Blood Mage (Dark Impulse Book 1)

by Edmund Hughes

  Jack glanced over at wine bottles sitting on the floor.

  “Yeah,” he said. “At least for now.”

  CHAPTER 37

  Jack put on his grandfather’s duster and followed Katie downstairs. He made a quick trip down to the basement, grabbing a flask he’d spotted in Peter’s desk and filling it from a bottle of aged and probably unimaginably expensive bottle of whiskey.

  Ryoko was awake, but she didn’t ask any questions as they headed out to Katie’s car. Jack had mostly numbed out the symptoms of his bloodthirst with the alcohol, though the tradeoff left him slurring his words and occasionally tripping over his own feet.

  “Where are we going?” he asked, as Katie pulled out of the driveway.

  “To the grocery store,” said Katie.

  “The… grocery store?” asked Jack. “I figured we’d be going on some kind of weird scavenger hunt or something.”

  “Nope,” said Katie. “The reality of alchemy is a lot more mundane than most people realize. We will need at least one ingredient that can’t be bought in a store, but the bulk of what I use for the anti-enthrallment potion is pretty common.”

  Katie drove fast, and the streets were mostly empty at night. Lesser Town’s main grocery store was a fairly large building on the western edge of town. Katie slowed the car down as it became visible ahead of them, pulling to a stop in the parking lot of a different building.

  “It’s closed until the morning,” she said. “We’ll have to sneak in. Any chance you can get the door open?”

  “It shouldn’t be too hard, but it will mean using my blood magic,” said Jack. He pulled out the flask and took a small sip, wincing at how strong the whiskey was.

  “You’re going to end up turning into an alcoholic if you start relying on that as a coping mechanism,” said Katie.

  “I’d rather be addicted to alcohol than blood,” he said.

  “You’ll end up addicted to both if you aren’t careful.”

  She shot him a look, and Jack put the flask away. He stumbled a little as he stepped out of the car. His body felt a lot lighter than he was used to, and he felt a dopey smile spread across his face as he considered the ridiculousness of his current circumstances.

  The nearby area was empty and lacking in street lights to banish the darkness. Katie walked in front of Jack, sneaking from tree to tree and staying crouched. Jack tried and failed to imitate what she was doing, eventually resorting to walking quietly and trying not to stare at her butt. He’d forgotten how amazing she looked in leather.

  “All right,” whispered Katie. “That’s the back door. Use your magic to get us in.”

  “You’re so bossy sometimes,” said Jack. “Has anyone ever told you that before?”

  “You’re fucking drunk,” said Katie. “I think you need someone to boss you around right now. Now go.”

  Jack smiled at her, unable to feel properly offended. He glanced around before crossing the open ground to the back door. After waiting for a beat, he cast Spectral Lockpick, sliding the dark, dexterous extra finger into the door handle and playing with the tumbler until everything clicked into place. He opened the door and signaled to Katie, who hurried over to join him.

  The lights were off, leaving the mostly windowless grocery store in total darkness. Katie had a small flashlight with her to compensate for her lack of night vision. She flicked it on and waved it toward the nearest aisle.

  “Can you see well enough to manage on your own?” she asked.

  “Yeah,” said Jack.

  “Then let’s split up, so we can be quick about this,” she said. “I’ll head to the supplement aisle. You head to the fresh produce.”

  “What am I looking for?” asked Jack.

  “A pomegranate,” said Katie. “This store usually has them in stock. They’re crazy expensive, but I guess that doesn’t really matter tonight, does it?”

  She sounded a little guilty, and Jack couldn’t help but chuckle. Breaking and entering was apparently within her ability to justify morally, but stealing an expensive fruit? Now that was crossing the line.

  The grocery store had an eerie, silent ambience. Jack headed for the back, where he could faintly make out the soft hum of the refrigerators. He found the produce section easily enough, but it took him longer to locate the pomegranates. There were only two left, and he picked the riper-looking one, though he wasn’t sure that it mattered.

