Hidden Spark (Dark Magic Enforcer Book 6) (18 page)

His smile faded, fearing the worst. "It's okay, I appreciate you taking me in, and thanks for letting me tag along, Spark. But you guys have your own thing going, I know, so I'll get out of your hair."

"You aren't going anywhere," said Kate.

"That's not what I meant at all, Mithnite," I said, knowing I wasn't handling this the right way. "I just want us to talk about where we go from here. Everything's been rather rushed since yesterday, none of us have had a proper chance to talk about this. We are happy to have you stay, we told you that, but we should make things official, so we all have peace of mind. What do you want to do, Mithnite? And be honest."

We were sat around the table in the kitchen, drinking coffee that had no frothy bits, and the poor kid put his head in his hands and mumbled, "I just want to be a good wizard."

I looked at Kate to see what she thought and she nodded, the simple gesture saying he should stay with us and that whatever I decided to do regards his future was fine with her. I nodded back, and smiled, mouthed another, "I'm sorry," to which she scowled, but then she smiled and I knew everything would be okay.

"So, as things stand you have nowhere to live, haven't got a clue how things work in the Regular world, have never had to pay rent, figure out how to get a job, pay bills, insurance, done much of anything apart from learn magic and now your friends are dead and your teacher is a nut job. That about sum it up?"

"Faz!" Kate slapped me on the arm.

"What?"

"He's right, that's exactly how my life is. A mess."

"Here's the plan, then." I took a deep breath and hoped I wasn't making a very bad decision and setting us all up for a lot of heartache. "You can stay here, rent free, but you have to help. You'll have to do some cleaning, pitch in at mealtimes, keep your room clean and tidy, do chores on the land and generally act like you live here and that you care. It's not a temporary thing. Once we all agree, then this is your home. Now, and always. Understand? A family. Right?"

"Really? You mean it?" Mithnite beamed at us, and before we knew it he was up and hugging us both. "Thank you, thank you."

"Sit down, you daft sod. I haven't finished." He sat, still smiling wide. "As for the magic side of things, then you can tag along with me now and then, if I think it's safe, which usually it isn't, and I'll do my best to teach you all I can, when I have the time. But much like my apprenticeship, it'll be a more hands-on style of training. Not learning while stuck in a stuffy room, but the genuine thing, out in the real world. You've seen what it's like for me, for people like me, and you coped very well yesterday, were a great help, but it's dangerous."

"That would be amazing! I'll be good, do as I'm told, help around here, and listen when you tell me things. Promise."

"Good, because if you don't then you're out the door. Understand?"

"Yes."

Maybe I was being a little harsh, I don't know. I had zero experience at this sort of thing, but it was best to lay down the rules from the start so we all knew where we stood. "But, Mithnite, you have to understand that there's a lot more to being a wizard, or whatever name you want to give yourself, than simply learning how to use and control magic. You have to decide what you actually want to do with this power. You have no end of options, and I'm sure that whatever you decide on you'll be great at it. So, think hard before you go down a certain path."

"I've already decided," he said, face set in determination.

"Yeah, and what have you decided?"

"I want to be like you."

"Oh boy!"

"Haha." Kate began to laugh.

"What's so funny?" I asked.

"Oh, haha, nothing. Mithnite, you want to be an enforcer? Are you sure?" Kate wiped her eyes—talk about giving a guy a complex.

"I'm sure. It's what we were all heading toward, before, um, the others got killed. We all wanted to be enforcers, help keep the world safe, stop people going wild with magic and making it dangerous for the rest of us. It's the best job there is."

He seemed genuine, and it was an admirable sentiment. Who was I to argue? All I could do was try my best to ensure he didn't get himself killed.

"Right, on that note I'm going to have a hot shower, grab some sleep, and hope nobody calls until I'm ready for action. I'm beat."

I headed upstairs while Kate and Mithnite talked eagerly about our new life together.

Looked like things were about to change.

Back to the Madness

When I awoke and stared blearily at the clock on the bedside table, I found I'd managed a whole three hours. I gave my teeth a good brushing and then dressed in the suit Kate had got ready for me.

