Magic for Hire: An Urban Fantasy Novel (Found Magic Book 3)

by J. A. Cipriano

  Her head wobbled like she was one of those bobble-head dolls, and I instantly felt bad. Still, her eyes opened, and she stared at me.

  “You saved me,” she said, glancing at the spot where she had been before. It was riddled with bullets. “Why?”

  “I reserve the right to revisit my earlier decision. Now about my question earlier, Doc. Where’s the director?” I asked, gesturing at her with my gun.

  “I’m not sure. But our most valuable prisoners are on the third floor down. He’s probably there if someone like you came to get him. There’s an elevator just beyond the door.” She looked like she was about to say more but didn’t.

  “Thanks,” I said, trying my best to be polite even though I’d given her a concussion and made her throw up on herself. Then I whirled back out and ran toward the door she’d indicated, my guns shattering the silence as I pulled the triggers as much to distract people as to stop them from shooting at me.

  19

  I stood in front of the elevator and tried to ignore the bodies littering the hallway behind me. They had been people a second ago, but there was no use dwelling on that right now because if I did, I was going to lose it. Instead, I shut my eyes, took a deep breath, and jammed my thumb into the elevator down button over and over again.

  After what felt like forever but was probably only a couple seconds, there was a ding, and the doors opened to reveal a stainless steel vault of hospital-like cleanliness. I stepped inside, hoping I wasn’t entering a giant metal tomb and glanced at the console as the doors stood open, revealing the room full of bullet-riddled corpses. Blood oozed out around them, coating the white floor in sticky crimson fluid.

  I turned my gaze away and pressed the button for the third floor, hoping the lady doctor hadn’t lied to me. There wasn’t much I could do about it if she had. I mean, I was probably going to come back through here, but even if she had lied and had led me into a death trap, was I really going to shoot her over it, assuming she was still there? I didn’t think so, but then again, I wasn’t quite sure what type of person I was fast becoming. Not a good one, that was for sure.

  The doors slid shut on that grisly thought, and I found myself staring at my reflection in them. The girl who looked back didn’t look at all like me. For one, her eyes were too sunken into her face, too haunted looking. Her hot pink hair was streaked with spattered blood, and even though she was dressed in an all-black bodysuit, red goo seemed to pulsate on her clothing, drawing my eyes to each individual splotch.

  Unable to keep looking at her, I looked away and watched the numbers above the doors slowly drift downward. As the negative two turned into a negative three, I turned back toward the doors and pointed my gun at the reflection.

  “Boo,” I muttered as the doors swung open, but there was no one to scare. At least no one I could see because it was pitch black beyond the doors. Some light spilled out of the elevator, but not enough to make the darkness feel less oppressive. I tapped my temple with one hand, and the scenery popped into view, rendered into a sort of partial green visibility.

  Cells filled the walls ahead of me. They were about six cells high, stacked on top of each other like rabbit cages at a pet store. The stacks continued so far down either wall, I had trouble estimating how far down they went. Either way, it would take a long time to go through them, and even though I’d killed more people than I cared to admit so far, I was reasonably sure more would be coming soon.

  “Are you looking for the director?” a man in a cell immediately to my right asked.

  My head swiveled toward him. Six or so feet tall, scruffy brown hair, unshaven, pale. Looked like he’d missed a few meals due to his scrawniness, but something told me he’d been well-muscled prior to his imprisonment.

  “Yes,” I said because what was the point of lying?

  The man snorted. “He said people would come for him. Said everyone would die and that was only if one of his agents came. What a laugh. One person couldn’t take on this entire base.”

  “Two of us came,” I replied, and the guy laughed like he thought I was joking around as I walked toward him. “So where is he?”

  “Don’t know exactly. They moved him when the alarm went off. Took him off down that way,” the man said, pointing off into the distance.

  “What if I don’t believe you?” I asked, arching my eyebrow into the air even though I was relatively sure he couldn’t see me very well. It was that dark. Then again, he had pointed. Maybe he could see me?

