Warlock For Hire: Arcane Inc. Book 1

by Sean Stone

  “I know I can,” she said with absolute confidence. “Now, whilst I wait for it to come to me, why don’t you tell me how you two met.”

  “There’s really no need. Whatever you think is going on between us isn’t. It’s a purely business relationship,” Ashley told her mother, her tone warning her not to push the matter. Margie clearly was not deterred.

  “You say that, but I can see something different,” she said. I was unsure whether she was joking or not. I wasn’t aware of any budding relationship between us — not of any kind. I looked over at Ashley and saw her scowling at Margie. She obviously didn’t think there was anything between us either.

  “Eddie, let me tell you something,” Margie started.

  “No, Mum, not the training story. You don’t have to tell everyone who comes home that story,” Ashley protested. Margie went on regardless. The fact that Ashley didn’t want me to know only made me want to know even more.

  “When Ashley was thirteen she started getting her magic through. We started training straight away. We wanted a strong witch in the family, maybe even a wizard.”

  “That certainly didn’t happen,” Ashley mumbled.

  “There’s still time. Anyway, her dad took her out in the garden for training. These things can get messy, I’m sure you know. Anyway, she tried so hard to focus her new powers one day that she burned all her clothes to ashes and was stood in the garden naked from head to toe. Rob next door didn’t know where to look!” she said and erupted into raucous laughter. I laughed too though nowhere near as hard. I got the feeling that if the same thing were to happen today Rob would know exactly where to look. The same place I’d be looking. I glanced over at Ashely who was looking down at her curry angrily. I wondered how many times she’d had to sit through her mum telling that story.

  After that, Margie fetched a bottle of wine and told some more stories. I didn’t want to drink but it seemed impolite not to. It didn’t take long to drain the bottle and then Margie went and brought back another and forced us to keep drinking. The wine managed to loosen Ashley up a bit and she soon stopped scowling at the stories and started telling some of her own. I sat for hours, getting drunker and drunker and listening to the pair of them try to embarrass the other. Each story escalated in stupendousness. Eventually, I looked up at the clock and saw that it was in the early hours of the morning.

  “I should go,” I said, getting to my feet. I had stuff to do tomorrow, not that I could remember what right now. That’s alcohol for you. The room swirled around me and I crashed down on my arse. Ashley and Margie both laughed at my accident. It was funny, I laughed too and then pulled myself back onto my chair.

  “You’re too drunk. You can stay here tonight,” Ashley said. Wow, the alcohol really was making her more friendly. I gave her a saucy look and she added, “On the sofa.”

  “Better than nothing,” I mumbled.

  “Oh!” Margie suddenly exclaimed. “It’s come to me. I know what to do.” Even though we were drunk, me and Ashley both leaned forward to hear Margie’s advice. “I have a necklace. Your gran gave it to me, Ashley. You can use it to double your power.”

  “Mum, I know about the necklace,” Ashley said in a slurred voice. “If I thought it was useful I would’ve mentioned it before.”

  “She’s right, Margie, it won’t work. She needs more power than that,” I said.

  “No. She doesn’t,” I noticed then that Margie didn’t seem to be drunk in the slightest. Had this whole thing been to get me and Ashley drunk? Perhaps as a not so sophisticated way of hooking us up? I approved. But it was going to take more than alcohol to achieve that. “You’ll have enough power to cast the spell temporarily. It won’t last long just long enough to convince Killian.”

  “He’ll see what we’re up to,” I said. My head was starting to get heavier so I rested it in one hand.

  “Not if you do a little spell at the same time,” Margie said. “Whilst Ashley is performing the ritual you should be able to destroy his lapis lazuli stones without him noticing. Then he won’t be able to see what happens after the ritual is complete.”

  “Right, but then he’ll get more stones from his box,” I said. It was almost a good plan, but not quite.

  “By that time, we’ll all be gone. We’ll leave town and find something that will hide us from him. Remember, he sees a lot, but he can’t see everything,” she said.