Ah, the feel of a freshly laundered suit, there's nothing quite like it. The smell of the dry-cleaners, the knowledge there are no bits of human or supernatural beings on it, makes a man feel alive and ready for anything.

Knowing it wasn't a white shirt day, and wondering if I'd ever have the chance to wear one again, I put on a crisp, red shirt, short-sleeved because it was warm, knotted a slim tie in the complicated eldredge as I was feeling adventurous, grabbed my jacket and went downstairs to see what was what.

I was surprised Dancer hadn't phoned, freaking about something Dragon had done, or that we'd missed some zombies and half the city were now auditioning for the latest undead franchise, but not half as surprised as I was to find Kate and Mithnite in the kitchen with a terrifying number of shopping bags on the table and spilling over onto the floor.

"We went shopping," she beamed.

"I can see. Did you leave anything for anyone else?" I cleared away a few bags and sat down. Mithnite brought me over a cup of coffee. "Ah, thanks. Man, I'm beat. So tired."

"You hungry?" asked Kate.

"I think so, hard to tell. Well, what have you guys been up to?"

"We went to pick up Mithnite's things, but then I thought it best to get him some new clothes and a few bits and pieces for his room, so we hit the stores quickly then came home. And don't worry, we didn't spend your money. We spent Mithnite's."

"Damn, dude, didn't know you were so well off."

Kate and Mithnite stared at me like I was some kind of idiot until it got uncomfortable. "What, is my hair sticking up?"

"This is one of the reasons why I love you, Faz Pound," said Kate, mussing my hair—I shouldn't have mentioned it.

"You really have forgotten, haven't you?" asked Mithnite, staring at me in astonishment.

"Forgotten what?" I sipped my coffee, trying to force my brain to work properly. I was so damn tired, yet euphoric at the same time. I felt truly back in the Hidden world where I belonged. The familiar tiredness, muscles screaming and aching, like my body had awoken after its five-year hiatus from reality.

"Faz, you and Mithnite have a satchel of gold each. How can you forget that you're a what, millionaire, maybe more?"

"Oh, that," I said, waving it away. "It's just gold. Did you get it out of the car?"

They stared at me like I was dumber than the gold itself. "Of course we got it out of the car, it's gold!"

"And if being an enforcer pays off like this then I definitely want to be one," said Mithnite.

"It doesn't. Most of the time you never get paid, or something goes horribly wrong and it all ends up being very complicated and you're never sure if you're being manipulated by your boss or if another bogeyman is hiding in the cupboard. And yes, they really do that."

"Oh, shame. About getting paid," added Mithnite.

"Stop being so grumpy. You did one job and what, made more than you ever have in your life before?" said Kate, not making me feel any better.

"You're right, it's a lot of money. Did you hide it somewhere?"

Again with the looks. "Hide it? We opened two safety deposit accounts and stored the gold somewhere nice and safe," said Kate.

I didn't say a word about how come it was now in her name and what about if I wanted it? If there wasn't trust and sharing then what would that say about us? About me?

"Just don't spend it all on shoes." I knew the moment I said it that I was in trouble. The slap across the head, and the fact I only didn't get my skull cracked open because Kate caught me and righted my chair, was merely confirmation. "It was a joke," I complained, rubbing my head.

"Very funny. Now, if you two gentlemen don't mind, I have things to do today. I have to go to Vampire Headquarters and check on things. See how everyone is."

"Have you heard from Oskari?"

"Only last night. He called about the security, said he hoped it was okay, and that they would stay until he was sure everything was safe."

"He's a surprise, right? He's dangerous but he actually seems like he's got everyone under control. The goons still there?"

"Faz!" Kate admonished. "They're not goons, they're bodyguards."

"Like I said, goons." I ducked as Kate swung for me. Playfully, I hoped.

While the Demon Shoppers of Cardiff unpacked their things and made me dubious about there being any gold left, I called Dancer.

"Where have you been?" he snapped.

"Sleeping. Us mere mortals need it to function."

"Very funny. Have you heard anything?"

"That's why I'm calling, to see if you had." This wasn't good if Dancer hadn't caught any hint of Dragon or where he was now.

