I sat at a table in my shadowy kitchen, staring down a
bottle of Booneโs Farm Hard Lemonade, when a magic
fluctuation hit. My wards shivered and died, leaving my
home stripped of its defenses. The TV flared into life,
unnaturally loud in the empty house.
I raised my eyebrow at the bottle and bet it that another
urgent bulletin was on.
The bottle lost.
โUrgent bulletin!โ Margaret Chang announced. โโThe Attorney
General advises all citizens that any attempt at summoning
or other activities resulting in the appearance of a being
of supernatural power can be hazardous to yourself and to
other citizens.โ
โNo shit,โ I told the bottle.
โLocal police have been authorized to subdue any such
activities with all due force.โ
Margaret droned on, while I bit into my sandwich. Who were
they kidding? No police force could hope to squash every
summoning. It took a qualified wizard to detect a summoning
in progress. It required only a half-literate idiot with a
twitch of power and a dim idea of how to use it to attempt
one. Before you knew it, a three-headed Slavonic god was
wreaking havoc in downtown Atlanta, the skies were raining
winged snakes, and SWAT was screaming for more ammo. These
were unsafe times. But then in safer times, Iโd be a woman
without a job. The safe tech-world had little use for a
magic-touting mercenary like me.
When people had trouble of a magic kind, the kind of trouble
that cops couldnโt or wouldnโt handle, they called the
Mercenary Guild. If the job happened to fall into my
territory, the Guild then called me. I grimaced and rubbed
my hip. It still ached after the last job, but the wound
had healed better than I expected. That was the first and
last time I would agree to go against the Impala Worm
without full body armor. The next time they better furnish
me with a level four containment suit.
An icy wave of fear and revulsion hit me. My stomach
lurched, sending acid to coat the root of my tongue with a
bitter aftertaste. Shivers ran along my spine, and the tiny
hairs on my neck stood on their ends.
Something bad was in my house.
I put down my sandwich and pushed the volume button of the
remote control, reducing the TV to a low hum. On the screen
Margaret Chang was joined by a brick-faced man with a
high-and-tight haircut and eyes like slate. A cop. Probably
Paranormal Activity Division. I put my hand on the dagger
that rested on my lap and sat very still.
Listening. Waiting.
No sound troubled the silence. A drop of water formed on the
sweaty surface of the Booneโs Farm bottle and slid down its
glistening side.
Something large crawled along the hallway ceiling into the
kitchen. I pretended not to see it. It stopped to the left
of me and slightly behind, so I didnโt have to pretend very
hard.
The intruder hesitated, turned, and anchored itself in the
corner, where the ceiling met the wall. It sat there,
fastened to the paneling by enormous yellow talons, still
and silent like a gargoyle in full sunlight. I took a swig
from the bottle and set it so I could see the creatureโs
reflection. Nude and hairless, it didnโt carry a single
ounce of fat on its skeletal frame and every dry, hard cord
of muscle was clearly visible beneath its taut pallid hide.
Your friendly neighborhood Spiderman.
The creature raised its left hand. The dagger talons diced
the empty air, back and forth, like curved knitting
needles. It turned its head doglike and studied me with
eyes luminescent with a particular kind of madness, born of
bestial blood thirst and free of any thought or restraint.
In a single motion I whipped around and hurled the dagger.
The black blade sliced cleanly into the creatureโs throat.
The vampire froze. Its yellow claws stopped moving.
Thick, almost purplish blood swelled around the blade and
slowly slid down the naked flesh of the vampireโs neck,
staining its chest and dripping on the floor. The vampireโs
features twisted, trying to morph into a different face. It
opened its maw, displaying twin fangs that glistened with
yellow like miniature ivory sickles.
โThat was extremely inconsiderate, Kate,โ Ghastekโs voice
said from the vampireโs throat. โNow I have to feed him.โ
โItโs a reflex. Hear a bell, get food. See an undead, throw
a knife. Same thing, really.โ
The vampireโs face jerked as if the Master of the Dead
controlling it tried to squint.
โWhat are you drinking?โ Ghastek asked.
โBooneโs Farm.โ
โYou can afford better.โ
โI donโt want better. I like Booneโs Farm. And I prefer to
do business by phone and with you, not at all.โ
โI donโt wish to hire you, Kate. This is merelyโฆ a social
call.โ
I stared at the vampire, wishing I could put my knife into
Ghastekโs throat. It would feel very good cutting into his
flesh. Unfortunately he sat in an armored room many miles away.
โYou enjoy screwing with me, donโt you, Ghastek?โ
โImmensely.โ
The million-dollar question was why. โWhat is it you want?
Make it quick, my Booneโs Farmโs getting warm.โ
โI was just wondering,โ Ghastek said with dry neutrality
particular only to him, โwhen was the last time you saw your
guardian?โ
The nonchalance in his voice sent tiny cold shivers down my
spine. โWhy?โ
โNo reason. As always, a pleasure.โ
In a single powerful leap the vampire detached itself from
the wall and flew through the open window, taking my knife
with it.
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