  “Like you have a choice, lady,” he replied. “Now let me out of here?”

  “No can do,” I said, walking past his cage, leaving him and everyone else behind.

  “But I helped you,” he called.

  “If I wind up finding the director, I’ll think about freeing you. Okay?” I asked, not bothering to look back as my footsteps echoed across the concrete floor. It wasn’t that I was a bad person, but I was at least semi-inclined to believe the people down here were pretty bad. It was a prison after all, and it wasn’t like the director himself was a bundle of kittens. He probably had more blood on his hands than my biological mother… and she’d nuked two cities.

  “I’m holding you to that,” he called back, and it was then I realized it was eerily quiet inside this place. Maybe it was because most of the cages were empty and the ones that weren’t contained only unconscious prisoners. Not the ‘oh I went to sleep’ kind either. These were more like the ‘I got gassed and passed out’ kind. So why was that one guy awake? What made him so special?

  I spun just as an axe came at me. The haft bounced off my upraised arm, stopping the blade inches from my skull, and the force of it vibrated through my whole body. The guy from the first cage stood there, a wicked gleam in his eye.

  “Smart, you are,” he said and kicked me in the stomach. It hurt even through my armor. My feet left the ground, and I flew backward. “Don’t get a lot of smart ones here.”

  I hit the ground and lay there stunned. He’d been fast and strong. Was he some kind of super soldier like Chuck? God, I hoped not. Chuck was nearly unstoppable. I didn’t have time to deal with an unstoppable warrior with an axe.

  He sauntered toward me, dragging his axe along the cement floor, eliciting a scratch, scratch that made me shudder involuntarily. I got to my hands and knees as he squatted in front of me, evidently in no hurry to take advantage. Well, I’d make him pay for that.

  “So you’re the Abby Banks, eh?” he asked, free hand snaking out and smacking me across the face. I flopped over onto my back as little tweety birds fluttered around my head. “You don’t seem that tough.”

  He stood and nudged me with one toe, his axe leaning against his shoulder. “Then again, most people like us don’t. That’s like the whole thing.” He brought the axe down at my neck. I moved out of the way, but barely.

  The head of the axe sank into the concrete a good two inches, spraying me with rock and debris. I reached out, grabbing the metal handle of the weapon near the head, and tried to jerk it out of his hands. All I got was a kick to the face for my efforts. I slid across the floor for a few feet before coming to a stop against a cage. My vision was all kinds of hazy as I tried to get to my feet. I mostly succeeded.

  “Usually one or two hits from me is enough to take someone out.” The guy shrugged and smiled at me, revealing a smile that was missing a few key teeth. “You can take a licking, kid. That’s for sure.”

  “Thanks,” I replied and shot him in the chest, emptying my pistols into his center mass as quickly as I could. He staggered backward as the bullets smashed into him, but did little more than smile at me when it was over. That was when I realized he wasn’t bleeding. Had I shot into some kind of bullet proof vest? Duh, I should have put the rounds into his head. I’d thought about it, but he was so fast I was worried I’d miss. Yeah, that’s right, even with all my super skills. So sue me.

  “Ow,” he said and spat a mouthful of blood onto the cement next to him. Then he ran at me, crossing the distanc
e between us in an instant. I dodged his axe swing, but his other hand caught me around the throat. His fingers clenched down hard on my windpipe, cutting my air off even through my armor. Red lights started flashing in my HUD as he lifted me from the ground with ease.

  I brought my knees up, driving them into his stomach and staggering him enough to make him release me. My knife slid into my hand as I swiped at him, but he blocked with his axe before leaping back almost three meters.

  “What, never seen someone do that before?” he asked with the world’s biggest grin on his face. Then he licked his lips. “I’m going to enjoy eating your heart and drinking your blood when this is over Ms. Banks.”

  “What are you? Some kind of vampire?” I asked with a laugh. It was either that or cry, and I was pretty sure crying wouldn’t do any good. Laughing might at least scare him.