"Nope, nothing. After last night, and his wyrmlings stressing everyone out, it's gone quiet. Thanks for that. We managed to keep it contained. It's still a nightmare out there, and the media are having a field day, talking about gangs on the rampage and the highest murder count the city has ever known, but at least they just think it was gangs fighting, not anything else."

"Good. The last thing we need is everyone freaking out. And the vampires, are they behaving? What about the zombies?"

"Oskari's shown himself to be very reliable, and there was plenty of room for the new zombies, or what will be zombies once the infection takes hold properly. We have some seriously freaked out people, but they made their choice. It wasn't pretty, though. You know how it works, we gave them all the option after we explained what had happened. About half decided death would be better, so... Ugh, anyway, the zombie enclave is pretty full now, so let's hope that's the end of it. I put Richard in charge, he's one of the few properly coherent one's left, after Paul got, you know..."

We were both silent for a minute, recalling the horrors of the mass extermination of so many already lost souls. But that was a long time ago and the Hidden world stays still for neither human, nor vampire, nor zombie.

"Right, good. Sounds like you got it all under control. You need me?"

"You know what? Surprisingly, not for any nasty stuff right this minute. I've got people out looking for Dragon but unless you can find him then I'm not sure what you can do. Any ideas?"

"Absolutely none. My guess is he's holed up and waiting for more wyrmlings to arrive. You can bet he's been calling them from far and wide, getting in touch with the various sects, spreading the word."

"No need to speculate on that front. I'm getting reports from all over the UK and from Heads in endless countries. Everyone knows he's back and the wyrmlings are ecstatic. So much for keeping it local and cleaning up our own mess." Dancer sounded resigned, but at least it wasn't his fault.

"Yeah, well, the only way to deal with that is to deal with him. As soon as he's out of the picture the worms will crawl back under whatever rock they came out from."

"It's wyrmlings, not worms."

"Dancer, I know. I was trying to be funny. Ah, forget it. I'll do some checking, see if I can track him down. But what then? How are we gonna deal with him? He's too powerful, none of us can handle him. He is zombie, vampire, wizard, pretty much immortal, and untouchable. How do you take out something like that?"

"With some very big balls," Dancer said. I think he was actually trying to make a joke himself.

"I'd rather hang on to mine, thank you very much."

"Just find him. I'll be in touch."

"With a plan, hopefully. We need something seriously hardcore to deal with this guy. What a bloody disappointment though, right? The man that started all this off and he turns out to be an utter maniac."

"That's magic for you, Spark, it's dangerous."

"Tell me about it."

I hung up and turned to see Kate and Mithnite standing behind me in the kitchen, smiling happily. "Well, what do you think?" asked Kate, doing a twirl as Mithnite put his fist on his chin, arm bent, doing a bodybuilding pose.

"You both look great." And they did.

Kate had put on a few pounds over the last few years, going from slender and bouncy in all the right places, to still slim but even bouncier in those aforementioned regions. She showed it all off to great effect.

With a flared skirt of green, just below the knee, a button-down, simple white sleeveless tunic hugged her waist and drew my eyes up, making me gulp. She smiled and twirled, skirt flaring out to reveal strong thighs, nicely tanned because of the time she spent outdoors in just her Daisy Dukes.

Mithnite wore an upgraded version of the look he'd cultivated over the last few years, and he was smokin', a real catch for any girl.

With slim-cut brown corduroys, a thick leather belt with a buckle of some kind of animal, maybe a ram, and a long-sleeved, dark green, earthy shirt that was properly tailored but had that rough, casual and unironed look, he looked lean, still showed off his muscles, and appeared ready for action.

"We should all be going out somewhere all dressed up like this," I said, draining my coffee and realizing I actually was hungry.

"It's nice to dress smart even when there's nowhere to go," said Kate as she admired herself, hands trailing her new skirt.

"Yeah, gotta look the part as duty could call at any moment," said Mithnite, clearly happy to have clothes that smelled nice and weren't as wrinkled as Grandma's face.

"Hey, don't get too carried away. I said I'd let you come with me if I think it's safe... Or not too dangerous, anyway. But I work alone a lot of the time, you know that. But if you're serious about this then we'll see what Dancer can do about taking you on for some introductory work. Nothing too heavy."