the female main survivalist character Charlotte began falling in love with her childhood friend Liah. Instead, she read through a short story about twelve people trapped in a paranormal house that forced them to kill each other off, one by one. It was brutal, but it didn’t cause Genevieve’s insides to churn from the pain of remorse.

  When Genevieve was looking for another book, Chloe wandered out of her room rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

  “Genie?” she said in a tired groan. “We’re not working, are we?”

  “No, it’s the daytime,” Genie began. “About last night…”

  “It’s fine,” Chloe said dozily. “At least you didn’t try sleeping with me.”

  Genie laughed and then realised the Book Wielder was being serious. “They don’t…?”

  “They do if they’re drunk enough,” Chloe groaned. “I just turn them around, push them out the door, and remind them there’s a brothel downstairs.”

  Genevieve grimaced. “That’s so gross.”

  “Tell me about it,” the young Book Wielder said curling her lip. “How are you doing, anyway? You know, with your recent… loss,” she said quietly.

  “Coping, just about,” Genie sighed. She couldn’t remember telling Chloe but assumed she must’ve done. “That’s kind of why I’m here, actually. I was wondering about your sleeping potions.”

  Chloe nodded understandingly. “Yeah, I can’t imagine you’re sleeping well.”

  Genie blushed slightly as more images of her night with the girls flickered through her mind, but she quickly shook them off. “They’re not for me,” she whispered. “I need to knock out Seth.”

  Chloe raised her eyebrows. “Why?”

  “I want to take a look past one of the locked doors,” Genevieve explained. “He’s been flirting with me since he turned me, so it shouldn’t be difficult to get him alone and slip him some in a drink. If you don’t mind me taking one?”

  “I don’t mind,” Chloe replied, “but I reckon you’ll need more than one vial’s worth. Maybe two, but I wouldn’t use more than three – but then, he is quite big…”

  Genevieve looked at the redhead expectantly as she worked out the dosage in her head.

  “Stick with two,” Chloe said doubtfully. “If he doesn’t go down try, another half vial; only u
se three if you absolutely have to. He might sleep for way too long and it will look super suspicious.”

  “How long is long, if I mess this up?” Genie asked.

  “He could be out for a couple of days,” Chloe replied dubiously. “Well, someone will cure him but then everyone will know he’s been drugged. The safe dose will only buy you a couple of hours unless he’s really dozy to begin with. Sorry, but it’s way difficult to judge. I only make these for myself and I’m human, and the potions aren’t exactly the best quality.”

  “It’s cool,” Genevieve said, weighing up the risks in her mind. She had to know for sure. “I’ll cross that bridge if it comes to it.”

  Chloe nodded and fetched Genie three small glass bottles of the grey tinted fluid.

  “Are you sure you can’t just kill him instead?” Chloe joked as she handed them over. “It would do us both a favour.”

  “I might. It depends on what I find,” Genevieve replied, deadly serious. “Thanks for these.”

  “No worries,” Chloe smiled. “I’m going for some food if you want to join me? Only in one of the bars downstairs, so you don’t have to worry about being burnt to a crisp.”

  Genevieve thought about it as she stashed the vials away in her handbag. She felt like being alone but concluded that she’d probably feel worse without the distraction.

  “Yeah, okay,” Genie replied with a faint smile.

  “Cool, give me one second to get out of these old rags,” the young Book Wielder said excitedly.

  She jogged into her room and Genevieve wondered how much company the poor girl had in her day-to-day life at the fort.

  Once she was changed, Chloe led Genevieve down to one of the ground floor bars that served food and even catered to the people outside of the gang who were rich enough to enjoy Fort Dominia’s drink, drugs, and dungeon girls.

  The bar was surprisingly busy with hungover Supernaturals digging into huge piles of fried eggs, bacon, sausages, toast, mushrooms, beans, and black pudding. The Golden Fangs dining there greeted Genevieve as a close comrade, and she smiled meekly in response to their greetings as she sat down at a spare table with Chloe.

  “You’re, like, famous now,” the young Book Wielder chuckled. “Since you lopped that dude’s head off.”

  Genie gasped. “I told you about that?!”

  “Uh huh,” Chloe smiled. “You must have been smashed senseless last night! Like I told you when you were trying to stay upright, it’s not like we’re all in one big happy book club or anything.”

  Genevieve sighed sadly. “I just can’t believe I did it…”

  “Well, I guess you wouldn’t be sitting here if you hadn’t,” Chloe said reassuringly.

  Genevieve nodded, acknowledging the fact that she narrowly made it out of the yard alive and certainly wouldn’t have done if she hadn’t defended herself to the fullest. The thought that her victims could’ve been behind Anna’s death alleviated her guilt slightly, and it was far more comforting than the idea that the gang members around her were culpable.

  Chloe whistled loudly to attract the attention of a server and ordered for the two of them. The table was soon stacked with food, but Genie had little appetite. She picked at the greasy fried breakfast and made idle conversation with Chloe, who ended up finishing her portions too.

  When the Book Wielder had to return to her Alchemy work, Genevieve took to the training area, hoping that honing her skills would distract her for a while and pass some time.

  She went to go straight for the throwing knives but instead picked up a pistol. Genevieve went to the range and practiced for hours. Her aim was slowly improving, and she was pleased that she was making some progress at the least.

  “Working on your weaknesses,” Gaius said approvingly. “Good to see.”

  Genie turned to see the smartly dressed Werewolf watching her with a curious glint in his yellow eyes. “I’m getting there, slowly.”