  He cocked his head, staring at me. “No,” he said after a pause so long, it was actually unnerving. “I don’t sparkle in the sunlight.” Then he smiled revealing a set of fangs exactly like Stephen’s had been.

  A smirk crossed my lips though I couldn’t help it. “That’s not really a good barometer for vampirism.” I readied my knife in front of me, waiting for him to charge again when a thought occurred to me. “But then again, what do I know?”

  “Not a lot, I’m guessing.” He shrugged and charged at me.

  “Light’s on,” I screamed, shutting my eyes. My suit exploded into illumination like a flashbang grenade, filling the blackened cavern with the intensity of the sun for a split second. When I opened them, the guy was reeling back, his flesh steaming and charbroiled looking. I’d known the light was bright, but I hadn’t known it could do that. I’d expected it to give him one hell of a sunburn, not make his skin bubble and smoke.

  Not wasting a single second, I leapt on him. We crashed to the ground as he howled, trying to gouge into my flesh with his burned fingers. I drove my knife through his chest, trying to stab him in the heart. His bulletproof vest must have saved him because instead of dying, an inhuman scream ripped from his throat as he thrashed violently with my blade inside him.

  Before he could recover, I rolled off of him and grabbed his fallen axe. I reared back and swung the weapon at him. It came down on his neck with all the force I could muster, separating his head from his shoulders with a staccato crack that echoed inside the empty room.

  “Well, that’s one way to get ahead. Ha. Ha. Ha.” A voice above my head spoke as I stood there, chest heaving from exertion. I turned, still gripping my axe and stared at the spot where I was sure the voice had come from. “Anyway, I just want you to know, your director is in another castle.”

  A view screen appeared on the wall, showing the director being shoved into a helicopter on the roof of a building that looked exactly like the one I was currently inside. “Good luck.”

  Then the screen winked out, and the sound of gas spewing into the room filled my ears.

  20

  Flash was staggering toward me when the elevator doors opened. Blood dripped down her left arm, but she didn’t seem to notice it. Her face was set in an angry mask, but it brightened when she saw me. She almost smiled, I swear. I don’t know why, but to think she was happy to see me made me, well, happy.

  “Abby, you’re alive. Good. We must go. Director not here,” she said, spinning on her heel and making her way back down the hallway without so much as a backward glance.

  “How did you know?” I asked, sprinting after her and catching her just as we breached the doorway. She had what looked like a freaking rocket launcher in her hands, though I’m not sure why I hadn’t noticed it before. “And why are you in here? You’re supposed to be outside distracting people.”

  She tossed a strange glance at me before shaking her head. “Bang saw director being evacuated. He is giving chase.” She paused, looking at me as though trying to figure out how to say what she wanted. “I came because we partners now. Same team. No leave person behind.” She stared at me for so long, I started to feel uncomfortable so I just nodded.

  So Flash thought we were on the same side? Fat chance. I wasn’t quite sure who she worked for exactly, but whatever team she was on, I didn’t want to be a part of it. Still, she had come through the compound to get me, leaving her partner to go after the director. That counted for something, right? I wasn’t sure how much exactly, but it wasn’t nothing.

  Flash nodded back and began walking forward, crossing the room with steady, deliberate strides, keeping her weapon locked in front of her. Still, something about her movements made me think she was ready for trouble but didn’t quite expect it. I smirked in spite of myself. Evidently, she was expecting the unexpected. Unfortunately, I was pretty sure the unexpected could include Godzilla, and sadly, I didn’t think even the great Gojira was a limiting factor.

  We cleared the room without hassle as I gripped my axe, somewhat annoyed I was out of bullets. I was still on the lookout for a fallen weapon, but I didn’t see any weapons anywhere. Or bodies for that matter. Shouldn’t there have been bodies? I mean I’d shot people, and this was still an active firefight. Where had the hostiles gone?

  I was about to ask as we made our way through the cafeteria when Doctor Debra Hassad leapt from behind a steel table and tackled Flash to the ground. The two women struggled on the floor as Debra reared back and slugged the mercenary across the face. Flash’s head whipped back and her fingers loosened on her big gun, not that it mattered. The good doctor had so much leverage, she’d actually pinned Flash beneath the weapon.