  He headed in the direction he’d left Katie and then paused. There was a new sound in the store, coming from near the front. Footsteps, and more than one set of them. Jack swore under his breath and dropped into a crouch.

  He had to stifle his first few impulses, which were primed more by aggressive drunkenness than logic or reason. A pair of figures had entered the grocery store and were going from aisle to aisle. One of them had a flashlight that was more powerful than the one Katie had used before. Jack suspected that they’d accidentally triggered a silent alarm on the way in.

  Someone grabbed his shoulder, and he spun around, tensing up. Katie was there, finger pressed to her lips, commanding him to stay silent.

  “We have to hide,” she whispered. “Bruce and the sheriff are here.”

  “We can go out through the back,” said Jack.

  “No!” Katie grabbed his arm. “They’ll have parked one of their cars with a view of that door. They’d be able to recognize us from the dashcam footage.”

  The footsteps were coming closer. Katie held on tight to Jack’s arm as they peered down the aisles nearest to them. Bruce and the sheriff had split up and were slowly closing in on their position. More out of accident than intention, they’d managed to box Jack and Katie in.

  There was a single door leading to a storage hallway running through the back of the store. Jack and Katie slipped into it, lacking any other option for escape. It would be an easy area to search, and though large pallets were tightly packed into the end of the hallway, there wasn’t anywhere obvious for them to hide.

  Or was there? Jack looked up, realizing that the hallway did leave them with an interesting option. He reached his arms out to either side, managing to press his palms against the sides of the narrow corridor.

  “We can climb up,” he whispered. “Hide above them. They won’t think to look straight up.”

  Katie nodded, and then tried it herself. She didn’t quite have the arm span to pull it off. She tried doing a similar maneuver using both feet and both arms, but it wouldn’t let her make upward progress.

  “I’m not tall enough!” she hissed. “We need to think of something! Bruce can’t find me here.”

  “I can carry you,” said Jack. “Climb onto my back.”

  Katie hesitated for a moment, and then wrapped her arms around Jack’s neck and encircled his waist with her legs. Her weight wasn’t an issue for his strength, but the way it threw off his center of gravity proved a challenge for him in his inebriated state. He swayed for a moment, trying to ignore Katie’s amazing scent, and the way her breasts were pressing into his shoulder blades.

  “Hurry the fuck up!” hissed Katie.

  “Your bossiness is not helping things,” he replied.

  Jack started climbing, making slow, but steady progress upward. He quickly discovered that the easiest way to do it with Katie on his back was to orient himself horizontally, so that his chest and front side was facing the floor. It kept Katie’s weight from tipping him at an angle and reduced his task to keeping consistent friction between his palms and shoes and the wall.

  He was nearly up to the ceiling when the door to the hallway opened, and the flashlight shone in. Jack felt Katie inhaling sharply as Bruce entered the hallway, sweeping the beam of his flashlight back and forth.

  “If you’re in here, just give up,” said Bruce. “We aren’t interested in spending all night searching. Give up now, and we’ll go easy on you.”

  Jack felt the muscles in his arms burning as he strived to keep himself and Katie held perfectly still. His vampiric strengt
h and endurance didn’t seem to have much bearing on the situation. He could feel his palms starting to get sweaty and knew that it would only be a matter of time before they both fell.

  Bruce waited a couple of seconds. He made a noise, turned in a complete circle, and then took another step forward. Jack could feel his hold giving away. What would it mean for both him and Katie to be caught trespassing together by her fiancé? It would complicate things for her, and also for him, as Bruce would finally have an excuse to throw him in jail for at least a night.

  “Bruce?” The sheriff’s voice came from the main grocery area. “Come on. I think it was a false alarm.”

  “Yeah, me too,” said Bruce. “What a waste of time. I could have been home getting it on with the wife if it wasn’t for this shit.”

  Fiancée, Jack almost whispered. He resisted the urge to do anything stupid and managed to keep himself and Katie positioned where they were until they’d heard the footsteps of Bruce and the sheriff leave their earshot.