  “Yes,” Ashley said enthusiastically. “Yes, that will work.” I still wasn’t convinced. It was a good plan up until the running away part. He would find us. I was certain of it.

  “You’re not convinced,” Margie said to me. “Sleep on it. I think you’ll come around by morning.” I doubted it.

  She shooed us off to bed and Ashley began leading me upstairs when Margie called me back. Ashley looked back, but she was too drunk to care about what was going on and carried on heading up the stairs. I gripped the bannister for support while Margie spoke.

  “I wasn’t being completely honest about the plan,” she whispered. “I don’t mean to run away. It wouldn’t work. We can’t outrun a seer. There’s something that needs to be done, but Ashley isn’t strong enough to do it. Not magically and not emotionally. And you can’t tell her about this part of the plan. The fewer people who know the less chance there is of Killian finding out.”

  “Go on,” I mumbled. I really needed to lay down but I needed to hear this even more.

  “I’m going to bind the necklace to Ashley, that’s how it works. Once it’s bound to her it will be able to access all of her power, even the power that she can’t quite access herself. The necklace will siphon all the power it needs to maintain the spell.”

  “Right?” I mumbled. I wasn’t sure why this needed to be a secret.

  “Killian will be invincible for as long as the necklace is around Ashley’s neck, drawing on her power. But once it runs out of power it will start eating up her life as well. She’ll have to remove the necklace before it kills her. I can’t tell her this because she’ll be too scared. Even if she went along with it, she’d give it all away to Killian without meaning to. She can’t hide the truth like we can, she’s too innocent. As soon as she takes it off his invincibility will disappear. Once the spell wears off and Killian is not invincible anymore, you have to kill him. It’s the only way to guarantee everyone’s safety. He has to die.” I nodded, I knew it was true, and I’d already decided that if I found the opportunity then I’d take it. Margie’s plan provided the perfect opportunity. So long as nothing went wrong.

  “So long as he doesn’t figure out what I’m up to,” I said.

  “He’s already foreseen his death and he thinks he can change it, remember? You need to prove him wrong. Don’t plan how to kill him or he might get a vision of it and this time he might figure out it’s you who’s going to do it. You have to wait until the moment and then decide how to kill him. And make sure you destroy those stones so he can’t stop you this time.”

  I nodded my understanding and then made my way upstairs. Ashley had left a blanket on the sofa for me and I fell down on the cushions and wrapped it around me. It wasn’t cold, but having something to wrap up in helped me get to sleep. Immediately thoughts of our new plan flooded to my wine-addled mind. It was hard not to plan how to kill someone. To trust that I would find a way on the spur of the moment. And hope that the bodyguards didn’t stop me. It was exhilarating to know that we had a plan, though, and one that didn’t involve being pushed around. It was about time Killian got hit with something he didn’t see coming. Although, he had already foreseen his death. It was just a question of whether that was actually going to be the way that he died.

  I looked up and noticed that the door leading to the bathroom was open just a slither, and inside I could see Ashley leaning over the sink, holding on to the basin to stop herself falling over in a drunken state. She was naked apart from a pair of yellow cotton knickers. Unfortunately, she had her back to me so I couldn’t actually see anything. I know, I�
�m a pervert, get over it. She was brushing her teeth. Even when drunk she still remembered to brush her teeth. I liked that. I don’t know why, but I did. As I watched her feelings of lust flooded my mind. She turned ever so slightly and the smallest amount of side boob aroused something below. I considered getting up. Going over. Knocking on the door and then joining her in the bathroom. That’s the problem with alcohol; it gives you terrible ideas accompanied by the belief that they’ll work. I made my mind up to do it, but then as if something inside was working against me my eyes closed and I lost consciousness. Bastard.

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  I woke up feeling a bit rough and with a slight headache. That’s what magic’s for. I put my hand over my forehead and willed the ache away. Next, I rid my stomach of nausea. I bet you’re jealous now? Just imagine if you could banish a hangover with a touch of your hand. Sucks to be you.