  “I hear you had quite the evening,” he smirked. “Sorry I missed it.”

  “Where were you? Up to no good?” Genie said, putting the gun away.

  “You could say that,” Gaius said in an amused tone. “Scythe filled me in on the mission report before she went back to the restaurant. She was not as impressed by your solo performance as Seth.”

  “I thought I could take them down on my own,” Genevieve lied.

  “No, you thought you could avoid combat all together, didn’t you?” he said, narrowing his sly eyes.

  Genevieve pursed her lips. “Yes,” she admitted plainly.

  “And you won’t be making that mistake again, I trust?” he pressed.

  “No,” Genie replied flatly. “I almost died.”

  “Well, it’s good to hear that you’ve learnt your lesson,” he smiled, “and for what it’s worth, I’m glad you got back in one piece. The plan is working well, although it may take a few more minor skirmishes to smoke the Morriganigh out of hiding once and for all.”

  “I’ll be ready,” she said firmly. In her mind, she added, ‘If I don’t find out the Golden Fangs killed Annabelle on my search tonight.’

  “You’re volunteering for more?” Gaius lifted an eyebrow and left the question lingering, expecting her to elaborate.

  “Seth told me about Annabelle,” Genevieve said bitterly. “That it was either the Shadow Circle or Morriganigh who killed her.”

  “Yes…” He hesitated before continuing. “You’ve had it rough over these few weeks, and it may not seem like it now, but it will get better. I promise. My advice is to use that pain inside of you to power your vengeance. Stick with me, and together we’ll see the rival gangs are brought to ruin for what they did to your friend.”

  “Then what?” Genevieve said airily.

  “By the time the grief passes you’ll be one of the richest, most powerful Supernaturals in Imperia.” Gaius shrugged, “So, I guess you’ll be able to do whatever you want.”

  “What about the knife hanging over my parents, and Anna’s?” she replied coldly.

  Gaius chuckled. “I forgot about that, and from the way Seth’s raving about you, so has he.”

  “So they’re not in danger anymore?” Genie’s spirits lifted ever so slightly higher.

  “I wouldn’t say that,” he smirked evilly. “If you were to do something that truly pissed off the gang then you can expect the harshest retaliation. However, you’ve proven your loyalty, and both Seth and I know you don’t need petty threats as motivation.”

  A horrid realisation blossomed in Genie’s mind. “Anna’s parents think she’s in Tropica.”

  “And they’ll carry on thinking that,” Gaius said firmly, “for the sake of secrecy, not to mention their feelings. Imagine breaking the news that their precious daughter was not only a drug dealer, but that she was killed by a vicious inhuman gang of thugs.”

  Genevieve groaned when she imagined all the different and terrible ways the conversation would play out, and she still didn’t have any hard evidence. “They’ll never know she’s dead…”

  “Isn’t that for the best?” Gaius asked. “They’ll never be forced to suffer the truth as you have.”

  Genie sighed disapprovingly, knowing that it was wrong to keep them in the dark, but she couldn’t think of a better solution either. Instead, she walked over to a weapon rack, pulled out two swords, and tossed one to her mentor.

  “Teach me some new tricks,” she said sternly.

  The Werewolf caught the blade and grinned. “Gladly.”

  They trained for hours and Genevieve picked up some advanced techniques to compliment her incredible speed. Gaius refrained from transforming and instead offered her step-by-step guides, allowing her to practise them on him without any nasty surprises.

  “Fancy a trip to the bar?” Gaius asked as it got late. “I think we’ve made enough progress for one day.”

  “Thanks, but I need to talk with Seth,” she replied, putting her sword back where it came from.

  “Oh? About what?” Gai
us asked with a glint of curiosity in his eyes.

  Genie thought fast and came up with what she hoped was a convincing lie. “Nothing much, I just think I said some pretty embarrassing stuff to him last night. I’d like to know for sure.”

  The sly Werewolf chuckled. “Good luck with that, I doubt Seth remembers himself.”

  “That’s what I’m hoping.” Genevieve beamed with a fake smile and quickly left the training room in search of Seth.

  She eventually found Seth up in the War Room along with two guards, and he was loudly describing his bold plans to dominate the entire criminal underworld on the continent.

  “Once we’re done here we’ll hop over to Beachhead Two and secure a foothold in Tropica!” he roared, causing the guards to cheer and applaud.

  Genevieve did her best to walk slowly and seductively across the room, taking examples from both Tanesha’s and Annabelle’s flirtatious ways, and ran her hands through her brown hair as she swayed her hips. To her annoyance, the three men didn’t notice that she’d entered at all, so she coughed loudly to draw their attention.

  “Genevieve!” Seth said cheerfully. “What brings my fav Book Wielder-slayer to the War Room at this hour?”

  “You, actually,” she replied coyly. “I was hoping we could talk, perhaps over drinks?”

  “Yeah, of course.” Seth gestured to the map table. “Grab a beer and come join us.”

  Genie buried her frustration and fluttered her eyelashes sweetly. “Well, I was thinking more like a private one-to-one kind of thing…”

  “Oh,” Seth said, blinking with surprised. “Oh, definitely!” He clapped the guards on the back. “Sorry boys, duty calls.”

  The guards chuckled boisterously as Seth put his arm around Genevieve and led her away to his private quarters.

  “No Archie or Chaz?” Genie asked. She wanted to know what other high-ranking members of the gang were currently in the fort.