  Almost as soon as they were alone again, Jack’s grip gave way, and the two of them fell to the floor in an ungraceful heap, Jack landed spread eagle with Katie still on his back. She climbed off him and dusted herself off.

  “That was so close,” she said. “There was a spiderweb in my face. I almost sneezed.”

  “That would have been bad,” he said. “Do you have everything you need?”

  “Everything that we can find here, at least,” she replied. “Do you still have the pomegranate?”

  “Uh…” Jack reached into the interior pocket of his duster and pulled out the pomegranate, which was now partially mushed and dripping juice. Katie sighed as she took it from him.

  CHAPTER 38

  They waited by the grocery store’s back door until they were sure that Bruce and the sheriff had left before heading back to the car. Jack took another sip from his flask as soon as they were inside. He was feeling dizzy, and it was hard to tell whether it was from his bloodthirst, or the impressive amount of alcohol he’d drunken throughout the night.

  “The last ingredient we need is pixie dust,” said Katie.

  “Pixie dust,” repeated Jack. “Is that code for something, or a folk name…?”

  “Actual pixie dust,” said Katie. “Almost all true alchemical potions require a supernatural reagent. Dust taken from the wings of a pixie is one of the most powerful ones, but also fairly hard to come by.”

  “Do you know where we can find some?”

  “I have an idea,” said Katie. “I’m not the only alchemist living on Lestaron Island.”

  “Seriously?” asked Jack. “And you’re only just telling me this now?”

  “It’s not that big of a deal,” said Katie. “And not many people know about Palmer, anyway. He’s a low-level potion dealer. A renegade, not associated with the Order.”

  “A friend of my grandfather’s?”

  “Hardly,” said Katie. “Peter did not like him much at all. I don’t like him either, for that matter. The only reason we never did anything about him was because he wasn’t much of a threat and kept his head down.”

  “And you expect him to help us?” asked Jack.

  “I don’t see any other option,” said Katie. “It’s a long shot, but we have to take it.”

  She drove them along one of the island’s coastal roads. The ocean was an endless expanse out the window to the west. The road weaved along the cliffs, sometimes narrowing so much that it barely had enough space for a single car to pass at a time. Luckily, they were the only car on the road.

  Katie parked outside a small shack on a cliff overlooking the sea. The dwelling looked like it was barely large enough for a single person to comfortably live in, and the exterior had a flaking, maroon paint job. The only part of the shack that looked cared for was the door, which was made of heavy wood and had a strange handle that reminded Jack of the tumbler on a vault.

  “Palmer?” Katie knocked on the door with her fist. “Hello? Are you home? I need to talk to you.”

  They waited for a minute. Jack could hear the sound of someone moving inside, along with loud, annoyed grumbling.

  “What the bloody fuck are you doing here, Katherine?” came the sound of a man’s voice with a deep British accent. “It’s the middle of the fucking night! And since when are we on speaking terms?”

  “Since always, Palmer,” said Katie. “Peter made it clear that you’d better be willing to talk to us when we come knocking.”

  “Peter made that clear for himself,” said Palmer. “Not for his stripe-nosed, busybody, no-good apprentice!”

  Katie hammered her fist on the door, but Palmer still refused to open it.

  “Palmer!” shouted Katie. “This is serious. If you don’t help us, people are going to be in danger.”

  “Piss off,” shouted Palmer.

  Katie made a frustrated noise and punched the door. Jack put a hand on her shoulder and pulled her back slightly.

  “I don’t think he’s going to budge,” he said.

  “We have to do something other than just ask, then.” Katie licked her lips. “And I have an idea. He was asleep when we pulled up. He doesn’t know you’re with me.”

  She gestured for Jack to lean in closer and whispered her idea into his ear.

  “Seriously?” he asked. “Katie, this might be the dumbest thing you’ve ever suggested…”

  “Just do it,” she said. “I won’t let it go too far, even if you do lose control.”

  Jack sighed and gave a small nod. Katie stepped up to the door again, and then began her act.

  “Palmer!” she shouted, sounded genuinely scared. “He’s coming! The vampire is here! Help!”