  “You wanna do that for me too?” I looked around and saw Ashley sitting in the desk chair. She was dressed in a loose t-shirt and pyjama bottoms, and she looked rough. Rougher than I’d felt a moment ago. Her eyes were puffy, her skin drained of all colour and her hair was a tangled bramble on her head. She was resting her head in her hands, unable to hold it up on her own.

  “No-one taught you how to cure a hangover?” I asked. I sat up. At some point in the night, I must’ve kicked my clothes off because I was only wearing my boxers now. Ashley didn’t seem offended by my lack of attire. She didn’t seem pleased by it either, I wasn’t in the best shape. I’m not saying I’m fat, just not muscly. I’m a skinny guy; who needs muscles when you’ve got magic?

  “I know how to heal myself but I feel too shit to concentrate,” she said. Magic’s greatest nemesis — lack of cognitive functioning. If you can’t concentrate, then you can’t bend magic to your will. Sorcery 101. Actually, magic’s greatest nemesis is iron. The only thing that can inhibit it instantly. But second on the list is poor concentration.

  “Well, in that case, allow me,” I said and stood up.

  “Oh!” she exclaimed, her face turning red. I followed her eye line and saw what had surprised her. My morning wood, which was not hidden at all by my underwear, was pointing directly at her. I felt my cheeks burn up and quickly covered my little fellow with my hands. Some men might have stood proudly and not covered up. I was not one of those men. I’ll be honest, what I have isn’t that impressive. I’m not saying it’s small, just that it’s not big. It’s average and it works. Oh, and trust me, I know how to use it. If the sounds my former lovers have made are any indication of my ability, then I am a master between the sheets. And no, I’m not exaggerating. Anyway, I returned to the sofa, found my jeans, and pulled them on. I tucked “Little Eddie” away in the waistband of my boxers and then went over to Ashley.

  “Where was I? A little healing.”

  She snorted. “You said it,” she muttered.

  “Said what?” I asked, confused.

  “Little.”

  “Do you want me to heal you or not?” I said. I was more than happy to leave her in the state she was in for the rest of the morning. I had no use for her today anyway. I could quite easily go about my business alone.

  “Yes. I’m sorry,” she said, but I could still see a smirk on her face. I’m not little. I’m average. And actually, what I lack in length I more than make up for in girth if you must know. Now, please can we move on from this?

  I reached out to place my palm on her forehead but she pushed my hand away. “Wash your hands first. I saw what you just touched with them,” she said.

  “It’s not like it had any residue on it. It was dry,” I said, as I trudged over to the bathroom. I washed my hands, healed Ashley and then returned to the sofa to find my shirt.

  “What’s the plan today then?” she asked. “Since tomorrow we probably die.”

  “You’re certainly the optimist,” I replied. She was probably right, though. Tomorrow we had to perform the ritual for Killian. He would most likely figure out what we were up to and then kill us both for our deviousness. “We need to get the ingredients for the ritual. One massive diamond and one load of vampire blood.”

  “Do you know where to find them?” she asked.

  “I’ve got some ideas.”

  “Good. Then let’s get on with it.” Before I would have told her to stay at home, out of danger, but after spending the night with her and her mother something had changed. I realise how that sounds, but you know what I meant when I say I spent the night with her and her mother. Nothing sordid. I’m not into that kind of thing. I don’t know what changed and I won’t try to figure it out, but I felt like she didn’t need shielding so much. I didn’t want to leave her behind either. Despite the fact that she seemed to take every opportunity to insult me I’d started to like her company.

  I tried getting dressed without having a shower, but I’m a bit of a clean freak. I just can’t start the day without a shower. I’d be rubbish in an apocalypse I know. So, I had a shower, Ashley had a shower — separately, and once we were both dressed we left the house. When we reached the edge of the drive Jeffrey climbed out of his SUV which was parked outside.

  “Back again so soon?” I asked. He didn’t smile. I was starting to think Killian had removed whatever part of his brain was responsible for facial expressions.