  “Get off,” I screamed, hefting my axe into the air. “I don’t want to split you like a casaba melon, but I will.”

  Debra threw me a murderous glare, and I realized she had a bloody knife in one hand. Had she already stabbed Flash?

  “Do you know how many of my friends this woman has killed?” Debra cried, the anguish in her voice unnerving.

  “I won’t repeat myself,” I replied slowly. I resisted the urge to be sick as I stared at her, forcing everything inside me away as best I could. Something on my face must have changed because the doctor’s face changed from righteous fury to dejected resignation.

  “I had hoped you were better,” she said, dropping her knife. It clattered to the ground with a sort of empty thunk that made me feel bad in a way I hadn’t quite expected. What did she mean, she expected better?

  “What’s that supposed to mean?” I asked, but before the doctor could respond, a gunshot rendered my hearing a moot point. Debra slumped forward toward Flash, her eyes going blank and empty as she hit the ground with a sound like a sack of wet laundry. Blood pooled out of her though I didn’t see the wound as Flash shoved the woman away.

  “Thanks, Abby. Next time, swing the axe,” Flash said, voice stilted and somewhat annoyed as she got to her feet.

  “Gee, with gratitude like that, who needs admonishment?” I muttered as Flash shot me a look that said she had no idea what I’d said. Instead of repeating myself, I shrugged. “So what’s the plan?”

  “We steal helicopter. Go after Bang and director.” She shot me a ‘duh’ look. “What you think, they have one helicopter? Only?”

  “I hadn’t thought about it,” I replied as we exited the room, though Flash seemed even more relaxed despite the fact she had just been ambushed. That was weird, right? Shouldn’t she be even more alert? I knew I was. My heart was still pounding and adrenaline was still rushing through my veins.

  Then again, maybe she was used to being ambushed. She probably had years of experience on me. “So how long have you been doing this?” I asked as we came to a room with the picture of a staircase painted on the wall beside the entrance. With the barrel of her weapon, she pushed open the door leading within, revealing a stainless steel staircase ascending toward the sky.

  “Three years,” she said, not even looking at me as she spoke.

  “That doesn’t seem very long.”

  “I was recruited when I was twenty from a Russian prison.” She sh
rugged. “You think I am old?”

  “No, I didn’t mean it that way,” I replied, my cheeks heating up as I followed her up the stairs. “You just seem so badass, I assumed you had been active for a long time.”

  “With job like this, you not live long if you not tough.” She glanced at me and smirked. “Besides, I am Russian. If we have vodka and cigarettes, we can do anything.” She gestured around us. “Too bad no vodka here. Will fix later. Will have much vodka.” She followed with a raucous laugh that didn’t quite fit her.

  “Okay,” I replied, shaking my head. “Next you’ll be telling me you would be smoking right now, but cigarette smoke would give away our position.”

  Instead of responding, she stepped off the stairway and onto a landing. She flashed her own badge at the card reader and the door lock snapped open. She pushed it open, and as she did so, gunfire obliterated the silence as lead death pelted into the walls and door on the other side. Flash gritted her teeth and looked like she was counting in her head as she dropped down into a crouch with her big gun pointed at the still mostly closed door.

  The sound of bullets hitting metal faded, and as soon as it did, she kicked the door open and fired. It was unlike anything I expected because instead of a bang or a whap or, even a flash and bang, nothing seemed to happen for a moment. I watched in amazement as green smoke poured from her weapon, filling the entire football field sized room in a heartbeat and everyone inside dropped to the floor unconscious.

  She tossed a grin at me before getting to her feet and striding inside, reloading her weapon. I guess she wasn’t worried about people with gas masks. I mean, I wasn’t worried, my suit had already saved me from whatever doom gas the Israelis had used on the prisoners, which was good, but still. Bullets would hurt her. Or maybe they wouldn’t. Who knew?