  “What…?” Palmer sounded annoyed, but also concerned. “You… don’t need my help.”

  “Palmer!” Katie gestured to Jack. He grabbed her and twisted her underneath him, making a show of pretending to try to bite her neck.

  Pretending. That was what Jack was doing, he reminded himself. Katie wiggled underneath him on the ground, her leather catsuit unzipping slightly and revealing part of her collarbone, in addition to her elegant, beautiful neck. Jack let his lips graze across her skin, and he felt Katie shiver in surprise.

  The door flew open in the nick of time. A skinny, bald man in his mid-thirties charged out in his night robe, wielding a frying pan in both hands. Katie immediately rolled out from under Jack and charged past Palmer, getting by him and into the shack. She shut the door behind her before Palmer could react.

  “You lying, cheeky little cunt!” Palmer spiked the frying pan into the ground. “Katherine White, I will make you pay for this!”

  “Not my idea, just to be clear,” said Jack. He pulled out the flask and took a sip, and then feeling charitable, offered it to Palmer. Palmer’s glare softened a little, and he nodded his thanks as he accepted the flask and took a gulp.

  “She’s a fricking banshee, for crying out loud,” said Palmer. “

  “I can’t exactly disagree with that analysis,” said Jack. “I’ve been on the receiving end of her nonsense more times than I can count.”

  “Have you, now?” said Palmer. “You’re Peter’s grandson, aren’t you?”

  “Jack,” he said. “Nice to meet you.”

  “Palmer,” said the bald man. “Wish it were under less frustrating circumstances, but it’s a pleasure. My condolences for Peter. I hated the bloke, but the island is worse off without him.”

  “So I hear,” said Jack.

  Palmer looked him up and down, and Jack offered him the flask again.

  “Peter Masterson’s grandson is a fricking vampire,” muttered Palmer. “Bit of a cosmic fucking joke that is, ain’t it?”

  Jack shrugged. “It doesn’t feel like much of a joke when you’re the butt of it.”

  “I guess not,” said Palmer. “It’s been a while since I consorted with one of your sort. Are you a Valerian, or an Aquinian? Mithridian? Or one of the other bastard breeds?”

  “Aquin
ian,” said Jack.

  “You don’t sound too thrilled about it,” said Palmer.

  Jack accepted the flask back from him and took a long sip.

  “Should I be?” he asked.

  Palmer laughed and clapped him on the back. “There’s no need for brooding, at least,” he said. “You spend all your time acting like a kite off your string and you’ll fail to see the greater machinations at work.”

  “Is that supposed to mean something, or…?”

  “Alls I mean is that you have to play the cards you were dealt,” said Palmer. “If you’re a vampire, be a vampire. Don’t worry about what the great, golden-shitted Peter Masterson would have thought. Old bloke was way too fussy about his way of doing things.”

  Jack furrowed his brow.

  “I’m not sure if that’s good advice, or terrible advice, but thanks,” he said.

  “Sure thing,” said Palmer. “Now, if you wouldn’t mind convincing the marauding banshee to leave my abode, I would be most grateful.”

  The door reopened before Jack actually needed to do anything. Katie emerged with a small leather pouch in one hand and a fierce scowl on her face.

  “You use unicorn sap as your reagent?” she said, walking toward Palmer. “Unicorn sap? Are you fucking serious?”

  “It’s fine for most substitutions,” said Palmer. “And how does the saying about beggars go again? Beggars can’t wake a man up in the middle of the night, break into his house, steal his possessions, and then complain about their bloody fucking quality?”

  “What’s wrong with unicorn sap?” asked Jack. “Is it like pixie dust?”

  “It’s like the dollar store version of pixie dust,” said Katie.

  “Look at where I live, woman!” shouted Palmer. “Does this look like the home of a man who can afford pixie dust? Think long and hard about that before you rob me, next time.”

  “I’m not robbing you, Palmer,” Katie said, with a sigh. “I’m taking this in return for continuing Peter’s policy of ignoring your existence.”