  “Mister Myers wants to make sure you’re prepared for tomorrow,” he said plainly.

  “Absolutely. Now, it’s imperative that the ritual takes place at the river which means he’s going to get a tad wet. So tell him to bring his wetsuit,” I said.

  “Very funny.”

  “I’m serious. We need to do it at the river.” Natural water was one of the key components of the ritual.

  “Okay then. What time?”

  “Bang on noon.” The sun needed to be at it’s strongest.

  “The two of you will be picked up at eleven am sharp from here. Don’t be late.” He turned to leave.

  “One more thing. Tell Killian to bring the biggest diamond he can get his hands on,” I said. Jeffrey turned back, eyebrow raised. “It’s one of the items we need. I imagine money won’t be an issue for him?”

  “Correct,” Jeffrey said and then returned to his vehicle.

  “Remember, the bigger the better,” I called after him. Ashley snorted next to me. “Shut up,” I said and walked off.

  You might think that vampire blood is easy to come by, and you’d be right. I have a decent amount in my storage unit, and it can be purchased on the black market I told you about. But the type that you can get easily is not the best type. Vampires get stronger with age. Their strength and invincibility increase the older they get. A vampire is not fully invincible, but they’re pretty bloody close, which is why I chose their blood to be an ingredient in the ritual. In order for the blood to be useful it needs to come from a pretty old vampire. How old? I don’t really know, but the older the better. That means that the common blood available on the market will not do. Common blood tends to come from baby vamps. I needed a daddy. I know of a few pretty ancient blood-suckers who live in Kent, but there is no way I’m going to try and take their juice. I’m ballsy but I’m not stupid. I mean, these vampires would kill you just for looking at them funny. You don’t wanna know what they’d do to someone who tried to steal their blood. We had a look on the black market anyway, but a quick analysis revealed that none of the stuff on sale was going to be good enough. That left two options; either go after one of the big guys that would almost certainly kill us, or use Muggs. I told you before that feeding in Muggs is prohibited, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t happen. In fact, it’s quite common amongst the older vamps who know it’ll take more than a team of enhanced humans to take them down. Plus, they’re far more discreet so unlikely to get caught. Unless a nosey bastard like me’s watching. What’s even better is that those vamps have usually been drinking which makes them easier to get the jump on.

  That evening we headed to Muggs, had a spot of dinner and then waited it ou
t in my booth. By about nine pm the place was pretty heaving. The problem was I didn’t know a way to spot a vampire unless they was doing something like feeding or exhibiting some other vampiric ability. To the common eye they look just like a human. They tend to be a bit pale, but so do a lot of humans. There was probably a spell that could help, but neither myself nor Ashley knew it. And it wasn’t the sort of thing I could do easily. I used my magic to sense that there was diffidently a vampiric presence in the pub, but that was the extent of my ability.

  “There,” Ashley said, nodding towards a man coming in from the garden. I turned and saw a tall man walk right by our booth. There was nothing that made him stand out at first, but then as I continued to look, I noticed it. His eyes were red. Vampires don’t walk around with red eyes all the time, that would make it very difficult for them to blend in, but if you catch one right after they’ve fed, their eyes will be as red as the blood they’ve consumed. This guy had clearly been having a snack in the garden.

  “Nice spot,” I said. That was the easy part. Next we had to figure out how old he was and it’s not as simple as cutting a piece off and counting the rings. One way to test age is to expose a vampire to UV light and see how long it takes him to burn, but that wasn’t exactly feasible. “Any ideas?” I asked Ashley.

  “Sure. Follow my lead,” she said. She didn’t wait for my approval, but got up and followed him over to the bar. Being left with no choice I followed her. As I approached she held up a palm to stop me. I understood. She was going for the seductive method and I’d just get in the way. I stepped into the shadows by the fruit machine and conjured up my hiding spell so he wouldn’t notice me watching him.

  “Hey there,” Ashley said, leaning on the bar next to him.